Newborn feeding schedule: how often and how much babies usually feed

Most breastfed newborns feed about 8 to 12 times in 24 hours, day and night, and most bottle-fed newborns about every 2 to 3 hours at first. There is no timetable your baby has to keep: the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), CDC and NHS point you to hunger cues rather than the clock.

The NHS says you do not need a feeding schedule, and the AAP says to feed whenever your baby seems hungry. The numbers below are averages from named sources for healthy full-term babies. They are not a quota, and intake varies from baby to baby. For babies born prematurely or with certain medical conditions, the AAP recommends scheduled feedings advised by the pediatrician. Babies born even a little early can be sleepy and may not take enough, so they should be followed closely.

How often should a newborn feed?

A newborn's stomach is very small, so babies feed little and often and can be hungry again soon after a good feed (NHS).

• First days, breastfed: as often as every 1 to 3 hours (CDC, NHS).
• First weeks, breastfed: about every 2 hours, from the start of one feed to the start of the next, or 10 to 12 sessions in 24 hours (AAP). On average every 2 to 4 hours, about 8 to 12 times in 24 hours (CDC).
• Bottle or formula: mostly every 2 to 3 hours, with 8 feeds in 24 hours generally recommended as the minimum (AAP). In the first weeks and months, about every 3 to 4 hours, which may mean waking your baby (CDC).

In a study of 71 mothers of exclusively breastfed babies aged 1 to 6 months, babies fed 6 to 18 times in 24 hours, around an average of 11.

How much should a newborn eat? Milk by age, breast and bottle

The AAP says no book or website can tell you precisely how much a particular baby needs. This table shows AAP averages unless another source is named. They are not amounts your baby must finish.

For breastfed babies, a feed of colostrum may be only about a teaspoonful (NHS). Most take about 1 oz (30 ml) per feed in the first few weeks, slowly rising to roughly 4.5 oz (about 135 ml) at a year (AAP).

Weight-based figures are averages, not targets: about 2 1/2 oz (75 ml) of formula a day per pound (453 g) of body weight (AAP), or around 150 to 200 ml per kilo a day from the end of the first week until 6 months (NHS 111 Wales). The AAP says a baby should usually average no more than about 32 oz (960 ml) of formula in 24 hours. That is a ceiling to discuss with your pediatrician if your baby consistently seems to want more or less, not a goal.

With a bottle, let your baby lead. A baby who turns fidgety or easily distracted is probably finished, while one who drains the bottle and keeps smacking their lips might still be hungry (AAP). A bottle is faster and may take less effort, so bottle-fed babies may be more likely to overfeed (AAP). Never push a baby to finish (NHS). Paced feeding gives your baby time to feel full: keep the bottle almost horizontal and watch for signs your baby needs a break (NHS). The NHS says a breastfed baby cannot be overfed, but that applies to breastfeeding only.

Follow your baby, not the clock: what responsive feeding means

Responsive feeding, also called feeding on demand, means feeding in response to your baby's cues, and feeds bring love, comfort and reassurance as well as nutrition (NICE, the UK's health guidance body). The AAP suggests on-demand feeding for formula-fed newborns too at first: over time your baby develops a fairly regular timetable of their own, and you can plan around that.

Hunger cues and fullness cues: how to read them

• Hungry: hands to mouth, turning the head toward the breast or bottle, puckering, smacking or licking lips, clenched hands (CDC); restlessness, or rooting, which means turning the head and opening the mouth (NHS).
• Full: closing the mouth, turning the head away, relaxed hands (CDC); releasing the nipple and often falling asleep (AAP).

Crying is a late sign of hunger and can make it hard to settle and eat (AAP), so feed at the early cues if you can, and try soothing first if your baby is already upset (NHS). Not every cry or suck means hunger: sometimes babies just need a cuddle or a change (AAP). To work out which cry you are hearing, see our guide to the hungry cry vs tired cry.

Cluster feeding: why your baby suddenly wants to feed all the time

Cluster feeding usually happens in the first 3 to 4 months, when a baby wants to feed even more often, sometimes constantly, for a while. It may last a few days during a growth spurt and is very normal, and for breastfed babies things settle once supply catches up with demand (NHS). Formula-fed babies can cluster feed too, but take care not to overfeed: follow their cues for a break (NHS).

Frequent feeding does not prove low supply, or that all is well: diapers and weight gain tell you more. If you are worried, or your baby seems to want to eat all the time, even when full, speak to your midwife, health visitor, breastfeeding specialist or pediatrician (NHS, AAP).

Night feeds: should you wake your newborn to feed, and when do they drop off?

• Breastfed: if a newborn sleeps longer than 4 hours at night, wake them and encourage them to nurse (AAP). Another AAP page, on the early days, also says not to go longer than about 2 to 3 hours during the day without a feed.
• Formula: if your baby sleeps longer than 4 to 5 hours during the first few weeks and starts missing feeds, wake them and offer a bottle (AAP).
• Jaundice or slow weight gain: try waking a sleepy baby with jaundice for feeds (NHS), and do not wait too long between feeds if your baby is having trouble gaining weight (AAP).

None of these sources says when you can stop waking your baby, so ask at your check-ups.

Your baby is likely to need night feeds for at least the first few months, and they reduce with age. Some babies sleep 5 to 8 hours or longer at 3 to 6 months, but not all (NHS). None of this is a deadline, and a big feed does not mean a longer gap before the next one (NHS).

How to tell your baby is getting enough

Look at several signs together: swallowing you can see and hear, a baby who seems content after feeds, steady weight gain and enough pees and poops through the day (CDC).

• Wet diapers: 2 to 3 a day in the first few days, then at least 5 to 6 a day after the first 4 to 5 days (AAP). Stool counts differ more between sources, and our guide to baby diapers by age sets them side by side.
• Weight: a newborn should lose no more than 8% to 10% of birth weight in the first few days (AAP). The CDC says breastfed babies should be back to birth weight by day 10 to 14, and NICE says most babies are back by 3 weeks. If weight is the worry, read what it means when a baby is not gaining weight.

No count can tell you your baby is fine, and staying under 10% does not mean all is well: only a clinician who sees your baby can say so. Decide any topping up with that clinician too: it may help weight gain, but the NHS and NICE say it can lower milk supply or lead to stopping breastfeeding. If writing things down helps at appointments, a baby feeding and diaper tracker is one option, never a requirement.

When to call your doctor, midwife or health visitor

If you think something is seriously wrong, get help immediately, and keep checking for changing symptoms, even at night (NHS). A baby does not need every symptom to be seriously unwell.

Call your local emergency number

• Your baby has fainted, is difficult to wake or cannot be woken, or has a seizure
• Breathing very fast or with difficulty
• Blue, gray, pale or mottled skin, lips or tongue, or cold or clammy skin
• Swollen lips, tongue or throat with difficulty swallowing
• A weak, high-pitched or continuous cry
• 38°C (100.4°F) or higher under 3 months, 39°C (102.2°F) or higher at 3 to 6 months, below 36°C (96.8°F), or cold to touch or shivery
• A rash that does not fade, no pee in 12 hours, or green or yellow-green vomit
• Jaundice in a baby under 24 hours old, or jaundice with sleepiness or being difficult to wake, not feeding, floppiness or stiffness, jerking or twitching, no wet diapers, 38°C or more, 36°C or less, or trouble breathing
• Dehydration signs with blue, gray, pale or blotchy skin, cold skin or breathing difficulty

Get urgent medical help right away

• Not feeding, or no drink in 8 waking hours
• Vomiting that keeps going for 24 hours, red, black or brown vomit, or frequent forceful vomiting
• Floppiness, a swollen or bulging soft spot, neck stiffness, or diarrhea with dehydration
• Sunken soft spot or eyes, fewer wet diapers, few or no tears, or being drowsy or irritable. Severe signs include excessive sleepiness, cool discolored hands and feet, and peeing only 1 to 2 times a day
• Suspected jaundice in a baby over 24 hours old, jaundice that is not improving or is getting worse, dark pee or pale creamy poop

Fever may be absent in young babies with a serious infection, so a normal temperature does not rule one out (NICE).

Call and ask for your baby to be seen promptly

• Fewer than 8 feeds in 24 hours most days, no visible or audible swallowing, trouble staying latched or clicking sounds, fussy after feeds, yellowish skin, still losing weight after day 5, or fewer than 3 poops and 6 pees a day by 5 days old (CDC)
• Still hungry after most feeds (have your baby weighed right away), under birth weight at two weeks, not gaining at least 5 to 7 oz (about 140 to 200 g) a week since the milk came in, milk not in after 5 days, feeds consistently under about 10 or over about 50 minutes, repeatedly missing feeds, or, after 7 days, fewer than 6 wet diapers and 4 stools a day, dark yellow or red-specked urine, or stool still dark (AAP)
• Weight loss above 10% of birth weight, or not back to birth weight by 3 weeks (NICE)
• Vomiting most or all of a feed, violent vomiting or apparent pain, blood in stool, very watery stools eight or more times a day (breastfed stools are normally looser), severe rash, fewer than four wet diapers a day, becoming more yellow rather than less in the first week, refusing feeds, or a change in responsiveness
• No meconium within 24 hours of birth (NICE), or formula-fed under 8 weeks with no poop for 2 to 3 days (NHS)
• For you: severe breast engorgement, severe pain that interferes with feeding, or breasts that do not soften by the end of a feed (AAP)