Working Moms who BF

psychgirl33 · January 2014

Ok, I'm sure this has been asked a million times and I'm sorry if you've all answered it, but I wanted to see what you guys do. My question is: How long are you gone from LO and how much milk does he/she take? How big are the bottles?

Here's the deal: the infant teacher is kind of weird. With DD1, BFing didn't work and by the time she went to daycare at 4 1/2 months we were done trying, so she was FF so I was never worried about the size of bottle. With DD2, I'm pumping her milk and my supply is not unlimited. The teacher keeps asking to increase the size of her bottles and acting like I'm weird for wanting them to keep doing 4 oz bottles. According to the other girls in the room, DD2 is fine and doesn't seem hungry. I told them that she can eat more often if she is hungry, but I'd rather they don't increase the size of bottle. Am I crazy? Do your LOs eat a lot more than 4oz every 3 hours or so?

star328 · January 2014

I am going through the same thing as you right now! I hate it! DS has had 2.5oz bottles every 2 hours or so the 2 weeks he stayed with DH and MIL and was fine, no problems. First day of day care they said he is fussy when done with a bottle and to increase them, so I tried 3oz every 2 hours (5 bottles) or so. Now they say I should do 4oz bottles, but like you, that seems to be too much to me. I have about 10 hours between the time he last nurses to the next time. We just started daycare last week, so we really haven't figured out what to do... I'm interested in what others do. But OP, no, I don't think you're crazy!

ravenclaw1 · January 2014

Maybe they're feeding too fast? I told our DCP to pace A because she acts like she's funneling a beer at a frat party when she's on a bottle.

We do 3 oz every 2.5ish hours.

Salemkitty13 · January 2014

I'm gone 8 hours. I nurse him at the sitter's home each morning. I send 3 4oz bottles of pumped milk each day. I also sent a bottle of premixed formula in case of an emergency. Some days he eats all 3 some days he eats less, one day he just had 1 bottle. The sitter asked me about increasing bottle size and I told her exactly what you said, if he needs to eat more frequently he can. The pediatrician did not recommend increasing his bottle size at his 4 month appt last Monday. My LO will spit up if he eats a lot at one sitting. He is in the 75th percentile for weight. I don't want him to be hungry but I want to discourage over feeding.

psychgirl33 · January 2014

That's where I'm at @saelmkitty13. I don't want her to be hungry, but I don't want to overfeed either! I told the LC and she groaned when I told her they wanted to feed her more. The funny thing is, I read the board and all the other babies who drink human milk are drinking 5 oz. But I am thinking they were maybe pressured into it as well.

psychgirl33 · January 2014

My biggest concern, really, is that I don't produce 5 oz. Like ever. I don't want her tummy to start to think that 5oz is full because I'm worried she won't be satisfied at the breast.

VitaLuna · January 2014

I'm gone 14hrs and LO gets 3.5oz bottles about every 3hrs. She's 4.5mos. I'm also struggling to pump enough. Have you asked if they're doing paced feeds and how long the bottle is taking? Or what signs she's showing that she's still hungry?

psychgirl33 · January 2014

VitaLuna said:

I'm gone 14hrs and LO gets 3.5oz bottles about every 3hrs. She's 4.5mos. I'm also struggling to pump enough. Have you asked if they're doing paced feeds and how long the bottle is taking? Or what signs she's showing that she's still hungry?

I'll ask her if she brings it up again (which I'm sure she will). I'm thinking she's just crazy, though, since none of the girls working in the room said they thought she was hungry.

Tally879 · January 2014

I am not sure how big of bottles my parents give, but I usually send him with 12 oz for a 9 hour day. Some days he needs more, some days less, but 12 oz is typically what I produce. They have formula there for days that he needs more and I'm comfortable with supplementing with formula. I am trying to add an extra pump in during the day for him, but my supply has struggled recently with the return of AF.

smlowe9311 · January 2014

Our sitter gives her 4 oz every 4 hours and she seems quite happy. She is 4 months 1 day and I'm away from her roughly 9-10 hours.

Violet1372 · January 2014

Soph is 3.5 months and she will eat about 5 oz every 2-3 hours. We aren't force feeding her because she will stop eating if she doesn't want anymore (whether it is from the breast or bottle) I am in no way pumping enough to cover her while I am gone. So on days I have work she usually gets half BM half F. I have been trying to increase my supply so I can pump enough to have full BM bottles for her, but I just don't think that is going to happen.

Af1004 · January 2014

We do 3.5oz every 4 hours. Sometimes she needs it a little sooner sometimes she goes a little longer than that but average 4. I think we're kinda rare though. Most bf babies do no more that 4oz and eat every 2-3 hrs from what I've read.

blonde151188 · January 2014

I work 12 hour shifts, LO will eat 5oz, 6-7oz, and another 5. He's 4 mos.

janelleashu · January 2014

I just started increasing from 4 to 5oz. The only reason for the increase was LOs hunger level. We got dr browns big bottles. I do think I'd be confused if my daycare wanted me to increase for no reason. It is hard to get enough milk out of these tatas! But maybe they have a more formulaic method?

I pump on the way to work and two times at work. I also try to pump in the am before I leave and once at night but that depends on my laziness level and LOs eating that day. I get 15-22oz from pumping. I leave four bottles at daycare- three 5oz bottles and one 4oz. LO eats three bottles, so 14oz while at daycare from 7:15am-4:30pm.
He's almost 4 months.
Pumping is tough man!

averettgirl · January 2014

LO gets bottles on the weekend when I work Baylor shift (8 hrs Friday, 16 on Saturday and Sunday). LO eats 4-5oz every 3-4hrs. Usually I am able to pump enough at work to cover the bottles she eats while I'm gone.

aml8979 · January 2014

LO takes 3 - 5oz bottles roughly around 9am noon and 3pm. I pick him up around 5pm. He has been taking 5 oz for about 2 months now. At night I will some times have to give him an extra oz or two. I will admit that my LO is a linebacker!

sunshinern96 · January 2014

I work 12 hour shifts and DS takes 5 3 oz bottles while I'm gone. Pedi says that 15 oz of breastmilk in 12 hours is a good amount for him to eat. We have tried to increase the amount of each bottle, but bc of his reflux, he spits up if he tries to take more.

ejb23 · January 2014

My DD takes one 2oz then three 3 oz bottles. The first feeding of the day she isn't very hungry so I do a smaller bottle. Ive sent 3.5 oz and she eats that too but she seems satisfied after 3oz so why waste .5 oz if she doesn't fuss for more.

VitaLuna · January 2014

ejb23 said:
My DD takes one 2oz then three 3 oz bottles. The first feeding of the day she isn't very hungry so I do a smaller bottle. Ive sent 3.5 oz and she eats that too but she seems satisfied after 3oz so why waste .5 oz if she doesn't fuss for more.

I'm the same way. I sent 4oz, then was short one day and send 3.5oz and she was just as satisfied and went the same length of time between feeds. 0.5oz doesn't seem like a lot, but when you're sending 4 bottles, that's 2oz (which is sometimes all I get in a pump session).

LBib · January 2014

I'm away for about 8-9 hours. LO will only take a bottle when he gets super hungry and eats a 4-5oz bottle when he does finally decide to eat. I pump 8-11oz at work in two 20 minute sessions. I am generally keeping up with LO, and DH is great at pacing, but we're OK giving formula if DH ever runs out during the day.

bumpuser10024844 · January 2014

My baby takes 3-5 oz. It just depends how hungry he is. I wouldn't think you would need to increase.

renee6465 · January 2014

I have been wondering about this also. I haven't had a problem with him still being hungry, I have just wondered how much other BF babies are drinking. Right now we do 3 oz bottles every couple hours or so, maybe two and a half. What I am wondering is when he starts wanting more, how is my body going to know since I am pumping when I am at work and not nursing? Will it just figure it out from the time we do have together?

kirstenviola · January 2014

My daughter takes about 3 or 3.5 oz every two hours while she's at daycare. But I leave a few bags of frozen milk in their freezer just in case.

thedash · January 2014

She eats a lot during the day because she sttn. I send 4 bottles with 3 oz and then she gets one 4 oz bottle of formula. That's from about 8 am to 4:30 pm.

Skalbrecht · January 2014

I'm gone about 12 hours typically. I feed her right before I leave and every ~4 hours she takes 5-6 oz breast milk from a bottle.

VitaLuna · January 2014

renee6465 said:
I have been wondering about this also. I haven't had a problem with him still being hungry, I have just wondered how much other BF babies are drinking. Right now we do 3 oz bottles every couple hours or so, maybe two and a half. What I am wondering is when he starts wanting more, how is my body going to know since I am pumping when I am at work and not nursing? Will it just figure it out from the time we do have together?

The calorie content of BM increases as baby gets older.. So, in theory, you don't necessarily have to increase the amount ever. With that said, a lot of people increase as baby gets older (seems like the average max is around 5oz). I think your body would get used to baby eating that increased amount at breast, so you'd be able to get that when pumping.

kje120 · January 2014

Yesterday Elliot had an 8 oz bottle at 10:30 (she gave him 4 oz and he wanted more so she did another bottle and he finished it all), 4 oz at 1:30 and 4 oz at 4:45. He's there from 7:30 to 5:30.

I send four 4 oz bottles every day. He doesn't always go through it all, but some days he does. If he sleeps more at night I feel like he needs to eat more during the day.

magdalina.h · January 2014

I drop them off around 7:30 and pick them up around 5:20. She takes 4 4oz bottles during that time. I send 5 bottles. I wish my MIL would hold off on the last bottle because she eats at 5, I just want to nurse her when I get home, but I can't.

Want a personalized experience?

Working Moms who BF

Re: Working Moms who BF

Choose Another Board

Search Boards