What did/do you do to occupy yourself while BFing? I sit on my phone but 1. that drains my battery and 2. I run out of things to do. I'm in the nursery so no TV but I have a kindle and iPad I could be using?
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I would normally just nurse on the couch so I could watch TV. If I wasn't doing that, I was closing my eyes and trying to doze!
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I play on my phone, check email, etc. I can do a lot on my phone!
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I watched Netflix on my iPad
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I mostly frantically googled a million questions about infant sleep on my phone. To the point that my wrist started really hurting.
So I would now recommend downloading some easy reading books to your kindle or iPad- think beach read level, nothing too heavy or serious. Or close your eyes.
I nursed a lot on the living room during no the day so I could watch tv, until she was old enough to start noticing.
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I downloaded a bunch of ebooks from the Library to read when I felt like my other favorite websites weren't getting updated frequently enough. (Ahem, living on the West Coast while hoping people post on HB overnight)
Ever feel like you've read to the "end" of the Internet? That.Also, I added an extra iPhone charger to the nursery so that I wouldn't worry about the phone's battery. So helpful!
I also watched a ton of TV -- that's when I watched most of Parenthood. I streamed it through Netflix on the iPad. Worked great!
Hang in there.
ETA: I stopped watching T.V. once LO would start craning his neck to see. Ha!
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: @Foodnerd81: I'll definitely be in the living room when my parents are gone! At least during the day. Maybe I should Netflix on the iPad at night? I try and doze in the middle of the night but then so does she!
@pregnantbee: Good suggestions. I might need to bring in a charger. I definitely run out of internet though!
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TV in the day. Phone at night or read in my kobo!
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Yeah I set up a phone charger in my bed. Lots of time googling questions and scrolling social media. These days her nursing sessions are pretty short so I just look at her, talk to her, sing to her.
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@pregnantbee: @LindsayInNY: haha I definitely reached the end of the Internet!
At night I tried not to use my phone too much because it would make it harder for me to fall back asleep after with the bright light from the screen. Then I mostly closed my eyes or stared at my baby and how cute she was. Yay for hormones that somehow let me think about how cute this tiny thing that kept waking me up at night was.
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I'm listening to audio books right now for MOTN feeds as it seems to wake me up less. With my first, I watched Parenthood via Amazon Prime video.
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Ooh audiobooks are such a good idea! Bookmarking that for next time.
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@78h2o: Ooh, didn't think of that! Any suggestions?
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I run an extension cord so I can use my phone and not kill the battery. I feed him on the couch so I can watch tv. I'm blowing through Grey's Anatomy on Netflix right now. At night, I play candy crush and need my phone as a mini flashlight for every time he pops off
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When I pumped I would play candy crush, listen to music on headphones or read!
Maybe some celeb or fashion mags? My BF'ing journey was short lived so I don't know how feasible that is though! -
I always just played on my phone if I wasn't in the living room. I too used my phone as a flash light to see what I was doing. When he was a newborn I used to turn on the tv in the bedroom in order to do a diaper before feeding. Never kept him up. I stopped when he got old enough that it woke him up but still was able to use my phone for much longer without him caring about it.
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During the day I would watch Netflix on the iPad or set up on the couch in the TV room and watch movies. At night I would just rest/relax.
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Netflix on ipad!!! I watched Desperate Housewives (which they removed, so sad), and recently Gilmore Girls.
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I read lots of books on my kindle! During the day, I sat in the living room and watched parenthood. Enjoy it now because one day she'll reach the age when you can't do anything at all because it will distract her! On the plus side, the sessions do get shorter. Oh and for motn, I slept
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When J was younger I would mess around on my phone, watch TV or listen to podcasts (I loved "Serial" and I always listen to "This American Life" if you're looking for suggestions).
Now that he's older he's distracted by the TV and by any audio. The lower light from the Kindle doesn't seem to distract him. I "borrow" kindle books from the library.
Now at 7 months our nursing sessions are so much shorter and less frequent. I don't need as much entertainment!
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I didn't know about this podcast yet (or it wasn't out?) but I would recommend listening to The Longest Shortest Time! There have been other podcast recommendations on the HB blog, too.
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When DD was born I didn't have tv or a smartphone or tablet but I set up my laptop with a million episodes of so you think you can dance!
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10 foot iPhone charger cord changed my life. I used my phone BC I meticulously recorded his feedings and what not on an app and the furiously purchased stuff on Amazon or Googled questions.
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@Pirouette: I hate to say this but I can't wait until they're shorter!! Most sessions are marathon, "this is the last supper" 45-60 minutes, never mind the time to get her back to sleep or calmed after!
@MrsF: Ooh, I forgot about Serial! I've been meaning to listen to that!
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@LindsayInNY: I'm listening to Wild right now. I also downloaded serial. Are you using a nipple shield? I've heard that can lengthen feelings. I don't know what to do about it though.
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@LindsayInNY: My local library has an account with this website "Flipster." You can log in and read current issues of magazines for free! I think a lot of other libraries have something similar. I felt like I didn't quite have the brain power to commit to a book during some nursing sessions, but flipping through HGTV magazine or something like that was perfect.
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@78h2o: I am. We fed at the doctors office the other day without it but my parents are here and I just don't know if I have the time or patience to try without it right now. But good to know... Is Wild based on the Reese Witherspoon movie?
@My Only Sunshine: I'll have to check! My local library might not but the NYC one must have something like that!
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I read on the kindle, like PPs the backlight of the ipad or phone prevents me from going back to sleep. Many libraries have ebooks, you could find some light reading. I found fiction a nice escape, plus then I would WANT to read so I also read while I pumped and caught up on a lot of books on my list.
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I read a ton of books on my kindle or iphone with the kindle app. DD is 9 mos and I still do that when I'm nursing sometimes!
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@LindsayInNY: oh i get it!! LO was so small that she pretty much nursed nonstop the first few months to play catchup! and granted, it was winter, but we never ever left the house, because it was just too stressful to work around her (constant) feedings! so i get it. the bright spot was that since she ate all day long, she sttn very early on, and then she started having shorter feeds and more stretched out, and stopped sttn for a while. so, i guess you take the good with the bad haha. hang in there! the days feel long, but the weeks go FAST
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Netflix, Netflix, Netflix.
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binge watched tv on the ipad via netflix! and read some books on the kindle app too.
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@pregnantbee: lol! I was just thinking about those awful nights at the beginning. I'd be happy when it was like 5 am in California and I'd remember that a new hellobee post would probably be up. I'd be so exhausted but relieved I made it through till "morning"
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@junebugsmama: Same! Those were the days I learned that the first morning post would go up around 4:30 a.m.
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@Pirouette: She feeds a ton but doesn't nap much. Except at night. She's had a couple of nights in a row now with 6 hour stretches which is amazing!
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Play on my phone. LO doesn't nurse for long so I don't usually run out of things to do.
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Go on my phone and watch TV mostly!
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Another vote for Netflix, an episode of Friends is the perfect pumping/nursing time.
Ever feel like you've read to the "end" of the Internet? That.Reply
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