Nanny giving over 20oz in 9 hours

marijaa333

My son's nanny has been giving him 18-23oz of breast milk in the 9 hours she is with him. I nurse right before leaving, as soon as I get home, and three times during the night. 

Is she overfeeding him or is it possible that he needs that much in one third of a 24-hour period?

jerseymommatobe

I personally think that's a lot. I give my ds 6oz every 3-4 hours so anything more then 18oz is a lot to me for 9 hours

cee209230

DD guzzles down a bunch from a bottle. I just heard about 'pace feeding' which totally makes sense. BF babies will act as if they're still hungry but it's only because they're used to suckling longer & working for it. Does she know about this or do this?

Sunshine4020

Your nanny is absolutely over feeding.

rklinge0

It may depend on how much your lo eats before work and after. And when your ds eats his big meals. My lo eats a lot for breakfast at 10 and a lot for dinner at 6, so she could easily take 18 oz in 8 hrs. She only snacks during the night which would give us 26 oz for the day.
But some babies will not stop if they are full so that may be the problem.

ldmw

I think that's fine, as long as baby is eating once before nanny comes and once after nanny leaves.

marijaa333

Thanks all! I tend to think up to 18oz is fine but 23 seems like much too much for 9 hours.  But then, I have no clue how much he eats from the breast...  He eats at least four more times in the remaining hours (evening, morning and 2-3x overnight), so I assume he gets a minimum of 12oz and most likely more, on top of whatever she gives.

chrissyl-2

My little guy eats about 25 oz in 9 hours most days I'm at work. He is ebf. He will nurse 3-4 times a day before/after work in addition to the 4-5 5oz bottles he takes at the sitters. Ohh and he does do some solids as well. So I don't personally think it's too much.

mars8k

How about weekends? Does lo drink as much with you?

Seems to me like she uses milk to stop lo from fussing

marijaa333

Great point! No, normally I have around 5oz extra per day to freeze, whereas yesterday there was not only nothing left over but she had thawed a bag from the freezer.  So I'm guessing that he eats 5-10oz less with me over the weekends than he does with her.

I talked to her this morning and she said she understood my concern. Miracle of miracles, LO only ate 13oz today during his day with her, and was content and happy when I got home... 

laceybee29

My daughter who is formula fed takes 30-35oz between 6am-7pm (6-7oz per feed 5 feeds per day) according to the guide on the formula packaging this is correct for her weight. She sleeps through from 7:30-6 so no night feed. I'm expecting by time she is 6 months this will increase. She is 20 weeks now and weighed 16lb 5oz at 19 weeks. Every baby is difference tho & I'm sure your little one would cry if still hungry or be sick if takes too much

marijaa333

@laceybee29 Thanks! I've always been a bit suspicious that breastfed babies don't need to increase the amount of milk they drink while formula fed babies do. It makes no sense (and if anything, I think my milk is now more watery than it used to be, and he drinks more now than he did, say, two months ago).

mrsmdjbetti

My LO eats at least 24oz a day ( 3 eight oz bottles) in between he also has solids

Sammadden27

@marijaa333 you should not be suspicious about breastfed babies not needing to increase the amount of milk versus formula fed needing to. The difference is that your body is always going to produce exactly what the baby needs nutrient wise whereas formula has the same make up every time. When your baby breastfeeds, your nipple becomes like a vacuum taking in the baby's saliva that tells your body what the baby needs. Our bodies are so amazing. I'll try to find the literature my lactation consultant gave me on this subject, but you might want to consider an appointment with one.
Also something else you can do is have your nanny text every time the baby had a bottle so you can pump each time. If you stimulate the breast every time your baby has a bottle. You are more likely to produce what the baby needs and not have to dip into the freezer stash.

marijaa333

@sammaden27 I'd love to see some scientific literature about this saliva-nipple communication you mention. It sounds a bit too good to be true. (Also, what about moms who are exclusively pumping? Or moms who have an infant and a toddler with presumably different nutritional needs?) In the first two months, we were frequent visitors to our awesome lactation clinic, but once we finally resolved a tongue-tie, lip tie and reflux, and got into the swing of nursing things, I haven't been back. They are real life savers! And that's a good suggestion about texting. Alas, I can't pump on-demand at work the way I can breastfeed bebe when I'm home... But so far I'm pumping enough milk, that's not the issue; the issue is that I wasn't sure whether she was responding to baby's cues or just using the bottle to manage his fussing, which is totally normal baby behavior.

Sammadden27

@marijaa333 there's an article published in August on thestranger.com called The more I learn about breast milk, the more amazed I am. It's an amazing read. I'll try to figure out how to post it here. Definitely not too good to be true! Our bodies are amazing and have been doing this breastfeeding thing since the dawn of time. Our bodies know way more than we think they do.

marijaa333

Found it - https://www.thestranger.com/features/feature/2015/08/26/22755273/the-more-i-learn-about-breast-milk-the-more-amazed-i-am Thanks @sammadden27!

Sammadden27

Yes! My family knocks breastfeeding all the time. I feel like all I do is research the subject so I have all the knowledge I need to combat their negative comments.

jesshowland

What a great read! Thanks for posting this article! It's giving me the motivation to continue!!