A 5-month-old typically drinks 6 to 7 ounces per feeding, with five to six feedings spread across 24 hours. That puts the daily total somewhere around 30 to 42 ounces, though every baby lands at a slightly different number depending on their size, metabolism, and whether they’re drinking breast milk or formula.
How Much Per Feeding and Per Day
At this age, most babies have settled into a fairly predictable pattern. Johns Hopkins Medicine places the range at 6 to 7 ounces per bottle, five to six times a day. Some babies consistently take 5 ounces and feed more often; others drain 7 or 8 ounces and go longer between bottles. Both patterns are normal as long as your baby is gaining weight steadily.
A useful benchmark: by 4 to 5 months, most babies have doubled their birth weight. After that point, average weight gain is about 1 to 1.25 pounds per month. If your baby is tracking along their growth curve, their intake is almost certainly fine, even if the exact ounce count doesn’t match a chart perfectly.
Breast Milk vs. Formula Volume
Breastfed babies and formula-fed babies don’t drink the same amount, and that’s expected. Breastfed infants take in roughly 15% fewer calories per pound of body weight than formula-fed infants. This isn’t a deficit. Breast milk composition varies from feed to feed, ranging from about 15 to 24 calories per ounce, and babies compensate for lower-calorie milk by simply drinking more volume.
Formula is digested more slowly than breast milk, so formula-fed babies often feel full longer and may space their feedings further apart. A breastfed baby might nurse seven or eight times in a day while a formula-fed baby takes five or six bottles. The calorie totals end up in a similar range. If you’re pumping and bottle-feeding breast milk, you may notice your baby takes slightly more ounces per bottle than what formula charts suggest, and that’s perfectly normal given the calorie difference.
Night Feedings at 5 Months
Most 5-month-olds still wake at least once overnight to eat, especially breastfed babies. Formula-fed infants may begin stretching longer between nighttime feeds because formula takes longer to digest, but waking once or twice is still common at this age. Pediatric guidelines generally suggest waiting until at least 6 months before phasing out night feeds for formula-fed babies, since many still need those calories earlier on.
If your baby wakes frequently but only takes an ounce or two before falling back asleep, they may be waking more for comfort than hunger. Babies who are genuinely hungry overnight will typically drink a full feeding of 4 to 6 ounces.
How to Tell Your Baby Is Getting Enough
Ounce counts are helpful guidelines, but your baby gives you real-time feedback that matters more than any number on a chart. The CDC outlines clear hunger and fullness cues for babies under 5 months:
- Hungry: turning toward the breast or bottle, putting hands to mouth, smacking or licking lips, clenching fists
- Full: closing their mouth, turning their head away from the breast or bottle, relaxing their hands
Responding to these cues rather than pushing your baby to finish a set number of ounces helps them develop healthy self-regulation. If your baby consistently turns away after 5 ounces, there’s no reason to coax them into drinking 7.
Diaper output is the other reliable indicator. After the newborn period, at least six wet diapers a day signals adequate hydration. If you’re seeing fewer than that, or if diapers seem unusually dry, it’s worth checking in with your pediatrician about whether intake needs to increase.
What About Solids at 5 Months?
The AAP recommends exclusive breastfeeding or formula feeding for approximately the first 6 months. At 5 months, your baby gets everything they need from milk alone. Some families start introducing small tastes of purees around this age, but even when solids begin, they don’t replace milk. They supplement it. For the rest of the first year, breast milk or formula remains the primary calorie source, and the total daily milk volume shouldn’t drop significantly just because a baby starts eating solid food.
If your baby is showing signs of readiness for solids (sitting with support, reaching for food, good head control), starting a few spoonfuls of single-ingredient purees won’t change how much milk they need. Expect their bottle or nursing schedule to stay roughly the same for another month or two.
When Intake Seems Too Low or Too High
Babies occasionally go through phases where they drink noticeably less for a few days. Growth spurts, teething, minor illness, or simply being more interested in the world around them can all temporarily reduce intake. A day or two of lighter feeding is rarely a concern if your baby is alert, producing wet diapers, and not showing signs of dehydration like a dry mouth or sunken soft spot.
On the other end, some babies seem to want more than 40 ounces a day. Consistently exceeding that range with formula can contribute to excess weight gain and may signal that your baby is ready for the added satiety that solid foods provide. If your 5-month-old is draining bottles and still acting hungry, it’s a reasonable time to talk with your pediatrician about whether to introduce solids slightly earlier than the 6-month mark.