need to supplement at daycare?

[csteely]

I am a WAHM and for the last year, I've had a sitter come in while I work, so I basically nursed my DD on demand. Now at 15mo, we're starting her at daycare 3 days a week. I had a little bit of milk frozen, and bring in a 5oz bag to daycare each day to cover the (typically) two times she asks for it during the work day. She can easily drink 2-3 oz a serving from a sippy cup.

I've only ever pumped intermittently (when I needed to travel for work), so it's been a while, and now I'm finding that I don't seem to be producing as much milk -- only 1-2 oz per day! I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with her demand. I know my supply is less because I'm down to nursing from one boob only.

Should I supplement with another kind of milk at daycare?

I'm not ready to wean, and I don't think she is either (a BIG comfort nurser, esp. with molars coming in). Wondering how other mamas have handled this kind of thing?

[PGTlatte]

I started sending another kind of milk to daycare and had stopped pumping by the time our DS1 was a year old.

I came back to add that I was still nursing at home. My supply was not affected.

[IngaAnne]

When my son was 12 months, I was working 4 days a week and pumping (since been laid off). Supplementing wasn't an option for us due to allergies. I was getting 1-3oz per pumping session, so I pumped mid-morning & mid afternoon on my workdays plus pumped every night before bed. This was enough for 2 4oz bottles per workday (I also visited my son at lunchtime to breastfeed). If you are unable to pump enough for the 5oz your daughter requests, you should send something extra for her to eat/drink. Since we couldn't supplement, I don't have any recommendations, sorry. I don't see any reason you'd need to wean, but even if you supplement you may need to pump 1-2 times a day while at work to protect your supply. Your daughter will also very likely increase her nursing time when you are together. When I first returned to work, my son was pretty much attached at the boob every evening!

Good luck. I'm sure you will figure out a way to make it work.

[csteely]

Thanks for your encouragement! Today is her first day at daycare with a mix of my milk and cow's milk, so we'll see how she does. Yes, she is definitely attached to the boob in the evenings - it's the first thing she asks for when I pick her up at daycare!

And I found I can pump a little more if I work in more pump sessions in a day, but will still likely need to supplement... Thanks again for your thoughts and support!

[Bloomingstar]

I recently got tired of pumping at work--my DS was about 17 or 18 months at the time and I'd been sending 6 to 9 oz a day for awhile (I started working 3 days a week at 10 months and upped it to 4 days at 15 months). I decided that he could survive with drinking water during the day and nursing as much as he wanted when he was with me. And he's adjusted just fine to that! I didn't and don't have to supplement with anything since I didn't want him to have animal milk and am not crazy about soy either. And my body has somehow figured out the schedule for 4 days off, 3 days on in terms of my being with him during the day for 3 days and him nursing a lot and me being at work for 4 days and him not nursing during the day. I think it was actually harder for me to stop nursing than it was for him to not have a bottle!

Good luck to you with everything!

[donna-nb]

Bloomingstar I am very interested in what you shared here-- I am a teacher and just returned to working 4-5 days/ week and my son who is almost 16 mo will be in daycare 3 of those days (and with grandparents the other 2). I am not a fan of pumping (I did it when he was younger and not in daycare yet). The daycare has expressed very little knowledge, experience, and support for breastfeeding and in general with handling/feeding expressed milk (especially to a toddler) and I'm wondering if this is a battle i'd rather not fight. (Part of me wants to fight it, just for the principle of it! the other part of me is too tired and busy and would rather let it go.)

so questions for bloomingstar and others:
Can I forego pumping altogether? The grandmas LIKE holding him and feeding him a bottle--and i like that he would still get my milk sometims--do i pump for these days only? And how did your little one fall asleep without milk?

[Bloomingstar]

well I spoke with an IBCLC and waited awhile before finally making the decision. She assured me that it was more a question of parenting than of nutrition, which made me feel less guilty about not wanting to pump anymore. He's eating plenty food and still nurses on demand when we are together. he certainly was nursing at night, as soon as we got home, and as much as he wants on the weekends. But we'd started to notice that if he was out and about with DH, for example, he'd go all day with no interest in the bottle and was fine just drinking water. He'd gotten used to 3 3oz bottles a day at daycare, but was also sometimes only drinking one or two. I decided to just taper him down to just twice a day for a week or two, and then we decided (the daycare ladies and I) that he seemed like he could handle just having water to drink throughout the day. He'd been there long enough that they could get him to sleep without milk. They have been good about helping him learn to get to sleep without constant rocking or milk and also knowing that there's no CIO allowed, not that they;d do that anyway. I think there's also an element of peer pressure--if all the other kids are lying down and he sees that, eventually he'll be a copycat. My DS was the kid who would wake up and chatter so much that everyone else woke up too but(hehe) now he;s sorted it out and will take a 2 hour nap.

(Sidenote but this drives me nuts--if they or my DH say "lie down and put your head down" he will do it and go to sleep, no problem. Me? no way! he just laughs and reaches at my shirt and this week has started saying "nurse!")

As for your milk supply and your body, it may take a couple weeks but your body really will figure out when to make more milk in the cycle that you need it in. My sister stopped pumping for her DD (our kids are only 2 weeks apart) MONTHS before I stopped, and her DD just had more water and food at daycare and then nursed as much as she wanted when she got home. The initial reverse cycling that may happen--baby wants to nurse all.night.long may drive you nuts but it will also subside. And your body will figure out your schedule. I'd say it took about 2 weeks to not feel too full during the day when I'd normally be nursing. it DOES mean that within 10 seconds of entering the house after I pick DS up from daycare we have to sit down and nurse, but I actually really like having that time with him to reconnect and transition in to our evening.

It may be that you want to pump for a few weeks and then slowly taper off if that's what will help you feel better about the transition. There's certainly TONS of information available to give to the daycare so they handle the milk properly--it's not rocket science, they just need to be willing to learn a little bit. There are simple charts they can glance at to remind themselves and it'd probably help someone else in the long run.

Whatever you decide, just know that it's a process and you'll be able to make the decisions you need to make as you go along.

[Bloomingstar]

well I spoke with an IBCLC and waited awhile before finally making the decision. She assured me that it was more a question of parenting than of nutrition, which made me feel less guilty about not wanting to pump anymore. He's eating plenty food and still nurses on demand when we are together. he certainly was nursing at night, as soon as we got home, and as much as he wants on the weekends. But we'd started to notice that if he was out and about with DH, for example, he'd go all day with no interest in the bottle and was fine just drinking water. He'd gotten used to 3 3oz bottles a day at daycare, but was also sometimes only drinking one or two. I decided to just taper him down to just twice a day for a week or two, and then we decided (the daycare ladies and I) that he seemed like he could handle just having water to drink throughout the day. He'd been there long enough that they could get him to sleep without milk. They have been good about helping him learn to get to sleep without constant rocking or milk and also knowing that there's no CIO allowed, not that they;d do that anyway. I think there's also an element of peer pressure--if all the other kids are lying down and he sees that, eventually he'll be a copycat. My DS was the kid who would wake up and chatter so much that everyone else woke up too but(hehe) now he;s sorted it out and will take a 2 hour nap.

(Sidenote but this drives me nuts--if they or my DH say "lie down and put your head down" he will do it and go to sleep, no problem. Me? no way! he just laughs and reaches at my shirt and this week has started saying "nurse!")

As for your milk supply and your body, it may take a couple weeks but your body really will figure out when to make more milk in the cycle that you need it in. My sister stopped pumping for her DD (our kids are only 2 weeks apart) MONTHS before I stopped, and her DD just had more water and food at daycare and then nursed as much as she wanted when she got home. The initial reverse cycling that may happen--baby wants to nurse all.night.long may drive you nuts but it will also subside. And your body will figure out your schedule. I'd say it took about 2 weeks to not feel too full during the day when I'd normally be nursing. it DOES mean that within 10 seconds of entering the house after I pick DS up from daycare we have to sit down and nurse, but I actually really like having that time with him to reconnect and transition in to our evening.

It may be that you want to pump for a few weeks and then slowly taper off if that's what will help you feel better about the transition. There's certainly TONS of information available to give to the daycare so they handle the milk properly--it's not rocket science, they just need to be willing to learn a little bit. There are simple charts they can glance at to remind themselves and it'd probably help someone else in the long run.

Whatever you decide, just know that it's a process and you'll be able to make the decisions you need to make as you go along.

[Altair]

I stopped pumping not long after a year and work full time. He still nurses up a storm at home. :-) It's been great! I don't miss pumping in the slightest. He gets high quality local cows milk only when I'm at work now.

[donna-nb]

hmm-- altair-- i was thinking about giving him cow's milk too (local, organic). my other option was to try freezing my milk in the bottle (the daycare says i have to drop off bottles already made, and my milk turns soapy tasting very quickly after thawed) i figured if i take it from my freezer in the a.m. and it sits in their fridge til lunch, it should be fine. or like both your posts said, i can just "wean" my pumping, let him just drink water, and see if / how much he misses it. i really just don't like daycare -- that's the heart of all this. but it's what's available right now. thanks for your input-- i am starting to feel less "guilty" about not wanting to pump anymore.

[JudiAU]

If you don't want her to wean and you are know away from her during the day you should pump. *some* supplies adjust but more than likely your supply will take a big hit. It seems to be harder on those who dont have a pumping routine. Even small amounts of milk make a difference In your body. Otherwise you are sending your body the signal that it doesn't need to ame milk during the day. For me, the end of pumping means weaning within 2 months.

[Zimbah]

I went back to work 3 days a week when DD was 13 months. Her nursery or grandparents gave her a sippy cup of cows milk before her nap and she was fine with that. I didn't pump any milk and after a few weeks my body figured out that some days I would feed her first thing in the morning, bedtime and in the night, and other days I would also feed her another couple of times during the day. The first few weeks, my breast were really really full by the time I got back from work and I was desperate to feed her but after that it settled down. Having said that, I always had massive oversupply and everyone's body works differently, I know some people have trouble maintaining their supply if they don't feed very frequently. Now, at 22mo, I feed DD first thing and at bedtime, for 3 days/week, then the other 4 days I usually do a naptime feed as well, and my supply is still fine. When she drops her daytime nap (nooo!) I'm anticipating just feeding first thing and at bedtime.

[Altair]

Originally Posted by JudiAU

If you don't want her to wean and you are know away from her during the day you should pump. *some* supplies adjust but more than likely your supply will take a big hit. It seems to be harder on those who dont have a pumping routine. Even small amounts of milk make a difference In your body. Otherwise you are sending your body the signal that it doesn't need to ame milk during the day. For me, the end of pumping means weaning within 2 months.

Right, but we're talking over a year here. We're not in the "MUST have a full supply for all nutritional needs" stage. I've found that not pumping at work after a year has been an enormous relief into a pretty hectic and guilt-strewn life of working and nursing.

I know many other working moms of toddlers, and we're all able to make milk when our babies need it. No, we don't have a full newborn supply, but we don't need that right now. My local API group has a bunch of working nursing mothers and none of them are pumping after 12 months.
So, it can be done and it can make all the difference in sanity levels.

[donna-nb]

i did the freezing in a sippy cup for today's "bottle" and it worked, but then today i didn't get a chance to pump and make a new one b/c i had to pick my son up early b/c he was running a fever.

thank u altair- it's good to hear this. at this point, in an 8 hour day, i am pumping once. i do imagine/ look forward to soon not having to pump at all. i'm sure i'm complaining to the "choir" here but having one less bag to carry out the door and one less task to take care of is welcome.

it's hard to say how important the breastmilk in a sippy cup is a good substitue for the breast or even bottle-nursing before naptime, since it's so much about being held and close, not just the nutritional content. we'll see. i have found that now when we DO nurse, outside of daycare, it is often a case of the "marathon boob" (o: