Most babies need 24 to 32 ounces of breast milk or formula per day from about one month through six months of age. That range stays surprisingly steady during those months, even as your baby grows. Before and after that window, the numbers shift quite a bit, so the answer depends on how old your baby is right now.
The First Few Weeks
A newborn’s stomach at birth is roughly the size of a marble, holding just 1 to 2 teaspoons. By day 10, it grows to about the size of a ping-pong ball (around 2 ounces). This is why newborns eat so frequently but take in so little at each feeding. In the first week, feedings may only be half an ounce to an ounce at a time, and your baby will want to eat 8 to 12 times in a 24-hour period.
By the end of the first month, most babies are taking 3 to 4 ounces per feeding. If you’re breastfeeding, you won’t be measuring ounces directly, but the frequency is a useful guide: expect to nurse every two to three hours around the clock.
One Month Through Six Months
Here’s the part that surprises many parents: babies take roughly the same total volume of milk per day from about 4 weeks old all the way to 6 months. That daily total is typically 24 to 30 ounces. What changes is how it’s distributed. A younger baby takes smaller, more frequent feedings while an older baby takes larger, less frequent ones.
A useful rule of thumb for formula-fed babies is 2.5 ounces per pound of body weight per day. So a 10-pound baby would need about 25 ounces spread across the day. The upper limit is generally around 32 ounces in 24 hours. If your baby consistently seems to want more than that, it’s worth checking in with your pediatrician to make sure the feeding pattern is on track.
Breastfed babies regulate their own intake at the breast, so the WHO recommends feeding on demand, meaning as often as the baby wants, day and night. Formula-fed babies eat a bit less often, typically 6 to 10 times per day, compared to 8 to 12 times for breastfed babies in the first couple of months.
Growth Spurts Change the Pattern
At around 2 to 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months, your baby will likely hit a growth spurt. During these periods, babies get fussier and want to feed more often, sometimes as frequently as every 30 minutes. This can feel alarming, especially for breastfeeding parents who worry their supply isn’t keeping up.
Growth spurts typically last a few days. The increased demand is temporary, and for breastfeeding parents, the extra nursing actually signals the body to produce more milk. You don’t need to supplement with formula unless your pediatrician recommends it. For formula-fed babies, offering an extra ounce or two per feeding during these stretches is usually enough.
Six Months to Twelve Months
Once your baby starts solid foods around 6 months, milk intake gradually decreases. Solids don’t replace milk right away. In the early weeks of eating food, your baby is mostly learning to chew and swallow, and breast milk or formula remains the primary source of nutrition. Most babies at this stage still drink 24 to 30 ounces per day initially, tapering closer to 16 to 24 ounces by their first birthday as they eat more solid meals.
The shift happens naturally if you follow your baby’s cues. As solid food portions increase over the months, your baby will show less interest in long nursing sessions or won’t finish full bottles. This is normal and expected.
After the First Birthday
At 12 months, most children can transition to whole cow’s milk. The recommended range is 16 to 24 ounces per day. Staying within that limit matters because too much cow’s milk can interfere with iron absorption and crowd out solid foods that provide nutrients milk doesn’t. If your toddler is drinking more than 24 ounces of milk daily, they’re at higher risk for iron deficiency.
How to Tell Your Baby Is Getting Enough
Wet diapers are the most reliable day-to-day indicator. In the first 24 hours after birth, one or two wet diapers is normal. By day two, expect two or three. Between days three and five, that number climbs to three to five. From day six onward, a well-fed baby produces six to eight wet diapers a day, sometimes as many as ten. You should also see three to four bowel movements per day starting around day four. If your baby goes longer than eight hours without urinating or consistently has fewer than six wet diapers a day, that can signal dehydration.
Steady weight gain is the other key measure, and your pediatrician tracks this at every well-child visit. Between appointments, wet diapers and your baby’s general contentment after feedings are your best guides.
Reading Your Baby’s Hunger and Fullness Cues
Crying is actually a late hunger signal. Before that, babies under 5 months show earlier signs: putting their hands to their mouth, turning their head toward your breast or the bottle, smacking or licking their lips, and clenching their fists. When they’re full, they close their mouth, turn their head away, and relax their hands.
Older babies (6 months and up) are more obvious. They’ll reach for food, point at it, or get visibly excited when they see it. When they’re done, they push food away, close their mouth, turn their head, or use gestures to signal they’ve had enough. Trusting these cues, rather than fixating on a specific number of ounces, is one of the most effective ways to make sure your baby eats the right amount for their body.
Quick Reference by Age
- Birth to 2 weeks: 1 to 2 ounces per feeding, 8 to 12 feedings per day
- 2 weeks to 1 month: 2 to 3 ounces per feeding, working up to about 24 ounces per day
- 1 to 6 months: 3 to 4 ounces per feeding, 24 to 30 ounces per day total
- 6 to 12 months: Gradual decrease from 24 to 30 ounces down to 16 to 24 ounces as solids increase
- 12 months and older: 16 to 24 ounces of whole cow’s milk per day