How Many Ounces Should A Newborn Drink Per Feeding

How Much Should I Feed My Baby

There are general guidelines, but no hard and fast rules, for how much your baby should have at each feeding. It depends on their own habits and rate of growth, plus a few other things, such as their age and how often they feed.

Continued

Babies usually drink more each time as they grow and their stomachs can hold more. If you breastfeed, your baby may drink a little less each time but feed more often than babies who get formula.

Most babies add about 1 ounce to what they drink per feeding with each month of age. This levels off when theyre about 6 months old, when they usually drink 7 to 8 ounces per feeding. Heres about much your baby should drink at each feeding when they are:

• Newborn to 2 months.In the first days after your baby is born, they may want only a half ounce of milk or formula at each feeding. This will quickly increase to 1 or 2 ounces. By the time theyre 2 weeks old, they should drink about 2 or 3 ounces per feeding.
• 2-4 months.At this age, your baby should drink about 4 to 5 ounces per feeding.
• 4-6 months. At 4 months, your baby should drink about 4 to 6 ounces per feeding. By the time your baby is 6 months old, theyll probably drink up to 8 ounces each time you feed them.

Not sure if your baby is getting enough to eat? You can probably relax. If your child has four to six wet diapers a day, has regular bowel movements, and is gaining weight, chances are that theyre doing just fine. If you have any concerns, give your pediatrician a call.

Baby Feeding Goals For 0

The American Academy of Pediatrics indicates that on average, a baby this age will consume about 2.5 ounces of formula a day for every pound of their body weight while breastfed babies might consume about 2 to 2.5 ounces of expressed milk for every pound of their body weight. Additionally, your baby will likely eat 8 to 10 times in a 24-hour period.

As they get older both breastfed and formula-fed babies are typically satisfied with about 2 to 4 ounces of formula or expressed breast milk per feeding. Watch for your baby’s hunger cues and work with your pediatrician to determine the total number of ounces in a day’s time your baby should be eating. Here are some recommendations based on the AAP guidelines.

You also can estimate how much milk your baby needs based on their age.

• Newborns: 2 to 3 ounces per formula feeding or expressed breast milk per feeding
• 1 month old: 3 to 4 ounces per formula feeding or 2 to 4 ounces of expressed breast milk per feeding
• 2 months old: 4 to 5 ounces per formula feeding or 3 to 4 ounces of expressed breast milk per feeding
• 3 months old: 4 to 5 ounces per formula feeding or 3 to 4 ounces of expressed breast milk per feeding

According to Dr. Roberts, the important thing to remember is that every child is different. The numbers in the above charts are meant only as guidelines.

For Both Breastfed And Bottle

• Dont give liquids other than formula or breast milk to babies under a year old. That includes juices and cows milk. They dont provide the right nutrients and can be upsetting to your babys tummy. Water can be introduced around 6 months when you start offering a cup.
• Dont add baby cereal to a bottle.
• It can create a choking hazard.
• A babys digestive system isnt mature enough to handle cereal until about 4 to 6 months of age.
• You could overfeed your baby.

You May Like: What Time Should A Newborn Go To Bed

Signs Baby Is Eating Enough

When it comes to newborns, how often you should feed baby depends on how much milk your newborn wants. Keep an eye out for signs you have a hungry babylike if they wake up and start rooting, or suckling or moving their mouthpreferably before they start fussing or crying. Pay attention to babys cues even while you feed. Youll know theyre still hungry if theyre actively suckling and audibly swallowing. When baby stops suckling, relaxes their hands and has that sleepy, relaxed milk-drunk look, youll know theyve eaten enough.

Checking babys diaper can also give you a clue as to whether baby is eating enough: A wet diaper every three to four hours is a good sign. Stools can be more variable: Some babies poop every time they eat, others just once a day.

But at the end of the day, how baby is acting and growing are the most important , Trachtenberg says. By measuring babys weight gain, your pediatrician will be able to tell if your child is thriving. Babies usually gain about half an ounce to two ounces per day for the first three months, says Meryl Newman-Cedar, MD, a New York City-based pediatrician and clinical instructor of pediatrics at Weill-Cornell Medical Center. But keep in mind that the big picture is more important than any single weigh-in. In general, you want to see babys height and weight basically follow their own growth curve, she says.

How Much Expressed Milk Is Your Baby Drinking An Excessive Amount Of Or Too Little

When your baby breastfeeds, he is aware of once to start and stop, looking on whether or not he has had enough throughout that feed.

The possibilities of over-feeding the baby also are less after you give suck.

However, that will not be the case once your baby is fedexpressed breast milk by bottle. Thus how does one recognize if your baby isgetting an excessive amount of or too little?

Read Also: Why Do Newborns Not Sleep

What If Im Breastfeeding And Formula Feeding

For mothers who combine breastfeeding and formula, there are no set rules for how often and how much a newborn should eat of each. Aim for at least 6-8 feedings per day of one or the other , but since breast milk and formula are nutritionally equivalent, its simply a matter of finding the mix that works best for you and your baby.

NOTE: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months. Even if you plan to eventually supplement with formula, breastfeeding during that critical period can help better establish your breast milk supply for the months ahead. To learn more about the important health benefits of breastfeeding for you and your baby, read our blog on the subject.

Breastmilk And Formula Guide: 9 To 12 Months Old

Your baby is probably getting braver and better at eating solid foods each day. Way to go, kiddo! Even though your baby may be nursing less often and taking fewer bottles, theyre still getting most of their nutrition from breastmilk or infant formulaat least until theyre 1 year old. So how much breastmilk or formula does your older baby really need? Read on for suggested amounts and a typical infant feeding schedule.

Keep in mind that every child is different, and its normal for your baby to drink different amounts each day and from feeding to feeding. Its also important to remember that your babys digestive system still cant handle other kinds of milkincluding cows milk or a non-dairy alternative. Wait until after your childs first birthday to introduce milk.

Also Check: What Rights Does A Father Have To A Newborn Baby

How Much Formula Should A Newborn Eat

One advantage to formula-feeding is parents can measure every ounce of milk baby guzzles down. But it can pose its own challenges too: While babies are blissfully free from concepts like the clean plate club, parents arent. Heres a breakdown of how much formula a newborn should eat.

Ounce for ounce, formula has the same average calories as breast milk, so the total amount that breastfed and formula-fed babies will need to eat in a day is basically the same: about two and a half times babys weight in pounds. The newborn feeding schedule for formula, however, might be a little different. Since babies tend to digest formula more slowly, theyll go longer between feedings. Baby will likely get hungry every three to four hours, eating about 2 ounces per feeding as a newborn and progressing to 4 ounces by the end of the first month. Expect to add about an ounce per month until baby is eating 6 to 8 ounces of formula at a time, which usually happens when baby is 6 months of age. In general, 32 ounces of formula a day is the most baby will ever need.

How Much Should My Baby Eat If Im Breastfeeding

When your baby nurses, this stimulates your breasts to produce the right amount of milk to meet his/her nutritional needs. When your baby needs more he/she nurses more, causing your body to produce more milk. Usually, babies nurse about 10-15 minutes at each breast.

One tricky part about breastfeeding is that its hard to measure exactly how much your baby is eating. If he/she seems satisfied after feeding, produces 4-5 wet and/or poopy diapers a day, sleeps well and is gaining weight regularly, you can be confident that he/she is eating enough. Another way to tell if your baby is getting enough is if your breasts feel full before nursing and noticeably less full afterward.

Heres a quick guide for how much a breastfed baby should eat:

• Most newborns eat every 2-3 hours, or 8-12 times every 24 hours. For the first 1-2 days of life might, they typically only eat ½ ounce per feeding. After that, theyll eat 1-2 ounces per feeding, increasing to 2-3 ounces by 2 weeks of age.
• At 2 months, babies usually eat 4-5 ounces every 3-4 hours.
• At 4 months,they should be eating 4-6 ounces per feeding.
• At 6 months,they should be eating 8 ounces every 4-5 hours.

Another way to gauge how much milk your baby needs is to multiply his/her weight by 2½. For example, an 8 lb. baby should be eating about 20 ounces a day.

Recommended Reading: How Many Bottles Do You Need For Newborn

How Often Should My Baby Eat If Im Breastfeeding

You can expect a newborn to breastfeed as often as every 2-3 hours or 8-12 times a day. At first while your baby are still figuring out how breastfeeding works, it might take 20-45 minutes or more per feeding. The good news is that all that nursing helps stimulate your milk supply, so its time well spent.

As your babys stomach gets bigger and can hold more milk at a time, he/she will be able to go longer between feedings, usually about 3-4 hours. He/she will also get more efficient, usually taking in 90% of the milk he/she needs within the first 10 minutes of nursing.

Signs Baby Is Getting Enough Food

Though its always important to monitor babys weight gain during those first few months of life, the following signs are good day-to-day indicators that baby is indeed getting enough to eat:

• Mood: Baby is content and seems satisfied after feedings
• Energy levels: Baby is alert during awake periods
• Diaper output: Baby wets at least five to six diapers a day after your milk comes in. Check out this handy chart for more info:

If your baby is lethargic, refusing to eat, not putting out wet/dirty diapers, call your pediatrician right away for guidance.

Also Check: What Is The Best Body Wash For Newborns

Other Ways Of Estimating Milk Intake

There are various ways of estimating the amount of milk intake related to the weight of the baby and the age of the baby, based upon formula intakeresearch has shown that after the early weeks these methods overestimate the amount of milk that baby actually needs. These are the estimates that we used for breastfed babies for years, with the caveat that most breastfed babies dont take as much expressed milk as estimated by these methods. Current research tells us that breastmilk intake is quite constant after the first month and does not appreciably increase with age or weight, so the current findings are validating what moms and lactation counselors have observed all along.

How To Get On A Feeding Schedule

Schedules are the holy grail of every parent. Your child will naturally start to fall into a feeding pattern as their tummy grows and they can take in more breast milk or formula at one sitting. This may begin to happen between 2 and 4 months of age.

For now, though, focus on learning your babys hunger cues, such as:

• rooting around your chest, looking for a nipple.
• putting their fist in their mouth
• smacking or licking their lips
• fussing that can escalate quickly

Once your baby is a few months old, you may be able to introduce a sleep/feed schedule that works for you.

Lets say, for example, your 4-month-old wakes every 5 hours for a feeding. That means if you feed at 9 p.m., your baby wakes around 2 a.m. But if you wake and feed the baby at 11 p.m., just before you go to bed, they may not rouse until 4 a.m., giving you a decent chunk of nighttime winks.

You May Like: Should I Buy Newborn Clothes

Howmuch Milk Will A Baby Want Once Feeding Solids

If your baby has started the consumption of solid foods, he will likely want lower quantities of milk.

Typically, babies are introduced to solid foods once six months, as breast milk is all they have to remain healthy until then.

Breast milk is the primary supply of calories andnutrition for the baby even after six months, though the number of intakescould drop slightly.

Babies sometimes decide on to three feeds of solid foods roughly once eight months and, on average, may have six to seven ounces of breast milk per feed three to five times every day.

Ideally, breast milk is that the 1st meal that a baby oughtto have throughout the day, followed by solid foods.

As a parent, youll be concerned to grasp precisely what quantity food your baby desires per day.

However, specialists advocate that you just let the baby decide that most babies will do this.

All you would like to try and do is offer them healthyfoods and adequate amounts of breast milk in between, to ensure completenourishment