After you get over that initial bumpy start to breastfeeding things tend to smooth out and breastfeeding life is good, easy.  Your baby will often nuzzle in close, close her eyes and just nurse quietly.  This easy breastfeeding with continue for several months.  Then one day you’ll realize that your baby has suddenly become distracted by everything and breastfeeding will become a bit of a challenge again.

At around 4-5 months babies become much more aware of their surroundings and become interested in what is going on around them, even when busy nursing.  Things like other people in the room, the dog or cat running around, the television can all become more interesting than your breast and will result in your baby letting go of their latch to look around and see what is happening.  It can be frustrating not only because the nursing sessions will often become longer when your baby is constantly stopping and starting but also those quick unlatchings can be painful.

Every baby (well almost anyway) will go through this phase.  My daughter went through it at about4 months old.  I had to change up our breastfeeding routine and we were able to settle back into a nice, quiet routine that worked.  Luckily this is one of the easier breastfeeding challenges to over come.  With a little creativity and making a few changes you can easily nurse your baby through this distracted period.

Here are a few tips on nursing a distracted baby:

  • Nurse in a quiet spot with few distractions.  If you were used to nursing in the living room talking to your husband and watching television consider switching to nursing in your child’s bedroom.
  • If there are distractions in the room try to position yourself so that the distractions are not in your baby’s line of sight.
  • Make eye contact with your baby and softly talk to him, this will help keep his focus on you and the task at hand.
  • Allow your baby to play with something like a favorite toy or blanket.  If their focus is on that favorite, fun item they are less likely to be distracted by what is going on around them.
  • Consider using a blanket or a breastfeeding cover, especially if you are in a place where the distractions are plentiful, to help keep out the distracting sights and sounds.
  • If your baby is easily distracted by noises consider playing a calming cd or use a white noise machine during nursing to help drown out the outside noises.

Although it can be frustrating and you may want to just give up try to work through.  You are doing the best thing for your baby by breastfeeding, keep it up.  Bottlefed babies get distracted too.   Just switch up your routine a bit and work with your baby to keep your nursing sessions quiet and enjoyable.

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