No breastmilk allowed after infant room?

[Anonymous]

My son's daycare also tried to stop me from sending breast milk when my son entered the toddler room at 14 (?) months because only "milk in sippy cups" (daycare provided the milk and cups) was allowed. Also, they wouldn't allow me to send food from home anymore... my son was initially a very picky solid food eater so he basically didn't eat food all day, only crackers. I told the daycare director that I was bringing a note from his pediatrician to allow me to bring breast milk and lunch for him (food in case he refused the center's lunch)... she said it would be okay if I brought a note, so I did. I stopped sending food after a month to force him to start eating more variety or go hungry (that worked), but I still send a bottle or 2 of breast milk every day even though he's 20 months old. The teachers just pour my milk in a sippy cup, and he drinks it at the table with his meal or snack. Another kid in his class has bad allergies so his mom provides all of his food and milk each day.

You are paying big bucks for daycare so the center should accommodate your child's needs for such a reasonable request! It's not like you asked to bring in peanut butter sandwiches. And good for you for continuing to pump!

[Anonymous]

I'd rather have my kid drink another kid's apple juice than suck down your breast milk.

cuz shit happens!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those are your center's rules. If you don't agree, you are free to find a new daycare center. Or stay home. Geez, what is it with people always having to get their way?

I agree.

I knew a woman who dropped down to 80% so that she could nurse her child in the morning at his convenience.

weird

[Anonymous]

Agree. Big bucks.

But...If you don't like their rules another mom on the wait list will be happy to take your spot, adhere to their rules, and pay big bucks.

So no loss if it doesn't work out. Really.

[Anonymous]

Its quite common for daycares to accomodate different types of milk. I have seems lots of kids bring in organic milk, soy milk, coconut milk, lactose free milk, toddler formula, etc.

But i wouldnt do it because of the waste. In the infant rooms they regularly work to not waste extra breastmilk or formula because they are precious or expensive.

In the toddler room they fill up everyone's sippy cups then dump out whatever is not drunk at the end of the meal or snack. At the next meal they fill up the cups again. I would prefer to serve and save my precious breastmilk at home and send regular milk to daycare.

[Anonymous]

It all depends on how big the room is and how helpful the teachers are. We were in a 3:1 toddler class (18-24 mos) and I know one kid was getting pumped milk for a while for health reasons. The kids all had "their" designated sippy cups and the teacher had no problem filling them as appropriate with cow, soy, or human milk, as needed. With a big class or frequently switching teachers, I can see how keeping things straight might be harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school encouraged sippy cup use in toddler, and therefore served the children the same drinks - either milk or water. They did not allow breastmilk because it was must be handled individually. Also, not sure why you would be serving breastmilk in a cup? I BF at home until 16 mos, but it was not an issue for DD to take regular milk at daycare after 12 mos. Our school did of course allow soy or alternative milk for kids with allergies or just if parents desired. But again, that doesnt require the special handling that breastmilk does...

Not the OP, but my child is dairy and soy intolerant, so we nursed through the second year. That is why she would get breastmilk in a cup; after soy, the alternative milks are nowhere near as nutritious or comparable to breastmilk or cow milk. I don't see why a school would be able to handle Aiden's soy milk but not Aiden's breastmilk, especially if the facility has refrigeration for kids in the infant room, surely there's space for one more thermos a day?

OP, you mentioned that it was early to switch rooms, is there a reason you're not waiting until the more typical time?

It might be due to the fact that breast milk is bodily fluid and Alimentum isn't. I think there are extra precautions they have to take to separate breast milk bottles from formula bottles in the infant rooms.

I don't know the rules everywhere, but our daycare does have rules about handling breastmilk that may be the result of regulations. The infant room is set up to handle it, and the teachers are trained and practiced in the rules, but the toddler room and teachers might be different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd rather have my kid drink another kid's apple juice than suck down your breast milk.

cuz shit happens!

Agree. If my kid was in the same room as yours, I'd prefer it not be breastmilk. Yes, they should be watched by teachers to make sure they're not drinking out of someone else's cup, but mistakes happen.

[Anonymous]

What's up with all these disapproving PPs?

Considering the benefits of breastfeeding (even the "extended" kind), I think daycares should accommodate you. Whether they will is another question. The one I sent DC1 to was terribly backwards over such issues.

My DH would say, just fill up your son's labelled sippy with whatever the hell you want. "George needs THIS milk. Thank you."

[Anonymous]

Of course. Because BM is soooooooo bad

[Anonymous]

I've never heard of a policy like this. Our center has a fridge in each class, and I sent BM to my son's toddler room without any problems. (I nursed until he was 18 months.) After that, I sent a special blended milk which was rice milk and coconut milk-based because he was allergic to cow's milk and soy at the time. The teachers just poured it into his sippy at meals like the cow's milk they were giving to all of the other kids. Maybe it was because of his allergies, but they didn't give me any problems with the BM.

There were also some parents that provided their own organic or grass-fed cow's milk for their kids. So the school was very accommodating about personal preferences. Unless it's regulation-driven, they should be willing to work with you.

And, honestly, the amount of hate and snark on these forums is getting really old. Grow up, people. It's not fun, it's not funny, and it certainly isn't helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never heard of a policy like this. Our center has a fridge in each class, and I sent BM to my son's toddler room without any problems. (I nursed until he was 18 months.) After that, I sent a special blended milk which was rice milk and coconut milk-based because he was allergic to cow's milk and soy at the time. The teachers just poured it into his sippy at meals like the cow's milk they were giving to all of the other kids. Maybe it was because of his allergies, but they didn't give me any problems with the BM.

There were also some parents that provided their own organic or grass-fed cow's milk for their kids. So the school was very accommodating about personal preferences. Unless it's regulation-driven, they should be willing to work with you.

And, honestly, the amount of hate and snark on these forums is getting really old. Grow up, people. It's not fun, it's not funny, and it certainly isn't helpful.

But there are different regulations that govern breast milk, a bodily fluid...and that do not govern milk of other varieties. Noone wants a situation where a child drinks another child's breastmilk and gets Hepatitis. This is far more apt to happen in toddler versus infant where kids are mobile, etc. Not saying that BM should be banned w/o good reason, but also not sure a daycare is necessarily doing anything wrong by not choosing to have its teachers spend their time on other things, rather than babysitting breastmilk. By toddler, kids are getting nutrients from their food, except for special circumstances that seemingly could be handled on a case by case basis.

[Anonymous]

I do think it's interesting that people tend to swap out cow's milk/soy milk for breast milk. The replacement for breast milk is food (not milk from another animal or a bean). I don't think the daycare center should prevent mother's from sending whatever nutritional drink they choose to send. The choice for my kid's to drink is water and because of the food program our child care center is a part of, I have to get a doctor's in order for my child not to be served cow or soy milk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do think it's interesting that people tend to swap out cow's milk/soy milk for breast milk. The replacement for breast milk is food (not milk from another animal or a bean). I don't think the daycare center should prevent mother's from sending whatever nutritional drink they choose to send. The choice for my kid's to drink is water and because of the food program our child care center is a part of, I have to get a doctor's in order for my child not to be served cow or soy milk.

Yeah, it's pretty effed up the extent to which Americans think kids need cow milk. I say this as an American.

Newsflash: kids do not need the milk of any species but our own and/or formula (which mimics the nutritional value of human milk). Period, the end.