Childcare and Bottles

ldmw

How involved is your childcare provider with bottle amounts and frequency? Our daycare provider has asked every other week for us to bring more bottles and to increase the bottle sizes. We have done this but are to the point where she doesn't need to be getting any more food. At home, she is like clockwork consistently eating the same amount every 3 hours. At school, they claim she's hungry every 2 hours and is still hungry after she finishes a bottle. I'm at a loss on what to do. I know she is more active at school, but I don't want her to have an upset tummy from eating too much. Should our daycare provider be asking us to send larger and more bottles, or should they stick to what we say?

SmrBrd2012

How much do you give them now and how much do they want? How long is she staying there? I probably wouldn't give them bigger bottles but just include an extra bottle or two just in case.

ldmw

She gets 4oz every 3 hours for a total of 24-28oz a day. She is at daycare from 7:30am-5pm. On the weekends she eats at 6/9/12/3/6/9, so she "should" only need 3 bottles at daycare. We send a 4th as an extra and she always drinks it.

I'm afraid to send a 5th bottle because she would get 20oz during the day, which is the majority of what she eats in a day and seems like a lot for daycare. That's what I thought maybe moving to 4.5oz bottles but I don't know.

I also don't know how to take daycare's comments. I'm sick of hearing about them but also know they're trying everything they can to make her happy before giving her a bottle.

jerseymommatobe

I would talk to your dr about how much your baby should be getting at this age. My baby is on the smaller side (12 lbs) and takes 6oz every 3-4 hours. I'm sure the daycare has her best interests but I understand your concern.

ldmw

We went to dr a few weeks ago because of their comments. Dr said 24oz a day. My baby is small too so has a small tummy capacity. I just don't know what to do

marijaa333

We have started working with a nanny this past week and she has been giving LO close to 20oz (of BM) during 9 hours, so we had to have a little talk today...  I usually have about 20oz in the fridge by morning but I might have to start freezing 3-4oz so she only has 16oz or so to work with.

I think it's a common problem to have caregivers overfeed babies. And they seem to insist that the baby wants it...

nursej519

How long does she sleep at night! It could be she is wanting more during the day to store up to sleep through the night.

gadelle

I'mon the other side. At the daycare, DD is eating less than she eats with me. She's there 7:15 Am to 5pm. I leave them with 12-16oz of breastmilk, when i pick her up, she still has 4-6 oz left. They claim that she does not like to eat. She finished 4-5 oz per feeding with me every 3-4hrs. They say she eats1.5_3-oz every 3hrs

jrhartobrien

Not sure if you are providing breast milk or formula. Daycare providers need to be shown how to pace a bottle feeding,especially for breastfed babies, or there is risk of over feeding. A bottle flows much faster than the breast, and baby will consume more without realizing they are full. There is a good demonstration of paced bottle feeding on YouTube and also good info on this via the La Leche League website.

My DD eats about 12 ounces a day, during the 10-11 hours I am gone during the work day, and we do 3 oz. at a time. I do provide an extrav3 oz bottle just in case, but she doesn't need the extra very often.! This is also a helpful tool in estimating how much milk baby really needs while you're apart: https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/

ldmw

She sleeps 10-12 hours a night. They do pace feeding when she's guzzling milk, but we started using the premie flow nipples and she drinks the bottles much slower now.

How often and when have you had to increase bottle sizes?

jrhartobrien

We haven't increased bottle size or nipple type. In fact I started with 3 four ounce bottles and ended up switching to 4 three ounce bottles because DD wanted to eat every two hours while I was away. Spreading out the amount into slightly smaller servings has worked for us because she is satisfied, and the nanny still has an extra bottle if needed. You know your child best, and really should be dictating to you daycare the amount of milk your baby needs. Good luck!

ldmw

Thanks ladies! It's so hard to figure out how much babies need to eat and just when we get into a routine she changes again.

We've increased bottles by 1/2oz this weekend and she's been going 4 hours between feedings now. She must be telling us it's time for a new schedule, especially since she is sleeping upwards to 12 hours a night now.

amctubagirl

A lactation consultant told me that a breastfed baby should never have a bottle bigger than 5 oz.

alliebsmith

My LO attends daycare and she drinks 5.5oz every 3 hours but they recently suggested moving her up a little because she hasn't been going 3 hours. When my LO first started she was taking 5oz every 3 hours and when they suggested moving to 5.5 I was resistant but then I started noticing at home she was going just shy of 3 hours in between and so I increased to 5.5. The way I see it, they are with my LO majority of the day and they are only trying to stick to the feeding schedule I gave them of eating every 3 hours. They try to distract her but at the same time if she's hungry and screaming I want her to eat. Also, if LO was truly full she would spit the bottle out or move her head away to get rid of it. If your LO is sucking down the whole bottle they're probably hungry. When my LO is full she turns her head back and forth and spits the bottle nipple out even if there's still formula left.

newmommy2bXo

My daughter takes 2 oz every 2 hours or 4 oz every 3 hours. It varies sometimes too..I give her 2 oz cuz sometimes she just wastes milk and doesn't finish it and you can't hVe them drink the same bottle after an hour once it hits their mouth