Daycare: no breastmilk after baby is 1yr :(

[stys82]

Hi everyone

I'm don't know if there is anything I can do about this, but I just heard about a policy instituted at the daycare my ds attends (he goes to a Child Development Center on the Air Force Base where I am stationed).

Turns out once the baby turns 1 yr, they will not allow him/her to have breastmilk! They do not allow bottles after 1 yr, instead the kiddies must use sippy cups. They also have a communal dining area for the kids to eat their meals so since there is a risk of another child grabbing your childs cup, they do not allow breastmilk at all.

DS is only 4 months old but I am sure he will be at the CDC (it's government subsidised so my hubby and I can more easily afford it) at the one year mark. I am so determined to breastfeed (no formula or milk) until at LEAST the one year mark, if not longer and this news is really depressing to hear. I know it's quite a few months away but I don't know what to do. He is in daycare for 10 hrs a day, five days a week so while I know that I can bf when he is home, I hate that he will go so long w/out it.

In the mean time I plan to do as much research as I can...I'm hoping that I can find maybe legal rule or document of some sort that will allow him to have breastmilk...I don't even know if that is realistic :( Can anyone tell me is this a common rule at other daycares? (this is my first baby and first experience with daycare)

ugh...I really just need to vent. I love the care that he is receiving at his daycare I just can't believe this rule!

[whitnessforhim]

I'd fight it at much as I could and look into your legal defenses and if that doesn't work I'd find a new daycare. But then again that is how important it was to me for my DD to have breastmilk beyond one year. For her she really needed it because solids were not a huge part of her diet and cow's milk just doesn't stand up to what breastmilk can do. I wish you the best of luck and pray this place changes their policies.

[crystal555rose]

As this time gets closer I would speak with the director of the facility to see if they will work with you at all. Since I have observed sippy cup use in daycare as well as play groups, I can understand the concern. While it is unlikely that there will be communicable disease, I would not be comfortable if my child drank a cup of breastmilk from someone else. I have read more than one post on here about blood in breastmilk.

Perhaps they would be willing to offer it at an alternate time (nap time). Perhaps you could come at some point in the day to breastfeed or have someone else come to give her a bottle.

I quit pumping at one year and now at 21 months we breastfeed at least 3 times a day. It is almost 10 hours between the morning feed and the evening feed. I will warn you that my sleeping through the night son started waking up once to breastfeed when he started full time daycare at 13 months. My son is also an excellent eater so a lack of solids is not a concern.

Hopefully your daughter will not be so dependent on breastmilk that this is even an issue. If she is then I am sure you will find a solution. I wish you the best of luck!

[theonecilla]

Hello my son also attends an Air Force daycare. Unfortunately my breastmilk supply went away when I got pregnant so I was not breastfeeding him at the one year mark and don't have any experience. Since my second son will also attend the CDC I am curious to see how this situation works out for you if you have an update.
Also, would you be willing to talk about your experience with the CDC in other areas? Were you able to bring frozen breastmilk? I had several issues with the policy/ignorance about breastmilk storage and feeding and am gearing up to have the same battles this second time around.

I do love the care my son recieves so I wouldn't change. I just want them to change, which is sadly not a quick process in the Air Force!

[stys82]

Hi,

DS is ten months, still attending the CDC (at Schriever AFB CO, it's the only one he's been to). Unfortunately, all military CDC's have to follow gov't guidelines and can't bend. Their policy for breastmilk is that it must be in bottles when received in the morning and mom has to take it home (if there is any left) at the end of the day. No frozen breastmilk and can't leave it overnight. As far as feeding, once they start a bottle, they have to use it within an hour or else it goes down the drain. I don't like their policies either and it can be very frustrating but fortunately I have a good milk supply so I will be able to continue sending breastmilk until he is 1yr. After which I plan to stop pumping and will keep nursing him at home. I am worried about the transition to cow milk though, because I don't want to be forced to make a quick transition because they want to move him up to the 1yr old room before he's used to cow milk. I will fight that one or will at least ask them to give water until he can safely drink it.

Other than feeding issues though, I really do like the CDC. they are very good about keeping the kiddies day varied and fun. I walk in at all hours and the babies always seem well cared for.

[crystal555rose]

I think their policies are workable, not desirable, but workable. If you send baby with small bottles, 3 oz., then that could minimize the waste.

Do they insist on feeding your 1 year old cow's milk? I do not think that is necessary. Mine only gets water at daycare. I stopped pumping at 1 year and my son was still able to nurse 5 times a day even though I worked full time. A warning though... mine started waking at 3 am to nurse when he stopped getting expressed breastmilk. I allowed him to night nurse until 2, then I night weaned.

Mine is very sensitive to cow's milk. His whole body was covered in eczema when we tried it and I kind of wish I had not ever given it to him. Cow's milk protein is widely regarded as a common allergen. Be wary if you decide to introduce it.

[bronco4grl]

Maybe if they could serve it cold in a sippy cup they would treat it as any other special milk (soy, etc.) that parents have to send for their children. By 12 months, my son was using a soft Nubby sippy cup and didn't seem to mind cold bm (we started serving his expressed bm in sippys at 6 or 7 months and he did well). The only thing my son's daycare was funny about was storing his sippy in the kitchen seperate from the other kids' because it's considered a bodily fluid and they didn't want another child grabbing my son's sippy. But I didn't have any problems other than that so I hate to hear of yours. Maybe there is a law and you could fight this ridiculous policy.

[stys82]

I think their policies are workable, not desirable, but workable. If you send baby with small bottles, 3 oz., then that could minimize the waste.

Do they insist on feeding your 1 year old cow's milk? I do not think that is necessary. Mine only gets water at daycare. I stopped pumping at 1 year and my son was still able to nurse 5 times a day even though I worked full time. A warning though... mine started waking at 3 am to nurse when he stopped getting expressed breastmilk. I allowed him to night nurse until 2, then I night weaned.

Mine is very sensitive to cow's milk. His whole body was covered in eczema when we tried it and I kind of wish I had not ever given it to him. Cow's milk protein is widely regarded as a common allergen. Be wary if you decide to introduce it.

I'm not sure if they insist on giving baby cow's milk (I was waiting till he got closer to one year to ask, but he's almost there now!) but I am going to ask if they will give him water until I can be sure that he is okay with cow milk. I do know that when it comes to foods (when they are a little older) if you don't want your child to have a specific food (i.e. baby is allergic to fish), you must provide a doctor's note. So not sure what there response will be.