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What would you tell a breastfeeding mom that wants you to feed her 9mo old a bottle at 9, 11,1, and 3 when baby is just not interested then. Baby will take a bottle at 11:30 and 3:30 and not the other 2. She keeps asking me to try again and I keep telling her that baby hasn't wanted those other 2 bottles for weeks now, but every day it's the same request. She only brings me like 6 or 7 oz of breastmilk so I'm thinking maybe baby doesn't really drink that much during the day at home or she'd be making more milk? Correct me if I'm wrong there, but it just would seem like she'd make more if baby was actually drinking more. It doesn't really matter though, since baby doesn't want even 1 oz at 9am....I've tried and baby wants nothing to do with a bottle then. Baby is nursed at 6 and fed oatmeal or fruit at 7, gets here at 8, and just isn't interested in drinking at 9. What should I do and what should I tell her?
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I would just keep telling the mom that the baby still doesn't seem interested. Just give the baby what he/she will drink and that's pretty much all you can do. You can't force the baby to drink just so the mom can feel better. Maybe the baby doesn't want to drink because it's from a bottle and not the breast?
As long as the baby is eating well, and drinking a decent amount I wouldn't be too worried. -
I would not give a 9 month old a bottle every two hours, either.
Bottles are at 10am and 2pm once they are on solid food, here. By 12 months they should be drinking milk from a sippy, here.
Sounds like you may need to have a set feeding schedule in your policies if you don't already..- Unless otherwise stated, all my posts are personal opinion and worth what you paid for them.
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Tell her that you will do your best to work with baby to eat when she's hungry and that you can't force her to eat if she's not. It's very possible that babe just doesn't like the bottle, legitimately isn't hungry that much (especially if she is getting lunch at your house).
The issue of how much mom is pumping is entirely different--just because a mama makes lots of milk does NOT mean that mama is able to pump a lot of milk. Babies get WAY more milk out than a pump does; and some women have breast tissue that's fantastic for nursing and just...not....fantastic for pumping. I'm one. I have plenty of milk, but pumping is just not easy for me. Generally babies make up for anything they missed during the day by nursing like a pig all evening and night.Hee hee! Look, I have a signature!Comment
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Thank you for the info. That makes sense about the pumping vs. nursing. I think part of her problem is that baby DOES pig out all evening and night and she wants me to try it more during the day so baby doesn't nurse so much at night. Like you say, can't force a baby to eat.Comment
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It's called reverse cycling and it's very, very common with breastfed infants in daycare. It's baby's way of reconnecting with mama after being apart all day. Many mamas who are dedicated to keeping the nursing relationship will just co-nurse with their LOs so that everyone gets their sleep. Baby into bed to nurse, then when mama wakes up and finds baby done nursing, put him into the crib beside the bed. Or invest in a comfy recliner where she can nurse and sleep at the same time.Hee hee! Look, I have a signature!Comment
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