Bottles at nursery

[BeverlyGoldberg]

Is it unusual to ask a nursery to give your baby a bottle whilst they're there?

My DD has been at nursery for a month, she's not the youngest in the baby room but there are a lot who are older than her.

I want her to have three bottles a day at least until she is 1 and then I want her to have a cow's milk drink. She isn't doing great at using a tippy cup so a bottle is the most efficient way to get fluid down her (although we do encourage her to use a tippy cup and she is improving).

We filled out a sheet when she started which includes all this info, but they didn't give her a bottle. I raised it face to face when I collected her and they said "don't know how we missed that please could you bring her a bottle in", which we did (we hadn't been asked to before and being new to childcare didn't know we needed to).

Bottles happened for three days but then slipped again, I put a reminder on the daily log we get, she got a bottle that day but then it slipped again. I phoned the assistant manager who leads the baby room and she said "it's because we give her a snack and drink of water, would you prefer her to have a bottle". YES! What gave it away?

She's only in 3 days a week but in total, over 6 weeks she's only had 4 bottles despite my reminders.

Am I asking for something unusual? Is this normal? I am feeling a bit undermined.

How old is she?

Also, if you want her to have a bottle, why wouldnt you have sent one in??

Totally normal for her to keep up her bottles while she's at nursery and there is no excuse for not giving her them. It's part of life in the baby room.

I'd mention it to her key person at drop off time in the morning and if it still isn't being done I'd make a formal complaint to the manager as it isn't the first time you've asked - they should have some sort of system, almost a bottle rota, who is due what milk at what time - ask if they have this and if there is any reason they consistently keep forgetting to give it her. (Practitioner in a nursery so know this isn't good practice!)

That's a bit odd. Keep pushing them to give her her milk! Even if you don't bring bottles in I'd expect them to find a way to give her milk ie in a cup.

How old is she?

Very odd. I had to take bottles in when DD was a baby but they always came back empty and washed.

How long is she in nursery and when do you want her to have the bottle?

Depends on her age I guess. My son was 10monrhs when he started nursery and no longer wanted a bottle during the day. Especially if he was busy he just wasn't interested. My other DS had dropped all bottles (except bedtime) by 13months.

I thought you're encouraged to have them off bottles by 12months?

She's 11 months. She's there two full days and one afternoon. So on the full days I'd like her to have a bottle after breakfast and lunch and then we do the bed time one. That's what our health visitor recommended.

We didn't take a bottle initially because they didn't ask for one and, being new to childcare, we didn't know we needed to take one. I appreciate this may sound naive in hindsight by you don't know what you don't know and we've never been in a nursery before. They've still only ever asked for one. We've never been given the initial bottle back to clean/sterilise and we haven't been asked for anymore.

Our health visitor recommended she have 20oz of milk a day until she's 1 and then to go on to cow's milk. She can take a cup but she's not brilliant at it yet and I'd rather be certain she's getting the nutrition.

You're probably meant to supply to bottle and formula ready made for them everyday. Our nursery would provide nappies, snacks and meals (if you ordered them). But not formula or bottles. Cows milk was provided as a drink at snack time in a cup.

When we asked they said they supplied the formula and asked what brand she had. They never mentioned bottles until after I challenged why she hadn't been given any milk.

In the next month or so she might get better at taking from a cup, in which case I'll be more than happy for them to ditch the bottles.

However when I give her water in a cup at home she ends up drenched (along with the cats and anything else in a 10ft blast zone), but they claim she drinks water at nursery and she comes home bone dry.

Of course you need to supply the bottle although I am surprised they said they would provide the formula. The 20oz doesn't all have to be in drink form as any milk in cereal, in foods and other dairy products count too. Both mine were down to 2 feeds by 11 months.

And at 1 year they only need the equivalent of 300mls of full fat cows milk to get their calcium requirements

Just to share my experience so you've further evidence that you're not on the wrong track!

My DD started nursery at 8 months and I think she was still having two bottles during the hours she was in nursery at that point. We were asked was what brand she had, and what time she normally had her bottles, they made them up. They also asked if she was fussy about what brand of teat, I said she used Avent and that's what they had in anyway, otherwise I think we could just have sent one in for her.

I feel like this should really be a non-issue for you. Even if baby is busy at nursery, they should be offering it at roughly around the right time, and in an environment where she is likely to take the bottle. They had a chair in the baby room where the babies would be taken for a cuddle and their milk.
Likewise when she dropped down to one bottle (she was having one in the morning, one at nursery and one at bedtime) and then to no bottles after she turned one, they incorporated this in without a problem.

At my nursery you provide a bottle that stays at nursery. The nursery provide whatever brand of formula you choose.

Maybe give one bottle in the morning befire she goes instead of after breakfast. Then ask them to offer a bottle after lunch and before nap but expect her to probably drop that pretty quickly.

Practice more with a sippy cup as she should be moving on from booties at 1.

Very unusual and utterly crap that they are failing to offer bottles as directed by you.

If you want her to have 2 bottles of formula now, and even after she is 1, then they absolutely should be doing this!

They should also be making up each bottle fresh in line with current guidelines.

I'm sorry, but if they are being this negligent with something so basic I would worry about what else is going on. I'd look for another nursery or childminder actually.

Yes this is really, really odd especially as she's less than 1. Take bottle and formula in next time together with a post it saying x ounces at x time. Take a bottle per feed. If they still don't do it I'd complain.

For what it's worth I would probably hold off moving to a cup until I was sure she was happy at nursery. Possibly a bit precious of me but would want her to have the comfort of familiar things at first.

Different nurseries have different rules and stipulations about what they want you to provide. But I agree. Provide what you want your little one to have and stipulate times. My daughters nursery happily stored and fed my DD my breast milk as per my request. It was an out of the ordinary request, I know and they were great. It sounds like this nursery is being rubbish.

Thanks all so much for your advice. I really appreciate it because, like I say, we're new to this and I didn't know if what I was requesting was above and beyond the norm. I feel like I'm asking them for a favour but ultimately they have no issue asking me for a fuck load of money so I should feel able to say "I'm the mum, this is what I want for her".

I challenged it yesterday and she's back in on Monday so I'll keep and close eye on it and my next step is a complaint to the manager if it slips again.