[momofadella]

Oh my goodness!!! My DD is 8 months old and extremely distractable when it comes to nursing. I think I touched on this subject briefly a few weeks ago in another posting. I've read that 8-12 months is a distractable phase, but it is so hard not to get frustrated. She'll nurse well as long as we're in our nursing glider in her dark, quite room. I'll offer on the couch or even in public and it is sort of like fighting her to nurse. She'll act interested and then pop off, pop on, pop off, pop on...Arrrrr! Anyway, I guess I'm really needing to hear some encouragement that this phase passes. I guess I'm afraid that this will lead to early weaning and I just don't want that at all. I have my heart set on nursing till she's 2. Is it normal to be this distracted? Oh, and i've tried nursing necklaces and they don't work, they just distract her even more.

 

[BrookEllen]

Mine too. No great words of wisdom, just comiseration. When we're out and about I nurse her under the "hooter hider" and then she has nowhere interesting to look. Maybe try that at home?

Jen, mom to Charlotte, 7.5 months

 

[SmoothieMom]

My DD is 15 months and still pops on and off, the only time I get a real good feeding into her is a darkend room. She is distracted by anything she can see or hear, it's like her mind races.

 

[Sativarain1]

my 5 month old is doing the same thing.

 

[Dabble]

Just be glad that she pops off before turning her head! DS1 would just clamp down and try to take me with him!

A couple weeks ago, someone here posted a brilliant idea that might help a little. She took a brightly-colored temporary tattoo and stuck it right to her breast, at baby eye level, on the less-preferred side. She said it worked wonders, so much so that the babies (either twins or tandems, IDK) were fighting over who got to nurse on that side, and nursing very seriously while studying the "tit tat". I thought that was genius!

 

[Materfamilias]

:
What a great idea! I need to try that. DD gets very distracted too. I just try to find an out-of-the-way place to nurse when we're out. She won't nurse under a cover. One thing, though, is that as she's gotten older it seems she gets more milk in less time, so your babe might be getting enough.

 

[SmoothieMom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chimpmandee Just be glad that she pops off before turning her head! DS1 would just clamp down and try to take me with him!

ohhhh yeah, that has happened a few times to me

 

[sapphire_chan]

I've started actually using the storytime room with the breastfeeding symbol on the door at the children's museum to nurse. (Okay mostly so I can read a magazine, but it is nice to not feel like I'm going to be flashing the whole room at any moment.)

 

[Sweet Peak]

I have been going out of my mind with the same thing DS 7.5 mos. I finally got a good nursing session in today. I was thinking nursing strike. He would go HOURS without nursing. I was SO upset.
I am hoping today was the end of the 'drought.'

 

[Autumn C.]

My babe is 13months now (my how time flies!) and has been too distracted to nurse since 4 months old. I spend a lot of time nursing in the car. Even when we are at home the sight/ sound of dh or my peanut will cause her to do backbends to see whats going on! I don't really even try to nurse her when we are out and about.

On days when we go to Grandma's for the day I still take her into a seperate quiet room to get a halfway decent nursing session in. She hasn't shown any signs of weanig though. If we are gone the whole day the second we walk in the door to our house she is camped out at the boobie for a good long time.

 

[Evelynmia'smom]

mine is the same way...it is really frustrating and makes me worry about early weaning....I have been engorged all day. Her nursing sessions are under 5 minutes during the day...i love the "tit tat" idea! one thing that does seem to help is that i've stopped offering every 2 or 3 hours since she wasn't interested...now i offer every 4 hours and she seems to nurse longer because she is more hungry.