Food | Infants & Toddlers |
How Much
How Much Should Baby Eat?
How Much
Once you start feeding your baby you may wonder how much should she eat? When you introduce baby food for the first time usually one to two teaspoons is given. Then gradually offer more food. My son's doctor explained that the baby food jars are designed according to how much the child typically eats, you will note that the size of the baby food container will increase as you go from 1st foods to 2nd foods, to 3rd foods. If you are making your own baby food, initially the amount in an ice cube tray is a good serving size. In addition to the "Baby Food" article please refer to the "Introducing Baby Food" and the "Top 10" articles for tips on introducing baby food.
It is good to scoop out a small portion of the food into a bowl and serve the baby from the bowl. If you need more you can use a clean spoon to scoop out more food from the container. Then if your baby does not finish all of the food in the jar you can put the original container of food in the refrigerator. I believe generally most food in baby food jars should be used within 2-3 days once the jar is opened. Please refer to the packaging information for the time frame the food should be used by.
I compiled information from The Baby Book, babycenter.com, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, and my personal experience to prepare a table broken out by age of the baby.
- Total Amount (Ounce): The total mount of ounces consumed in 24 hour period; this does not include solid food amount. The total amounts for age 1 month to 12+ months were obtained from babycenter.com. According to my doctor, he advised for my son to continue taking an average of 18 ounces per 24 hour period until he turns 24 months. Remember at 12 months the child may transition to whole cow’s milk. Please refer to the "Whole Milk" article for more information on this transition.
- Time on Breast (Minute): Amount of minutes on breast (Refer to “About Breastfeeding” which suggests to not switch sides until baby finishes milk on one side. If the baby is still hungry after he finishes one side, then simply switch to the other side. The amount of time on breasts for birth to 6 months was obtained from Secrets (Hogg 105 and 108). The amount of time on breast from 7 – 24 months was estimated. Note that babies will become more efficient nursers and thus they won’t need as much time to obtain the proper amounts (Hogg 108). This is why the time actually decreases even though the amount increases.
- Bottle Amount (Ounce): The average amount in ounces in each bottle for a baby from birth to 12 months was obtained from The Baby Book (Sears 208) and Secrets (Hogg 120) listed in that order if applicable in the table. For example, for 1 -2 months, The Baby Book lists 3 -4 ounces while Secrets lists 4 – 6 ounces.
- # Times Per Day: The range of the number of times the baby is breastfed or given a bottle in a 24 hour period. I calculated the number of bottles based on the total amount and how often a bottle is typically given. In reference to breastfeeding, according to the AAP, during the early weeks, it is encouraged to have 8 to 12 feedings at the breast every 24 hours (AAP, “FAQs”). The number of breastfeeding times for 4 weeks to 24 months was primarily estimated based on the number of times a baby would bottle feed. Generally, breast milk digests quicker than formula and thus a breastfeeding baby may feed more often than a formula feeding baby (Sears 209).
- Solid Food (Per Day): Generally, for the first 6 months babies should be entirely breastfed or formula fed. Even once babies start eating solid food, “[t]hey still obtain the vast majority of their calories and nutrition from breast or formula feedings” (Greene). When the baby is no longer satisfied after drinking a lot of breast milk or formula, usually between 4 to 6 months, a lot of parents start giving the baby cereal. Then once the baby is 6 months most parents begin introducing starter foods.
- Additional notes as relevant to age is added such as how long the baby can sleep at night before needing to eat. Most research suggests you can start weaning the baby from a night feeding between 6 – 9 months (Weissbluth 15) and (Disney). While the baby is a newborn, the AAP also recommends to wake the baby if 3 – 4 hours passed since last feeding (“FAQs”)
Age |
Total Amount (Ounce) |
Time on Breast
(Minute) |
Bottle Amount (Ounce) |
# Times Per Day |
Solid Food (Per Day) |
Additional Notes |
Birth - 3 Weeks |
12 - 24
|
40 single side |
1 - 2
or 3 |
6 - 12 |
|
Recommended to wake
baby if 3 - 4 hours
passed since last feeding. |
1 - 2 Months |
12 - 24
(up to 36 - 40) |
30 - 40 single side |
3 - 4
or 4 - 6 |
6 - 8 |
|
By one month most eat 4 ounces every 4 hours including during the night. |
3 - 4 Months |
12 - 24
(up to 36 - 40)
|
Up to 20 single side
|
4 - 6
or 4 - 8 |
6 |
|
By 4 months, usually can sleep six hours straight before waking to eat. |
5 - 6 Months |
12 - 36 |
Up to 20 single side
|
4 - 6
or 8 |
4 - 6 |
Start solids, usually starting with baby cereal. |
Around 5 months most start solids. By 5 months usually can sleep nine hours and by 6 months usually can sleep twelve hours before waking to eat. |
7 - 8 Months |
24 - 32 |
Up to 20 single side
|
8 |
3 - 5 |
2 - 3 times |
|
9 -10 Months |
24 - 32 or
16 - 24 |
Up to 20 single side
|
8 |
3 - 4 |
3 times |
|
11 - 12 Months |
24 - 32 or
16 - 24 |
Up to 20 single side
|
8 |
3 - 4 |
3 times |
|
12 - 24 Months |
16 - 24 |
Up to 20 single side
|
8 |
3 |
3 times |
Can transition to whole cow's milk (limit to 24 ounces or may obtain iron deficiency); healthy snacks between meals may increase as well. |
For more detailed information on how long and how often the baby breastfeeds or how much a baby drinks from a bottle, please refer to the "How Much Should Baby Drink?" article.
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Works Cited
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). "FAQs: How Often Should I Nurse in the First Few Weeks?"AAP
Breastfeeding Initiatives. 18 Nov.
2009
<http://www.aap.org/breastfeeding/faqsBreastfeeding.html#70>.
BabyCenter. "Sample Baby Schedules for 1- and 2-Month-Olds." BabyCenter. 15 Dec. 2009
<http://www.babycenter.com/0_sample-baby-schedules-for-1-and-2-month-olds_3657227.bc>.
---. "Sample Baby Schedules for 3- and 4-Month-Olds." BabyCenter. 15 Dec. 2009
<http://www.babycenter.com/0_sample-baby-schedules-for-3-and-4-month-olds_3657230.bc>.
---. "Sample Baby Schedules for 5- and 6-Month-Olds." BabyCenter. 15 Dec. 2009
<http://www.babycenter.com/0_sample-baby-schedules-for-5-and-6-month-olds_3657233.bc>.
---. "Sample Baby Schedules for 7- and 8-Month-Olds." BabyCenter. 15 Dec. 2009
<http://www.babycenter.com/0_sample-baby-schedules-for-7-and-8-month-olds_3657236.bc>.
---. "Sample Baby Schedules for 9- and 10-Month-Olds." BabyCenter. 15 Dec. 2009
<http://www.babycenter.com/0_sample-baby-schedules-for-9-and-10-month-olds_3657239.bc>
---. "Sample Baby Schedules for 11- and 12-Month-Olds." BabyCenter. 15 Dec. 2009
<http://www.babycenter.com/0_sample-baby-schedules-for-11-and-12-month-olds_3657182.bc>
Disney. "Parentpedia: Nighttime Feeding." Disney Family Parenting. 8 Dec. 2009
<http://family.go.com/parentpedia/baby/sleep/baby-nighttime-feeding>.
Greene, Alan M.D., and Cheryl Greene.“How Much Milk Should Baby Be Drinking?" drgreene.com.
11 Jan. 2010
<http://www.drgreene.com/21_857.html>.
Hogg, Tracy and Melinda Blau. Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and
Communicate with Your Baby. New York: Ballantine, 2001.
Sears, William M.D., Martha Sears, R.N., Robert Sears, M.D. and James Sears, M.D. The Baby Book:
Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby - From Birth to Age Two. New York: Little, 2003.
Weissbluth, Marc M.D. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child: A Step-By-Step Program for a Good Night’s
Sleep. New York: Ballantine, 2003.
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