Baby Feeding Schedule by Month (0 to 12): How Often, How Much
A newborn feeds 8 to 12 times in 24 hours, roughly every 2 to 3 hours, and by 6 months most babies settle into 5 to 7 milk feeds with food starting alongside. That’s the baby feeding schedule by month in one line. Below: how often and how much at each age, how to tell your baby is getting enough, and a sample day for 6 to 12 months you can actually follow.
The short version
- 0 to 6 months: breast milk or formula only. No water, gripe water, ghutti, herbal drops, sugar water or honey.
- Newborn: 8 to 12 feeds a day, on cue, day and night
- Enough milk sign: 6 or more properly wet nappies a day after the first week, pale urine, steady weight gain
- 6 to 12 months: milk first, plus meals that build from 2 to 3 a day at 6 to 8 months to 3 meals and 1 or 2 snacks by 9 to 12 months
- Under 1 year: no honey, no salt, sugar, gur or ghee added to food, no cow’s milk as the main drink
Prefer to listen? This post as a 6 min video · Video page with transcript
How often should a newborn baby be fed?
Often. A newborn’s stomach is about the size of a cherry on day one, and breast milk digests fast, so 8 to 12 feeds in 24 hours is normal. Count from the start of one feed to the start of the next, so a baby who finishes at 3:40 may be hungry again by 5.
Feed on cue, not the clock. Early hunger cues are quiet: rooting (turning the head with an open mouth), sucking on hands, lip smacking. Crying is a late cue, and a crying baby often latches badly.
In the first two weeks, don’t let a sleepy newborn go longer than about 4 hours without a feed; wake the baby gently if needed. Most babies lose some weight after birth and are back to birth weight by around 2 weeks. After that, and once the doctor or midwife is happy with the weight, you can usually let a baby wake on their own at night.
Crying is the last hunger sign, not the first.
Baby feeding schedule by month: a chart
These are typical ranges, not targets. Breastfed babies set their own amounts. For formula, the chart on your tin (by weight) comes first; these figures are a rough cross-check.
| Age | Milk feeds in 24 hours | Formula per feed (rough) | Food |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 1 month | 8 to 12 | Starts very small, about 60 to 90 ml by 2 weeks | None |
| 1 to 3 months | 7 to 9 | About 90 to 150 ml | None |
| 3 to 6 months | 6 to 8 | About 150 to 210 ml | None |
| 6 to 8 months | 5 to 7 | About 180 to 240 ml | 2 to 3 small meals |
| 9 to 12 months | 4 to 5 | About 180 to 240 ml | 3 meals, 1 to 2 snacks |
A formula-fed baby rarely needs more than about 1 litre of formula in a day. If yours seems to want far more, or far less, than the tin says for their weight, check with your doctor rather than changing the scoops. Never add extra powder or water to a bottle; both upset the salt and water balance a small body can handle.
How do I know my baby is getting enough milk?
Check the nappies, then the weight, then the baby.
- Days 1 to 5: wet nappies climb from 1 or 2 a day to about 5; the dark, sticky first poo (meconium) turns greenish, then yellow.
- From day 5 or 6 onwards: 6 or more heavy wet nappies every 24 hours, with pale, mild-smelling urine. Pour 3 tablespoons (about 45 ml) of water onto a dry nappy once to feel what “heavy” means.
- By about 2 weeks: back to birth weight. After that, steady gain on the growth chart at each weighing.
- The baby: alert when awake, with rhythmic sucks and swallows, and relaxed after most feeds.
Orange or brick-red crystals in the nappy after the first few days, fewer wet nappies, or dark urine mean the baby needs more milk and a check the same day.
Ghutti on the first day, water “for the heat”, gripe water for every cry: all come from love. Honest verdict: under 6 months none are needed. They fill a tiny stomach meant for milk, water can dilute the blood’s salt level, and anything given by finger or spoon carries germs. Breast milk is about 88% water, which is why exclusively breastfed babies don’t need extra, even in a Karachi June. The gripe water and ghutti guide goes through what’s in those bottles.
Night feeds, growth spurts and cluster feeding
Night feeds are normal for most of the first year. By 3 to 6 months many babies manage one stretch of 4 to 6 hours, and plenty still wake once or twice to feed at 9 or 10 months.
Expect growth spurts, often around 2 to 3 weeks, 6 weeks and 3 months, when a baby suddenly feeds every hour for a day or two (cluster feeding), usually in the evening. It feels like the milk has run out. It hasn’t. The extra sucking signals the body to make more, and supply usually catches up within 2 to 3 days. The breast milk supply myths post covers what food can and can’t do for supply.
6 to 12 months: a sample feeding day
Food starts at around 6 months, when a baby sits with a little support, holds the head steady and swallows food instead of pushing it out. Milk stays the main food until about 9 months.
This article is about when and how often. For what to cook, use the desi weaning plan with khichdi and dalia and the first foods from 6 months guide.
| Time | 6 to 8 months | 9 to 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| On waking (about 6 to 7 am) | Milk feed | Milk feed |
| Mid-morning (about 9 am) | First meal, 2 to 3 spoons growing to a few tablespoons | Breakfast, about half a small katori |
| Late morning | Milk feed, then nap | Milk or a snack (soft fruit), then nap |
| About 1 pm | Second meal (from 7 months) | Lunch, half to three-quarters of a katori |
| Afternoon | Milk feed | Milk feed |
| About 6 pm | Third meal if the baby is ready, or milk | Dinner, family food mashed or chopped soft |
| Bedtime and night | Milk feed, plus night feeds as needed | Milk feed, with 0 to 2 night feeds |
Offer small sips of boiled, cooled water from an open cup with meals from 6 months. Cow’s or buffalo milk can go into cooking (a dalia, a kheer with no sugar) from 6 months, but not as the main drink until after the first birthday. No salt, sugar, gur, ghee or honey is added to a baby’s food before 12 months, because baby kidneys can’t handle added salt and honey can carry the spores that cause infant botulism.
Missed feeds, busy days and a realistic routine
Babies are not trains. If a day falls apart, here’s what matters.
- A missed meal at 7 months: just offer milk and try food at the next slot. Food at this age is practice; milk carries the nutrition.
- A missed feed in the first 2 weeks, or a baby too sleepy to feed: wake, undress to the vest, try skin to skin, and call the doctor if the baby still won’t feed.
- Working parents: expressed breast milk keeps up to 4 hours at room temperature below about 25 °C and up to 4 days at the back of the fridge. One carer can give the day feeds while mother feeds morning, evening and night.
- The busy version: feed on cue, count wet nappies, and keep three food slots at 6 to 12 months. That’s the whole schedule.
Myth: a fat baby is a healthy baby, so feed more
A chubby baby isn’t automatically healthier, and a lean one isn’t underfed. Steady growth along their own line on the chart is what counts. Forcing extra bottles or feeding every cry pushes a baby past their fullness cues. Stop when the baby turns away, closes the mouth or slows down. Their appetite is the most accurate measure you have.
Same for rice cereal or suji in a bottle: it doesn’t make babies sleep through, and it’s a choking risk.
Call the doctor today if your baby has fewer than 6 wet nappies a day after the first week, dark urine, a dry mouth, or isn’t back to birth weight by about 2 weeks. Go to hospital now for a baby who is floppy, drowsy or hard to wake for feeds, has a sunken soft spot or no tears, vomits green, vomits everything, has blood in poo or vomit, breathes fast or with grunting or chest sucking in, or has any fever at all under 3 months. Keep breastfeeding through any illness. For loose motions, use a pharmacy ORS sachet or the WHO home mix (1 litre clean water, 6 level teaspoons sugar, half a level teaspoon salt) only as your doctor advises for the baby’s age.
More in Bachon Ki Sehat.
Baby feeding questions parents ask
How often should a newborn baby be fed?
8 to 12 times in 24 hours, which works out to about every 2 to 3 hours, counted from the start of one feed to the start of the next. Feed on hunger cues rather than the clock, and in the first 2 weeks don’t let a newborn go longer than about 4 hours.
How much milk should a 1 month old drink per feed?
A formula-fed baby at 1 month often takes about 90 to 120 ml per feed, but the tin’s chart by weight is your guide. Breastfed babies can’t be measured this way, so judge by 6 or more wet nappies a day and steady weight gain.
Can I give water to my baby before 6 months?
No. Breast milk or formula gives a baby all the water they need, even in hot weather. Extra water fills the stomach, reduces milk intake and can upset the body’s salt balance. In the heat, offer more feeds instead. From 6 months, small sips of boiled, cooled water with meals are fine.
Is it normal that my baby wants to feed every hour?
Yes, for a day or two at a time. Cluster feeding, often in the evening and during growth spurts around 2 to 3 weeks, 6 weeks and 3 months, is normal and helps build supply. If it goes on for days with few wet nappies or poor weight gain, see the doctor.
Can I give honey, ghutti or gripe water to a newborn?
Honey never before 12 months, because of infant botulism. Ghutti, gripe water and herbal drops aren’t needed under 6 months and can carry sugar, alcohol or contamination. Nothing but breast milk or formula goes in before 6 months.
What is a good baby feeding schedule at 7 months?
Most 7-month-olds take 5 to 7 milk feeds and 2 to 3 small meals a day, for example milk on waking, breakfast mid-morning, milk before the nap, lunch, an afternoon feed, a small dinner and a bedtime feed. Milk still comes first.
Should I wake my baby at night to feed?
In the first 2 weeks, yes, if the baby sleeps longer than about 4 hours. Once the baby is back to birth weight and growing well, most doctors are happy to let them wake on their own. Premature or jaundiced babies may need a stricter plan, so follow your doctor.
My baby spits up after feeds. Is that normal?
Small spit-ups after feeds are very common and usually settle by 12 months. Hold the baby upright for a while after feeds. Forceful vomiting, green vomit, blood, poor weight gain or a baby in pain need a doctor.