Breastfeeding and daycare help

[Ntg15]

Hello everyone!

My wife and I have been lurking around here for a while, mainly during her pregnancy, gathering as much info as we could. We now have a specific question to ask as we seem to be in a unique position.

Our LO is 5 months old and is 90% breastfed with a bottle or two of formula given a few days a week when he is in daycare. He has been in daycare for only 3 weeks now and everyone at her La Leche meetings, our pediatrician, and her GYN are amazed that she is still maintaining her supply.

Our problem is with the daycare and how they are feeding our LO. When with me two days a week I am giving 4oz bottles of breast milk about 3.5 hours apart. However when in daycare they are giving 4oz bottles about 2.5 hours apart causing a need for the last bottle to be the formula "back up bottle". They are also claming that at the mid afternoon feeding our LO acts "extra hungry" so they give 6oz at that point.

We have spoken to the daycare several times about not overfeeding our LO, 6oz is more than our 10mo niece gets in a feeding, but it feels as though they are just brushing us off.

This is our only complaint about the facility and otherwise like it. How assertive should we be getting here? I dont want to be a big enough jerk that it effects how they care for our child.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[noon_child]

The 3.5 hour gap you use at home, is that a routine that your LO demands or is she just happy to go with the routine you have set? I ask because my LO at that age started to be quite chilled out about feeds and never really "demanded" them, so I fell in to a schedule of when I thought she needed feeding and it worked well for us and during growth spurts or illness she always got more demanding so feeds picked up like you would expect.

I can imagine if she had been left with someone else, she wouldn't have felt as happy and calm and therefore her hunger would have bothered her a bit earlier than when she was with me and knew she could get boob anytime if she needed it. This is just what I imagine - I have no actual science to back it up. Your LO might need extra comfort when in daycare and so eats more. If they are demand feeding to ensure no child is distressed, then thats a good thing? I guess your worry is whether they are 'encouraging' her to take more than she wants because they go to the bottle to comfort her rather than use other techniques.

The only thing I can suggest is asking them what their bottle feeding technique is (i.e do they know about paced feeding, do they try to get her to finish up a bottle when she has refused it etc.). Also let them know what comfort techniques you use that work for you at certain times of the day (does she get tired mid-afternoon but struggle to fall asleep if not sucking and if so what do you do to help).

It may be that it settles down once she is more comfortable there.

 

[Mimzy3]

I agree with what noon_child said. They may be using the bottle to comfort her rather than other techniques. Also the baby could be more content at home like she also said. All very good points.

I've read a breastfeed baby should never take more than 5oz per feeding. Maybe not offer 6oz only 5oz at the most.