Finally your baby has arrived! He’s beautiful, soft, and always seems to be hungry for breast milk. In new parents’ heads, many questions arise such as how much and how often do I have to feed my baby? The feeding schedules of newborn babies are modulated according to how hungry they are and how they eat.
In short, you must observe, listen and get in tune with your baby to understand his needs. Easy to say, but it may not be the same in practice. As a parent, you often find yourself alone as your other half runs errands, and it becomes difficult to manage the mental charge that comes with a newborn. This little guide is here to appease your parental torment!
What is a baby feeding schedule?
Eat, sleep, pee, poop, repeat. These are the daily highlights in the life of a newborn baby, and they are part of the baby feeding schedule. Not all newborn babies require a clear-cut schedule to ease their digestion, but you’ll see that a pattern will organically take shape as they eat, sleep, pee, poop, repeat.
Breastmilk or formula?
The first year of a baby's life is crucial for its development. For the first 6 months, breast milk or formula is the only food your newborn should be given. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusively breastfeeding until at least the 6th month. Breast milk provides the ideal diet for the infant and contributes to favorable growth and development.
The suction of the newborn stimulates the release of hormones involved in the production and secretion of milk. If the baby suckles on-demand and frequently (every two or three hours for the first days), in a few weeks, a good milk supply will be established allowing your baby and the mother’s body to be in sync.
If breastfeeding is not possible, formula-feeding nutrition is a good alternative to feed your baby. As a general rule, after six months of age, complementary feeding begins when your baby demonstrates hunger cues. What is important is to meet the energy needs of the child so that he/she develops and grows properly, which goes from 550 calories a day to 1,050 when he/she reaches one year.
How often should I feed my baby?
In general, if your baby seems hungry, you should feed him. This is how he will understand the feeling of hunger and eventually regulate his need for food.
Different babies have different rhythms and preferences, along with other factors that influence how often they feed. One fairly consistent thing is that breastfed babies eat more frequently than bottle-fed babies. This is because breast milk is easily digested and frees the stomach much faster.
Your baby will naturally eat more frequently during growth spurts, which typically occur around 3 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months of age. Some children also have cluster feedings, which means they feed more frequently at certain times and less at others.
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Breastfed babies
In the beginning, it is important not to leave your baby for more than 4 hours without feeding. You will probably have to wake him up if needed, at least until the feeding schedule is well established and the baby is gaining weight.
As your baby grows and your milk supply increases, he will be able to get more milk in the lapse of one feed. At this point you may start to notice a more predictable pattern:
Age (in months) | # of breastfeedings (per day) |
1-3 | 7 to 9 |
4-5 | 6 to 8 |
6-11 | 6 + introduction of solid food |
12 | 4 |
Formula-fed babies
As breastfed babies, bottle-fed children should also eat on demand. On average, this happens every 2 to 3 hours. A typical feeding schedule may look like this:
Age (in months) | # of breastfeedings (per day) |
1-2 | 6 to 9 |
2-3 | 6 to 8 |
4-6 | 5 to 6 + introduction of solid food |
Beyond 6 | 5 |
How much should I feed my baby?
It is difficult to know how many ounces per feeding your baby is getting while breastfeeding. If you're bottle-feeding, it's a little easier to measure. Anyway, don't worry too much about the amount of milk your baby takes, what is important is how much he/she grows.
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Why does my baby seem hungrier than usual?
The growth of children is not regular, but it has peaks. There is a moment in which the child changes his habits and your baby may seem hungrier or sleepier. This phase is called growth spurt.
In the first year of a child's life, growth spurts occur more or less like this:
Between the second and third weeks of life;
Between the sixth and eighth weeks of life;
At 3 months;
At 6 months;
Between 8 and 9 months.
Parents need to know that these stages are normal and happen to every child. In these moments, the little ones need to eat more, because they are growing and their energy needs are increasing. On average growth spurts last 2-3 days, but they can last up to a week.
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When to start solids?
The introduction of the baby's diet should always follow the pediatrician's recommendations since health professionals are the ones who know the baby's health status. Babies are likely to start being ready for solids at 4 to 6 months when you notice:
They have good head control
They seem to be interested in what you are eating
They reach for food and give hunger cues
They weigh at least 6 kg
What food to start with?
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states that it doesn't really matter in which order the food is placed. The only real rule is to give your baby one new food for 3-5 days before offering another. This is to monitor allergic reactions (ex: rash, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.), so you’ll know which food is causing it.
As your baby grows, switch from baby food to food that has more texture (for example, mashed bananas, scrambled eggs, or well-cooked and cut pasta). This generally occurs around 8-10 months of age. You can find a great variety of products for children in the market, but you should avoid sugar and salt.
Also, at this stage, don't feed your baby anything that could cause choking such as:
hard foods, like popcorn or nuts;
hard, fresh fruits, such as apples (they can be cooked to soften or be cut into very small pieces)
any meat that is not well cooked or cut very finely
cheese cubes
Don't give your baby any form of honey until his first birthday. Honey can be dangerous to a baby, occasionally causing infant botulism.
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Signs baby is hungry
Hunger cues and signs that your baby is hungry
Sucking whatever they can;
Turning his head from side to side with his mouth open, in search of the breast;
Clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth;
Smacking or licking his lips making the sucking gesture;
Crying or moaning.
Are pacifiers good for a baby?
How can I tell if my baby isn't getting enough to eat?
The well-being of the child can be seen from other factors such as:
The number of diaper changes per day: During 24 hours he will have at least 5 or 6 pees and at least a couple of poops (some babies discharge much more often, even at every meal, and others do it more rarely).
A regular growth of about 150/200 grams per week in the first three months and 100-150 grams per week between three and six months;
A well-fed child is curious, active, and happy.
How can I tell if I'm feeding my baby too much?
Although it is not always possible to do this with an exclusively breastfed baby, it is possible to overfeed a baby who takes the bottle, especially if he does so out of habit. Follow his hunger cues, but talk to your pediatrician if you are worried that your little one is overeating.
What, when, and how to feed a child is a typical parent concern. The good news is that most children are pretty good at judging when they are hungry and when they are satiated. Just follow your instinct and do not be afraid to seek help when needed.
