Feeding Your Baby: How Much Should a 1- to 3-Month-Old Eat?

During your baby's first 3 months of life, breast milk or formula will provide all the nutrition that’s needed. Doctors recommend waiting until your infant is about 6 months old to start solid foods. Some babies may be ready for solids sooner than 6 months but wait until your little one is at least 4 months old.

How Much Should a 1-, 2-, or 3-Month-Old Eat?

Breastfed Babies

Breastfed babies tend to eat more often than formula-fed babies. For the first few weeks, they typically have 1 ounce (30 milliliters or ml) at each feeding, then have more as they grow. At about 1 year, babies may have about 4.5 ounces (133 ml).

Babies who are breastfeeding usually eat about every two hours or 10–12 feeds each day.

Bottle-Fed Babies

For babies who get formulaor breast milk in a bottle, here’s how much and how often they usually feed:

• At 1 month, babies usually have 3–4 ounces (90–120 ml) or more every 3–4 hours.
• At about 2 months, babies may have about 4–5 ounces (120–150 ml) every 3–4 hours.
• From about 3–6 months, babies may have 6–8 ounces (180–240 ml) about 4–5 times a day.

Signs of Hunger & Fullness

Your baby may be hungry more or less often than this. That's why it's important to pay attention to your baby's signals of being hungry or full:

• When babies get hungry, they might start sucking on things or rooting, which means turning their head and moving their mouth in search of a breast or bottle.
• Babies who are getting full might slow down, stop, or turn away from the breast or bottle.

Infants probably are eating enough if they:

• seem satisfied after a feeding
• are alert, content, and active
• are steadily gaining weight and growing
• feed six to eight times each day
• are wetting and soiling diapers on a regular basis

Is My Baby Getting Enough to Eat?

It’s normal to worry whether your baby is getting enough to eat.

Babies might not be getting enough to eat if they:

• refuse to feed, feed for more than 30–45 minutes without eating much, or don't seem satisfied after a feeding
• often fall asleep right after starting to feed (falling asleep at the end of a feed is normal)
• are very sleepy, hard to wake for feedings, and aren’t alert or active
• are irritable, even after feeding
• have a weak suck or weak cry
• make fewer than 5–6 wet diapers a day
• have signs of dehydration, like a fontanel (soft spot on the top of the head) that’s sunken or crying without tears

Call your doctor if you're concerned that your baby isn't eating enough.

What Can I Expect as My Baby Grows?

As your infant grows, feeding will change. Babies will start drinking more milk during each feeding, so they won't need to feed as often and will sleep longer at night.

Breastfed Babies

Your baby's appetite will increase during growth spurts (typically around 6 weeks and 3 months of age).

Keep feeding on demand (when your baby is hungry) and add more feedings as needed. This frequent nursing sends a signal your body to make more milk. Within a few days, your body should make the right amount of milk for your baby.

A few weeks after birth, breastfed babies tend to have fewer bowel movements (BMs or poop) than they did before. At around 2 months of age, your baby may not poop after each feeding, or even every day.

Bottle-Fed Babies

It's easy to overfeed a baby when using a bottle because milk usually flows faster from a bottle than from a breast. Make sure that the hole on the bottle's nipple is the right size. The liquid should drip slowly from the hole and not pour out. Also, avoid having your baby finish the bottle when there are signs of being full.

Never prop a bottle in your baby’s mouth or rest it against something instead of holding it. Propping a bottle might cause choking, and it increases the chances of your child getting ear infections and tooth decay.

Should I Worry About Spitting Up?

It's normal for infants to "spit up" after eating or during burping. Spitting up a small amount — usually less than 1 ounce (30 ml) — shouldn't be a concern as long as it happens within an hour of feeding and doesn't bother your baby.

You can reduce spitting up in these early months by:

• feeding before your baby gets very hungry
• keeping your baby in a semi-upright position during the feeding and for an hour after
• burping your baby regularly
• avoiding overfeeding
• not jostling or bouncing your baby vigorously right after a feeding

When Should I Call the Doctor?

Call your doctor if your baby:

• has a fever or shows any signs of dehydration (like not wetting diapers)
• has problems swallowing, spits up large amounts, or spits up forcefully
• has signs of a milk allergy (like trouble breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, watery eyes, or hives) or a milk intolerance (like loose poop, blood in the poop, refusing to eat, or colic) after breastfeeding or drinking formula
• refuses to eat or is irritable during or after feedings
• keeps falling asleep before feedings are done
• has trouble pooping
• seems to be losing weight or isn’t gaining weight as expected

Also call your doctor if you have problems breastfeeding or if you have any questions about feeding your baby.

What Else Should I Know?

Babies who have breast milk only should be given vitamin D supplements within the first few days of life and keep taking them as long as they’re breastfed. Vitamin D helps with bone health. Other supplements, water, juice, and solid foods aren't usually needed. Babies who drink formula don’t need supplements because formula is made with vitamin D.