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Breastfeeding
AimeeL85
member
all kinds of bottles @ daycare questions
AimeeL85
member
DS is EBF and started daycare 2x/week last week and I don't feel like the bottles I'm sending are efficient but I'm not sure the best way to do it so I'm hoping for some advice.
It's hard to gauge what he's going to want and when because he doesn't have a set nursing schedule at home. When he nurses during the day, I always feel like he's not staying on as long as he should, so I always end up offering it to him again and again which results in him taking a little here and a little there (I'm always afraid he won't eat enough before he goes to bed at 7pm, and he STTN). However, I always put 5 oz. in any bottle I ever make him because he used to be almost completely bottle fed and back then had more consistent feedings and would polish off 4 oz.
Anyway, he is only at daycare from 9:15am to 4:45pm. Sometimes when I drop him off he will have just had a full feeding, other times will have not eaten much, other times will have nursed on and off the previous few hours. I have been sending three 5 oz. bottles. It seems like way too much, 15 oz. in less than 8 hours, and each day the last bottle came home unused. However, I noticed they would feed him a couple ounces here, a couple ounces there and I worried they were leaving the bottles out too long between offerings. Today I sent the normal amount and told them anything not finished within 90 minutes of being warmed up needs to be tossed, so today they had to use all 3 bottles simply because of the timing. He only ate 10 oz. out of 15 though, and the rest was tossed. I should mention that he won't nap at daycare (not yet anyway) so I think they constantly offer him the bottle when he fusses, even though it's often because he's tired. But since he doesn't have much of a feeding schedule at home, I can't tell them what times to feed him.
This post is turning out to be way too long - I guess my main questions are if there is a more efficient way to make the bottles, if I need to encourage full feedings instead of a little here a little there (and how), and also if I should have them not heat up his bottles so that the milk can be put back in the fridge for one more feeding instead of tossed.
TIA for any advice!
DS (7 years old) from FET in 2010
DD (5 years old) from IUI in 2012
TTC 3rd and final!: IUI #1 in progress!
DD (5 years old) from IUI in 2012
TTC 3rd and final!: IUI #1 in progress!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: all kinds of bottles @ daycare questions
My LC said that breastfed babies eat roughly an ounce per hour (and that it varies at each feeding). She said I should send 2oz bottles so that if LO wants more after that, it can be quickly prepped for her and if she doesn't finish, not a lot will be wasted. But also - as far as I know they don't have to finish a bottle of BM right away. It can sit out for a while or go back in the fridge. It's not like formula. (But I still have a lot of learning to do about this.)
I forgot to add that about how long BM is good for. I agree with pp. they can still use the unused bottle for the next feeding.
I thought if it had been refrigerated it could only stay out for 1-2 hours once warmed up. I just tried to Google this and everything says something completely different!
DD (5 years old) from IUI in 2012
TTC 3rd and final!: IUI #1 in progress!
BM can be rewarmed once & used for the following feeding. It's not like formula where the unused has to be thrown out. I'd put the unused back in the fridge instead of leaving it out since the cold will inhibit bacteria growth but you'll get varying answers on where to leave the extra BM. Don't throw it out. That's such a waste!
5 oz is a ton to send a 3 month old. The max DS ever took was 5-6 oz when he was 6ish mo old, right around when he started solids. Now he takes 2 bottles at daycare, 3-4 oz & 4-5 oz depending on how much I pump the day before. He also eats tons of table food, so the comparison is less than perfect.
DS doesn't sleep well at daycare either. It's a bummer.
Have you checked kellymom for storage guidelines? I tend to go by theirs just bc I feel that site is so spot on w their advice.
I posted this on our fridge for me and DH.
https://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html (sorry not clicky)
It really helps us to know what's still good. I would send smaller bottles so there was less waste - probably 3.5 - 4oz bottles at the most. Like PP said, 3oz would probably be plenty. You could still send 4 bottles so that way it was available if they needed it, but it wouldn't be wasted and you could recycle for the next day.
hi,
i didn't read all the posts to see if someone already put this but in childcare once a bottle has been heated or taken out of the refrig and fed to a child. it has to be tossed after an hour and can not be put back in the refrig. maybe ur state is different but that is a sanitation issue in nc. so i always advised parents to bring 4 or 5 or more if needed smaller bottles, like 2, 3, or 4 oz per bottle until we figured out they're childs routine. children rarely do what they do at home and most parents do not want to waste that milk! with him only going 2x a week it may take longer to get a routine.
i hope this helps!!!