How much milk to send to daycare?

DelRayMom2Be

When she started daycare at about 3 and a half months old, my daughter would drink 3 5 oz bottles of breastmilk. I would send a fourth but she never drank it. Last week they asked us to send 6 oz bottles, saying she didn't seem satisfied with the 4.5 to 5 oz bottles. This week they are asking us to send a fourth bottle. My question is, does 24oz in 8-9 hours seem like a lot for a 4 and a half month old?

Sofka

it depends - does she still wake up to nurse in the middle of the night? if she's sleeping 8-12 hrs a night, then 24oz in 8-9hrs seems normal. But if she's nursing another 5-6 times, it maybe seem a lot but babies (especially eBFed babies) can regulate their intake and needs. You can't overfeed a breastfed baby IMO

Maybe just make sure that she really needs more milk, and is not just in need of some comfort/sucking

HikerBride07

Sounds like a lot to me but as pp said, it depends. Also, even though you can't overfeed a BF'd baby, I never liked the fact that daycare would "encourage" DD to take a full bottle at specific intervals.  I prefer to feed on demand so she can have as little or as much as she wants even though that's not the most practical in the daycare setting.

 FWIW, we have never given daycare anything more than 4oz bottles even when they said they needed more.  I know how much my DD eats and always sent bottles based on that.  We started out with four 4 oz bottles (they had frozen BM just in case DD needed more or if there was an emergency and we were late).  I always ended up picking her up right around when they were about to give her the 4th so I started sending only 3.  That was around 6 months when we started solids too though.

eeclem

It depends on how much she is eating at home, but yes, I think that's kind of a lot. C takes 16-18 oz during the day and has since he was 3 mos.  I would encourage DCP to try other things, like offering her a pacifier rather than just upping the bottles. Or, you could send a small (like 2 oz) snack bottle in addition to the ones you're already sending. Does DCP know that most bfed babies don't increase their milk consumption after the first few months?

I think it's super easy for the people that aren't hooked up to a pump all day to say "Just send more milk!".  And it seems like it has the potential to become a downward spiral where you don't think you're producing enough and start to supplement, when you may not have to.

QueSrah

I don't think it's all *that* much for some kids.  DD gets four 5 oz. bottles and this morning our DCP suggested I put a little more in the bottles.  I don't think it's just a "let's quiet the kid with a bottle" situation, because I see how eagerly she sucks down a 6 or 7 oz. bottle around 6 pm.  I've noticed that DD is drinking incrementally more (and I've been pumping an "extra" ounce or two beyond what I need for daycare the last few days to match it), and I think she's also getting to the point of needing solid food to help with the hungries.

You could try slowly ramping up the bottles (go to all 5 or 5.5 oz. to start with) to see if that meets your LO's needs, or just do four smaller bottles.  It seems like a lot to all of a sudden go from three bottles totaling maybe 15 oz. to four bottles totaling 24 oz.  But if she's starting to eat less at night and sleep more (what I wish DD would do!), that could be why she wants to eat more during the day.

tomandcourt

I posted about this a month or so ago! My DCP kept pressing me to send more milk (I was sending 4 4-oz bottles at the time, I think). I'm now sending 4 5-oz bottles, for ~9 hours at daycare. DS also nurses three other times during the day (7 feedings total) and my pediatrician said that 20oz at daycare was plenty.

How old is your LO now? You might start sending some solids. That has helped us. And like pp said, she might just need a distraction. My DS gets jealous of other babies when he sees them eating (they use the same bottles), but I know he's not hungry. He just sees "his" bottles and gets mad. So now they take him in another room or feed him solids and he's fine.

Don't let them pressure you! If you're really concerned, talk to your pediatrician.

Artslvr

I don't think that sounds like a lot.  I always brought four bottles, the fourth being a sort of "just in case bottle."  Typically my girls only drank 3 of them, but if we ran late picking up they might need it, or if DCP heated one up but then LO didn't drink it, it had to be tossed, it's nice to have that fourth one as a back up.

LindseyJW

i'll also offer that she might be going through a growth spurt, explaining the sudden need for additional milk.

Hey Jellisy

I never gave DD bottles larger than 5 oz.  Partly because I just used the Medela pumping bottles and they held, 5 ozs, but partly because I was worried that her DCP was asking for more for the wrong reasons.  DD started off with 3 4oz bottles and some frozen BM for an emergency and we moved up to 3 5 oz bottles as time got on. I sometimes sent a snack bottle if I pumped more than I needed the day before.  This was usually 2 oz. If I sent it, she usually had ti in the late afternoon before I picked her up.   

DelRayMom2Be

Thanks for the help. She is 4 and a half months right now. We plan to start trying some rice cereal in the next few weeks. As for her other feedings, she sometimes wakes up around 5:30 so I feed her a "snack" then. Then she gets fed again around 7:30 or 8, before daycare. She is at daycare from 8:30 until 5. Then I usually feed her at 6 or 6:30, and again before bed, around 9 or 9:30. While we are at home, we do more of a feed on demand schedule rather than strict every 2.5 or 3 hours. Also, she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night for feedings anymore, just the early morning 5:30 snack. Maybe eating more during the day will help her sleep a bit later and just have a regular feeding at 7:30.

 I am very worried that sending more will put pressure on me to pump more and cause me to think my supply has gone down or is having trouble. I just don't want the added pressure or anxiety. But at the same time, I want to make sure she isn't hungry.

QueSrah

DelRayMom2Be:

 

 I am very worried that sending more will put pressure on me to pump more and cause me to think my supply has gone down or is having trouble. I just don't want the added pressure or anxiety. But at the same time, I want to make sure she isn't hungry.

I have had to supplement with formula since the beginning - a bottle per day, no matter how much I've managed to increase my supply.  I'd rather make sure DD is getting the nutrition she needs than worry about exclusively BFing.  For me, adding some formula was a good way to lower my stress, since it's one thing I have some control over. 

jendonnelly10670

I usually send 4- 5oz bottles also, and have questioned my DCP when she told me to make them 7oz because DS still seemed hungry.  I know my DS and sometimes he just likes to suck and not necessarily eat.