An 8-month-old typically needs about 24 ounces (720 mL) of breast milk per day. That number can range from 20 to 28 ounces depending on how much solid food your baby is eating, but roughly 400 to 500 of your baby’s daily calories should still come from breast milk at this age.
Why 24 Ounces Is the Baseline
Between 8 and 12 months, babies need roughly 750 to 900 calories a day. About half of those calories, around 400 to 500, should come from breast milk or formula. That works out to approximately 24 ounces of breast milk daily. This number comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and it holds fairly steady through the end of the first year even as solid food intake increases.
Some babies will drink closer to 20 ounces if they’re enthusiastic about solids, while others who are slower to warm up to food may still take 28 ounces or more. Both are normal. The key indicator is steady weight gain and consistent wet diapers, not hitting an exact ounce count.
How That Breaks Down Per Feeding
A useful rule of thumb: breast milk intake works out to roughly 1 ounce per hour. So if your baby last nursed or took a bottle three hours ago, they’ll likely want about 3 ounces. If it’s been four hours, expect closer to 4 ounces.
Most 8-month-olds nurse or take a bottle four to six times a day, with each session providing 3 to 5 ounces. If you’re pumping and bottle-feeding, this math helps you plan how much to leave with a caregiver. Bottles of 3 to 4 ounces offered every two to three hours tend to work well and reduce waste from unfinished bottles.
Breastfed babies who nurse directly are harder to measure, of course. If your baby seems satisfied after nursing, is gaining weight, and produces six or more wet diapers a day, they’re almost certainly getting enough.
Balancing Milk and Solid Foods
At 8 months, breast milk is still the primary source of nutrition, but solids are becoming a bigger part of the picture. Most babies at this age eat solid foods two to three times a day alongside their regular nursing or bottle schedule. Think of solids as complementary right now, not a replacement for milk.
A practical approach is to nurse or offer a bottle first, then follow with solids about 30 minutes later. This ensures your baby gets the bulk of their calories and nutrients from milk while still building eating skills and exploring new foods. As your baby approaches 12 months, the balance will naturally shift, with solids making up a larger share of daily calories and milk intake gradually declining.
If your baby is eating large amounts of solid food and dropping below 20 ounces of milk per day, it’s worth paying attention. Breast milk provides fat, protein, and micronutrients that are hard to fully replace with the limited variety of foods most 8-month-olds eat.
Does Your Baby Need Water Too?
At 8 months, you can offer small amounts of water, about 4 to 8 ounces spread throughout the day. This is especially helpful alongside meals with solid food. Water at this age is a complement to breast milk, not a substitute. It shouldn’t replace a nursing session or a bottle, and most of your baby’s hydration still comes from milk.
A few sips from an open cup or straw cup during mealtimes is enough. There’s no need to push water between feedings if your baby is nursing well.
Signs Your Baby Is Getting Enough
Weight gain slows significantly by 8 months compared to the early weeks. While newborns gain about an ounce a day, babies at this age typically gain around 10 grams (roughly a third of an ounce) per day or less. That’s normal and expected. Your pediatrician tracks growth on a curve over time, so a single weigh-in matters less than the overall trend.
Day to day, the most reliable signs that your baby is getting enough breast milk include six or more wet diapers in 24 hours, a generally content mood between feedings, and meeting developmental milestones on a typical timeline. Babies who aren’t getting enough milk tend to show it through fussiness, poor weight gain over several weeks, or a noticeable drop in wet diapers.
If Your Supply Feels Low
Many parents worry about supply around 8 months because nursing sessions get shorter and breasts feel less full than they did in the early months. Both of these changes are normal. By this point, your body has become efficient at producing milk, and your baby has become efficient at extracting it. A feeding that used to take 20 minutes might now take 8.
If you’re pumping and consistently getting less than 20 ounces across a full day, it may help to add a pumping session or nurse more frequently for a few days. Milk production is driven by demand, so more frequent removal signals your body to produce more. But keep in mind that pump output doesn’t always reflect what a baby can get through direct nursing, which is typically more efficient.