I subscribe to a few baby emails. You know the ones - your baby is 2 months old! This is what she/he should be doing now and what you can expect over the next month, etc... I like to read them just for a guideline, and I know that it's not my doctor and I shouldn't take everything to heart. They have a section where they usually ask a question and have 3 people answer the question - usually doctors. Well, this last one I got, the question was whether or not it is ok to watch tv while breastfeeding. All of the doctors said no - that this is a time to bond with your baby and the tv is too distracting. I have to be honest and say that I had never thought of this before - I always watch tv when I'm feeding Abbi. And then I started feeling guilty after reading this. They say you should spend the time talking to your baby and smiling at her/him, making eye contact and basically just using the time to bond. I know that bonding time is important, but since I spend basically 24 hours a day with my child, we get a lot of bonding time in. In fact, I probably spend a few hours a day - just me and her, playing and talking.
But because this made me feel guilty, I decided to try feeding her and using that as a "bonding" time. Ummm, it doesn't work so well for us. In fact, I totally distracted her from what she was supposed to be doing. I would smile at her, and she would want to smile and laugh back at me, making it impossible to feed. I've decided not to feel guilty about watching tv while she is eating - there is way too much out there to give us "mom guilt" and I don't need to add another to my list. But I wanted to know if I'm alone in this or if anyone else is the same. Feel free to take my little poll, and comment if you want!
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4 comments:
Seriously.. I would die if I couldnt do something while bf him!!!!
Especially since he will literally BF for 2 hours when I get home in the afternoon!
Plus, your right.. its very distracting to them..
I would rather spend an hour on the floor playing with him instead of trying to talk to him while he's trying to eat! dont feel guilty..
I would like to add though that i do talk to him.. and i still interact with him while he's eating.. its not like i totally ignore him.. but i do always have the tv on...
Don't feel guilty, really! I wasn't able to breastfeed, but I've always had the TV on when I feed Andrew a bottle -- especially when I was on maternity leave. I spent all that time with him already, and you're right -- they do get distracted! I don't have the TV on now when I feed him his solid food, so we do get to bond then, and we also bond a thousand other ways. But in those early months, feeding time was about the ONLY chance I got to watch TV -- so I took it!
So when it's 2 am it's not ok to just veg infront of the tv you have to be talking to your baby.. I say, that person is crazy. You have so much time with the baby. Maybe not to watch TV everytime but seriously.. a mommy needs a break too. My cuz lived off of her DVR at night nursing a baby..
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