I'm away from DS about 9-10 hours a few days a week for work, and I send 3 4 oz bottles that he takes every 3 hours.
His caregiver is concerned that he doesn't sleep much at night because he's not getting enough to eat during the day. She is pushing for more milk in each bottle, same interval. I'm following the KellyMom recommendations...am I sending him enough? I'm making an appointment with a local pedi who is an IBCLC, but I wanted other opinions as well!
pear / 1510 posts
When she first went to day care, she was eating four ounces every 2.5 hours or so. I think we sent four 4oz bottles. Now, at 9 months, we send three 4oz bottles for her 7 hours at day care. If you can, it might not be a bad idea to send more and see how it goes. FWIW, LO's teacher kept telling me she needed more (which was tough on me as I was barely pumping enough as it was), so I sent more, and she didn't drink it.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
Well, Xander took 3 5oz bottles at that age, but that doesn't mean your baby needs that much! Do you nurse at home as well? How much do you nurse? Does your baby seem hungry at daycare? Or do they just think more milk would help him sleep better?
ETA: My daycare teachers were always pressuring me to send more milk! They were so used to formula fed babies, that they just didn't understand (or even believe me) that Xander was getting enough and didn't need more. They had me so convinced that I was doubting myself and starving my baby, so I went to see an LC to do a weighted feed only to find out that Xander doesn't even eat that much from ME! That convinced me that he was fine and I didn't need to send more milk to daycare!
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
I send three 5 oz bottles and they are usually finished by the end of the day. Some days she needs even more than that and they defrost some frozen milk. I was concerned that she was overeating but our Dr said it was ok.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
LO gets 16oz at daycare every day, then we tank up with two nursing sessions before bed. That + her 4oz in the morning, I assume she gets 24-26oz a day. How much is he getting at night? I started G on 12oz when she first was at daycare but we had to bump it up pretty quickly. She does STTN though, so she has to get all her calories in the 6am-7pm time.
papaya / 10473 posts
@Adira: @Bookish: I nurse as soon as i get home, then before bed around 7:30-ish, then several times throughout the night. I don't know how many because I'm half awake - 3? 4? Then another session around 6 a.m.
I pump enough to send 3 5 oz bottles, so I guess I could just see how it goes! I would LOVE for him to drop a night feed (or 2 or 3) since he's nearly 5 months old.
pear / 1563 posts
Our LOs are the same age and I leave 12 or 13 ounces for a 9 hour separation. We have two night feeds in general. Does he seem hungry to your DC provider, or is it just the night time sleep she's concerned about?
Despite the fact that I am exhausted from night waking, I don't want to drop the night feeds because I want to maintain my supply. I pump just enough for her and I don't want to have to pump and send more milk at the expense of nursing. I know that won't be how everyone feels because STTN is so desirable.
If you have enough milk, you always could send an extra ounce or so split across the three bottles and see how he does?
kiwi / 548 posts
I also send three 5 oz bottles of pumped milk to daycare. I leave a container of powder formula as well so that if there every is an issue they have a backup (I think I am more lax about that than most here). I think they have used it once or twice when my LO didn't really nap and was awake most of the time at daycare so was fussy and more hungry.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@grizz: What happens on the weekend? Does he nurse as often as he gets a bottle? Does he still wake up as often in the MOTN to eat? It certainly seems like 6 nursing sessions/bottles should be enough to get you through most of the night, if not all. I would think you'd only have 1-2 MOTN wake-ups (if that), considering how much he's eating during the day. Maybe he's actually waking to comfort nurse and isn't even hungry??
papaya / 10473 posts
@Revel: Its the night time sleep she's concerned about. He had a good week last week, but he generally sleeps one 2 hour stretch, 3 if we're lucky, and then gets up every hour for the rest of the night. I think he's just a bad sleeper, but our sitter thinks he's hungry.
papaya / 10473 posts
@Adira: He nurses a little more on the weekends, but he still has just as many MOTN wake ups. I definitely think he's a comfort nurser and a light sleeper!
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@grizz: Yeah, I don't really think you NEED to send more milk, though you could always try it! Though based on what you've said, I don't think it will help. It sounds like he's just waking for comfort or out of habit for most of those wake-ups! I mean, some of them might be because he's actually hungry, but probably not all!! Maybe time to sleep train...?
pear / 1563 posts
@grizz: Hmm, I guess then if you value the sitter's opinion and want to test it, like @Adira: said, you could try sending more ounces and see how he does - you could always go 4.5 per bottle if you didn't want to up it by 3 ounces total. If he has the same amount of wake ups on the weekends though, it may not be related to daytime intake unfortunately.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
Yeah might be worth a try to up it a bit, like @Revel: said you can always just up it by .5 oz. That's what we did for G (went from 3.5-4oz) and it worked great.
pomegranate / 3414 posts
That sounds right to me. Why does your caregiver have concerns about your LOs nightime sleep? Is it because their sleep is different from what they are used to hearing? DS didn't start sleeping through the night until 11m (whereas DD started at 4m), kids are different.
bananas / 9357 posts
why do they think he isn't getting enough besides not sleeping at night? I guess it's worth a try to see if he sleeps longer and if you're able to pump enough. You can always try 4.5 ounce bottles and see how that goes.
DS was a big night nurser and nursed all through out the night until he was 11 months. Now he usually just comfort nurses during the night.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Not feeding related, but how is his daytime sleep? When my son didn't nap well, he would not be able to sleep well during the night.
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