Maryann Durrant (USBE):
This training will go over the serving sizes for the different age groups. First, we’ll talk about the serving sizes for infants from birth to 5 months. For breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack the required amount of breast milk or formula is 4-6 ounces. This means that you would be required to offer that amount. If the infant only drinks one of the ounces, you can (and should) still claim the meal as long as you offered at least the minimum portion. You’re able to offer more than the 6 ounces if an infant is drinking more than that amount at a time.
Next we’ll move on to the serving sizes for infants from 6 months to their 1st birthday. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the serving size for breast milk or formula is 6-8 ounces. The serving sizes for the fruit/vegetable and meat/meat alternate is more flexible. You can see that the minimum portion size is 0 tablespoons for both of these components. This gives you the flexibility to offer what the infant is normally consuming. A good rule that you can go by is to plan on offering all of the required components for each infant in this age group, however if there is an infant who isn’t ready for solid foods or the parent requests that you not give them a certain food item, then you have the flexibility to honor that request and still claim the meal for reimbursement.
For snacks for the 6 months to 1st birthday age group, at least 2-4 ounces of breast milk or formula is required to be offered. Just like with the breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the serving size minimum is 0 for the fruit or vegetable and grain components. Again, this is to give flexibility so that you can offer the foods that the infant is normally consuming. Make sure that you’re working with the parent closely and offering the foods that are appropriate for each infant. While the serving sizes give you the flexibility to offer or not offer certain components, there is a reason that there is a meal pattern, and that is to ensure that meals are being offered that meet the nutritional needs of the infant. Working with the parent, make sure to offer a variety of foods using the meal pattern as your guide to build nutritionally complete meals and snacks.
As was mentioned before, the required minimums are what was offered, not what was eaten by the infant. If you offered 4 ounces of breast milk, but the infant only ate 2 ounces, make sure to write down that the infant was offered 4 ounces. While it’s helpful for you and the parent to know how much the infant drank, we don’t need that information when we’re reviewing your records, although you’re welcome to record that information on the meal records.
One of the strategies that working moms can use to keep their milk supply up while separated from their baby is to feed more often during the evening and night when they’re home with the baby. This helps keep their milk supply up because feeding the baby directly stimulates a mom’s milk supply better than pumping does. This means that during the day, the infant might consume less breast milk than the required minimums because they’re getting the majority of their calories at home with mom. Pumping is hard work, and it’s easy to understand that a mom wouldn’t want you to offer and then throw away pumped milk if the baby doesn’t ever drink more than 3 ounces at a time. For breastfed infants who regularly consume less than the minimum amount of breastmilk per feeding, they can be served less than the minimum amount of breast milk, with additional breast milk offered at a later time when the baby shows signs of hunger. If you have concerns about the growth of an infant who regularly consumes less than the minimum amounts of breast milk, make sure to bring your concerns up with the mother and refer her to her doctor as well as resources to help with breastfeeding.
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