Thread: How much milk should I send?

I'm going back to work on November 21st and Sophia has to go to daycare. I'm trying to figure out how much breastmilk to send with her. She usually drinks 3 oz. of expressed milk, but the problem is she doesn't have a set schedule of how often she eats. She eats every 2 -3 hours, but there are days that she'll want to eat every 1 1/2 hours so I have no clue how much milk to send. What if I don't give them enough??? I'll be dropping her off at 8:00 AM and picking her up about 5:30-6:00 PM. Do you think four 3 oz. bottles will be enough or should I give them five just to be safe?

I think 4 will be enough. When do you plan on feeding her last? Is it possible for you to feed her in the morning at the daycare before you leave? Then she can eat again when you come and pick her up if she needs it. If you do it that way and plan on every 3 hours..then...she'll nurse at 8 then eat a bottle around 11, 2, and then right before you pick her up. Then you'll have another "extra" bottle if she decides to eat more often. even every 2 hours would be bottles at 10, 12, 2, 4, and you can nurse her when you pick her up. If you nurse her earlier and plan on her having a bottle before 10 I would probably send 5 though.

I've been thinking about how to juggle morning feedings before daycare because I have to get DS to school too by 7:45. The daycare is so busy in the mornings, I don't think I'd be able to feed her there so it'd be right before we leave the house. I'd have to feed her and then leave enough time for me to get DS ready for school or I could get DS ready earlier than usual and then feed her. Ahhhh...the joys of having more than one child. LOL! DS is not a morning person either so I foresee some very stressful mornings in the future. I guess I can feed her one last time at 7:00 so it will probably be safe to send five bottles instead of four. Better to have extra bottle than not having enough! Some mornings DH will be able to help so those morning will be soooo much easier!

One thing to think about too. This will be 3 weeks from now. MOST babies by the time they are 6 weeks old are taking in 4-5 ounces at a feeding. You may only need 4 bottles, but you may need more ounces in them!

*i'm sooo gonna get jumped on for this*

you could send a little formula at first, just in case. make sure they know its only for emergencies and should be used AFTER all expressed milk is gone. then you can send more or less milk the next week after you have some idea how much she's drinking. i'd rather her get a bottle of formula than be starving because you didn't send enough, kwim?

Originally Posted by rbrooks14332

*i'm sooo gonna get jumped on for this*

you could send a little formula at first, just in case. make sure they know its only for emergencies and should be used AFTER all expressed milk is gone. then you can send more or less milk the next week after you have some idea how much she's drinking. i'd rather her get a bottle of formula than be starving because you didn't send enough, kwim?

I think that is a great idea. We are still doing breast/expressed and formula in bottles due to amount of weight lost and very slow to gain it back. Doesn't seem to be hurting us in anyway. I also would rather my baby have formula than be hungry.

Originally Posted by rbrooks14332

*i'm sooo gonna get jumped on for this*

you could send a little formula at first, just in case. make sure they know its only for emergencies and should be used AFTER all expressed milk is gone. then you can send more or less milk the next week after you have some idea how much she's drinking. i'd rather her get a bottle of formula than be starving because you didn't send enough, kwim?

I agree with this as well. I would send 5 bottles of milk, and have some formula in case of emergencies.

Great advice!! I actually thought about sending those little formula bottles as an emergency as well. Thanks, ladies!! I'm less stressed now!

I agree with everyone else. Also remember that if it's an "off" day and she eats some of a bottle and then wants to eat, say, 1 hour later that the bottle she started with is still good. The childcare I worked at didn't throw out the bottles until after the appropriate time. I'm sure it's the same for anywhere else. If I remember back when DD was little, I think it was usually around 4 bottles/day, but just send the extra for a day or two and if she seems to only need the 4 then cut back to 4. Also the formula for emergency is a great back up.

*lurker*

The daycare I used to work at had parents bring in a feeding's worth of frozen BM and they kept it in the freezer for times like this and just rotated it out before it went bad. Is that feasible for you?