daycare overfeeding BF baby

kaitertot23

I have a 6 month old in an in home daycare. I was sending 4 4oz bottles plus baby food plus cereal...she ate it all & the daycare provider said she was "still hungry". I then sent 4 5oz bottles (yes I woke in the night to pump just to have enough). Daycare lady said she was still eating it all & that at one time she had an 8oz bottle! Of breastmilk! Im almost in tears because I know Im making enough and feel its being wasted. Any thoughts here?!

harmonicbabe26

How many hours is your baby in that daycare away from you?
I am all for feeding a baby (i don't personally believe in strictly sticking to 1oz/hr if baby is still clearly hungry) but yah 8oz at once is HUGE. Even for. FFed baby. My DD1 was FFed and she IF she ever took that much she had a bunch of spit up.
I EP for my DD2 and the amt she eats depends on how often she eats. When she was wanting to eat every 2hrs (up till about 6mo) she ate 3oz. If I gave her even half oz more she spit it right up. Then she slowly started taking 3.5oz and then started extending to 3hrs between feeds. Now she takes 4oz about every 3hrs. I have NEVER been nazi about paced feedings, she paces herself. She's on a slow flow nipple and when she wants a break she just pushes it out with her tongue or turns her face.
What flow is your baby on?
Maybe talk to your provider about slowing the feeding a bit or about offering smaller more frequent feedings? But yeah 8oz in one feeding is crazy!

bell18b

I don't think that taking an 8 oz is that strange. My now 8 month old would easily take up to 10 oz at that age in the evening before she went down for the night. She was already eating almost 6 oz per feeding before she was even 3 months old. I to thought this was excessive but my pedi said it wasn't a problem and to just feed her until she is full. She grew very rapidly at first and is a tall girl in the 95th percentile; she obviously needed the extra calories. Also, 6 months is a growth spurt, so this could be just temporary.I would recommend speaking to your pedi if you are concerned. They my even recommend increasing her solid intake. I wouldn't worry about wasting breast milk, she sounds like a healthy baby who is a good eater.

pchung

How long are you away from LO.  That is a lot of breast milk.  A breastfed baby usually takes 1-1.5oz per hour away.  Most breastfed baby do not eat more than 3-5oz at a time.  Breast milk changes as baby grows to accommodate unlike formula where you give baby more milk as they get old to get more nutrients. 

Is  your daycare provided doing paced bottle feeding?  Here is a really good video on paced bottle feeding:  https://youtu.be/UH4T70OSzGs

Good luck!

clare2582

I just started sending my 5 mo old to drop-in daycare (sorry I am creeping on the 6-9 mo boards, but I am looking for your experiences). On Monday, I breastfed her at home at 8:30, dropped her off at 9 with two four ounce bottles. When I picked her up at 1:00, the director told me to send more milk because she drank the two bottles back to back at 11. She said she had one and was fussy so they fed her another. I was kind of irritated... She stays home with a sitter sometimes and doesn't need more than that... Certainly not 8 ounces in one sitting. The only difference I'm assuming is that my in- home sitter can spend more one-on-one time with her, soothing her/rocking her.

One of the other ladies there said "oh... Right. Her milk has to go in the fridge" ... Like I was just being picky or something. Maybe they just don't have a lot of experience with breast fed babies? Am I expecting too much out of them? We feed on demand, nap when she needs it... Not on a set schedule (which I made them aware of). Are we just not cut out for daycare? They aren't big or that busy, there is usually 3 babies and at least two ladies, one being the director.

BBoyd2013

Wow! My son has never taken 8 oz! I have to push him just to 4oz before bed. I find that odd but then again (I only have experience with my own) my ds will reject it if he's finished so maybe your dd is going through a growth spurt?

NLB2009

The other day my day care provider gave my baby a 9oz bottle! Plus another two 5oz bottles! I was super upset! I pump 15oz a day and I work hard for that! (You can tell I'm over it by all the exclamation marks)

devinsmommy31115

Yikes that is a lot of milk! I'd be angry too. I pack my son 4 bottles that are 3-4 ounces each. He usually only drinks 3 of them and is there from 7:30-4:00. I also pack a tablespoon of fruit/veggie purée for breakfast and lunch. Do you send solids as well?

Knottie1442268460

My ff babies never ate more than 6 oz. Up to a year! Baby may cry after feeding due to gas & needs to burp. The person may not be that great with babies. A lot of people over feed because they're "lazy" IMO & don't want to bounce, rock, etc.

KonaCoffeeBean

If this is just something that lasts a week or so, I guess I would just go with it, cause growth spurts can be crazy. However, if your daycare is consistently feeding 20oz and your child is there for 10hrs or so, I would call BS. They are using milk instead of interaction to soothe a fussy baby.

delujm0

I'm creeping on this board (DD is 15 weeks) but she has 2-4oz of breastmilk every 2-2.5 hours at daycare.  She's usually there from about 9:30am - 5:30pm.  She eats when she gets up in the morning, between 4 and 10 oz, before going to daycare (if she STTN she will take down 6 oz right away and then 4 more about two hours later, which makes sense as she's been asleep for 12 hours at that point.  If she woke in the night, she usually will sleep later and only take 4 oz before going to daycare).  Once she's there she usually is fed around 10, 12, 2, and 4 (unless she's napping - they wait for her to fuss so they're kind of feeding on demand).  I send four 4oz bottles and two 2oz bottles.  That way if she's still a bit hungry after the 4oz bottles, they can tack on a 2oz bottle and not be wasteful.  Also, if her naps have made it so that she's due for a bottle around 5, they'll only give her 2oz then because they know i'll be there soon and I like to feed her when I get her home.  Generally she goes to daycare with 20oz prepared and comes home with anywhere from 4-8oz left over.  I don't worry too much about it...she gets so much food during the day that she generally STTN, or will wake up only once MOTN to eat.  I don't think she's being overfed...she won't really allow herself to be overfed.  If she doesn't want to eat there is no way to force her to do so.  She just won't accept the bottle (or breast if we're at home) unless she's actually hungry.

 

Are you sending a lot of older frozen milk to daycare?  I ask because the properties of the milk change with the child's needs as it gets older - so if your frozen stash is 3 months old and that's what you're sending to daycare it might just not be as nutritious as LO needs right now.  I have a very complicated frozen milk rotation going on...I make sure to use part fresh and part frozen every day for daycare so that way the frozen stuff isn't too old.  Right now I think I'm operating on frozen milk that is from 5 weeks ago for 10-12oz/day and everything else is fresh.  Whatever I pumped the previous day and didn't need for the next day's bottles gets immediately frozen.  I am hoping that she'll continue to be a snacker and not take more than 4 oz in her normal feedings...mostly bc my bottles are only 4oz and I don't feel like buying bigger ones!  we'll see how that works out.

pitterbrayn

I believe that you do enough, dear and you should discuss this aspect with the daycare specialists. All will be okay

koonier

I would better recommend you to talk to a doctor. According to his point of view, you can discuss it with a daycare provider. I suppose 8oz in a time is really a lot. But actually who knows. It can be normal for your toddler. My daughter is in one of the Little Scholars preschools Brooklyn. High-qualified professionals work there. But even they always ask me about any controversial situations. They allow me to get involved and take account of my opinion. I understand them. Sometimes crazy mummies blame daycares for a kid's bad behavior or any other issues. That is weird.

AlYeahJune

My advice would be to A. Talk to your pediatrician. B. You know your child best, and have a bigger conversation with your daycare.

My situation: my son is 8-months, he's in daycare M-F 8 am- 4:30p. We give them 2 6-oz (12 oz total)  bottles of Breastmilk typically frozen milk from a month or two ago, and we give 2 4-oz pureed food and either a teether wafer or 4 oz of finger foods so he can work on his fine motor skills. He only has 2 bottom teeth, but the 4 teeth on the top are all starting to come in as well. I only mention the teething aspect because I noticed that he drank less but ate more solids when he was in pain  from teething. We still only give 12 oz while he's at daycare and will give more solids if he's still hungry.

Bottom line: it's your child and you know best, however babies are constantly "leveling up" so maybe find a middle ground and set the expectations to get on the same page.

jenandandrew2021

Hello! I actually used to work in an infant program at a daycare before giving birth to my own little one who is now 7 months! From my own experience as a daycare teacher and as a mom I’ve learned that babies appetites are constantly changing. Once you get in a comfortable rhythm your little one might decide it’s time for more, or they might get finicky with feedings depending on all different types of things! My own baby had ups and downs when he could down an 8oz bottle one feeding and then the next he could barely finish 4oz. It could also be a comfort thing, maybe your baby wants the comfort of a bottle since they are away from you? They might also have an easier time drinking from a bottle with a faster flow.

I can also tell you that the atmosphere in a daycare is much different than at home and that can affect your child’s behavior along with their eating and sleeping schedules! Babies are typically more active at daycare with there being new toys, other children, more adults and typically more stimulation than at home, this could lead to your baby exerting themselves a little more and in turn, needing more to eat. This is the case especially in a good daycare since it means your child is getting a lot of good playtime!

Also as a mother who breastfed for the beginning of my baby’s life I can empathize with the thought of wasting breast milk, it is heartbreaking! When I worked as an infant teacher my goal was to keep all the babies in my care happy and healthy, so maybe try to have a conversation with your baby’s teachers about the situation. If you’re worried about producing enough breast milk you could think about trying to supplement with formula. I know that some moms are very against this but it’s worth thinking about! Or if you could always try offering more solid foods to supplement. Try not to judge the daycare without sitting down with them to discuss different options for your child. If they are like the teachers I have worked with then I guarantee they just want what’s best for your child just like you!