XP: daycare and bottles of EBM

flamencogal

DS is going to start a new daycare next week that is more convenient location wise for us. ?At his current center, he can start a bottle of breastmilk and finish it whenever like we do here at home since breastmilk is good at room temp for hours. ?We went to his new center today to meet his teachers, etc. and we were told that they only allow bottles (formula or breastmilk) to be out for 1 hour--after an hour, they dump it! ?I wanted to cry!!!--I do not want to have ounces and ounces of breastmilk dumped every day!

Has anyone else dealt with this issue? ?DS generally takes about 6 oz every 3 hours but sometimes he's hungry in 2 hours but won't take 6 oz. ?So, I'm thinking about sending a lot of 3 oz bottles? I'm not sure what else to do. ?We love everything about this center so far except this issue. It just kills me to think of my breastmilk going to waste, especially since I have been pumping all of it for him this long (EPer)!

?BTW--the center says they have to toss after 1 hour to maintain their 5 star status--I'm thinking, really??

ECUGirl2004

My daycare does the same thing.  I never questioned it b/c my understanding is that once a baby starts a bottle, they need to finish it with the next feeding or it needs to be dumped. 

I definitely recommend sending smaller bottles.  That's the reason why I have never used larger than 4 oz bottles for Nate... I just can't handle the idea of that waste. 

Another recommendation is that you send 3 smaller bottles (or 4, if that is what DS will take) and then 1 back-up bottle.  Ask your daycare if they can pour milk OUT of the back-up bottle INTO the bottle that he just finished if he's still hungry.  That way they can give him just 2-3 more oz if that's what he needs.  And that bottle is still being used within an hour, while keeping your back-up bottle sterile for re-use later if they need it.

If they aren't open to doing that, then I would send several smaller bottles and hope for the best.

MrsJones2005

Everything I have ever read says that once a bottle has been started (whether formula or breastmilk) it has to be eaten within 1 hour or thrown out. ?Something about once the baby's mouth touches the nipple, the bacteria from his mouth gets in the bottle and can cause bacteria in his bottle to grow, therefore making it unsanitary to eat after an hour. ?Breastmilk is ok at room temperature for up to 10 hours, as long as the baby has not started drinking it.

My suggestion would be to send some 6 ounce bottles and some 3 oz bottles with the instructions if he wants to eat sooner then 3 hours to give him a smaller bottle.

Sorry ?

flamencogal

I guess I'll do the 3 oz bottle idea with a few 6 oz if it's been 3 or more hours. ?I seriously have never heard the 1 hour rule for bottles of breastmilk--even the NICU nurses didn't say anything about it. ?We obviously don't let him drink milk that's been out for hours on end, but if he doesn't finish a bottle at home, we let him have it within the next 2 hours or so. ?Sometimes it's more than 1 hour but never more than 2 1/2 hours. ?Hmmmm. ?Well, it's good to know that it's not some crazy rule and that others deal with this too.

MRSGOLABONTE

wow, we were putting unfinished bottles in the fridge for a later feeding.

MrsHughesNC

I think that rule is just for daycares, not necessarily for home use... I think it's just a state mandated thing for sanitation reasons..

mrsmikey

I've always heard/read/been told that a bottle is no longer good after one hour once the baby has started drinking, whether it's formula or BM.  Our daycare follows the same rules.  That's how they did things in the NICU too.  So I would suggest smaller bottles too, if he often doesn't finish a feeding.  Sorry!

jenhum

I looked it up on kellymom (mainly to make myself feel better b/c we always re-used BM bottles), and they say it's fine to re-use a BM bottle, even unrefrigerated for 6-8 hours.

https://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/reusing-expressedmilk.html

But that stinks that daycare wants to throw the milk away! I think you should definitely send smaller bottles. Shoot, I'd probably send 2 oz bottles, but I was crazy about not wasting any BM!