Sample Baby Feeding Schedules
Here are some sample feeding charts that illustrate what an average day might look like when feeding your infant. Keep in mind though that every baby is different, so your baby may eat more or less than what is listed here. If you want a more personalized chart, talk to your pediatrician about what you should expect with your baby.
Is It Normal For My Baby To Spit Up After A Feeding
Yes, many infants will spit up a little after eating or during burping because their digestive tracts are immature. This is perfectly normal. Babies may spit up when they:
- have eaten too much
Some babies spit up often, maybe even after every feeding. If theyre happy, growing normally, and dont seem troubled by it, this usually is OK. These babies are called happy spitters. If you find that your spitter seems fussy or uncomfortable after feedings, talk to your doctor to help figure out whats going on. It helps to keep a record of exactly how often and how much your baby spits up to help your doctor diagnose any problem.
Also tell the doctor if your child vomits. Vomiting is not the same as spitting up. Vomiting is a forceful projection of stomach fluids whereas spitting up is a more gentle flow of fluids that come up. In rare cases, vomiting is caused by a problem that needs medical attention.
If the doctor says your babys spitting up is normal, here are some ways that may help ease it:
Fortunately, many babies grow out of spitting up by the time theyre 1 year old.
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How Much Breastmilk Or Formula To Give A Newborn
If you and your baby do not have a solid feeding routine yet, youre in good company. As your baby grows, their feeding patterns will shift to match their constantly changing needs. The best way to know your baby is hungry is to pay attention to their feeding cues.
As long as your baby is growing and having frequent wet diapers , youre doing just fine! Its also important to remember that your baby only needs breastmilk or infant formula for the first 6 months of their life.
Below are a few more tips that will help you with feeding your newborn.
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First Weeks And Months
Some babies need additional vitamin D.
Babies who are fed breast milk exclusively or who receive both breast milk and infant formula need extra vitamin D, starting shortly after birth. They can get this through over-the-counter vitamin D drops. Babies receiving only infant formula do not need vitamin D drops. Infant formula is fortified with vitamin D.
- Over the first few weeks and months, the time between feedings will get longerabout every 3 to 4 hours for most infant formula-fed babies. This means you may need to wake your baby to feed. You can try patting, stroking, undressing, or changing the diaper to help wake your baby to feed.
- Some feeding sessions may be long, and other feedings short. That is okay. Babies will generally take what they need at each feeding and stop eating when they are full.
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How Do You Wake A Sleeping Newborn
Touch your baby: Ease your child out of their sleepy state by tickling their feet or gently rubbing their arms, legs, and back. Talk to your child: Just hearing your voice might be enough to wake your baby. Unwrap your baby: Remove your childs blankets and even undress them so that they arent so warm and comfortable.
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Does Baby Get More Milk Nursing Than Through The Pump
It isnt always true that babies get more milk through nursing than pumping. In fact, babies may take more milk from the bottle than breast, as the fast and consistent flow of the bottle makes overfeeding more likely. As for nursing, the process may start out slow then flow faster once the milk lets down.
If your baby has at least 6 wet diapers a day, regular bowel movements and good weight gain, you are likely meeting their feeding needs whether or not you pump or breastfeed.
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.
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A Quick Guide To Bottle
Feeding isnât just about nutrition â itâs a chance for social interaction and bonding. Sit comfortably and make eye contact. Enjoy these moments of closeness with your baby.
Just because youâre bottle-feeding, doesnât mean you and your baby have to miss out on plenty of skin-to-skin contact. Holding your little one close against your skin is not only good for bonding, it also has a calming effect and helps regulate your babyâs breathing and body temperature.
Hereâs a brief guide to bottle-feeding your baby:
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Hold your baby upright in a comfortable, neutral position. Your infant shouldnât need to tilt or turn the head to reach the bottle
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Hold the bottle almost horizontal to the ground, tilted just enough to fill the teat with the formula
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Brush your babyâs lips with the teat, and your child will usually open his or her mouth wide and put out his or her tongue
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Help your baby to draw the teat into his or her mouth
-
Pace the feed by pausing occasionally to see if your baby is still hungry
What 4 Tips Are Recommended For Bottle
How to bottle feed your baby
- Do not leave your baby alone. Never leave your baby alone to feed with a propped-up bottle as they may choke on the milk.
- Keep the bottle horizontal. Gently place the teat into the babys mouth.
- Be guided by your baby. All babies are different.
- Winding your baby.
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Using Formula When Youre Out And About
Measure the right amount of cooled, boiled water for one feed into a cleaned and sterilised bottle and place the cap on tightly. Put the right amount of formula powder into a cleaned and sterilised container. It might be a good idea to bring an extra bottle of water and enough extra powder , just in case.
Its safest to only add the formula powder to the water only when your baby needs a feed.
What Do I Need If I’m Formula Feeding Away From Home
If you need to feed your baby away from home, take with you:
- a measured amount of formula powder in a small, clean and dry container
- a vacuum flask of hot water that’s just been boiled
- an empty sterilised feeding bottle with cap and retaining ring in place
The vacuum flask does not need to be sterilised, but should be clean, and only used for your baby. The boiling water should kill any bacteria present in the flask. If the flask is full and sealed, the water will stay above 70C for several hours.
Make up a fresh feed only when your baby needs it. The water must still be hot when you use it, to destroy any bacteria in the formula powder.
Remember to cool the bottle under cold running water before you feed it to your baby.
Alternatively, you could use a carton of ready-to-feed liquid formula when you’re away from home.
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How Can I Increase My Milk Supply
Fonnie: Pumping immediately after direct deep latch for 15 minutes on stimulation mode may help. You should also monitor and ensure you position babys mouth to your breast accurately during feeding to ensure baby is able to get the milk effectively and adequately. You should listen out for swallowing sounds when baby is suckling. Otherwise, gently massaging your breasts before latching may also be effective.
There are also lifestyle choices to consider. Make sure you are relaxed or well-rested and avoid doing too much. Stick to a balanced diet with an adequate fluid intake. Also, ensure that you avoid complications like breast engorgement or infections like mastitis and breast abscesses. As a last resort, you can take supplements that include milk-enhancing herbs like fenugreek or medication like motilium.
Thinking About Feeding Your Baby
When youre pregnant, its good to think about how you want to feed your baby once they’re born.
For some mums there are many things to consider, like your cultural beliefs, personal circumstances, and your own physical and mental wellbeing.
Talk to your partner, family/whnau, and your midwife or maternity carer about it, and have a plan so they know how they can help you
If you want to breastfeed and youre having trouble, call PlunketLine any time on .
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When Do I Start Timing Feeds
Every baby is different and their appetites vary massively, so it can be normal for them to take more or fewer feeds than the guide above suggests. Your baby won’t always wake at an exact time after their previous feed is finished. If youre able to, try and time your babys feeds from the moment you start until the beginning of the next feed . So if you feed your baby at 12 noon and they go back to sleep at 1pm, expect to feed them again at about 4pm. If your baby does follow a routine of feeding every three hours, youre going to be very busy, particularly in the early months!
How Much And How Often To Feed Infant Formula
Information about finding infant formula can be found here.external icon
Additional information to help families during the infant formula shortage can be found here.
alert iconCDCs investigation of Cronobacter infections in infants who consumed powdered infant formula from the Abbott Nutrition facility in Sturgis, MI, is now closed. No new cases have been identified. Get updates about FDAs investigationexternal icon.
Every baby is different. How much and how often your baby feeds will depend on your babys needs. Here are a few things to know about infant formula feeding during the first days, weeks, and months of your babys life.
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How Much To Formula Feed
Here are the amounts of formula your baby needs:
- first day: 5 to 15 mL at each feeding
- second day: 15 to 30 mL at each feeding
- third day: 30 to 60 mL at each feeding
- fourth day: follow your baby’s weight:
- 8 pounds: 2 ounces at each feeding
- 9 pounds: 2 ¼ ounces at each feeding
- 10 pounds: 2 ½ ounces at each feeding
As your baby grows, continue to increase the amount of formula based on their appetite and hunger cues.
How Much Should My Baby Drink
In the first few weeks, give 2- to 3-ounce bottles to your newborn. Give more or less depending on your babys hunger cues.
Here’s a general look at how much your baby may be eating at different ages:
- On average, a newborn drinks about 1.53 ounces every 23 hours. This amount increases as your baby grows and can take more at each feeding.
- At about 2 months, your baby may drink about 45 ounces every 34 hours.
- At 4 months, your baby may drink about 46 ounces at each feeding, depending on how often they eat.
Watch for signs that your baby is hungry or full. Respond to these cues and let your baby stop when full. A baby who is full may suck with less enthusiasm, stop, or turn away from the bottle.
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What Do I Need If Im Formula Feeding Away From Home
If you need to feed your baby away from home, take with you:
- a measured amount of formula powder in a small, clean and dry container
- a vacuum flask of hot water thats just been boiled
- an empty sterilised feeding bottle with cap and retaining ring in place
The vacuum flask does not need to be sterilised, but should be clean, and only used for your baby. The boiling water should kill any bacteria present in the flask. If the flask is full and sealed, the water will stay above 70C for several hours.
Make up a fresh feed only when your baby needs it. The water must still be hot when you use it, to destroy any bacteria in the formula powder.
Remember to cool the bottle under cold running water before you feed it to your baby.
Alternatively, you could use a carton of ready-to-feed liquid formula when youre away from home.
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What Are Cluster Feedings
Just when you think you have a handle on feedings, your baby will throw you a curveball. Sometimes babies tend to go longer periods between feedings and then eat many times in a row. This is called cluster feeding. Cluster feeding usually occurs in the evening and is totally normal.
When a baby does this, it is usually followed by a longer sleep period. If your baby seems to want to be fed every hour for a decent part of the day, it could be because they are fueling up for a long sleep.
Cluster feeding typically only happens with breastfed babies. When they cluster feed, they will likely feed for a few minutes, fuss, then feed again. This behavior can go on for hours and can be overwhelming for moms.
If your baby behaves this way, dont immediately worry you ate something wrong or your baby isnt getting enough milk. Cluster feeding could very well be to blame .
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Why Babies Need Formula Rather Than Cows Milk
Heres why you shouldnt give cows milk to your baby as a main drink until theyre over 12 months old:
- all baby formula has addedminerals, vitamins,and fats that babies need and cant get from straight cows milk
- babies cant digest cows milk as easily or completely as breastmilk or formula
- theproteinlevel in cows milk is too high for babies – in formula some of this protein has been taken out.
Babies under 12 months old shouldnt have:
- regular cows milk
- skim, powdered, evaporated, or sweetened condensed milk
- dairy alternativeslike soy, rice, almond or coconut milk.
How Much Do Breastfed Babies Need To Eat
If youre exclusively breastfeeding, you wont be measuring your babys ounces for feedings. Instead, youll simply be feeding your baby on demand, or whenever they want to eat.
In general, for the first months of life, a newborn will eat around every two to three hours, but this will vary. The feeding timeline starts from the time your baby starts breastfeeding.
For example, in the first few weeks, if your baby starts eating at 2 p.m. and nurses for 40 minutes, they may be ready to eat again at 4 p.m. Hello, human milk bar!
Sometimes your baby may nurse more or less frequently. Your baby may want to nurse more if theyre sick. Nursing is a comfort mechanism and immune booster. They may want to eat more if theyre going through a growth spurt and need some extra calories.
Both the AAP and the World Health Organization recommend breastfeeding a baby on demand. So dont worry, you cant overfeed an exclusively breastfed baby.
Your baby will signal to you when they are full by pushing away or by stopping latching on their own, until they are ready again. And if youre exclusively pumping, follow self-care practices to help keep your milk supply up and watch your babys cues for how much to feed them.
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The Secretory Activation Phase
This phase happens when your body switches from producing colostrum to releasing more mature milk to meet the evolving needs of your growing newborn. While the timing is different for each mom, this typically occurs in the 24 120-hour range after birth. However, it can take longer for some moms, in which case you should work with your doctor or nurse to ensure your newborn is receiving the correct amount of nutrition until your milk volume increases. Often by the end of the first week, mothers are producing about 500 mLs or 16 ½ ounces of milk per 24 hours. Also around the 1 week mark, your babys stomach will have grown to about the size of an apricot with the capability of holding around 45 60 mL or 1 ½ – 2 ounces of milk
How Much Breastmilk Should Baby Drink
Expressing is how you can offer baby your breastmilk without him needing to suckle. Heres how much hell need
Breastfeeding is a milestone many mothers look forward to. They are excited to offer sustenance for their babies containing all the vitamins and nutrients theyll need, especially since breastmilk is packed with disease-fighting substances thatll protect bubba from illness.
Yet, inexperienced new mums might find getting the right latch challenging. Besides causing feeding problems for bubba, a shallow latch will cause skin damage around the nipple and result in sore nipples.Fonnie Lo, Assistant Director and Lactation Consultant at Thomson Medical, explains, If simple sore nipples are not managed effectively, it can lead to breast infection like mastitis and even, in severe cases, breast abscess. Other times, issues like a tongue-tie or a cleft lip or palate can make it difficult for bubba to suckle.
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