Hellobee Boards

I started out sending 12 oz. It upped to 16oz. around 4.5 months, and then back down to 12 oz. when she started eating solids. I had to start supplementing at 8.5 months because my supply could not keep up once my period started. Now she is 11 months and I'm in the process of pump weaning, but it's a good day if I get 6 oz. She gets two bottles of 2 oz formula/2 oz breastmilk and one bottle of 2 oz breastmilk and 1 oz whole cows milk.

@avivoca: W is 7 months / 1 week. He typically takes 16 oz of breastmilk during daycare and is there from 7-4:30, but I do nurse him right before I drop him off. Until a month ago, I had been able to pump enough to cover each day. Lately, I'm lucky if I get 8 oz combined from the two pumping sessions I do at work. Until about a month ago, I would pump one breast and he would eat from the other one during his one wakeup at night. That gave me enough to cover what he needed, but I stopped doing that. Luckily, I have a ton in my freezer stash, so I just send one frozen bag per day to daycare. I am nervous that won't be enough to get me to a year, so I am taking some supplements and hoping that helps. But, yeah, the period totally affects supply. I had mine last week, so I am crossing my fingers that my supply goes back up some this week.

W is also teething horribly and not eating or drinking real well this week, so that can definitely affect how much they eat.

My 2nd is 9 months and I've been sending the same amount since 3 months, 3x4oz bottles and an extra 2 oz bottle just in case. I sent the same amount for LO1 from age 3 months to 12 months. I've been pumping enough to mostly break even although I've noticed that LO2 eats the extra bottle almost every day now and my supply is a little lower now, so I've been dipping into my freezer stash more lately. The same thing happened with LO1 right around 8 or 9 months so I'm not surprised. With LO1, I was able to just barely make it to 12 months (with freezer stash and extra pump sessions at night every so often). She never dropped bottles due to solids. LO2 eats even less than LO1 did so I don't expect him to drop bottles anytime soon either.

When bottle feeding, my boys both took 5-6oz bottles at that age and they ate 4 times a day between 730am and 730pm. They did not eat overnight. So if they were at school from 9-5, I wouldn't expect them to need more than 2 bottles at 6oz each. My both both started solids by 6 months however.

I send three four ounce bottles for my eight month old. I think she would happily drink five ounces, but I can't pump that much. I'm just counting on her making up for it with overnight feeds.

@nana87: Hi fellow Feb mama. Sad to hear your mat leave is over but that's great you got to have so much time with your babe! I've been back at work since LO was 3 months and started daycare at 4 - so it's been almost 4 months now. I was able to keep up the daycare's demands for BM, but barely; adding in extra pumping sessions at nights and weekends and burning through the little freezer stash I had. I usually only pump 3 oz at a session (ranges from 2-4). So in a day, between 2 pumps at work and an evening pump, I get 8-10 oz.

Now my freezer stash is all gone. With my son, I was barely able to keep up and had to fight with daycare at every turn that what I was sending was enough; he never had a drop of formula. This time around, though, I don't have the mental will to argue with them and literally physically cannot get more output unless I wake up at 4-5am and pump which is a gamble bc my LO is still not sleeping through the night and I sometimes feed her then.

SO last week I decided to buy some formula (after much research I purchased an organic European formula I feel comfortable with - I figure she already eats so much real food including yogurt that I don't think the ingredients in the formula are going to harm her or be much different at this point) and I gave her a trial bottle and she drank it.

So now I'm doing the same as I think you've decided - sending breast milk (she gets a 3-4 oz BM bottle in the morning, I go breastfeed on my lunch break, and then she gets 4-6 oz BM bottle in the afternoon) with ONE back up formula bottle, only to be use if absolutely needed.

Her teacher's eyes LIT UP when I told her she could have formula. But, I'm not sending the full container at this point because I don't want them to get too heavy handed with it - I mean I honestly think what I'm sending plus the lunchtime feeding session is enough for her, she's there from 8:30-4:45... but I don't want them to constantly be commenting to me how hungry and fussy she was after the last bottle until I pick her up, so now they have backup and it's only a little bit and it's a lot less stress off of me... so.. there you go! It was funny timing to read this and realize we're in the same boat and feels good to know!