Nursing with a 20 month old?!

I'm wondering the same thing. My daughter will be 31 months when baby #2 arrives in September. With her I exclusively pumped for over 7 months since she had problems breastfeeding. I am completely nervous about the whole thing because I won't be able to dedicate 5-6 hours a day to pumping like I did with my first. Hopefully my second will be able to nurse, but still.... Any advice from others???

My son was around 2 ( dont feel like doing the math right now lol ) when I had #2. I didnt see it as much of a problem at all. I had to just pump ( had some issues with BF ) I would just make shure I could do it during nap time or have him watch a tape ect while I did it. I only remember doing it maybe every 3-4 hours and only sat thier for 15 minutes at a time.
But you could do it for a while and see how it goes. If it doesnt work out then switch to formula. At least you tryed :)

I nurse and pump for my 6 week old twins and I also have a 20 month old daughter. Not going to lie.....it's not easy! What has been WONDERFUL for me is a hands free nursing bra. It allows me to read books, tend to one baby or surf the web while pumping. It's helping me keep my sanity and also give my toddler some more mommy-baby time. I mostly nurse in the mornings and evenings while my toddler sleeps and I pump during the day while she's awake. It's the only way it works for me. Congrats on the upcoming new baby!

**

When my daughter was born I had a 2.5 year old. The most helpful advice I was given was to have toys and videos that only came out when Baby was being fed. That way they stay "new" longer. We got a cardboard box full of rummage sale toys and put it on top of the TV cabinet. When Baby needed to nurse, I brought the toys down. When she was done, they went back up. If even the nursing toys didn't work I pulled out the big guns, the "Milo and Otis" video. Most of the time those two things worked for us.

Also, closing yourself and both kids in an enclosed space with toys and somewhere comfortable to nurse can be nice. You just let the older one be wild and nurse the little one and don't worry about the rest of the house.

Hope that helps.

My daughter was a little older when our son was born, but she really did ok. I was nervous about it as well. I end up pumping most the time cuz I had so much milk! Anyways, I would include her on everything. I let her turn on/off the pump, as for some reason, that was a big thing to her?!?! I would also let her carry the milk to the kitchen.
Other times when she was not that interested, but wanted my attention, I would lay baby on a blanket on the floor and sit by him and then I was down where she could sit with me or I could play with her easily as well.
Good Luck!!

Our kiddos are all almost exactly 2years and a week apart.
I nursed all 3 kiddos and had te exact same worrries as you are feeling. With my 2nd child I didnt nurse for an incredibly long time but with my 3rd I nursed for almost a year. I used a some formula here and there as he needed a special formula because of bad reflux. Suprisingly it wasnt nearly as hard as I thought it would be with having a 2 and 4 yearold running around the house.
Congratulations on your pregnacies and I wish you the best of luck.

My first 2 are 19 months apart. I guess it never occurred to me that it would be trouble to nurse the 2nd one with a toddler. Sometimes he would sit in the chair next to be while I nursed. I don't ever remember it being a big deal. Same with between the 2nd and 3rd baby, 2 1/2 years between them, never really was an issue. I had a great big rocker recliner and we could all sit in the chair together. The only wierd moment there ever was, I don't remember if it was when I was nursing Grace or Gavin, must have been Grace (the 2nd baby) when Garrett came up and put his mouth to my breast, he'd been watching the baby do it, so I suppose he figured he could too. It was really hard for me to not completely freak out, but after a few seconds he got this look on his face that said "this is just dumb" and he never did it again.
I don't remember ever having trouble with the other kids while I was nursing. The only trouble I ever had was trying to go to the bathroom one handed while holding the baby in one arm.
The Cake goddess - Cakes for all occasions, desserts and cookies, too!

Thanks for all the advice, the "special toys" sounds like a good one! I'll have to keep my eye out for some at the store.

I have nursed with six and seven older children around! This last time I was nursing one and then pumping for the newborn in NICU and then exclusively pumping for him and still nursing his sister. It is easier after the first child.

*Baby wearing* while nursing...so you can be hands free the baby is secure to you and you can play with the older kids
There is a baby wearing workshop at elegant mommy this Saturday !!!!

baby wearing is an under-utilized great way to bond with baby and it is so much more then baby bjorns....it will open up a whole new world of parenting for you!

#3 and #4 for me were 22 months apart, and my son (the older of the two) was a very high maintanance kid so I was really worried before Amaya was born, but it ended up being no big deal. There were a lot of times that Noah was curled up beside me while I nursed Amaya, and even a time or two when he tried to start nursing again (he hadn't been weaned for long before she was born). I ended up nursing Amaya for 30 months, crazy huh! Irritated my MIL to no end, which made it even better for me, hahaha.