Here at full feedings®, we believe one of the most common reasons babies wake at night is hunger — and the key to solving that is consistent full feedings®.

In the newborn stage, it’s completely normal for babies to eat around the clock. Their bodies are growing rapidly, their stomachs are small, and they need frequent opportunities to eat in order to remain full and satisfied.

By around 8–12 weeks old (yes, weeks!), an average-size baby is physically able to consume all the calories they need during daytime hours — especially when those daytime feeds are full feedings® (including a dreamfeed between 10–11pm).

When you prioritize full feedings® from birth — and continue adjusting intake as your baby grows — calories naturally shift from nighttime to daytime. This supports your baby’s circadian rhythm and sets the stage for consistent nighttime sleep.

It’s really that simple:
If your baby isn’t getting full feedings® during the day, they will wake at night to eat — and a hungry baby should always be fed.

Most newborn sleep struggles are rooted in feeding
— not bad habits.

Our Online Infant Sleep Programs show you how to support full feedings®
and naturally move calories to the daytime, without cry it out.

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The “Milk Management” Approach

This is why we created our milk management approach — to show parents how full feedings® gradually move from nighttime to daytime as babies develop.

This isn’t the only ingredient for sleep, but it is one of the most important.

Every baby is different. A 1st percentile baby and a 99th percentile baby will have very different amounts of “full.” We never recommend pushing or force-feeding. Instead, we gently work toward full feedings® at every opportunity, always respecting cues.

While this blog uses bottle-feeding amounts as examples, the concept of full feedings applies to breastfeeding as well. With breastfeeding, we use time as our measurement — each feed below represents a full 30-minute breastfeeding session.

Want help applying this without guessing week by week?

The Full Feedings Method® is taught step-by-step
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What Is a “Full Feeding”?

In the early weeks, we increase milk intake slowly and intentionally.

A full feeding is defined as:
30 minutes to complete an age-appropriate amount of milk (including burp time, as long as burping isn’t excessive).

When your baby starts finishing their usual amount faster than 30 minutes, it’s a sign they’re ready for a small increase. We typically recommend increasing by 0.5 oz per feeding.

These small increases are what allow feeds to stretch further apart overnight — and ultimately support sleeping through the night earlier.

What Does This Look Like in Real Life?

Below is a week-by-week newborn feeding framework to help you know what’s typical and what to expect.

Birth to 1 Week Old Feeding Schedule

From birth – Week 1 your baby is eating every 2-3 hours during the day and night. Their stomachs aren’t as large and they can’t control their blood sugar yet, so they need to eat regularly to maintain their fullness and blood sugar levels.

Their feeds are small and frequent but keeping them awake for a full feeding is a large portion of the work at this age. If they’re actively eating we consider it awake time, even if their eyes are closed.

It’s a good time to ask your pediatrician if you need to keep waking your baby overnight to eat.

BOTTLE FEEDING GUIDELINES: 1.5 to 3 oz (45 to 90 ml), at least every 2-3 hours

1 to 2 Week Old Feeding Schedule

Feeds are slightly larger so they’re eating one less feed during the day but it’s still more milk overall. We’re aiming for at least 8 feeds during the day and likely 4 feeds overnight.

We have one less daytime and overnight feed but the larger feed amounts (even .5oz) mean more food in 24 hours, which is why we have fewer feeds.

Waking them regularly to eat will help them develop full feedings.

BOTTLE FEEDING GUIDELINES: 1.5 to 3 oz (45 to 90 ml), at least every 2-3 hours

2 to 3 Week Old Feeding Schedule

With another slight increase in ounces per feeding, we move enough milk to other feeds that we often need one less feed during the day and overnight again.

Since babies stomachs are increasing a lot at this age, we see a quick change in the number of feeds the first few weeks (yay!).

You’ll likely have two full overnight feeds and it’s important to keep the dreamfeed.

BOTTLE FEEDING GUIDELINES: 2 to 4.5 oz (60 to 135 ml), at least every 2-3 hours

3 to 4 Week Old Feeding Schedule

Milk intake continues to increase slightly and daytime feeds are at least every 2.5 hours which means night feeds start to get further apart, even though you will likely have 2 overnight full feedings still.

BOTTLE FEEDING GUIDELINES: 2 to 4.5 oz (60 to 135 ml), at least every 2-3 hours

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4 to 5 Week Old Feeding Schedule

Milk intake increases again slightly so the second MOTN feed becomes much closer to the start of day. We also want to move the dreamfeed to 10:30pm because daytime feeds extend to every 3-3.5 hours.

We want to begin have a consistent start of day that’s no later than 7:30am to help you baby begin to establish more of a circadian rhythm.

BOTTLE FEEDING GUIDELINES: 3 to 5 oz (90 to 150 ml), 7 to 9 times per 24-hours

5 to 6 Week Old Feeding Schedule

As milk intake increases per feed during the day, the dreamfeed moves to 11pm and you are likely down to one MOTN feed.

We want to maintain full feedings and encouraging your baby to eat fully (& similar amounts) at each feeding.

BOTTLE FEEDING GUIDELINES: 3 to 5 oz (90 to 150 ml), 7 to 9 times per 24-hours

6 to 7 Week Old Feeding Schedule

Overnight feeds may now be 4+ hours apart with milk intake increasing another .5oz per feeding. This pushes the overnight feeds further apart while maintaining feeds at least every 2.5 hours during the day.

If your baby is eating more per feed, it’s possible they could be sleeping through the night (with the dreamfeed).

BOTTLE FEEDING GUIDELINES: 4 to 6 oz (120 to 180 ml), 7 to 8 times per 24-hours

7 to 8 Week Old Feeding Schedule

At this point with consistent full feeds that increase slightly each week, you may have no overnight feeds. Yes, at only 8 weeks old your baby may be sleeping 12 hours overnight (with a full dreamfeed in place)!!!!

Newborn feeding changes often and it’s so important to be able to plan for and expect these changes. While the weekly increase is small to us, it’s an important step for your baby to grow and remain fully fed!

BOTTLE FEEDING GUIDELINES: 4 to 6 oz (120 to 180 ml), 7 to 8 times per 24-hours

A Quick Reminder

These bottle-feeding amounts are guidelines, not rules.

Eating more may mean earlier consolidation.
Eating less may simply reflect stomach size or weight.
We never recommend force-feeding.

Feed your baby fully, on demand, and the sleep will come. We promise.

Whether you’re breastfeeding, bottle feeding, or combination feeding, feeding and sleep go hand in hand.

Our Online Infant Sleep Programs teach a simple, needs-based, no cry it out approach to sleep
— rooted in feeding, development, and responsiveness from birth.

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