How Much and How Frequently Should I Feed my Baby?

When working out how much and how frequently to feed your baby, ignore any recommendations that suggest a magic number of ounces per feed, or number of feeds per day. Such an approach will likely make you feel inadequate as a parent and increases your baby’s risk of undernutrtion or obesity

There are two more appropriate ways to answer this question:

  1. Your baby should drink as much or as little as s/he requests each feed. Get to know your baby’s hunger and fullness cues/behaviors. If you feed your baby when s/he’s hungry and stop the feed when s/he’s full, you are more than likely providing the perfect amount of nutrition.
  2. Your pediatrician or family doctor will monitor your baby’s growth. If baby is growing well, then you are feeding the right amount.
In the vast majority of cases, this is all it takes to ensure adequate nutrition for baby.  If, nonetheless, you are still struggling and feeling as if feeding is not going well, be sure to contact your doctor for further advice and guidance.