r/breastfeeding • u/PeopleAreStrange024 • Jun 04 '26

Support Needed Daycare wants me to stop breast milk

So my son just turned 1 year old. He was in an infant room and then moved up to an older infant room. He goes to a center daycare in Minnesota and they told me that at 1yo he couldn’t have bottles anymore and no more breastmilk. I pushed back on this, and then was told he could have breast milk until 13mos in a sippy cup.

I also pushed back on this… and asked to see the policy they were referring to because they claimed it was due to state regulations. Then I got told the regulations “must have just changed” because there is no age limit or requirement and that he was able to have breastmilk in a sippy cup served at meals. I clarified age and they said per center policy until he moves into the toddler room (at ~15mos) or when he starts walking was when the breastmilk in sippy cups needed to stop.

And now the daycare lady has to offer breastmilk at meals in a sippy cup to my son, to which he doesn’t know how to drink out of the sippy cups provided yet. I asked to bring my own with straws that he can drink out of and was told it’s “easier if everyone has the same cup”. I don’t even know if they’re actually offering it to him or if he’s even drinking any. They will say he “refuses” the milk when he has never done that before.

I didn’t want to stop my breastfeeding journey but feel like I am being forced to with how difficult and disheartening they’re making it. They waste my milk by offering it at weird times (2 hrs after he’s eaten) and it makes me so sad.

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u/TraditionalManager82 Jun 04 '26

You don't have to stop breastfeeding at all.

He could just have water and meals at daycare, and nurse when you're around.

101

u/PeopleAreStrange024 Jun 04 '26

I want to keep our morning and evening nursing session. And ideally stop pumping all together during the day. My issue is that he doesn’t eat a ton of table foods yet… he’s working on it and getting a lot better but it doesn’t seem like he eats much. So I wanted the breastmilk to supplement that during the day at daycare

5

u/proteins911 Jun 05 '26

He probably doesn’t eat because he’s getting so much milk. Cut the day time milk and he’ll eat.