3.5 y.o. getting into mischief while I'm breastfeeding

[Snowflake777]

(I'm going to make this short and to the point as I'm NAK.)

What do you do when your older child gets into mischief while you're occupied with the baby? I try to stop what I'm doing and enforce the rules as much as possible, but sometimes it's just not worth it, eg when I'm on the verge of getting baby to sleep after a long fussy period.

I've tried babywearing but it's not happening for us yet. Baby hates it. Hoping that will change as she gets older.

Ideas?

[Kbugs mommy]

I don't have a second child yet, but but i do watch a two year old 5 days a week. Some times if i really want to sit down and just take a min to nurse my son in peace i will fix a really quick snack before. Sometimes i will give him a toy that he enjoys but only give it to him when i need a min. You could maybe start a coloring project or something that will hold her attention. It takes a little getting used to but it will happen. Eventually you will grow another arm. I have chased him across the room several times with my son attached while trying to grab something from the little boy's hand. Sometimes sitting down on the floor with him helps him stay interested in what he is doing longer. Also, i find that putting soft music on, or turning on a fan, or the dryer, helps Kaiden go to sleep better if there is talking going on.

Playing Simon Says quietly works sometimes. Simon says count to ten in your brain, Simon says see how quietly you can walk around this whole room, Simon says blink your eyes really fast, wiggle your fingers, breath five really slow, deep breaths....

Be creative, they love it! :)

[hakeber]

I would childproof and contain the older child in that room while you nurse offering lots of activities they can enjoy on their own.

Or maybe you could get her a doll and she could feed her doll while you feed the LO? You could talk to her about what you are doing, and talk about times you nursed her and how great that was. It might be a way to include her in the nursing sessions.  She probably feels a little jealous when the baby gets you all alone with undivided attention, and so she does her utmost to divide your attention.

[OkiMom]

I have a 4 yo, 2 yo and a 5 mo. When I had the second the first wasn't even 2 yet and I had to contain the older one in the room while I nursed the baby. Usually I would bring in some toys or a few books to read to her while I nursed. Now I either 1) make sure they are occupied with something or 2) bring them into the room with me.. The only bad part is when I accidentally doze off while nursing and find out they took that extra few minutes to finish up their activity then find something else "fun" to do. I also did activity packs for the girls to play with when i had my third. They were only allowed to play with them while I was nursing so it was something fun and different for them to do (also in my room or where ever I was nursing.. they had to be within my range of vision). 

Another thing that us to work for us is giving DD an option of staying in her playroom or my bedroom. I had a chair in her playroom at the time and I would nurse/rock the baby to sleep while DD played. She still preferred my bedroom over the playroom though.