How to nurse around 5 year olds?

My twin boys will be 5 by the time our little girl arrives and I am wondering how do you nurse with 5 year old boys in the house? Do you let them stay in the room? how do you explain to them what is going on?

 

My oldest DS was 3.5-4.5 while I was nursing and pumping for my twin boys and it never occurred to me to hide it from him. He understood that the babies' milk came from my breasts. He was pretty fascinated by it at first, but after just a few weeks the novelty wore off and I'm not sure that he ever paid any more attention to it other than the fact that he knew I was stuck on the couch when I was doing either.

Congrats on your new baby! I wouldn't worry at all about your boys and nursing, it is totally natural and they will take their cues from you. If you are open and comfortable nursing in front of them, they will be just fine with it too!

 

I made it a non issue. My boys were almost 5 when my daughter was born. She is 20 months and I still nurse her. My boys think nothing of it. Even when she was first born, they saw and I told them she does not use a bottle and this is how she eats and that was the end of it. I never covered up around them.

 

I have nursed in front of my 4 and 7 year old nephews. Honestly, they both know what is going on and do not care. The first time was when the babes were two months so I was fully tandeming, fully exposed and all. They played at my feet for a while and then went down the hall to their mom. The four year old told her the babies were having their milk even though I hadn't explained it to him and neither had my sister. Despite having never seen BFing, he just knew. Now I nurse them individually which is much more discreet and they still just don't pay attention. Today the 7 year old said oh, he's having a snuggle. I think if you explain what you are doing and why, it would be a normal, unremarkable thing to them. And congrats btw.

 

My boys were 2.5 when my daughter was born. Like Jori's son, they were fascinated at first but I jus told them Annabelle drinks milk from me. They asked a few questions and that was that. After a week or so they didn't even notice.

 

My oldest was 4.5 when my daughter was born, and like the others said, he was a bit curious at first, and then didn't care. He was 7 when the twins were born and was an old pro, didn't even blink he knew the twins were getting milk from me. My daughter was only 2.5 when the twins were born so she didn't even pay much attention to it.

 

As the pp said, if you approach it an a natural way they will too.

I will add one more thought. By allowing them to witness you breastfeeding you will create a positive, natural attitude toward bfing. Maybe this will pave the way for them to one day be supportive of their wives if they decide to breastfeed.

My SIL had many nursing complications with her first child. She will tell you part of her eventual success was because she was surrounded by cheerleaders, the biggest my brother!

it is very possible you are making an impact that will effect your grand children!

 

It just wasn't ever an issue. When Spencer was born, my other boys were 9 and 7. Nursing a baby is what breasts are for, so I never thought about hiding it. I'm a fairly modest person, but I don't see anything wrong with nursing a baby around others. By that time though, I'd already nursed 5 kids so I was pretty good at doing it without exposing a lot of myself.

 

Never thought anything of it, just fed the baby and told them that's where milk comes from and that they had it too. It is what is is here. Matter of fact, my 2 yr old was laying in my lap the other night(he stopped nursing about 3-4mos ago) and here was the exchange..

"JoJo?"
"Yes"
"Are you on the boob?"
"No"
That's how breastfeeding is viewed in our home. Make it a comfy part of your life.

 

My girls were 3 when the baby was born, so I nursed in front of them from age 3 - 4. They just thought the baby was eating when he was on the boob and didn't think anything about it. Sometimes I would jokingly offer them a drink, like if we were in the car and they whined about being thirsty. :laughing:

 

I agree with everyone else. My twins were 6 and a half when the baby was born and I just fed him where ever. I don't even remember the twins questioning it. They've seen my friends breastfeed their kids and it was never an issue for them, just the way it is.

When the baby was a few months old we all stopped at Burger King for lunch one day, the twins ordered what they wanted and my more gregarious of the two said "And Josh will be having breastmilk!" to the cashier.

 

It was really cute! Audrey "nursed" her dolls after I had Evan!

 

Several of my close friends and my SIL had children between 4 and 6 when I had the twins. I was matter of fact and as modest as possible about breastfeeding (I usually tandem-nursed and did not use a full cover unless I was in a public location where I wanted more privacy) and all of the children seemed to think nursing prefectly natural and normal and never paid any special attention, except one - he was an only child and had obviously never witnessed nursing before, he was so fascinated that after a while his mom gently asked him to stop staring; I did not mind but she did.

BTW: My 3 year olds will both "nurse" their dolls, yes, DS too. They seem to remember nursing and find it a natural thing to do.

 

Like everyone else, I just did it. There was not issue with it. I have girls who were 5 when my son was born and I was really glad I was able to model natural normal breast feeding to them. My son is 35 months old and he still nurses at night.