Concerned about DD's BM consumption at DC

MickeyM04

So I nursed my entire ML, which means I honestly have no idea exactly how much DD would eat during the day, but I would generally feed her 4-5 times between 7am and 6pm (the times she is now at daycare).  If she ate 4 times, she would eat from both sides.  If she ate 5 times, for two of the feedings she would eat 1 side only (so basically the equivalent of 4 times from both sides).  In terms of quantity, I don't know what she was taking exactly.  Her first day at DC, I sent 4 3.5 oz bottles, because whenever DH would give her a bottle, she would take somewhere between 3-3.5 oz.  The first day, she ate an oz from the first bottle, an oz from the second bottle and then later finished the second bottle when they re-offered it later, and she finished the third bottle (so she ate about 8.5 oz total).  She never got to the last bottle.  Yesterday she ate the entire first bottle, then she ate half of the second bottle, and finished it when they reoffered it later.  Then she ate the entire third bottle.  She never got to the fourth bottle.  So yesterday she ate about 10.5 oz total.  This is in 11 hours mind you.  Doesn't that seem a little low to you?

When I pick her up, she's totally fine, not screaming, doesn't start sucking on my shoulder or arm when I hold her like she's hungry, and generally is just chilling out.  Even when we got home last night, she didn't seem hungry and we were able to eat dinner as a family before she started wanting to eat.  However, I'm pumping like 14 oz at work in the same time I'm away from her which makes me think that's because she usually eats that much during that same time period.  I know it's still the first couple of days but it just seems like she's not really eating as much as I would have expected (she just turned 12 weeks on Sunday), especially considering how much I can pump while I'm away from her and the fact that when she takes a bottle at home it's usually 3.5 oz.

I know the first day they had a lot of trouble getting her to eat but yesterday she ate at all her usual times like she eats with me at home, but because she only ate like half of the 2nd bottle which she later finished at her third feeding, she only ate 3 of the 4 I sent over the course of 4 feedings.  Any input on whether this seems like too little BM for an 11 hour period?  Give it more time at DC before I start worrying that she's not eating enough?  Also FWIW, she has slept through the night for the first two times every the first two nights after she started DC.  So she's not clustering when she gets home or during the night.  Help?

mlee116

Personally, I would just give it time.  It took DS several days to start eating what I thought he would be eating and even then he would eat less some days.  It's an adjustment going from nursing all the time to bottles, plus she's adapting to a new environment and may be too "busy" to eat.  I would just freeze the extra amounts to build up my stash.

Also, the amount you are pumping and the amount she is getting from the breast aren't necessarily the same, so I wouldn't focus on comparing those amounts.

ricekez

I'd be thankful to be pumping more than she's eating so that you can build your stash. My baby also eats less than I pump. I think he just doesn't like the bottle as much, so he eats only enough to satiate his hunger, then stops. I'm not worried and I don't think you need to worry unless your daughter stops gaining weight.

vvvvvfee

like PPs said, i'd give her a little while to settle into things. she may start taking more. it's actually a good sign that your daycare is watching her cues and not over-feeding her (which is an unfortunate tendency with bottlefeeding BF babies). she could just be a reverse-cycler, though. my DS always preferred to nurse. sometimes he'd come home from DC with his 3rd bottle, and often wouldn't finish it when DH gave it to him (i think he knew i'd be back soon). i always let him nurse on demand at home and on weekends (this is a good idea to keep your supply up and make sure your LO is getting enough). he also woke a lot at night to nurse in the early months. this was all fine with me, since i found it far more convenient to nurse than to pump.

dashofreality

Generally speaking, most babies let you know if they are hungry. You can keep an eye on her weight, but it seems like DCP is doing a good job of re-offering and staying on top of it. Also, the fact that she is STTN and not reverse cycling is a great sign. I would keep an eye out, but it doesn't appear that there are any concerning signs.

I thought that this was going to be an overfeeding complaint, which I think it much more difficult to deal with.

ccam

I would personally give it a little more time.  DS's eating was completely off when he first started daycare and was getting used to the new people, surroundings, etc.  And if she's not a screaming hungry mess when you pick her up, it sounds like she's getting enough. 

MickeyM04

OK well good, I'm glad that I am the only one freaking out about this, helps me keep things in perspective!

I agree I am VERY happy with how they have handled things so far.  They re-offer bottles so that very little, if any, gets tossed, and they send me home with an unused bottle at the end of the day which means I have built up a crazy freezer stash this week because I'm pumping 14-ish a day and she's taking 10.5 or less which means if that continued for the whole week I would have like 4-5 extra bottles left over. 

My concern is more along the lines of she's not eating much there AND she's actually eating less at home now (up until she started daycare she was eating once during the middle of the night and now she just eats once at bedtime and once first thing in the morning.  I just can't imagine with her two feedings at home and eating 10ish oz at daycare that she's getting even 20oz a day which just seems SO low to me.  But it sounds like I just need to wait it out and maybe she will start eating more over time or maybe she's just been STTN (who complains about that by the way?!?!) because she's overstimulated being in a new place and she'll start waking up again soon (who actually hopes for that?!?!). 

And our DC does keep frozen milk there so I actually have extra bags there already just in case.  I will just keep my fingers crossed that her appetite improves although honestly I am hoping I don't have a reverse cycler unless I happen to have one who also only gets up once a night, because I so do not do well with 3-4 wake ups a night.  I guess time will tell though!  Thanks so much ladies.

(Edited for typo)

litzo27

Seems ok. My kids always ate about an ounce per hour. So if I were gone for 11 hours and nursed them soon before and after then 10-11 oz in bottles would be eaten.

vvvvvfee

if you're concerned about your LO not getting enough milk at home, why not offer more nursing sessions? you could add in a 2nd morning session, right before you leave for work/DC, and one right after you get home from work, in addition to first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

emberlee3

I wouldn't worry. Freeze the extra milk. FWIW, DD was EFF from 5 months on, and she usually took about 20 oz per day, maybe 22 oz, even at 9 months without any solids yet. Her growth was fine.