The Rise of "Breast-flixing" -- and 11 Shows Made for It
By Lauren Le Vine, REDBOOK.
Per Pregnancy.org, "Most babies need to be breastfed at least eight times every 24 hours," and the average length of each feeding is 20 to 40 minutes total. Translation? Once moms get the hang of things--whether breast- or bottle-feeding--they have a lot of time on their hands while nursing, feeding, and pumping. And, as one mom admits, "Everyone says breast-feeding is so magical and such wonderful bonding time, but when the baby is tiny, it can also be kind of boring."
Enter the growing trend we affectionately call "breast-flixing." Thanks to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu and the ability to watch your favorite shows on phones and tablets, it's become a no-brainer for many moms to do some quality binge-watching while feeding their babies. Some women even use the TV as a nursing resource. "For late-night feedings, I watched QVC. It has a timer on the bottom of the screen to let you know they're moving on to the next product; I used this as a reminder to switch breasts," one reader noted on Facebook. Um, brilliant.
Nevertheless, as with any other good thing taken to an extreme--especially something to which we so readily apply the term "binge"--we started to wonder whether subjecting ourselves to non stop evil King Joffrey vibes could somehow affect our developing babies. Yes, file it under total new-mom over thinking mode, but we had to ask. Luckily, some experts assuaged our fears and gave us the okay to hit "Play next episode."
Related: The Magic Food Formula That Makes You Lose
"You have no choice but to sit and make eye contact; however, part of the time the baby is busy either sleeping or nursing. You want to have a simple pleasure that doesn't require too much thought or energy," says Leigh Anne O'Connor, IBCLC and media liaison for La Leche League of New York. "There are the camps that say you should be gazing lovingly at the baby, and there are others that say don't put too much pressure on moms. If watching these shows is keeping you sane in the process because you didn't realize that you were going to have this baby attached to your body for more than one-third of the day, then do it," echoes Lara Audelo, CLEC and author of Virtual Breastfeeding Culture.
As to whether or not the type of show will have a direct impact on your baby, "Stress from watching a show would only matter if it made the mother really uptight or jumpy, and to be honest, not many shows will do that," says Jenna Mayhew, a psychologist and cofounder of Write as Rain: Written Word Therapy. "As long as the mum is happy, calm, and attentive, the baby will better fed and calm as well."
Exactly! Sometimes a tired new mom just needs some quality zone-out time in the form of Veronica Mars. With that in mind, we went straight to the source to ask for some tried-and-tested "breast-flixing" recommendations. Here's what multitasking moms had to say.
Game of Thrones
"When I was pregnant, I became obsessed with Game of Thrones and binge-watched all three seasons in three weeks. Considering some of the violence that happens on that show-some specifically perpetrated upon babies--I felt a wee bit guilty about it, but that didn't stop me from watching both The Sopranos and Breaking Bad when my baby was 1 week old. He peacefully breast-fed to the sound of gunfire, breaking bones, and men cooking meth in the background. He seems okay so far, but it's too soon to know if he'll be totally messed up or if he'll just have good taste in television shows." -Laurie S.
Find it on: HBO Go
Episode length: ~55 minutes
Already watched it? Try History Channel's Vikings or Rome.
Related: 9 Habits That Slow Down Your Metabolism
Veronica Mars
"I became obsessed with Veronica Mars on Netflix streaming. I would basically sit around nursing or with a sleeping baby on me and live vicariously through a teenage girl crime-fighting her way through high school." - Peggy T.
Find it on: Amazon Instant Video
Episode length: ~50 minutes
Already watched it? Try Buffy the Vampire Slayer if it's the teen caper facet that has you tuning in, and Castle if you're more into the crime-solving.
Once Upon a Time
"I would watch Once Upon a Time on the Netflix app on my iPhone. I tried watching sitcoms, but I needed something that kind of left me hanging at the end of each episode so nursing didn't feel so long and tedious. It made me 'excited' to nurse!" -Nicole B.
Find it on: Netflix (seasons 1 and 2); Hulu (season 3)
Episode length: ~50 minutes
Already watched it? Check out Grimm or Pushing Daisies.
Downton Abbey
"I was a master 'breast-flixer!' I binge-watched all of the Downton Abbey seasons while up all hours breast-feeding. It was the perfect series to watch with my newborn." -Jenn B.
Find it on: Amazon Instant Video (seasons 1 to 4); PBS.org (season 4)
Episode length: ~50 minutes
Already watched it? Try its predecessor Upstairs, Downstairs, which is streaming on Acorn TV, a site that specializes in British shows.
Related: 53 Superfoods That Change Your Body for the Better
Orange Is the New Black
"I streamed Orange Is the New Black on Netflix. That show was so good I didn't even mind that she was hungry at 3 a.m." -Renee H.
Find it on: Netflix
Episode length: ~50 minutes
Already watched it? Try Call the Midwife or The Good Wife.
House Hunters International
"I would often--and still do--get sucked into HGTV marathons and watch, like, five House Hunters International in a row. I'm nursing twins, and you need a lot of time for it!" -Sarah
Find it on: HGTV
Episode length: ~22 minutes
Seen 'em all? Try the original House Hunters or anything else on HGTV or DIY Network.
Grey's Anatomy
"I have a friend who is marathon-watching Grey's Anatomy with her 1-month-old, who is pretty much permanently attached to her right now. I think the theme here is nothing too hard to follow, but that has excitement at pretty regular intervals." -Sarah S.
Find it on: Netflix (seasons 1 to 9); Hulu (season 10)
Episode length: ~45 minutes
Already watched it? Check out Shonda Rhimes's other shows, Scandal or Private Practice.
Reality TV
"Thank God for DVR! I watch all my trashy reality TV in the middle of the night while nursing--Vanderpump Rules, The Real Housewives, and The Bachelor." -Sarah P.
Find it on: Vanderpump Rules and Real Housewives on Bravo; The Bachelor on ABC
Episode length: ~1 hour (Bravo shows); ~2 hours (The Bachelor)
Already watched it? Check out Burning Love, a hilarious parody of The Bachelor.
Beverly Hills 90210
"When I was breastfeeding in the middle of the night, I would watch reruns of 90210. Like, old-school 90210." -Bindu
Find it on: Amazon Instant Video
Episode length: ~50 minutes
Already watched it? Try Party of Five or relive the glory days of Pacey and Joey on Dawson's Creek.
More from REDBOOK:
