Daycare bottles and starting formula

SusieBW

I think I just want to know what others do as far as sending bottles to daycare for LO.  I just started back to work (Monday-Wednesday) last week, and also just started introducing formula last week and I'm just curious about others and looking to talk it out.  Do you make all the bottles in the mornings, or just send powdered formula and have them mix when its time to feed?  DD is with DH's aunt some days and with a friend others, so not at a regular daycare, and I can probably send whatever I want, I'm just not sure what's best/easiest.

Until last week, LO was only on BM.  I sent three 5 oz bottles of BM with her in the mornings, but she only ate 2 both days. I will continue sending three bottles, just in case we're ever late to get her and she needs to eat again.  If she doesn't take the third one during the day, we just give her that one when we get home.  I only nurse first thing in the morning, because I'm not producing enough for a full feeding during the day anymore and I would have to supplement anyway, so it's easier to just give bottles and pump the rest of the day.

Last Thursday, I started introducing formula, and she's doing great on it.  Over the weekend she mostly had mixed bottles (3 oz BM and 2 oz premade liquid formula), and I want to keep that up.  We have a bunch of the premade formula left that we got as samples from the hospital (ten 8-pack boxes of it!).  So today, I sent three mixed bottles with LO, and I'll probably keep doing that until we run out of the liquid formula and have to switch to powder.

When we switch to powder, should I just mix enough formula for all the bottles in the morning, and then mix it with BM and send the bottles all made to day care with her?  I feel like as long as were giving her 1/2 and 1/2, it's easier for the folks watching her if I make the bottles at home, right?  And once I run out of my BM stash and have to start doing straight powder, I might still just mix them in the mornings for them, but it's probably just as easy to send the little pre-measured powdered formula container (the one with the three little compartments).  Just wondering what everyone else does.

Also, for those that have transitioned from BM to FF (sorry this is turning into a novel), how did you go about introducing formula?  We started by giving her 1/2 a bottle of BM and 1/2 a bottle of straight formula at one feeding on Thursday, and then tried mixing 3oz BM:2oz formula at the next feeding.  Then we continued with two mixed bottles/day (with the rest of the day just BM) for about 4 days, and starting today I'm only nursing in the morning, and she's going to get mixed bottles the rest of the day.  In another week or so, I think I'll switch the proportion so she's getting mostly formula with a little BM in each bottle, and then will probably continue that until I'm about run out of BM, and then I'll start with one bottle a day of straight formula, increasing every couple of days until she's EFF.  I'm still pumping, but only til early February (that's a whole other post).

Anyway, thanks!

Jcraul

We supplemented with formula.  Or it started out that way.  No DD gets one bottle of BM & nurse at bed time.  I mix all my bottles for day care the night before.  I try to do as much before bed as I can so our morning go smoothly.

I have a supply issue so as LO grew and got bigger and my milk did not change she got more Formula.  I'm backing off on my pumping and have been since she turned 3 months.  I should be done pumping and BF by the end of the month.  Once the greezer stash is gone baby will be getting all formula.  We've been using Enfimal and have had no issue.  But I've never mixed it either.

shelley1002

I can't help on the BM to FF since I have only FF.

I send 4 - 7oz prepared/mixed bottles to daycare every dat.  I mix them every morning.  She will not prepare bottles even if you send the powder all premeasured for each bottle and the bottles are prefilled with water.  LO normally only eats 2 of them while there.  I then use the other 2 for his evening bottles.

I will be cutting it back to 3 bottles in the next week or 2 after we hopefully start on solids and I see how his eating is with that changes.  I do like having an extra for "just-in-case".

linzica

Your kids only take 2 or 3 bottles during the work day? My kid takes at least five 5-6 oz bottles. He eats every 1.5 -2 hours and we're out of the house for at least ten hours.

mrsmikey

I am in the process of weaning right now, and DD is on mostly formula at this point.  She never had any trouble taking formula, the first time i gave it to her it was an entire bottle of just formula and she drank it right up.  So I don't bother mixing it with BM.

I just took however much BM I had and made as many bottles as I could, and then made the rest with formula.  That usually meant one bottle was half in half (or some ratio).  But it was easiest for me to just make them all up the night before and send to daycare.  They will mix them for me, but I like mixing formula in a seperate container first and then pouring into bottles, to get the air out.

SusieBW

linzica:

Your kids only take 2 or 3 bottles during the work day? My kid takes at least five 5-6 oz bottles. He eats every 1.5 -2 hours and we're out of the house for at least ten hours.

DD only eats a total of four or five times a day.  First thing in the morning, I nurse, so I don't know exactly how much she gets, but then she eats every 3-4 hours, and all bottles are 5 oz.  Sometimes I wonder if she's getting enough, but past experience tells me that she would let us know if she was still hungry after a bottle.

solsburyhill

I BF but I do see at DS's daycare in the kitchen area there are cans of formula labeled with names so they are mixing the bottles at daycare.

shelley1002

linzica:

Your kids only take 2 or 3 bottles during the work day? My kid takes at least five 5-6 oz bottles. He eats every 1.5 -2 hours and we're out of the house for at least ten hours.

Here's a normal week day for my LO:
6 or 7oz when he wakes up between 6am and 7:30am, 
6 or 7oz between 10am and 11am, 
6 or 7oz around 2pm,
7oz between 5:30pm and 6:30pm, 
6 or 7 oz between 8 and 9pm. Then he goes to bed and usually STTN. 

Occasionally he'll take 4 to 6 oz once during the night but those nights are becoming further apart now that he's STTN a lot more frequently but I always have 1 ready and in the cooler part of the bottle warmer.  If he doesn't eat it overnight it's his first bottle when he wakes up.