DCM Not Bringing Enough Milk, What To Do????

[Lilbutterflie]

I personally would sit down with dcm and discuss the situation. You CANNOT have a hungry baby in your care without a way to feed him/her when your supply is gone! I would say what the previous poster said. She either needs to...

1. Bring more milk (IMO, at least 12 ounces of breastmilk for a 9.5 hr day. This will give you 3 four ounce bottles which would feed every 3 hrs. Some babies I've taken care of at this age would even take up to 15 ounces of breastmilk during a 9 hour period b/c they were eating 5 ounces at a time every 3 hours.)

2. Find a formula that fits in their vegan lifestyle & leave it at daycare for backup

3. Send them away AT THE DOOR if they have not complied with #1 or #2.

I would also warn that if you have to send them away for not providing enough bottles more than once going forward, they will immediately be terminated.

[SilverSabre25]

Wow Nan you dont fed babies baby food til 8 months? That's way to long to make a baby wait doctors recommend 4 to 6 months you start feeding a baby baby food. 2 out of 3 of my own kids where eating table food at 8 months old. I cant image a baby not having jar food at 6 months they would be starving by just eating formula til 8 months old.

Nope not true. The AAP actually recommends not starting until at least 6 months, and many babies aren't really ready until much older. 8 months is not bad at all; they don't starve...they just drink more milk.

[Blackcat31]

Wow Nan you dont fed babies baby food til 8 months? That's way to long to make a baby wait doctors recommend 4 to 6 months you start feeding a baby baby food. 2 out of 3 of my own kids where eating table food at 8 months old. I cant image a baby not having jar food at 6 months they would be starving by just eating formula til 8 months old.

The USDA food program I am on says that fruits and vegetables are not required until 8 months. Up until then it is formula and/or breast milk only until cereal is introduced at 4-7 months and even then the meal pattern sheet from the USDA says cereal is optional.

[nannyde]

Wow Nan you dont fed babies baby food til 8 months? That's way to long to make a baby wait doctors recommend 4 to 6 months you start feeding a baby baby food. 2 out of 3 of my own kids where eating table food at 8 months old. I cant image a baby not having jar food at 6 months they would be starving by just eating formula til 8 months old.

No it's not.

Eight months is a perfect time to start solids at day care. Been doing it for 17 years and haven't had a problem yet. The parents start solids whenever they want but I don't start them here until the day of the eigth month.

I have year after year of fabulous eating kids so I must be doing something right. I also don't spoon train kids. The parents do it at home. By the time I start feeding them here they are well versed on the spoon.

I don't have time to research it but the American Academy of Pediatrics very recent reccomendation for starting some solids is NOT BEFORE the sixth month.

Soon enough it will move even further out. The connection of obesity to infant feeding is going to start surfacing within the next few years. We are giving way too much way too early. Formula and breastmilk are quite enough for a baby until the first day of the eigth month.

[GG~DAYCARE]

I always keep an extra days worth of BM in the freezer. I have been known
to spill a whole bottle of precious milk while transfering them from the storage bag to a bottle! I will be starting a BF infant in a few weeks and have told the mom to have dad or grandma/grandpa give the baby at least one bottle a day to get her used to the nipple.
All my 5 kids were breastfed and I know how hard it is to get BF baby to take a bottle if not started early.
I don't think there are any set guidelines for what a BF infant will drink from a bottle...that will be up to you and Mom to decide but you MUST have extra milk in reserve. GOOD LUCK!!!

[laundrymom]

I just went through this. I finally told mom that either she bring more milk, bring formula, or pick her up because ignoring her cries for food was neglect and not something I would do.

[Dsquared]

My wife said she brings 10-11 ounces but the child is large for his age and he always wants more than that on a daily basis. She doesn't like hearing him cry a lot because he's hungry (I don't blame her). She would know, she BF our two kids for their first 12 months. Also, the DCM confirmed it wasn't enough milk when she said "Yeah, I know..."

Thanks for all the feeback so far

[laundrymom]

Also,... Unless someone knows how to measure the amount of milk a bf baby is nursing,...they have no idea exactly how much they get. No two breasts preform the same. No two babies are the same. If a baby is hungry providers should be able to feed them. ON DEMAND.

It amazes me how babies and providers are punished in the child care setting so babies will stay "on schedule" and how parents listen to statistics and guidelines more than someone who KNOWS their child. It's not like we are asking for the milk to serve with cookies at snack.

Their baby is crying from hunger. The milk will solve the problem. Just because the guidelines say something different is no reason to keep a baby hungry. They are guidelines. Not laws. And I am finished trying to care for every baby identically. That is robot care and if that's what they want I'm not the person for their family.

[AfterSchoolMom]

I have a 3 mo (nearly 4 mos) who drinks 4 ounces every 2.5-3 hours. She's here 9 hours today, and Mom brought me 19 oz., AND I have 2 5 ounce bags in the freezer for backup.

I'd definitely push them to bring more, and if they won't...term them.

[Danielle]

Give this to the mom

http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVDecJan06p123.html

[nannyde]

Also,... Unless someone knows how to measure the amount of milk a bf baby is nursing,...they have no idea exactly how much they get. No two breasts preform the same. No two babies are the same. If a baby is hungry providers should be able to feed them. ON DEMAND.

It amazes me how babies and providers are punished in the child care setting so babies will stay "on schedule" and how parents listen to statistics and guidelines more than someone who KNOWS their child. It's not like we are asking for the milk to serve with cookies at snack.

Their baby is crying from hunger. The milk will solve the problem. Just because the guidelines say something different is no reason to keep a baby hungry. They are guidelines. Not laws. And I am finished trying to care for every baby identically. That is robot care and if that's what they want I'm not the person for their family.

Good post

What we need is an understanding that the bf baby may actually need a lot more milk in a child care setting. We need to recognize that the baby may be at a higher peek of stress just eating from a nipple and being in the care of someone other than the mother while being surrounded by other kids.

I know I do a TON more belly time here than is done at home. I've had kids come to me at eight months who have never even HAD belly time. Because we are caring for multi level aged group kids we may not be carrying or holding the baby as much as at home and the time the baby needs to wait for things is always higher in a setting where there isn't one to one care. All of these things end up with a higher need for food. Simple as that.

Once you care for the baby and you hear their cry for food before you feed them what you HAVE then you know that's the same cry that you hear when you don't HAVE anything to feed them. The baby sounds the same because it doesn't know whether you have milk in the house or not. Don't let anyone tell you that a hungry cry isn't a hungry cry. It only takes a short time of caring for a baby to know that sound. Trust your instincts and require that you have what is needed and a good back up in case something goes wrong in the prep process or feeding process.

[Mrs.Ky]

Nope not true. The AAP actually recommends not starting until at least 6 months, and many babies aren't really ready until much older. 8 months is not bad at all; they don't starve...they just drink more milk.

I SAID what the DOCTORS say meaning my childrens doctor not the AAP. I have 3 children and from my OWN personally exprence they WOULD have been so hungry just drinking formula and not having anything else. I CHOOSE to start all 3 of my kids at 4 months and the doctor gave the ok actually my 2nd child was up to 8oz bottles at 4 months he was a big boy and the doctor had me start him on cereal ALL babies are different some demand more some less. All my children in daycare whom I have raised as babies started on cereal and jar food anywhere between 4 to 6 months never have I had a DCP say wait til 8 months old.

[Mrs.Ky]

No it's not.

Eight months is a perfect time to start solids at day care. Been doing it for 17 years and haven't had a problem yet. The parents start solids whenever they want but I don't start them here until the day of the eigth month.

I have year after year of fabulous eating kids so I must be doing something right. I also don't spoon train kids. The parents do it at home. By the time I start feeding them here they are well versed on the spoon.

I don't have time to research it but the American Academy of Pediatrics very recent reccomendation for starting some solids is NOT BEFORE the sixth month.

Soon enough it will move even further out. The connection of obesity to infant feeding is going to start surfacing within the next few years. We are giving way too much way too early. Formula and breastmilk are quite enough for a baby until the first day of the eigth month.

Children are obese NOT because of how they ate as infants because parents today choose to feed their child mcdonalds every night for dinner or give them JUNK for snack. My Son was a huge baby 30 pounds at 12 months now he is a 60 pound soon to be 8 year old he is a skinny mini because I do not let them eat junk and go to mcdonalds.

[nannyde]

I SAID what the DOCTORS say meaning my childrens doctor not the AAP. I have 3 children and from my OWN personally exprence they WOULD have been so hungry just drinking formula and not having anything else. I CHOOSE to start all 3 of my kids at 4 months and the doctor gave the ok actually my 2nd child was up to 8oz bottles at 4 months he was a big boy and the doctor had me start him on cereal ALL babies are different some demand more some less. All my children in daycare whom I have raised as babies started on cereal and jar food anywhere between 4 to 6 months never have I had a DCP say wait til 8 months old.

The American Academy of Pediatrics ARE doctors. You said Wow Nan you dont fed babies baby food til 8 months? That's way to long to make a baby wait doctors recommend 4 to 6 months you start feeding a baby baby food.

I'm saying it's not too long much less way too long to make a baby "wait" until feeding baby food.

It's okay to wait until the begining of the eigth month to feed solids to babies. Your experience is different and your Docs reccommendations were most likely before the AAP most recent reccomendation.

My experience is wait until they are eight months. Yours isn't. I'm not telling you to not feed them till the eigth month... I'm telling you that it's not WAY TOO LONG to "make them wait".

[SilverSabre25]

The American Academy of Pediatrics ARE doctors. You said Wow Nan you dont fed babies baby food til 8 months? That's way to long to make a baby wait doctors recommend 4 to 6 months you start feeding a baby baby food.

I'm saying it's not too long much less way too long to make a baby "wait" until feeding baby food.

It's okay to wait until the begining of the eigth month to feed solids to babies. Your experience is different and your Docs reccommendations were most likely before the AAP most recent reccomendation.

My experience is wait until they are eight months. Yours isn't. I'm not telling you to not feed them till the eigth month... I'm telling you that it's not WAY TOO LONG to "make them wait".

What Nanny said, since I had said a lot of the same things.