Hi
Probably NOT the best website to ask this on, but when my dd was born I said I would not nak or in front of the TV (which we hardly ever watch any more since we got rid of cable so thats a non-issue except sometimes we watch a movie and I nurse her or hold her on my lap when she falls asleep). The TV is way across the room though. I guess I am concerned when I nak she is not getting my full attention but primarily about EMR issues. I do not have a screen or anything to protect me or her, and worry that would not even help. I do nak and I also work from home and have a lot of emails and would really not get much done any other way but it does concern me and wonder if anyone else has similar concerns or solutions. As an aside though it is cute that now she plays with the keyboard with one hand as she nurses! How much nak is ok? I love my pc and am somewhat addicted, though try to limit my time to be with her, though still need to get stuff done and also need some intellectual stimulation. I also read when nursing except now she wants to eat the book, but I try to do this too when she is happily nursing. I guess she is not a baby who just like to nurse, as she gets distracted easily to begin with! Anyhow main concern is radiation and other is about quality time, though I hope she gets enough of this, and maybe nak and sitting with me while I do have to work is better than being in a playpenitentiary etc (though she also will play happily on her floormat right by me too when she is in play mode.
Anyhow any ideas suggestions etc appreciated.
Thanks!

I've never been one to just sit and nurse. I always read books or go online or something.
Anyway, about the radiation - DH and I stopped using regular desktop computers a while back and moved to notebook computers. The one I'm using now was $500 when we bought it a while back, and it is our high-power one, but DH has one that is almost as good that he got for free (the previous owner thought it was broken but with some minor repairs that my DH did, it works perfectly now). Even if you can't pay for a notebook and don't know anyone that could fix a marginal one, you can get a hand-me-down that would be plenty powerful to go online and check your email, etc. (this isn't what takes processing in a computer, it would have to be awfully old not to handle these things) that you could use while you NAK. We were more concerned about the wastefulness of the CRT and the space conservation issues when we moved to notebook computers, but we really like that we did it. If we need more processor power for whatever reason, we go visit BIL who has a huge desktop PC with all the fixins, and have his computer take care of it (DH has network engineering and programming degrees, and occassionally gets it into his head to try something that our notebooks can't handle). But really, if you are just reading email and stuff, an old hand-me-down notebook would totally do the trick. We have a 7-year-old clunker of one that I've used for web page authoring (straight from code, I don't have the patience to try to run any authoring programs on something that old) and email, and it works just fine. And it should be better in terms of potential radiation problems.

:lurk:

I should know this by now, but what the heck is "nak"??? It's been driving me nuts!!
nursing and....??? what?

i never used a computer until i had my 3rd newborn. when i settled in to nurse him to sleep for the night, my fave thing was to have our "powerbook" up there on the bed with me. it became a sort of guilty pleasure.... i eventually stopped b/c i equate it with watching too much tv. with my daughters i always read while nursing, so i got a good stack of books and returned to that with my son. no harm to the babe in that! as jeannine parvati wrote, "i like to think of all that knowledge travelling through my milk in to my brilliant babies." somehow i don't see this happening with the computer.
we have a "softview" screen that supposedly filters the rays, but if one is on the 'puter for hours a day, what difference does it make? i would share your concerns for a newborn exposed to lots of computer time every day. i would have concerns for a mama on the screen for hours a day too. accept no substitutes for human interaction, fresh air, and exercise with your babe!

nak=Nursing At Keyboard :)

KEYBOARD!! :duh Thanks!

I think it's probably fine as long as you aren't doing it for the majority of feedings.