10 THINGS: To do whilst feeding your baby

Bottle or breastfeeding babies takes a lot of time in those early months especially. Days would pass and I swear I hadn't done anything other than feed Isabella, all in a sleepy daze. Before you know it those long feeds are distant history and you have a baby that crawls/climbs around so you can say goodbye to any level of relaxing during the day! Below are my top 10 things to do during the longer feeds, they may seem like they'll never end but they will and you will have lost that precious 'sitting down' time. Embrace it!

1) Online shopping - Now this is a dangerous one because suddenly the time you have to shop extends to 24 hours and with exhaustion often being involved you could end up spending more than you intended. My approach was during the night feeds I would try to just 'window shop' online, not making any purchases until it was morning and I was sure we needed whatever it was.  During the day I had/have a lot less restraint. 

2) Watch a tv show/movie/YouTube - This is easy enough during the day, but can be harder at night. When Isabella was much smaller and fed for a good hour at a time during the night I would use headphones and my iPad to watch something. It meant I wasn't disturbing either Isabella or my husband and the time passed a bit quicker. 

3) Use it as bonding time - At night I don't allow myself to take my phone or tablet into feeding Isabella, I keep it as a time for just me and her. During the day I make sure I keep at least one feed completely focused on the task in hand and enjoy spending the time thinking about how lucky I am to have Isabella in my life.

4) Catch up on reading blogs - some of my favourites are: A Slice Of My Life...Wales, Bump to Baby, Sarah Rooftops, Cider with Rosie, Sparkles and Stretchmarks, Alice & Amelia, Milk and Nappies, You Baby Me Mummy, Mum in Brum, LesBeMums, Mummy Daddy Me..., In The Frow, Tigerlilly Quinn, Make, Do & Push!, Mummy and Monkeys and many more.

5) Read a book -This one is for when you've nailed one handed bottle feeding or are breastfeeding, as you need one hand to turn the pages. You could also either set up a way of keeping the book open or invest in a book stand like this one.  

6) Blog - If you're a blogger and a parent then you'll understand time is precious and a complete luxury when it comes to producing blog content. When Isabella was younger and fed for longer I would use that time to get blog posts written, photos edited, reply to emails and think up blog content. Now I use nap times and once she's in bed because feeds don't last long enough. 

7) Fill in baby record books/order photographs - Capturing all of the little moments is precious because babies don't stay small for very long and are constantly changing. I downloaded the PhotoBox app when Isabella was younger, so at any opportunity I could easily order photographs ready to pop into albums. I also love filling in the various baby books we have, just with quick notes about any significant changes or milestones reached. 

8) Put your feet up and just relax - simple, but ever so important. 

9) Research days out/places to visit - I love going out as a little family but finding places that are appropriate for babies was a bit of a struggle initially. They had to be pram friendly, have baby changing, not too far away and ideally be stimulating for little Isabella. All of these things I wouldn't have even noticed prior to having a baby, so it took a bit of looking around.

10) Listen to music/relaxation or meditation app - Properly relaxing can be hard with a baby, so enjoying the quiet of feeding can be precious time. There are lots of relaxation app (such as Calm, Headspace, Buddhify, Smiling Mind) that guide you through 2-30 minutes of meditation. Though they probably aren't designed to be used during breastfeeding which new parent has that length of time to do it alone?! I certainly didn't.

What did/do you like to do while feeding your little one?

Feel free to leave a comment :)

Helen x