Ok, first, I know alot of people are going to think that I am the WORST daycare provider in the world for what I am going to say, but here it is. In my defense, I fully believe in breast feeding - it provides the immunities, nutrients, etc. for the baby and I know it is the best thing for a baby to drink. However, it is bodily fluids. In order to rinse out the bottles after feeding a breast-fed baby whose mother pumps breast milk for the baby to drink at daycare, we have to rinse the bottle - with breast milk (bodily fluids) in our sink. Here, it is illegal for me to rinse out any clothing that contains bodily fluids - blood, throw-up, etc. Because it puts the bodily fluids into the sink which then contaiminates the sink - yes, I know you can disinfect the sink - but the law here is do not rinse bodily fluids out at all. So, how is it that we are supposed to be allowed to rinse breast milk out of the bottle? I've done daycare for 20 years and this is the first time I've had a breast-fed baby's mother pump and send breast milk here. Yes, we discussed it during the interview and I immediately thought about bodily fluids - but I like the mom, baby, hours, etc. so I decided to take the child. But I really don't like rinsing her bodily fluids out in my sink.

What do you guys think?

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Why do you have to rinse anything? DCM can send enough bottles for the day and everything gets sent home to be washed at home. You've never in 20 years had a daycare baby that was sent with pumped milk before? All formula fed babies?

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I would not rinse them out. I would tell her she needs to provide enough bottles for the day. I did daycare for a breast fed baby and mom used the platex nurser bottles and sent enough for the day. I just tossed the bags.

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"CDC does not list human breast milk as a body fluid for which most healthcare personnel should use special handling precautions. Occupational exposure to human breast milk has not been shown to lead to transmission of HIV or HBV infection. However, because human breast milk has been implicated in transmitting HIV from mother to infant, gloves may be worn as a precaution by health care workers who are frequently exposed to breast milk (e.g., persons working in human milk banks)..."

"No special precautions exist for handling expressed human milk, nor does the milk require special labeling. It is not considered a biohazard."

http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/faq/index.htm

The CDC doesn't consider it a 'body fluid' in the same way it considers blood or urine a body fluid. Breastmilk is not a biohazard.

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I've fed 3 babies their mama's milk. Wasn't concerned in the least.

When you think about it... cow's milk is fluid from a cow's body. Just sayin'

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Nope, 20 years and never once a breast-fed baby! Yes, cows milk is from cows, but they don't transfer as many diseases to humans as humans do. 1/3 of infants breast-fed by mothers with AIDS get AIDS from the breastmilk. Diseases can be spread through breastmilk - it doesn't typically happen, but it CAN happen. I'd rather not take the chance.

Maybe I'll tell the mother that I can not rinse the bottles out. Maybe that will calm my nerves.

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Ask the Mom to use the playtex inserts and send the whole thing home for her to sanitize in her dishwasher.

If it is skeeving you out, you may have to send her on to another care facility. You WILL have contact with it no matter what. The bottle or baby may dribble when eating and there is always the puke factor.

You're kind of skeeving me out and I nursed both of my children.

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I am kinda divided on this, I totally agree with you on the ick factor, if you really think about where the milk comes from and not sure of the moms health. Also milk doesn't always stay in babies mouths. There's spitting up and drooling etc.
I also totally believe in breast feeding and totally support my moms and have always fed breast fed babies. I just wash my hands more often than usual, so like 100 times a day instead of 75 and I have to change my shirt if it gets on me, I do that with formula anyway..
As far as rinsing, just throw them in a plastic bag and let mom wash them.
I personally rinse them out but all the moms use platex disposables and I just rinse the nipples out and toss the bags.

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yeah but any diseases are going from mom to their baby, not every person in the vicinity. I am shocked and actually saddened that you have never encountered a daycare mom that sent breast milk for her child. That is just really really sad. I understand that some moms choose not to and have supply issues, etc. but the fact that you have not worked with a breastfeeding mom is crazy to me. I am happy to accommodate nursing moms if at all possible and am happy that two of my DCMs are currently sending pumped milk. As for bodily fluids, I would imagine that you and the other kids are coming into a lot more contact with drooling, chewing on toys, changing diapers, puking, potty training, etc, etc. than a few bottles rinsed in the sink each day. The former are by far a bigger ick factor to me than breastmilk

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LOL! Me too I nursed mine as well.

I would just use the inserts like was mentioned above. Throw them out. I don't get to wierded out by it. I just use a bleach/water solution to clean out my sink and glove to prep it.

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In my 10 years in the business I have only had ONE who sent in breast milk and it was only last year - so before that I could say in 9 years I never had a breast fed baby in my care. Didn't mean they didn't breast feed, they just stopped by the time baby got to my daycare (usually about 6-7 months).

I didn't have a problem with rinsing the bottles though. I just ran the sink with hot water and dumped them out and then cleaned them. I did have a bottle brush just for them but it really wasn't a big deal for me.

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I've had breast-fed babies with moms that sent BM to DC and it doesn't skeeve me out or anything but I didn't rinse the bottles out here. I just used the bottles and packed them back in the baby's diaper bag. It was a time issue for me, not an ick issue. I rinse all of my dishes out during the day and put them in the dishwasher, at the end of the day after DC I run the dishwasher so I wasn't about to wash bottles during the day either. I don't rinse my own baby's bottles out either until the end of the day.

For me BM is not an "eww gross" thing, but to each their own. I actually think that BM is very clean and natural. In fact my son got a clogged tear duct when he was about 2 weeks old and his eye was gross. All Dr said was to massage it with warm water and a cloth and I did it for a week but his eye got worse. Took the baby back and Dr told me that if it didn't get better by the time he was one that they would need to stick a needle in his duct to clear it. I asked him about my DH reading online (I know, I know) about breast milk helping to relieve this and he laughed and pretty much said go for it, it can't make it worse but I think he thought it was crazy. I went home and squirted my baby in the eye ... no lie ... a few times that day and in the morning it was noticeably better ... I swear. If any of you are laughing at me right now I don't blame you, In my circle of friends it often comes up and I'm known as the one that "squirted her kid in the face with breast milk". I didn't really believe it myself at first but I thought what the hell. So I was impressed to see that I didn't rub his eye once that day to unclog it temporarily and it looked 100 Xs better so I expelled BM, dipped a wash rag in it and put it over his eye a few times throughout that second day. I swear by the end of the day his eye was fine. DH called the Dr to tell him and the Doc didn't believe him and actually had us go in to show him. His actual words were "Well look at that. I'll be damned" lol I'm still laughing now as I think about it. So yeah, I squirted my son in the eye with my boob milk. That's a story to tell on his wedding day. . I've even been asked to sell my BM to some lady that had some sort of cancer and was trying an alternative treatment ... that was wierd and I said no but you get the point.

The moral of the story: Maybe BM isn't so bad afterall ... but ... if it skeeves you out maybe you can just talk to DCM about packing the bottles in the bag and having her wash them at home.

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I don't think that is weird....my sister did the same thing when her baby had an eye infection. She tried the breastmilk before the eye drops and it worked!

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It doesn't bother me a bit. I'm kinda surprised that it bothers anybody.

But, then, I have a HUGE issue with licking. Anybody or anything licking any surface, especially licking ME. Heaven help any dog that tries to lick me.

So... we all have our issues.

I'd ask her to send in pre-made bottles, and then you just warm it, feed the baby and put it back in the bag.

Or if it really bothers you (because it will get on you, and on your counters) I'd send her somewhere else. You'll either have to get over it, or have her move on.

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That's really sad that this is the first bf'd baby you've had in 20 years. The advice others gave about having her wash the bottles is great. I have a mom of a 16 month old still sending me bags of frozen milk. The only time I found it gross was when the bags leak while defrosting, but now I just thaw them in a mug in the sink as I need them instead of thawing them ahead of time in the fridge.

Sure it's a little weird having 40 oz of someone else's breastmilk in my freezer, but it's better for baby and mom! Plus I don't have to pay for formula (or milk) this way! Please research before you go around saying things like bm is unsanitary.

BM is great for healing pink eye too!

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I've only had one breast feeding mom in the 2 decades I have been in business.

It isn't because I don't support BF'ing because I absolutley do....sadly, it just hasn't been the case. 99% of all my dcm's, past and current, have all had formula feed babies.

On the bright side, I have had a dozen or so dcm's who breast fed at night and in the mornings but the child took a formula filled bottle while at daycare. I don't know if it was a situation where they were unable to pump or didn't want to but I've only had one mom pump and bring me frozen milk.

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Maybe I shouldn't say anything that'll get me in trouble..

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I told the baby's mom tonight that I would not be able to rinse out the bottles because I am not supposed to rinse out anything that contains bodily fluids. She said that's okay and she understands. She seemed alright with our conversation. Who knows - we'll see if she continues to come to my daycare. Hopefully this will work out.

As far as the baby spitting it up, I thought about that too. I'll make sure to keep the burp cloth with me and hope it all gets on it rather than me. It won't bother me so much if it gets on my skin or shirt a little - ( if I have a cut on me somewhere, it would be covered up so her bodily fluids can't get into me.) I think the idea of her bodily fluids in my kitchen sink is more my issue. I guess I think of my kitchen sink of a clean place to prepare food. Of course I do rinse out my daycare kids cups and dishes then place them in the dishwasher - with the rest of my family's dishes to wash. I think it's about an adult's bodily fluids that bothers me more. I'm sorry - I live in a lower class area - I really don't feel that I fit in here too well - not that I'm uppity, but I am a bit more mid class than the some of people in my area. So, I am often concerned of adults having either sexually transmitted or drug related diseases. Whenever I come into contact with the daycare kids' bodily fluids (throwing up, messy diaper) I wear gloves and make sure to keep their bodily fluids contained in a plastic bag - definately not in my sink, so I feel that I should do the same with the adult's bodily fluids.

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You are talking about breast milk, not blood, not urine, not feces, but breast milk.

I'm sorry, but I don't see the big deal about rinsing the bottles out in the sink. I would be more concerned about a formula bottle that had been sitting for 30 mins.

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The CDC can say what they want but any fluid that comes from a person's body is a BODILY FLUID.

permanentvacation when I first started, I had the same issues as you but as time went on I was less and less worried about it because I really never had contact with the actual milk. Just don't rinse out the bottles and have a special container inside your fridge to store the milk in so that if it leaks it's not all over your whole fridge. Luckily, I have never been thrown up on by a bf baby except for my own

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Well, I guess I feel a little better about it now. I nursed all 6 of my kids but I always felt like other people shouldn't get my milk on them. So, I never had anyone else feed them but my dh. Just one time my mil took care of my dd and she was acting weird and told me that my milk didn't "look" filling enough " cuz it didn't look like formula! And she didn't want to spill it on her.
So, I don't know what her problem was. I will always help a breast feeding mom and just take extra precautions when it comes to cleaning up.

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I totally agree with you about parents with the "party" lifestyles!
Every body on here will say.."it's just breast milk" until someone gets sick or contacts some disease because of this issue. Then people will be saying," oh, I always wear gloves when I deal with breast milk and clean with bleach too!" So , just treat this milk like you would any bodily fluid and wear gloves when preparing it. You are doing exactly what I do and don't let anyone make you feel guilty about it.

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But if you can't bear to rinse them, save them in a big ziplock in the fridge. Sterilizing the bottles is no big deal, and you are more likely to get salmonella from your fridge door handle.

If you are concerned she has aids, remember she was tested thoroughly at the hospital and baby would be on meds. You can ask her up front, tell her honestly why you are concerned, and laugh about it together when you are old friends.

Honestly, its no big deal. You are not at risk of a disease from feeding a baby breastmilk OR washing the bottles.

Call your local health department for reassurance. Encourage the mom. I am sure she is getting flak from all sides. The world is just like that. Where does she pump at work?

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15 years and never had a bf baby. One was still being nursed at night but was on regular milk while here during the day. Was 1 1/2 so maybe to old to bring bf to childcare. I think once moms maybe go back to work its not as easy to do or something so they just start giving them formula.

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Every baby I have had has been a BF baby. I love it, but there is the ick factor at times. I actually provide bottles "Playtex Ventaire" and run them through my dishwasher with all of my other dishes. Just easier for me in case a baby is starving one day and goes through more bottles than normal. Moms just bring me their fresh milk at pick up and I put it in a plastic dish in the fridge. I always have extra in my garage freezer.

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Never been wierded out by it but Im a nurse so believe me, breast milk is no biggie compared to the gross stuff Ive been subjected to! LOL It is interesting though, did you know that there are milk banks that you can donate to. They screen the milk and everything like they do blood. They give it to premature babies or cancer patients who cant keep any other food down. I think breast feeding is a beautiful thing. I nursed both mine and I was so proud that I was the 1st person in my family to do it and it got my little sister to do it with her babies

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That's interesting - I wish I had known that. My Pediatrician used to check my boys and said I was providing them cream as they were little oinkers.
With my first I had ample supply to share if only I knew there was an outlet. Hospitals should provide flyer - who knows, maybe they do now.

When I first read the topic of this thread I thought someone had a BF mom that visited and sprayed/leaked all over the couch or something. When you're a first time Mom it's hard to get control over it at first - it comes spraying out like a fire hydrant.

The bit about curing the eye infections was interesting as well. If my boys ever got an eye infection, they would have gotten a squirt in the eye but accidentally.

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MARSTELAC here. I'm a mom of three (and I never even tried to breastfeed...I find it totally repulsive). I have a DCM who sends her pumped milk. I am grossed out by it every day. She sends one bottle for me to pour the milk into from these freezer packs (that DO occasionally leak) and little bottles that must have come with her pump machine. I cover myself with a blanket just in case baby spits on me and then I have little baby towels that I put on the baby's chest to catch the dribble. I have a large supply of these so I can have a clean set at each feeding. I am going to tell this mom to bring mom bottles because I cannot wash them out anymore. I know it is healthy for the kids to have this milk but that is one thing that just makes me ill. I'm glad you asked about it!

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I was told to do this by my MD and it works. Miracles of motherhood I guess!!

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Another thing about breast milk over formula is it doesnt stain your clothes as bad. I am always so happy to see moms breastfeed that I will do whatever I can to support it. My kids have even watched both myself and my sister breastfeed because we hope they grow up to do it/ support it. But I do understand where your coming from. Like I said as a nurse, I am not easily "skeeved out" as ya'll say LOL but my best friend who is a school teacher, one drop of blood, and there she goes, on the floor LOL

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I've done breastmilk in the eye for my kids as well. No biggie. My husband had an eye infection and we have the same family Dr. She said "Jen is nursing. Ask her for breastmilk and squirt it in your eye." LOL.

If you don't want to rinse the bottles, don't. Pretty simple solution.

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Okay so I TOTALLY feel alot better about the whole squirting my son in the eye with breast milk thing I'm glad to hear that there are others out there that have done it too for one reason or another. Funny story, I've actually squirted mt DD in the face too but only because she was curious about BFing and kept messing with my breast while DS ate one day. I squirted her to make her go away . She never did it again and I've never told anyone other than my DH because she doesn't want me telling anyone . I'll save it for her wedding day too

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