Daycare gave my 2-month old 8oz of BM at once. Should I be miffed?

meetmow · July 2014

Backstory:

Today is day 2 of daycare (and bottles). Guessing what he might need I sent 4-4oz bottles and a note saying that bottle #4 was for "topping of" with an ounce or two if the initial 4oz bottle didn't seem like enough. His feeding schedule today was as follows:

6:00 Breastfed

9:10 4oz Bottle

11:15 4oz Bottle

2:30 4oz Bottle

3:00 4oz Bottle

The girl at pickup said "He slept a LONG time and he seemed really hungry so I gave him two bottles back-to-back. So he just had 8 ounces."

My response "WHAT?! Holy crap!"

Girl "Yeah, he ate the first bottle, seemed a little fussy so I gave him the second one and then he seemed fine."

I was so upset I just packed him up and left so I could collect myself and talk about it with her later. Now that I'm calmer, I'm double checking myself before I wreck myself. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but 8oz is way too much at once, right? I'm torn because I feel like 16 oz is an appropriate amount for the duration of the day, but getting half of it at 1 time sounds very wrong.

For the record I get 3 pumps in while I'm at work and get about 12oz. Do you think that I should maybe make bottles with a smaller volume? How would you bring it up with her (because I kind of didn't say anything and now I feel like she's going to get offended when I say something).

Any feedback would be appreciated. I'm at a loss.

Thanks!

mommatotwo2 · July 2014

Yes, that is too much at once. I'd try making four three ounce bottles and ask them not to give them closer than every 2 hours. Or make three 4 oz bottles with a 2 oz emergency bottle. Also, ask them not to feed him right before you pick up. On average, breastfed babies need an ounce per hour you are away. Babies that sttn will need a bit more.

opheliainwaders · July 2014

Yeah, I agree with PP - send 12oz, in 4 3oz bottles. Tell them to give him a bottle, and if he still seems "hungry" to wait 5-10 minutes before feeding any more. Also, download the Paced Bottle Feeding handout from Kellymom, and make them go over it with you.

mommatotwo2 · July 2014

@casey78‌ , it made me choke up a little reading what your daycare thought about you starving your sweet girl. My daycare made me feel that way too unfortunately. OP, Casey's right, daycares are not used to breastfed babies and it's really hard to explain the difference to them when they're used to seeing a 12 week old down a huge bottle of formula. Hang in there and be strong!!

vvvvvfee · July 2014

here's the link to the bottle-feeding the BF baby handout mentioned above: https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/feeding-tools/bottle-feeding/

you could also give your DCP a pacifier that they could offer to your LO if he still seems fussy after a bottle. and maybe you want to give the backup milk in frozen format- if they have 4 or 8 oz in the freezer, they would have to think a little harder about whether your LO really needed it, as opposed to just having an extra bottle ready to give to him.

BootsOrHearts · July 2014

My kid is 7 months and he's never had 8oz at once, that I can recall. He STTN and first thing in the morning he might have 5 or 6 because he hasn't eaten for so long but usually he just drinks 3-4 oz at a time. We feed him on demand, not on a schedule, so he gets as much as he wants. He just pushes off the bottle or turns his head when he's done (or more recently starts playing with the nipple). I guess BF babies may not be used to the firehose that is a bottle vs. having to work to get it from the source though, so I think it's easier to overfeed a BF baby vs. an EP'd baby. If that makes any sense.

I think what others have said is good advice!

TheAnalyticalMommy · July 2014

omg i think i'd cry if my DC did that! Yeah that's way too much!

lindseyb624 · July 2014

I agree that it's a lot, but my nanny did the same thing early on. I went back to work when LO was 4 months and there were a few times where she had a 7 oz bottle. I chatted with her and she's like I would never give her 7 right off the bat but she seemed starving so I kept giving her a little more. It freaked me out, but my ped even reassured me that if she doesn't want it she won't take it. I basically told my nanny to feed her more often but in smaller amounts which was different than she was used to because her last family formula fed. Everyone adjusted but the bigger bottle didn't hurt her and didn't make her sick or anything, so honestly maybe that day she was just super hungry. Long story short, I wouldn't be completely angry but I 'd have a chat with them.

meetmow · July 2014

Thank you, everybody! I thought that 8oz sounded like a lot, but I thought that I would just double check to make sure I wasn't going to be out of line when I tell her to never do that again.

Husband is doing drop off for the next couple of times so I might make up a quick sheet with your suggestions.

Thank you for all of your help!

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Daycare gave my 2-month old 8oz of BM at once. Should I be miffed?

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