Most babies drink between 24 and 32 ounces of milk per day by the time they’re a month or two old, though the exact amount depends on age, weight, and whether they’re breastfed or formula-fed. That number changes significantly during the first year, starting from just a teaspoon or two at birth and gradually shifting downward once solid foods enter the picture around six months.
The First Few Days
Newborns need far less milk than most new parents expect. At birth, a baby’s stomach is roughly the size of a marble and holds only about 1 to 2 teaspoons of liquid. By day 10, the stomach grows to about the size of a ping-pong ball, holding around 2 ounces. This rapid change is why feeding amounts increase noticeably in the first two weeks, even though each feeding still looks tiny.
During this window, breastfed babies typically nurse 8 to 12 times in 24 hours. Formula-fed newborns usually take 1 to 2 ounces per feeding, every two to three hours. Both patterns are normal. Frequent, small feedings match what the stomach can physically handle.
Monthly Feeding Amounts for Formula-Fed Babies
Formula intake follows a fairly predictable curve. Here’s what a typical day looks like at each stage:
- 1 month: 2 to 4 ounces per feeding, six to eight feedings per day
- 2 months: 5 to 6 ounces per feeding, five to six feedings per day
- 3 to 5 months: 6 to 7 ounces per feeding, five to six feedings per day
Notice the trade-off: as the amount per bottle goes up, the number of feedings goes down. A two-month-old drinking 5 ounces six times a day takes in about 30 ounces total. A four-month-old might drink 6 to 7 ounces five times a day, landing in a similar range. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies drink no more than an average of about 32 ounces of formula in 24 hours. Going consistently above that number is worth mentioning to your pediatrician.
How Breastfed Babies Compare
Breastfed babies are harder to measure in ounces because the milk goes straight from the source. But research on pumped breast milk and infant intake gives us a solid picture. Between 1 and 6 months of age, exclusively breastfed infants consume roughly 25 ounces (about 750 mL) per day on average. Some babies fall in the range of 24 to 30 ounces daily.
One interesting difference from formula feeding: breast milk intake stays relatively flat across that entire 1-to-6-month window. Formula-fed babies tend to increase their volume gradually month over month, but breastfed babies hit their daily average by around 4 to 5 weeks and hold steady. The composition of breast milk changes over time to meet growing nutritional demands, so the volume doesn’t need to keep climbing the same way.
If you’re pumping and bottle-feeding breast milk, this is useful to know. A breastfed baby who nurses 8 times a day is taking roughly 3 ounces per session, even at 5 months old. Offering 6- or 7-ounce bottles of breast milk the way you would with formula can lead to overfeeding.
Growth Spurts Change the Pattern
Just when you think you’ve figured out your baby’s routine, a growth spurt will scramble it. These typically happen around 2 to 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months of age. During a spurt, babies get fussier and want to feed more often, sometimes as frequently as every 30 minutes. This is called cluster feeding, and it’s normal.
A growth spurt usually lasts a few days. The increased demand signals the body to produce more milk (in breastfeeding) or simply reflects higher caloric needs during a rapid growth phase. It doesn’t mean your baby has permanently changed their feeding schedule. Within a few days, things typically settle back to the previous rhythm, sometimes with a slightly higher baseline.
Reading Your Baby’s Hunger Cues
Charts and ounce ranges are guidelines, not rules. Your baby’s actual needs on any given day are best judged by their behavior. The CDC identifies several early hunger signals in babies from birth to 5 months: putting hands to their mouth, turning their head toward the breast or bottle, puckering or licking their lips, and clenching their fists. Crying is actually a late sign of hunger, meaning the baby has been signaling for a while before reaching that point.
Fullness cues are equally important. A baby who closes their mouth, turns away from the breast or bottle, or relaxes their hands is done eating. Pushing past these signals to finish a bottle can override a baby’s natural ability to regulate intake. This is one advantage of paced bottle feeding, where you hold the bottle more horizontally and let the baby control the flow, rather than tipping it up so milk pours steadily.
What Happens Once Solids Start
Around 6 months, most babies begin eating small amounts of solid food. At first, “small” really means small: a teaspoon or two at a time. Milk remains the primary source of nutrition through this transition. From 6 to 9 months, the recommendation is to offer breast milk or formula before solid foods, so the baby fills up on milk first and treats solids as practice and supplementation.
After 9 months, the order can flip. Solids come first, with milk offered afterward. This lets the baby naturally eat more food and drink less milk as they approach their first birthday. Over the course of this 6-to-12-month window, babies work up from one small “meal” a day to three meals plus snacks, and milk volume gradually decreases to match. Formula-fed babies will still drink formula through their first year, but you’ll notice the daily ounce count dropping as solid food intake rises.
A Quick Weight-Based Estimate
If your baby is between the standard age ranges or you want a more personalized number, a common rule of thumb is 2.5 ounces of formula per pound of body weight per day. So a 10-pound baby would need roughly 25 ounces, and a 12-pound baby about 30 ounces. This calculation works well for the first four to six months before solids begin, and the total should still stay at or below 32 ounces daily. Breastfed babies don’t follow this same scaling pattern because, as noted above, their daily intake holds relatively steady regardless of weight gain.