Feeding your baby well is one of the most crucial ingredients of early parenting. Whether you’re nursing or bottle feeding, understanding what to expect and how to adapt as your baby grows can make the process smoother.

Here’s a month-by-month breakdown to help guide you through the first year of infant feeding.

0 – 2 Months: The Newborn Stage

Frequency: Newborns typically need to nurse at least every 2-3 hours, about 8-12 times a day. Our goal during this time is to work on feeding fully, which is considered a 30 minute feeding (including burp time). We want the feed to take 30-minutes, as this is how we measure full as they get older.

We recommend stopping every 5 min and burping for up to 5 min, once they burp you can go back to feeding. At this age, a lot of the work is keeping them awake long enough to eat. When they’re first born, most babies are very sleepy and will fall asleep quickly while eating. If their eyes are closed at this age and they’re eating, it is considered awake time.

By focusing on feeding fully and frequently during the daytime hours, you will begin to see your nighttime fall into a more predictable feeding pattern, and over time the feeds will slowly and naturally consolidate.

Breastfeeding:

Feedings usually last 30 min. We recommend feeding from both breasts at each feeding, as breasts usually have different amounts so this will help ensure full feeds at each feeding.

If you know you will be going back to work, want a break, or will be leaving your baby at any point in the first year, we highly recommend introducing a bottle within the first month, and offering 1 time per day (dreamfeed is great!) so baby easily takes one. When you do this it’s best to pump within 30min of the feeding so that your body is still stimulating to make milk. You can give this milk right into the bottle to make it easy!

Bottle Feeding:

The amount they eat per feeding will increase throughout the month as their stomachs grow. In the beginning, they may only eat an ounce or so per feeding, and by the end of the month they may be up to 2-3oz per feeding. Check with your bottle manufacturer but babies at this age should be on a Level 1 nipple.

By 2 months old, your baby may need to increase to a Level 2 nipple. Some signs that you need to increase nipple level: taking longer to finish the same amount of milk, not increasing milk slowly as they get older, + not wanting to take the bottle. When you increase, make sure you used paced feeding (where you control the flow) to help make the transition easier.

TIP:

Focus on establishing a good latch and feeding rhythm. Don’t worry if feedings seem frequent; this helps stimulate milk production and helps your baby work towards full feedings as their stomachs are very small at this age and they can’t maintain fullness for extended periods of time.

3 – 4 Months: Continuing to Feed Fully

Frequency:

We recommend continuing to feed frequently during this time, as this is how we continue to meet baby’s caloric needs fully during the daytime hours (to support consistent nighttime sleep. We recommend feeding at least every 3 hours during the day but it would still be considered “normal” if you are offering a full feeding every 2-3 hours.

It’s important to not drop the dreamfeed (10-11pm feed) yet, even if your baby is sleeping through the night. Babies aren’t typically able to go 12-hours without eating until closer to 12-16 weeks, so if you drop the dreamfeed to soon, it could lead to disrupted nighttime sleep.

When we do decide to drop the dreamfeed (closer to 4 months old), we want to move slowly so we don’t disrupt progress we’ve made with overnight sleep. If your baby isn’t sleeping through the night yet, continue working to increase daytime feeds slowly, that their milk intake is moved to the daytime.

HINT:

If your baby is over the age of 12-weeks old, whatever they are consuming in 24-hours is their baseline of full and what you want to work on moving to the daytime, in an effort to support consistent nighttime sleep.

You might start to notice your baby’s feeding patterns becoming more predictable, but it’s important to continue to base their feeds off of a flexible routine around their Optimal Wake Time (OWT), or age-appropriate wake window.

Breastfeeding:

Feeds should continue to take 30 minutes, with stopping to burp often.

Remember, if you plan to return to work or need to be away for any reason, consider introducing a bottle with expressed milk or formula before you actually plan to be away. This will help make the transition easier.

Bottle Feeding:

By this age, babies generally consume 5-7 ounces per feeding, but this is individual to each baby. Remember a 1% baby and a 99% baby have 2 different amounts of full. If you want an idea of how much you should be offering per daytime feed, take what your baby is consuming in a 24-hour period and divide it by the number of daytime feeds (usually 5 – 6 feeds, depending on age). This amount is what you want to work towards having your baby consume!

Remember, we want your baby’s bottle feeding to continue to take 30-minutes (including burp time). This helps you know when it’s time to increase feed amount or know when you need to troubleshoot their feeding. If your baby starts taking their normal amount of milk in a shorter amount of time, you will know it’s time to increase intake (we recommend increasing 0.5oz per feed). If your baby starts taking longer to finish their normal amount of milk, you will know it’s time to increase bottle Level nipple.

TIP:

Make sure you’ve switched to a level 2 nipple. If the flow of your baby’s bottle is too slow, they may start to show a slight bottle refusal and this can impact their ability to remain fully fed.

4 – 6 Months: Introduction to Solids

Milk continues to be the primary source of nutrition, but many parents start introducing solids around 6 months. When introducing solids, it’s important to go slow and not add them at the expense of milk. Your baby’s primary source of calories and nutrition should continue to be milk until they’re at least 1 year old (and often beyond that). Solids at this age is about exploring tastes and textures (& working on their oral motor development), so have fun with it!

If you notice a drop in the milk that your baby is eating & your sleep is affected, it can be helpful to pull back on solids until milk feeds are re-established.

TIP:

Offer milk before solids to ensure your baby gets enough milk. Continue to monitor growth and adjust feeding as needed. Always consult your pediatrician before beginning solids.

Breastfeeding:

At 6 months a full feeding may decrease to around 20-25 minutes, including burp time. If your baby is feeding for less time and still eating overnight, you may want to consider waiting on solids while you move the milk from overnight to the daytime.

Bottle Feeding:

Many babies will consume 6-8 ounces per feeding. If your baby is eating less per feeding and sleeping through the night, you are good. If your baby is still drinking milk at night, it may mean they aren’t getting full daytime feeds and your focus should be on getting your baby to consume the milk they are drinking in 24-hours, during the daytime hours only (can include a dreamfeed between 10 – 11pm).

You can also increase to a Level 3 nipple around 5 months old. Remember to used paced feeding if the flow seems too fast.

7 – 9 Months: Exploring More Solids

Milk is still the main source of nutrition and calories but you may be offering two meals of solids at this point. We want to continue to go slow and only offer solids if milk intake is remaining the same and there’s no change in baby’s sleep. Solids are still about exploring and are an important part of your baby’s development but not at the expense of milk. Solids should be a fun thing to do as a family but should not be viewed in any way as their “meals” at this point. Many babies need a significant amount of milk to remain full until they’re 18+ months old, so keep that in mind when offering solids.

Milk should always be offered first at a meal and we recommend limiting solids at this age to the morning (after their first two milk feeds) so they have a chance to fill up on milk the rest of the day. The milk calories are what keep them satiated (& sleeping) so we definitely don’t want to compromise that.

TIP:

Offer a variety of textures and flavors in solid foods. Be patient as your baby adjusts to new tastes. Always consult your pediatrician before beginning solids.

Breastfeeding:

A full feeding may drop to around 15 minutes at this age. If your baby is eating for a shorter period of time and waking overnight, we want to gently work to increase feeds (slowly) so that they’re getting all of their caloric needs met during the day.

Bottle Feeding:

At 8 months we recommend increasing to a Level 4 nipple in order to maintain full feedings. It’s important to increase nipple size as your baby gets older so they can continue to eat fully. If you don’t increase, they may have trouble eating because they have to work harder for the milk then they want to.

9 – 12 Months: Transitioning to Toddler

As your baby is approaching 12 months, you may start offering solids before milk at some meals meals. As when they were younger, we do not want to do this at the expense of them eating milk fully. Solids often have fewer calories than milk so if you notice your baby begins waking overnight or is still not sleeping through the night then it’s important to go back to offering more milk so they can remain full.

Breastfeeding:

Full feedings may decrease to 5-10 minutes at this age. However, we want to continue to encourage eating fully at all feedings, especially if you notice a change in your baby’s sleep or they aren’t sleeping through the night yet.

Bottle Feeding:

Your pediatrician may begin talking to you about introducing cow’s milk and starting to limit formula (as they approach a year). Consult them first before beginning to make these changes on your own!

TIP:

Transition gradually to avoid upsetting your baby’s stomach. Begin offering a straw cup instead of a bottle to help with the transition.

General Tips for All Stages

1. Hydration: Keep your baby hydrated with breast milk, formula, or water (over 6 months) as they grow. On very hot days you may notice your baby is looking for more formula or breastmilk as this is how they stay hydrated.
2. Monitor Growth: Regular pediatric check-ups are essential to ensure your baby is growing and developing well. If you have any concerns write it down in a note on your phone to ask at their next well visit. For any immediate concerns, reach out to them between visits. They’re here to help guide you and they’re part of your village so make sure to include them in the process.
3. Responsive Feeding: Pay attention to your baby’s hunger and fullness cues rather than sticking rigidly to a schedule. We never force feed a baby but feeding also isn’t passive. It’s important to encourage feeding fully. Wet diapers, time between feeds and overnight sleep are all good ways to gauge if they’re eating fully at each feed.
4. Variety: Introduce a variety of foods to help your baby develop a taste for different flavors and textures. There are many wonderful apps and resources to consult that are created by infant feeding specialists that can help guide you on how to cut and prepare foods for babies of different ages.

Feeding your baby is a dynamic process that evolves as they grow. Adapting to your baby’s changing needs and being responsive to their cues will help ensure they receive the nutrition they need while fostering a positive feeding experience and maintaining consistent nighttime sleep.

We highly recommend starting before birth to develop a feeding plan that meets YOUR family’s needs and supports your feeding goals through at least the first year of your baby’s life. It is so important to have a practical and realistic feeding plan in place from birth, so you can be prepared to meet your feeding goals and avoid any issues that could arise.

Whether it’s exclusively offering breastmilk to your baby, bottle feeding, or combination feeding, we can help you via our Online Programs and 1:1 consulting to support your family and how you choose to feed your baby.

To book a 1:1 Lactation Consultation, email HELLOMILK@FULLERFEEDINGS.COM to schedule a 30, 60, or 90-minute call with our Certified Breastfeeding Specialists® or if you prefer to work at your own pace, our self-guided BREASTFEEDING BASICS and BOTTLE FEEDING BASICS are great ways to support your feeding and troubleshoot any problems that may arise.

And if you are looking for a more comprehensive approach to support your baby (that includes feeding support), we offer ONLINE INFANT & TODDLER SLEEP PROGRAMS that teach you a simple, 3-step, needs based, NO CRY IT OUT approach to sleep that can be safely implemented from birth and alleviates the need to sleep train.

Questions? Email HELLOSLEEP@FULLFEEDINGS.COM and ask us anything!!!