First daycare day has me MORE confused...

kjsmith9

LO went to daycare for the first time today... She was there from 830am until 2pm. I told the teacher before I left that I brought 4 2oz bottles and 2 1oz bottles as backup in case she still seemed hungry after feeding. I get home and find that she ate a 2oz bottle and both 1oz bottles... And that's it! I don't know if she forgot that there were different sizes and accidentally grabbed the 1oz bottles or what. LO was screaming by the time we got home... I gave her one of the leftover 2oz bottles from daycare and then she nursed for 15 minutes. It seemed like she was starving!

Is it normal for babies to eat a little less during the day while they're adjusting to daycare? She loves to eat and I expected her to polish off almost all the milk I left... Do I need to tell the teacher to feed her more often? She typically nurses every 1.75 to 2 hours at home...

Now I REALLY don't know how much milk to send on Monday when she starts full time... Ugh, I'm so confused.

DottyBlue

Definitely talk to your daycare provider.  They need to pay attention to how much and how often they are feeding her.

It is possible for babies to reverse cycle (eat less during the day and more at night) when going to daycare, but if your DD was screaming with hunger when you picked her up, I doubt that is what's going on.

If you are in a center, I would speak with the director if the teacher is defensive or gives you a hard time.

ssmb_clarinet

The general recommendation is approx 1oz per hour you are going to be gone...that being said I am gone from my LO for 10 hours a day and she eats 15oz. She is a major eater though! If she is not sleeping or crying she is eating. Hope that helps. It really is trial and error. Also, make sure daycare knows how to feed her like a BF baby (propped up, burp halfway, switch sides, burp when done). BF babies tend to eat more than their fill if they are on their backs because the milk doesn't regulate as well and they don't know how to stop the flow like they do when nursing.

EMOmamma

Aw, it'll be ok!

Maybe send a specific schedule for Monday - like 9am=2oz, 11am=2oz, 1pm=2oz and just send 1 extra 2oz instead.  Tell her if not to wake her if she's napping at those times though and to offer the extra no sooner than 15min after a bottle if she's still acting hungry.  

By the end of the week I bet she'll be used to her and have a routine worked out. 

Ziegeficker

I have heard of babies who eat just enough to stave off hunger and then save themselves for the breast...but it sounds like it's probably something you could rectify directly with your daycare provider.  They probably messed up a bit.  I would give them the benefit of the doubt and just talk to them.

PaMommy02

Next time you drop LO off at daycare CLEARY specify you want them to offer a 2 oz bottle every 2 hours (or what ever you want LO to eat). It was only the first day but I woud be upset over this too. I wouldnt start any trouble just yet, maybe the teacher just misunderstood you. Even if you LO doesnt eat much because of being away from you, they should still be offering the bottle. GL!

kjsmith9

AmyG:

don't make it so difficult! call tomorrow and ask why she gave the 1 oz instead of the 2oz.
she may say oops
she may have some other explanation that makes sense.
if she says oops, then well I'd probably make a bigger deal out of it, cause you don't want baby to starve due to the caregivers oversight.
but it could be that as soon as baby saw you they started screaming and they'd been holding out and refusing to eat so they figured why use a 2 oz bottle if baby isn't really acting like they'd eat.nbsp; lots of possible explanations.
I would probably leave a suggested schedule based on what baby usually does at home.nbsp;nbsp; so if she usually eats at 9 and 11:30 and 2, then say that and provide a bottle for those times.nbsp;
nbsp;
Also ask if the bottles have to be prepared ahead of time, and if you can leave an ounce or two or three in the freezer, or in a bigger bottle they can pour out of to top her off if she wants more or what their policies really are.
it will be ok, the first week will be the hardest.

She asked what schedule I wanted LO to eat on, and I told her I still feed on demand and she typically eats every 1.75 to 2 hours during the day... But I said if she seems fussy and hungry after an hour she could offer then as well. She doesn't really have typical times of eating during the day yet, so I don't really know what to tell her.

Daycare doesn't allow breast milk in the freezer... I already asked because I, too, thought that would be a good solution. And all the bottles have to be prepared before we get there... They basically aren't allowed to take the tops off the bottles at all.

kjsmith9

AmyG*:

Then I'd probably tell them to offer 2 oz every 2 hours, numbering them in order to be used.  Tell them they can give 15 min or half hour earlier if necessary. leave enough for that number of feedings, figuring they may go as often as every 1.5 hour instead of 2 hours.  Tell them you want them to write down exactly what time they feed the bottle and how much/fast baby takes the milk.  if there is a bottle leftover at the end of the day send that as bottle number 1 for the next day.

 

  see how that goes on the next day.  if it is still a struggle, then sit down with the provider and find out where the disconnect is.  is baby fussing too soon or not fussing or baby knawing on hands quietly and provider is looking for crying babies?

 

otherwise we are just guessing, aren't we?

your baby may end up more scheduled at daycare than she would be at home, but that's ok.  if they say she was hungry before it was time, you can find out how good they are, if they feed baby based on when baby shows hunger signs, or if they ignore her, or give her a pacifier or what they do, eh?

toss in a request for number of diaper changes and naps and such too so you can get a feel for what is happening in her day.

can you take her back for a little while tomorrow so you can talk to the provider and see how they interact? and give them pointers that when she acts like this it means shes hungry but when she does this she needs to burp or nap.

 

 

Thanks for the advice!  They do write down feeding, diaper, and changing times, but didn't write down how many ounces she took... So I think I'll ask them to do that.  It'll definitely help me decide how much to send so I'm not wasting milk every day.

Unfortunately I can't take her back today.  And DH is the one who will be taking her (and I'm picking her up) every day.  I think I might just write her a quick note and tell DH to give it to her, because I don't think he'll remember everything I want to point out.  And then I can talk to her on Monday afternoon when I pick her up.

I work both days this weekend and LO will be with DH all day both days.  I'm hoping that it will give me a better idea of how much she really eats when I'm gone all day... I'm going to tell him to keep track of how much she eats and when, and use that to plan for Monday I suppose.