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Home › Articles › Breastfeeding Basics › Dinner Theatre

Dinner Theatre

Breastfeeding the Distracted Baby

By Shel Franco

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At one time or another, every nursing mom has visited the "dinner theater." You know the place: when your infant won't breastfeed without pausing every other minute to take in "the show" around him. While the babies certainly seem to enjoy this leisurely method of dining, for most moms, it grows old very fast. And on occasion, the habit grows into a real problem, with baby struggling to latch on and even refusing to nurse.

Fortunately, experienced breastfeeding mothers have developed tips and tricks that you can use to help hasten final curtain calls for the "dinner theater."

Slings and Things

As babies grow, some can't resist the urge to peek at everything new and exciting. They latch on for a few moments, then rip off when Dad walks by or when a sound on the television catches their ears. Not only can it take hours to get in a full feeding, but breastfeeding this way can really irritate Mom's nipples.

Kirsten Phillippe, of Seattle, Wash., started having trouble breastfeeding when her daughter was 4 months old. After several bouts of latching on and pulling off, Phillippe realized that walking sometimes helped. "I usually am successful [at getting her to eat] by walking around with her, usually in a sling, and latching her on that way."

Why does the sling work so well? Veteran parents know that babies like security. One of the first things new parents learn is how to swaddle their newborns. Just like swaddling, the form-fitting sling helps contain flailing arms and jerking legs, which can sometimes be a distraction.

Once the baby is distressed by repeated attempts to latch on, the issue becomes more about calming the child down long enough to get the feeding started. The security of a sling can help the baby relax and even become sleepy enough to latch on and stay on.


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