How Much Should a Newborn Baby Eat & Drink?

4 min. read

Like every new mother, you’re now probably wondering ‘how much should a newborn eat?’ and ‘how many ounces does a newborn drink?.’ Your body has been designed to give your baby all the nutrients they need, but we all need a little practical guidance and reassurance when it comes to learning how much milk a newborn should drink.

Whether you opt for breastfeeding, bottle feeding, or a combination of the two, here you’ll find all the essential information you need to know about getting the right newborn feeding amount for healthy growth and development of your infant.

Signs that your baby is hungry

Mothers have wonderful instincts, but we’re not all mind readers at the beginning! You’ll gradually become very familiar with your baby’s unique gestures and signs of hunger. In the meantime, here are a few of the most common signs your baby is telling you they’re hungry:

• Moving head towards your breast or bottle
• Clenching hands
• Putting hands to mouth
• Puckering, smacking, or licking lips
   

If your baby shows any of these signs, he or she may be trying to tell you that it’s time to eat. Ideally, your baby should be feeding on demand, when he or she is hungry. If you are breastfeeding, this is a healthy way to help maintain your milk supply, as your body will naturally respond to your baby’s needs and continue to produce the right amount of milk. Bottle feeding on demand can be also beneficial for the infant as they are able to self-regulate their feeding needs.

How much breast milk should a newborn eat?

So how much do newborns eat? The wonderful thing about babies is that every one is unique, and because of that, no baby will ever feed by the book. Don’t panic if the following guidelines don’t match your own feeding schedule exactly, but do get in touch with your doctor or your child’s pediatrician if you have any concerns.

In general, newborns drink every two to three hours for a total of eight to 12 times every 24 hours. How many ounces does a newborn drink? At first, you will only produce small amounts of breast milk called colostrum, a yellowish, thick milk. This milk is the perfect source of nutrients that your newborn needs with many immunologic properties.¹

How many ounces does a newborn eat? Babies only ingest about one to two ounces per feeding, an amount that will increase to about two to three ounces at two weeks of age. So don’t worry if it seems that you aren’t producing much milk in these first few days after birth! The feeding sessions will also change in terms of duration, starting between 10 to 30 minutes and gradually increasing as your newborn grows.