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happymom 03:31 PM 11-30-2015
My 7 week old has been in daycare for two weeks now. I send him 3 prepared bottles of about 3ish oz pumped milk each day, so all daycare has to do is warm and feed.

The breastfeeding guidelines say he should have 1-1.25oz of breastmilk for each hour he is away, so I have been sending the low end of that (9oz for 8.5 hours) --- he is dropped off with a full belly and he nurses as soon as we get home.

I take the bottles home and wash/refill each day. 4 out of his 7 days in care so far he was sent home full bottle that he was never offered. These days he has only had 6oz of milk. He is sleeping through his morning (10:30am) feeding and not being fed until 12pm (I drop off at 8:30), and only 1 day so far he has drank all of the milk I have sent. I'd rather send too much milk than not enough.

The daycare uses a form that asks how many oz to feed him (3oz), how many hours between feedings (2-3hrs) and whether to wake him from a nap to feed him (no). My daycare is super accomodating and will really do any kind of feeding requests (within reason I'm sure).

So I know it's a parental discression thing, but should I change his chart so that he will be awoken to eat in the morning or just let him be and if he only finishes 6oz so-be-it? I'm sure he'd let them know if he was over hungry....right?

He's not a typical 1 month old either. He is awake long stretches and sleeps long stretches. It's not uncommon for him to sleep or be awake for a 5-7 hour stretch. I just don't know whether to trust my gut or trust what the breastfeeding sources say....also my mom and mom friends are appauled that he isn't being fed nearly often enough. What do you think?
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bklsmum 05:29 PM 11-30-2015
Originally Posted by happymom:
My 7 week old has been in daycare for two weeks now. I send him 3 prepared bottles of about 3ish oz pumped milk each day, so all daycare has to do is warm and feed.

The breastfeeding guidelines say he should have 1-1.25oz of breastmilk for each hour he is away, so I have been sending the low end of that (9oz for 8.5 hours) --- he is dropped off with a full belly and he nurses as soon as we get home.

I take the bottles home and wash/refill each day. 4 out of his 7 days in care so far he was sent home full bottle that he was never offered. These days he has only had 6oz of milk. He is sleeping through his morning (10:30am) feeding and not being fed until 12pm (I drop off at 8:30), and only 1 day so far he has drank all of the milk I have sent. I'd rather send too much milk than not enough.

The daycare uses a form that asks how many oz to feed him (3oz), how many hours between feedings (2-3hrs) and whether to wake him from a nap to feed him (no). My daycare is super accomodating and will really do any kind of feeding requests (within reason I'm sure).

So I know it's a parental discression thing, but should I change his chart so that he will be awoken to eat in the morning or just let him be and if he only finishes 6oz so-be-it? I'm sure he'd let them know if he was over hungry....right?

He's not a typical 1 month old either. He is awake long stretches and sleeps long stretches. It's not uncommon for him to sleep or be awake for a 5-7 hour stretch. I just don't know whether to trust my gut or trust what the breastfeeding sources say....also my mom and mom friends are appauled that he isn't being fed nearly often enough. What do you think?
I was a breastfeeding mom of 3 and I never woke a baby to feed them. As a daycare provider I would if it was requested but if I was asked my opinion I would say to let the baby sleep and feed him when he wakes up. If at his next check up he is losing weight or not hitting his milestones then it could be time to take another look but absent that I would let him sleep.
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sahm1225 05:59 PM 11-30-2015
Originally Posted by bklsmum:
I was a breastfeeding mom of 3 and I never woke a baby to feed them. As a daycare provider I would if it was requested but if I was asked my opinion I would say to let the baby sleep and feed him when he wakes up. If at his next check up he is losing weight or not hitting his milestones then it could be time to take another look but absent that I would let him sleep.
This. I would offer to wake up the baby if the parent ashes but normally, I would let the baby sleep. At your next well baby visit, I would ask your doctor. My youngest wasn't gaining enough so we were told to wake her up if it was more than 2 hours between feelings.

Maybe your little one is getting more from your morning nursing session (maybe 4oz) and then the same from the evening one?
Another thing to remember is that their milk needs will vary. He might just take the 2oz now but in a few weeks he might need 6oz for one and 2oz for another!
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laundrymom 07:28 PM 11-30-2015
I feed all babies on demand. As much as they want. I would require 20-30 ounces of frozen BM in 2 oz portions to keep here. I would require you to replace Each morning the milk baby drinks the day before.
I'm a super crunchy/old school daycare provider who lets a baby decide when and how much. Sometimes a baby will eat 3 oz. sometimes 5. Each feed is different. I suggest letting baby decide on when they eat. As long as he is growing right of course.
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happymom 08:16 PM 11-30-2015
Thank you for you input. He cluster feeds in the evenings with me, I don't really have doubts that he's not getting enough overall...but it hasn't been enough time yet to tell if he's not gaining weight properly.

All of his weight checks so far have been on track. I also keep frozen milk at the daycare for times he needs more, my freezer stash is huge. He was awake for an early feeding today and drank all the milk I sent!!
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Lovisa 09:16 PM 11-30-2015
As long as weight looks fine, I wouldn't worry! As a provider, I liked having a nice little frozen stash for the breastfed babies I cared for. I just felt better knowing it was there just in case. The moms usually would bring several frozen bags a day and I would put them right back int he freezer and take them out as needed.

Breastfed babes tend to cluster feed (like you mentioned) and are pretty good at making up for when they are away from mom. How are his wet diapers during the day? That is another good indicator.
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happymom 08:42 AM 12-01-2015
Is it easier for providers to just use frozen milk? I always send fresh since it seems easier than thawing from bags and making bottles, but I guess it's probably pretty easy.

Daycare will only keep frozen milk in their deep freezer for 2 weeks (I thought it was ok for at least 2 months if it were frozen). I still haven't remembered to rotate it out since it's already "too old" which is kind of frustrating.
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Lovisa 09:06 AM 12-01-2015
Originally Posted by happymom:
Is it easier for providers to just use frozen milk? I always send fresh since it seems easier than thawing from bags and making bottles, but I guess it's probably pretty easy.

Daycare will only keep frozen milk in their deep freezer for 2 weeks (I thought it was ok for at least 2 months if it were frozen). I still haven't remembered to rotate it out since it's already "too old" which is kind of frustrating.
I don't mind either way (fresh or frozen). I just like to have a stash just in case.

That is weird that they will only keep milk in the freezer for only 2 months! In a regular freezer it will last about 6 months and if it is in a self contained deep freeze it will last up to a year.
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happymom 09:27 AM 12-01-2015
They have a few weird rules.

They can only keep fresh milk for 24 hours, so if he doesn't drink a bottle I just take it home at the end of the day and re-date it.

Same with the frozen milk, I just will take it home - re-date it and send it back. Just one extra thing to do.
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Blackcat31 09:32 AM 12-01-2015
Originally Posted by happymom:
Is it easier for providers to just use frozen milk? I always send fresh since it seems easier than thawing from bags and making bottles, but I guess it's probably pretty easy.

Daycare will only keep frozen milk in their deep freezer for 2 weeks (I thought it was ok for at least 2 months if it were frozen). I still haven't remembered to rotate it out since it's already "too old" which is kind of frustrating.
My DCM brings a weeks (sometimes more) of frozen breast milk for me to keep here.

I have never gotten fresh in the bottle but it might be because I don't take pre-made bottles in/out of care and keep bottles here. (I require 2 new in the box bottles per upon enrollment)

I would guess that the daycare doesn't want to keep it longer than 2 weeks for several reasons. It could get mixed into someone else's stash (I don't know how they actually store it), it could possible go bad or the bag could rip/tear or maybe their freezer malfunctions and they'd have to tell you all your stash is gone... Who knows, but I'm sure they do have a reason....centers are much stricter than home daycares IMHO.
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happymom 10:34 AM 12-01-2015
I think it has to do with licensing. It's funny one of the staff suggested that I take it home and re-date and bring it back since she knows BM storage guidelines.

Just curious -- why don't you take pre-made bottles?

I was really stupid when it came time to store breastmilk and have it all in like 6-8oz bags right now. Bags I'm not sure I will ever use since I always send fresh, haha.
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Blackcat31 10:43 AM 12-01-2015
Originally Posted by happymom:
Just curious -- why don't you take pre-made bottles?
Too much of a liability now days. I don't trust that parents wont add things and if that happens, I am liable.

Sadly, its just not a risk I am willing to take.
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Febby 07:20 PM 12-02-2015
In my state the parents have to provide pre-made bottle in ready to feed amounts. We're not supposed to do anything other than warming up the bottle.

I'm not sure about the 2 week rule for frozen breast milk. Perhaps it's a state reg? Or else the center is trying to force parents and staff to pay attention to the frozen stash (to make sure it's adequate and not too old)?

And I agree with everyone about not waking the baby for feedings unless he isn't gaining enough weight.
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rosieteddy 08:44 AM 12-03-2015
I would not wake baby . I would offer a larger amount of B.M. .at the first feeding.We went out everyday at 10am so the baby would probably have woken up hungry.Best indicator is weight gain and wet diapers.
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Unregistered 06:39 PM 12-03-2015
I wouldn't wake up to feed unless doctor recommends it because the baby's weight gain is too low.

We also have the rule that providers can't make the bottles because WE could do it wrong basically (instead of worrying that parents did it wrong).

Also, I wanted to add I've heard that babies can sometimes switch their day and night by being attended to by mom all night (and in childcare during the day). So as you say, the cluster feeding at night could be like what we would think of as the baby's day time. The baby is awake more in the night and nurses all night and then sleeps more during the day and eats less... Just a thought!
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AmyKidsCo 08:17 PM 12-03-2015
I have a little guy who just turned 4 mos. He was 7 weeks when he started with me and the first couple of weeks he slept and slept and slept, eating very little. I think it was because he was in a strange place with strange smells and sounds, and he was so little. After a couple of weeks he started sleeping less and eating more, and now he easily eats 15 oz a day.

I wouldn't wake him, he's probably just getting used to the new environment and will start sleeping less and eating more soon.
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happymom 10:30 AM 12-04-2015
Thanks everyone for all your input.

Since I posted this he's actually drank almost all his milk every day. A few days an oz or so was wasted, but all his bottles are at least being offered.

My first son never drank more than 12oz at daycare, but this little guy is much bigger/fatter and he's already showing me he does things a lot different than his big brother did!
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