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Breastfeeding Box for Toddler

This time last year I was pulling my hair out I had a 2-month-old and a 20-month-old. My 2-month-old was going through growth spurts left, right and centre as we were breastfeeding and J was dealing with not having my undivided attention and each feed was causing all sorts of problems so we came up with a Nursing Box (OK it was a bag initially but over the months it developed into a box).

a cute toddler girl holding a new born on her lap on a cushion.

From an idea that my mom had passed on from when she had me and my brother the nursing box is a set of items that can be brought out specifically for the nursing time for a toddler to do when you have a new baby. I know that one of the most popular age gaps is between 1 year and 3 years which is also the most difficult in terms of toddler behaviour. They have no concept or understanding of what is going on, that older children would have, and specifically nursing time can be difficult. It usually involves sitting down for a length of time which provides you and the baby the perfect target for a toddler attack.

What’s Inside the Nursing Box

So what’s in the box – well this very much depends on what your child is interested in and their abilities at the time and as your new baby gets older these items can change. There are 3 must be’s for the box though

  1. Can be either done independently by the toddler or needs you not to move – At 18 months J really didn’t do independent play without us starting him off so we included things that I could do one handed – we had a soft ball that we could use inside, cars that used to be driven over the sofa, but as he got older we included things like wooden puzzles that he could do easily and books – lots of books, if the toys included in the box weren’t working we had our special books (his favourites pre-T arriving) that were nursing books so the nursing time became a J, T and Mummy time and everyone was involved
  2. Can be set up quickly – play dough ready to go was great for us, I had pots on the side and as soon as T needed feeding I used to get it out on the table and J would go and play with it – we had a box of play dough tools that I only needed to lift the lid and he was good to go
  3. Items that are unique to this time – this was the most important part – we only brought the box out for nursing the rest of the time it was put out of the way and out of sight as well so it could neither be asked for nor be seen to get the “I wants”

Of course, you won’t be nursing all the time, so check out some of these toddler activities here on Rainy Day Mum. Also, from experience, your little toddler will love helping to play with their new sibling so why not explore some of the activities for newborns as well.

This simple idea will help you whilst nursing your newborn if you have a toddler in the house. Helping to let you spend time bonding with the new baby.

Looking for ideas for both your newborn and your toddler to keep them entertained whilst you are in this phase, then why not subscribe to our email and get ideas to your inbox regularly for both of them! Just fill in your details below and we look forward to connecting with you.

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Busy Bags your Mother’s Helper

We have included affiliate links to some of the products and resources as an associate we may earn from qualifying purchases.

I love supporting small businesses and Etsy is the place to find busy bags that are perfect for this range. There is a HUGE selection and they have so many different possibilities. I loved the cookie and cooking bag for my kids they loved cooking the cookies and then we would count them in and count them out again. Another favorite the finger puppet farm – how cute are they?

a set of handmade farm animal finger puppets from etsy.

What else helped with a Newborn and a Toddler

Of course, this didn’t always work – nothing ever works 100% of the time and our fail-safe was TV time, I got hold of his favourite programs and when it all got too difficult we would sit and cuddle on the sofa watching his favourite programs. Some days this would be more often the case especially if he was under the weather, teething, or tired but the nursing box really helped.

Save this idea for when the Newborn Arrives

Author
Cerys Parker

Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, teacher, mum, and home educator from the UK. She loves getting creative, whether it is with simple and easy crafts and ideas, activities to make learning fun, or delicious recipes that you and your kids can cook together you'll find them all shared here on Rainy Day Mum.

11 Comments

  1. Grandma Joyce says:

    I was talking to my daughter, just yesterday, and she mentioned that her midwife had suggested a nursing box. She is due in June with number two (number one being 14 months old at the time) and she is very nervous about the nursing time. Seeing this post on my pinterest board was very timely…thank you! As a Preschool teacher, I’m going to have fun helping my daughter put together a few nursing boxes for our grandson to enjoy! (Great idea, I wish I had thought of it 23 years ago when I had two boys 19 months apart!!)

  2. I use a ring sling while nursing. that way i am almost hands free to help the toddler

  3. Kim @ Little Stories says:

    Very smart!

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