Bottles for daycare (amount)

dmathis10

DS started daycare November 5. I was sending 3 4oz bottles with a slow flow nipple at first. At the end of last week, his teacher told me that he was getting frustrated with the slow flow nipples and suggested going to a medium flow. I did this, even though I know a lot of breastfeeding moms always use a slow flow nipple. One reason I did it was that it took DS FORTY minutes to finish a bottle one day, and he can nurse in 15-20 mins. She also suggested that I send 2 4oz bottles and 1 5oz bottle for the first bottle of the day because he always seemed to want more. I have done that because it was only one extra ounce.

Today, his teacher recommended that I send 3 5oz bottles because he seems to want more when he only eats 4oz. It is taking him approx 15 mins to take a bottle.

Does it seem like they might be wanting to overfeed? I know kellymom says EBF babies eat 19-30 oz/day.  DS eats 6 times a day so if I'm sending 3 5oz bottles, that would put him at approx 30 oz/day if he were to eat 5 oz 6 times a day. I realize that he might take more or less when he nurses 3 times a day, though.  DS is a little chunker and is in the ninety-something percentile for weight if that matters. He is at daycare from 7:15 until 5:00 most days and is fed three times.

Also, I wanted to add that I asked her what the other babies eat, all of whom are older than DS (he is 3 mos old and most of the babies are 5 or 6 mos old). She told me that some of them are at 3 7oz bottles per day...  Is that normal??

jlsimon56

I think they want what's best for your LO ultimately.  But I don't think more BM is right.  My daycare kept saying MORE MORE MORE and I finally put my foot down and guess what, LO did fine.  However, all LOs are different. 

I would see if you can send more bottles with less in them?  Try doing four 4oz bottles - that is 16oz total - so it's more than three 5oz bottles.  BUT it won't stretch out your LO's belly, making him think he needs to fill it to feel satiated. 

The older babies who are taking 7oz bottles are probably formula bottles or part formula bottles.  Formula has the same amount of calories, so they need more and more as they get older.  BM changes and becomes more calorie-rich, so there's no need to increase amounts.  I found that my daycare didn't care about BM or formula, they treated all bottles the same.  So when one baby is getting half what another baby is getting....they think it's not enough. 

It's just.....he only started daycare a few weeks ago.  And he's suddenly hungrier?  I mean, YES it can be more stimulating and perhaps he's not napping as well....my guess is, he's cranky and they know that feeding will make him happy, you know?

huskymomma94

I send three 5 oz bottles with my DS. He's a thirsty guy! haha. I started at 4 oz and it just slowly increased to 5 somehow. He also eats 6x/day, but nurses 3 of those times so I don't know if he is getting 5 oz each time then, too. Do you pump enough to send 5 oz bottles? If so, I would try it and see how he is. If its too much, he will refuse it or spit up a lot.

dmathis10

More info:  I nurse DS at 6:30, he usually takes bottles at daycare at 10:00, 1:00 and 4:00 then nurses around 6:30 or 7 before bedtime (he also has a 3:30 MOTN feeding). On weekends, I nurse on demand.  But he still eats only 6 times per day around those same times.

I'm not sure if the 7oz bottles for other children are BM or formula. Maybe that's the difference.

I DO pump enough to take 3 5oz (or 4 4oz) bottles if needed.  I pump 17-20 oz/day and also have a couple hundred oz frozen.

 DS doesn't nap well at all at daycare.  He catnaps 10-15 mins here and there throughout the day. Last week, he took two 1 hour naps during the day one day - very unusual. So, it may be that he knows when his bottle is done, he isn't going to be held much longer?? I might also suggest they give him a paci once he finishes the bottle because he does like to comfort suck.

huskymomma94

dmathis10:

More info:  I nurse DS at 6:30, he usually takes bottles at daycare at 10:00, 1:00 and 4:00 then nurses around 6:30 or 7 before bedtime (he also has a 3:30 MOTN feeding). On weekends, I nurse on demand.  But he still eats only 6 times per day around those same times.

I'm not sure if the 7oz bottles for other children are BM or formula. Maybe that's the difference.

I DO pump enough to take 3 5oz (or 4 4oz) bottles if needed.  I pump 17-20 oz/day and also have a couple hundred oz frozen.

 DS doesn't nap well at all at daycare.  He catnaps 10-15 mins here and there throughout the day. Last week, he took two 1 hour naps during the day one day - very unusual.

Your schedule sounds pretty similar to mine! I would try the 3 5 oz bottles and see what happens--he could just be that hungry, especially if he is not really napping.

dmathis10

huskymomma94:

I send three 5 oz bottles with my DS. He's a thirsty guy! haha. I started at 4 oz and it just slowly increased to 5 somehow. He also eats 6x/day, but nurses 3 of those times so I don't know if he is getting 5 oz each time then, too. Do you pump enough to send 5 oz bottles? If so, I would try it and see how he is. If its too much, he will refuse it or spit up a lot.

Is this true for most babies?

jlsimon56

dmathis10:

huskymomma94:

I send three 5 oz bottles with my DS. He's a thirsty guy! haha. I started at 4 oz and it just slowly increased to 5 somehow. He also eats 6x/day, but nurses 3 of those times so I don't know if he is getting 5 oz each time then, too. Do you pump enough to send 5 oz bottles? If so, I would try it and see how he is. If its too much, he will refuse it or spit up a lot.

Is this true for most babies?

It's supposed to be but my LO literally never spit up.  So...who knows.  But yes, in theory....BF babies who get bottles and get too much from the bottle will spit up whatever they didn't mean to eat.  Overtime, if baby continues to get too much via the bottle, he will be able to keep more and more down, even though he doesn't NEED it. 

Ladiebug710

When he started Daycare at 8 weeks I sent 5 2.5 ounce bottles- he usually at 4.  Over the past few weeks I increased it to four 3 oz, and then 4oz.  So now I send four 4 ounce bottles and depending how long he is there he eats 2 or 3 of them. 

dmathis10

Ladiebug710:

When he started Daycare at 8 weeks I sent 5 2.5 ounce bottles- he usually at 4.  Over the past few weeks I increased it to four 3 oz, and then 4oz.  So now I send four 4 ounce bottles and depending how long he is there he eats 2 or 3 of them. 

Thanks for that info. Our DS's were born on the same day!

blu-eyedwife

I don't know if this is your problem, but my guy always ate more at daycare.  Mostly because if he saw another baby getting a bottle, he demanded one too.  Since they're all on different schedules, that meant he was eating more frequently than at home.  I ended up sending him with extra bottles, but less in them.  So instead of 3 4oz bottles (which should have worked since he nursed 2-3 times during that period while at home), I sent him in with 4 3-oz bottles.