D.C. Area Babies

how much BM to send to daycare?

Right now we send DS with four bottles to daycare - he's there 9-10 hours a day. We've upped the amounts to ~4.5-5oz, which according to kellymom should be plenty. I would say about 80% of the time, he eats all four bottles (sometimes only three). Apparently, another baby has the same bottles as DS, and whenever he sees her eating he thinks that it's his bottle and he gets upset. They end up having to take him out of the room to calm him down, so they're suggesting that we send more.

On the one hand, I of course want to make sure he has enough to eat and isn't hungry, but on the other hand I'm wondering if they just want him to have the bottle to keep him calm when maybe they should be doing something else to soothe him. (My thinking is, if he were really hungry, why would there be days when he only eats three bottles?)

Should we send more? If we send more, should we send more milk in the bottles, or more bottles overall? If we send more bottles, should they have the same amount of milk in them, or should we maybe send 5 bottles with 4 oz instead (or something like that)? (FWIW, he is not eating solids yet - I have no idea how much that will affect the equation.)

How much do you send with your LO? Ugh. I feel like this is such a guessing game . . .

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Re: how much BM to send to daycare?

  • Ooh, sorry that it's stressing DS out! I send 4 5 oz bottles as well.
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  • We only send 3 four ounce bottles for 7-3ish and that's more than what DD eats on the days she's home with me.  She is nursed right before going to daycare.  At one point DCP suggested we send more but I never did and I told them why.  They didn't push the issue.   I do provide frozen milk if she does need more in an emergency if we are late or something.

    I think you should go with your gut.

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  • even after he eats solids, his BM intake (and needs) will not change at least until 8 mo old. Sometime b/w 8 and 9 mo, he'll start taking in less BM and more solids, until that time, the solids will be in addition to his regular BM intake, not instead of.

    I don't really know about DCP and bottles but it sounds like he only wants what the other baby is having and is not really hungry. Perhaps, DCP can distract him while the other baby is eating.

  • DD is at daycare for about 10 hours too.  I BF her at 5:30, so she has her first bottle not long after she settles in at daycare.  I send 5 bottles, usually about 3 or 4 have 5 oz. and one has 4 oz (whatever I can eke out the day before plus a 4 oz bottle of formula).  Since I increased the size of the bottles (she used to get all 4 oz bottles), she'll take 4 of them about half the time and all 5 the other half.  On average she'll eat approx. 20 oz at daycare, whether it's split among 4 bottles or 5.

    I think if you're sending more bottles, I'd just split up what he's currently eating among 5 bottles instead of 4.  It sounds like he wants to eat with the other kid more than actually being hungry for more food.  (Though it took us forever to realize that DD wants more volume in her last bottle of the day, since she'll calmly stop eating once she realizes there's no more in the bottle.)

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  • I send it 4 bottles...like you, they range from 4.5-5 oz.  DS usually only eats 3, but I always send it the fourth just to be on the safe side!

    I agree with PP about seeing if they can distract him.  I wouldn't worry about upping the ounces right now.  We upped our amount from 4-5 when DCP told us that he was gulping down the milk very fast and still seemed to be hungry when he was finished and they were right.....

  • we send 4 bottles, 4-4.5 oz each to M/FIL's. I would ask them to work on distracting him better, maybe offering a pacifier (C will not take a paci if he's actually hungry, which is a test I had to teach M/FIL). Or you could send a "snack" bottle with 2 oz that you've taken out of the other four bottles.

    I think it's so easy for people to just say "send more milk" when they're not the ones hooked to a pump 3+ times a day!

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