My Current Situation

[Heart12]

New DCB (4mo) who honestly has had such a rough time in daycare- gets 4oz BM every 2hrs but DCP want her to eat, play, sleep. So then she ends up crying every single day exactly 1hr after the bottle & only ends up sleeping 25min a day because shes hungry again. I tried to talk to DCP about it & they insisted that this is her schedule & it works at home. So this week after trying to play, bounce, put down for naps etc (knowing she is still hungry) I finally just gave her a bottle & then about 30min later she was tired & napped for 1.5-2hrs. It was working!! Then today, Mom writes in her book, "I worry that if she gets used to eating every hour I will be in trouble with my supply as I am killing myself pumping 6x a day to meet her needs. But I also dont want her to be too hungry."

Should I just continue what is working here in daycare? Today I have been following/documenting their schedule & DCB is sleeping 15-20min. in hopes that they see that its not working here. I honestly feel like this is one of those situations where Mom thinks that supplementing formula = bad. :confused:

[Heart12]

***25min. per nap not per day!

[Rockgirl]

Maybe try giving her 5 oz. It may help hold her over.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

4 months- have they started cereal? 4 mo drank 4/ 4 oz bottles a day. Now he is almost 5 mo he still drinks 4/ 4oz bottles but also eats cereal am cereal/ veg for lunch. 4 mo he napped about an hour in the morning and 2.5hrs after lunch at nap time. Now he snoozes for 25-30 min in the am and naps 3 hours at nap time (sometimes a little longer)
I don't get the eat, play nap every 2 hours.... that means she is only getting cat naps.
I guess I would go with the feedings and schedule that works for you.
As far as BM quantity goes, I would suggest that adding cereal in would help. I would also give her the number of a local lactation specialist that can help her increase her milk supply. (had one mom that adding in a beer (dark larger) significantly increased her production- but I wasn't the one to suggest it the lactation expert did!)

[daycarediva]

I agree with the eat/play/sleep, but she needs to eat more. Also, it doesn't have to be a LONG playtime. Eat 5-6oz, play 5 minutes, (even if it's reading to her) and then down awake but drowsy for nap.

[Silly Songs]

Feeding cereal and solids is not recommended before 6 months.

[midaycare]

Feeding cereal and solids is not recommended before 6 months.

[nanglgrl]

I would do what work for the baby and I would tell mom what I was doing. Trying to keep the baby in a crazy strict schedule is insane, babies schedules change all of the time. I would also feed until the baby is full.

[Heart12]

OP here-

when she first started she was getting 3.5oz & then DCM upped it to 4oz. I forgot to mention that she has reflux & throws up a lot so I dont think DCM will give her any more or add cereal just yet

[mommyneedsadayoff]

4 ounces every 2 hours is a lot of food for a 4 month old, imo. Are you sure the baby is crying out of hunger or maybe it is tummy pains from over feeding. I would feed 4-5 ounces, play 30-45 minutes, lay down awake and sleep 1-2 hours, repeat. (just to add, that is a 3 hour schedule that I listed. 1.5 hours for feed/play, 1.5 hours for sleep. just estimates on the time, but that's the general idea)

[Play Care]

4 ounces every 2 hours is a lot of food for a 4 month old, imo. Are you sure the baby is crying out of hunger or maybe it is tummy pains from over feeding. I would feed 4-5 ounces, play 30-45 minutes, lay down awake and sleep 1-2 hours, repeat.

I have a 4 month old dcg who has 4 oz about every 3 - 3 1/2 hours or so. Sometimes she guzzles it and other times she shakes her head away telling me enough.

But... I also don't allow parents to tell me how to schedule our day. I gently encourage a schedule that works for my group. I always find with infants that the come in, play, have bottle, nap, wake up, play, have bottle, nap, etc. I generally find that what works in day care (with a lot more distractions!) is completely different than what works at home.

[Play Care]

OP here-

when she first started she was getting 3.5oz & then DCM upped it to 4oz. I forgot to mention that she has reflux & throws up a lot so I dont think DCM will give her any more or add cereal just yet

Is she on medication for the reflux? I hate to see infants in pain because parents don't like to push meds

[Heart12]

DCB is on medication, but still vomits quite a bit. I just feel like if she didnt want the bottle she would refuse it. But she drinks every last bit. & when I was giving her the bottles back to back (after trying burping, changing, repositioning, & trying to nap) she would then sleep for 1.5-2hrs. But when I follow the schedule that mom is insisting on, the child spends a good portion of the day unhappy & crying.

[Unregistered]

4 oz bottles every 2 hours is a lot of breast milk for a 4 month old. I would suggest using paced bottle feeding.

[Rockgirl]

My grandson is 3 months old, and drinks 4 oz every 2 hours. He's sleeping 10 hours at night, straight through, so maybe he's just hungrier during the day....it doesn't seem excessive to me for the 4 month old. I always just fed mine when they were hungry, and they stayed happy and slept well. That's what I do here, too. I won't let them go hungry.