Need info on your experience with DC and bottles...

srlewis

Jumping to 3- to get your feedback based on your experience...

I return to work the end of January.  Our daycare requires all bottles to be premade.  At that point, my LO will be ~3.5 months when she starts daycare.  How much would a 3.5 month old drink?  Basically, how much BM should I be storing in bags?  Also, if you have a daycare that requires pre-made bottles, what's the best system you've found?  Currently, we're using Dr. Brown's bottles but I'm just concerned that I'd have to thaw the BM and to pour into the bottle and if she doesn't drink it, it' would be wasted.  Any experience with Playtex drop-ins as a bottle and/or as a storage system?   Would love to hear your experience?

TIA!

JJ1973

If you haven't already, you may want to start giving your LO bottles every once in a while - that is how we had our ballpark idea of how much he would need while at daycare. My LO takes about  4-5 oz at a time, so I freeze 5oz bags. But, my freezer stash is just for emergencies. Usually, I just use what I've pumped the day before for the next day's bottles. I take the bottles with me to work, pump 3 times at work, and store the milk in those bottles. Then, they go with LO the next day to daycare after I label them, etc. On Friday, I freeze all the extra (usually 25 oz seems average in my case). Then, I pump a few times over the weekend for Monday's bottles (in addition to breastfeeding). It has all worked pretty well and I have over 100oz stashed in the freezer now, for a rainy day.

CodyGH

We have to pre-make all our bottles too.  I know exactly how much DS will eat, though.  He always eats 5oz since we have him on a schedule and I EP so we can tell how much he's eating every single time.  Anyway, I told them that it is breast milk and that they can offer the same bottle to him within a four hour time period.  I wrote it down for them in case they needed it in writing.  So if you are able to do that, if she doesn't finish one bottle, they can start with the little bit that's left in the bottle at the next feeding.  You might have to end up wasting a little bit in the beginning, though, until you find your pattern.  I don't know it that helps, but I hope it does!

angelame1979

We make 4/6 oz bottles and usually come home with one but we usually use that by the end of the night.  How long does BM last once it's thawed?  I am not a BFer so I do not know.  If it lasts 24 hours then you could thaw it out the night before and is should be good until the next night in case she doesn't use all of it at DC.

flippy1234

I send 2 4oz bottles and 2 3oz bottles, she usually doesn't drink all of it. My daycare will offer her the bottle from the previous feeding if she doesn't finish it. I would send 4-5oz bottles at first and see how she does. My LO has never drank more than 4oz at a time.. I tried 5oz bottles and it was a waste.

GreenieTA11

DD was doing 3-4oz bottles at 3.5mo.  She JUST started 6oz this week (she's almost 5mo).

txdaisygal

You shouldn't be using frozen milk that much. Maybe every now and then, but most of the time you'll be sending to day care what you pumped the day before, so you won't need to thaw it. 

MarshMop

angelame1979:

We make 4/6 oz bottles and usually come home with one but we usually use that by the end of the night.  

This is what we send to. But our DC doesn't require them to be premade so we send water in 4 bottles and the formula powder to mix in.

Most days she only uses 3 bottles, but every once in a while she'll have the 4th. We just recently went from 5oz to 6oz bottles.

snansley

We have to send pre-made bottles as well.  DS eats three, but we always send four just in case. (We FF)

The moms that BF at our daycare sometimes send some frozen milk for emergencies.