Wondering how much formula your baby needs to eat to be nourished? If so, you are not alone! Many parents ponder this topic as it can be tough to pinpoint exactly how much formula your baby needs to fill their tummy. While there is no exact amount to strive for because every baby is different, we do have a few helpful tips to be sure your little one is getting enough for their unique nutritional needs during each feeding.
First things first, do your best to learn to read your baby’s hunger cues. This will give you a good idea as to how often your baby needs to eat. If you notice your baby doing things such as opening their mouth, rooting, bringing their hands into their mouth, becoming more alert and moving their head from side to side, these are all good indications that they are getting hungry. If your baby is doing these things along with fussing or crying, they are likely very hungry! This post right here can help you to pinpoint more exact hunger signs: https://organicbabyfood.shop/blogs/information/signals-your-baby-wants-to-eat
Identifying the earliest hunger cues will help you as the parent to know when it is time to prepare a bottle. Often, the frequency in which your baby eats will fall into a range based on their developmental age. For example, full term newborns will want to eat on demand every couple of hours, while an older baby that is closer to turning one may wait longer in between bottles, perhaps closer to six to eight hours. Again, every baby is different and yours may want to eat more or less often, but looking for and following their hunger cues will help you to space out their feedings accordingly. Most babies will neutrally fall into a predictable feeding pattern as time goes on and you will become an expert at following their lead!
Once you can identify when to feed your baby, you will need to prepare for how much you will feed them. In general, your baby will want about 2-2.5 ounces of milk per pound of their entire weight within a 24-hour period. This means that a full-term newborn may want about 2-3 ounces of formula per feeding while an eight-month-old may want anywhere from 6-8 ounces per feeding. Keep in mind that these ranges are approximate, and it is best to pay attention to those hunger cues to be sure your baby is satisfied after each feeding. If your baby is still showing those hunger cues we covered earlier even after drinking their bottle, then that is a good indication that they need a little more formula per feeding. Here is a reference chart that may give you a starting point as to the amount in ounces that your little one will drink in a 24 hour period:
Full Term Newborn: 2-3 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours
1-3 Month Old: 3-4 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours
4-6 Month Old: 4-6 ounces of formula every 4-5 hours
7-9 Month Old: 6-8 ounces of milk every 6-8 hours
9-12 Month Old: This will depend on how much baby food and solids you are serving up in addition to formula at this age, but your pediatrician will be able to help guide you on how much formula to give in addition to food! Likely a baby within this age range will drink about 7-8 ounces per bottle.
When preparing a bottle, you may find these links helpful, depending on what type of formula your baby drinks:
https://organicbabyfood.shop/pages/preparation-guide-lebenswert-organic-formula
https://organicbabyfood.shop/pages/holle-formula-preparation-guide
https://organicbabyfood.shop/pages/holle-goat-milk-formula-preparation-guide
https://organicbabyfood.shop/pages/preparation-guide-hipp-formula
We hope these tips will help you as the parent to identify how often to feed your baby as well as how much to feed them! Looking for additional information on how to avoid overfeeding your little one? Stay tuned for our next post if so as we will be diving into this topic! Wishing you all happy, well fed baby snuggles!
