Today's day 2 of DD going to daycare, and both days she's barely had anything to drink. She has a big old feed when we get home. She drinks from a sippy cup at home sits on the table with water in it and helps herself.
Had anyone else had this problem? How long before bubs got the 'hang' of it?
I'm thinking it's a combination of new environment, new people etc.
Yep, my DD was the same and she never got the hang of it. She just waited out for me to pick her up for a feed. She would eat food, and drink water during the day but not ebm.
Hmmm .... Glad its not just us. She turns her nose up at it!
How long was your DD in care for? How old was she? Maybe next week (she's only in 2 days a week for a month then full time cos I'll go back to work) I'll try the water in the sippy cup. She loves drinking from a pump bottle lol funny child!
I can't see how old she is from your ticker/sig cos I'm on tapatalk, but I had a similar experience with DS1. He went to daycare 3 days per week from 7 months and didn't ever take a bottle/cup of EBM or formula. He survived on food and water and just fed lots when we were reunited he was bf until 14 months.
Definitely not just your bub! DD started daycare at about 9 months old, and was going four days a week from 8-3. I was sending her with three sippy cups with 100ml in each one. She'd barely have half a cup if she had any, so I decreased the amount. It was frustrating because as soon as she got home with DH she'd immediately down 200ml.
In the end, I just stopped stressing. I give her a big feed before dropping her off, she has plenty of food and water while she's there, then she catches up at home. I realised she wouldn't starve herself, it's just different at daycare and she's so busy, she hasn't got time to sit down for a big drink lol. Plus it's nicer coming direct from me
So now I send her with three cups, each with 50ml. Today she drank the lot but that's rare. But like I said, it's not causing issues and she's doing fine
It is absolutely normal, even for older children who are anxious about care as well. The first few weeks or visits can be quite unsettling for them, particularly the age that your little one is now. You may find that she starts to drink it in the coming weeks, or maybe she will just eat and have water during the day and hang out for you at home. Most babies I have cared for have eventually started drinking milk but we don't generally see a lot of breastfeed babies.
So now I guess to make the decision of wasting more EBM or to leave her be with water. I've had to discard 450ml both days
She's been definitely making up for it when she gets home. I tried some in a sippy cup this morning smelt it, and i could just smell the plastic - so maybe that's why? Plus nothing's better than direct from me anyway
I will test out next week just plain water & see if she does better
Could you try offering from a syringe? I mean, it's not the most conventional method and sure not for such a large amount but it might be worth a try.
I think the taste of breastmilk is also different to them and the temperature as well - like you say nothing is quite as good as 'on tap'.
I think she is probably a little bit young to rely on only food for the day? My DD is about 6 weeks younger and there's no way she would go without milk for a day!
I guess maybe defrost a little less for a little bit longer?? See how she takes it after a few more days?
I'd probably cut down on sending so much milk until she either takes it or you are sure it's not worth sending it. Perhaps send 2x 50ml serves so they have something to offer and if she takes it then send more the next day. But I'd move to relying on food & water for her day. She'll be fine and you can feed her before and after.
I'd also talk to them about how they are preparing it and send a printed sheet with instructions for heating EBM. I've never come across a child care facility that has done it correctly so they may be ruining the milk and altering it's taste.
yep, send smaller amounts or send some frozen to be put in the freezer and smaller amounts to try. if she drinks it then they can easily defrost some but if not it can wait in the freezer til the next day.
my mum had some limited success spoon feeding ebm with a teaspoon, feeding from a shotglass can also work- the baby kind of laps it up.
I agree that this is quite normal and that she will be fine with water and food until you get back. I would also suggest sending smaller amounts - store your EBM in batches that are 50ml or less so that there is less wastage. I usually sent most of it frozen and it lived in the freezer at day care until it was needed. One or two batches I might send fresh or thawed, depending on what I had.
I also recommend sending smaller batches. I stored mine in 100ml EBM freezer bags, for the first few times DD wouldn't feed at all its was horrible to know that bubby wasn't feeding, but she use to have a huge feed on me before hand and then I would feed her as soon as I picked her up. It took a while but she eventually started to drink the EBM. hugs hugs xoxox
Some Mums have a high concentration of lipase enzymes in their milk, which means that there is a big difference in the taste of frozen and fresh EBM from those women. Compare the taste of the bottle with what you squirt - if they are very different then you may need to scald your EBM to reduce the enzyme activity.
We had the same deal though - DS who was 10 months wouldn't drink much at all from a bottle or a cup when he was home with his Dad. Weetbix slurp up a heck of a lot of EBM though... And he certainly made up for it when I got home and through the night....
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DD won't drink EBM at daycare
he was bf until 14 months.
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