How Much Breastmilk Should a Newborn Eat?

Breastmilk is remarkable in its ability to provide babies with optimal nutrition and help protect them against various illnesses. Not everyone can or chooses to breastfeed, but if you’re doing it, you might wonder how much breastmilk your newborn should eat.

This article provides helpful information on breastfeeding newborns, including how to know when your baby is hungry, approximate amounts to feed in your baby’s first weeks and months and whether your baby is getting enough breastmilk. (Check out our article on newborn formula guidelines if you’re bottle feeding.)

WHAT IS ON-DEMAND FEEDING?

Babies have a lot of growth and development to accomplish in their first weeks and months of life. They also have small stomachs with minimal capacity. Consequently, it can feel to breastfeeding mothers that their newborns are constantly hungry.

That’s not exactly true — they have periods when they’re satiated and can’t consume another drop of breastmilk, but they do need to feed frequently. Pediatricians use the term “on-demand feeding” to refer to the recommendation that you feed your baby whenever they show signs of hunger rather than on a pre-determined schedule.

Every baby has unique nutritional needs and feeding cadence, but newborns tend to eat eight to 12 times throughout the day and night and consume one to two ounces of breastmilk per feeding. This can take up to 20 minutes on each breast initially, with feeding times shortening as a baby gets more proficient at nursing.

By two weeks of age, a newborn’s stomach has grown enough to accommodate two to three ounces at a time while maintaining the same number of feedings. At around a month, they typically drop a feeding or two but up their breastmilk intake to three to four ounces per feeding. Their eating continues to evolve as they get older, with fewer feedings but more ounces of breastmilk in each.

HOW TO KNOW YOUR BABY IS HUNGRY

The process of getting to know the signs your baby is hungry begins immediately after they’re born. You’ll notice them moving in specific ways that indicate they want to nurse, including:

• Opening their mouth
• Sticking out their tongue
• Moving their head from side to side
• Mouthing their fingers or hands
• Puckering their lips in a sucking motion
• Rooting, which is a reflex where they move their mouth in the direction of something touching their cheek
• Rubbing their head against their mother’s breasts

You only have to see these behaviors once or twice to know their meaning.

Babies also cry when they’re hungry. However, it’s crucial to understand that if they reach the point of crying, they’ve been hungry for a while. So, it’s best to look for early hunger cues and feed your baby when you see them. Crying has several other meanings (tiredness, needing to be changed, overstimulated, etc.), so it isn’t a clear sign that your baby needs to eat.

IS MY BABY GETTING ENOUGH BREASTMILK?

One of the unique challenges with breastfeeding versus bottle feeding is that you can’t see how much breastmilk your baby has consumed. You’ve let them nurse for a time on each breast, but did they get enough to eat?

A few signs can help you make that determination. If they seem satisfied after eating, that’s an indicator they’ve had enough to eat. You should also make a mental note about diaper changes. In their first few days at home, a newborn typically has two or three wet diapers daily. At around five days, that daily range increases to five or six wet diapers. Babies should also have three or four soiled diapers daily.

It’s reassuring to new parents concerned about their baby’s nutrition that pediatricians check and record a baby’s weight and height at each visit, using that data to create a growth chart. This chart enables them to compare a baby’s progress to the average, spot any significant differences and recommend feeding changes if necessary.

In other words, you’re not alone in monitoring your baby’s nutrition! Your pediatrician and their team are helping you every step of the way!

LEARN MORE ABOUT NEWBORN NUTRITION FROM BAPTIST HEALTH

How much breastmilk should I feed my baby? How often should they eat? Are they getting enough? These are crucial questions, but you can be confident that the answers become clear quickly. You and your baby will get into a rhythm where they are getting exactly what they need from you, and you can relax and experience all the joys of parenthood!

If you have questions or concerns about your baby’s nutrition, we’re here for you! If you don’t have a Baptist Health provider, our online directory is an excellent resource for finding one.

Next Steps and Helpful Resources

Learn More About Mother and Baby Care at Baptist Health
5 Different Breastfeeding Positions For Your Newborn
Breastfeeding 101
How To Burp a Newborn: A Guide for New Parents