An 8-month-old typically needs about 24 ounces of breast milk or formula per day, spread across four to six feedings. That total will vary slightly from baby to baby, and it’s normal for the amount to start dipping as solid foods take up a bigger share of your baby’s diet.
Daily Milk Intake at 8 Months
At 8 months, your baby needs roughly 750 to 900 calories per day. About 400 to 500 of those calories should still come from breast milk or formula, which works out to around 24 ounces total. Milk remains the primary source of nutrition between 6 and 12 months, but solid foods are gradually filling in the gaps.
Each bottle or nursing session at this age typically runs 6 to 7 ounces, offered every 3 to 4 hours during the day. Most 8-month-olds end up with 4 to 6 milk feedings in a 24-hour period. A sample day might look like 4 to 6 ounces at breakfast, lunch, a snack, and dinner, with a slightly larger feeding of 6 to 8 ounces before bedtime.
How Solid Foods Change the Math
As your baby eats more solid food, milk intake naturally drops a bit. This is expected. The CDC notes that solid foods will gradually make up a bigger part of your child’s diet during this window, so don’t worry if your baby takes slightly less from the bottle or breast than they did at 5 or 6 months. The goal is a balance: aim for about 3 small meals of solids and 2 to 3 snacks or milk feedings throughout the day, with something to eat or drink roughly every 2 to 3 hours.
That said, milk shouldn’t drop off dramatically. If your baby is suddenly refusing bottles or nursing far less than usual, it’s worth paying attention to whether they’re getting enough overall calories and fluids.
Water and Other Drinks
Between 6 and 12 months, babies can have small amounts of water: 4 to 8 ounces per day. Water at this stage is supplemental, not a replacement for milk. A few sips with meals or after playing is plenty.
Juice is a different story. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that 100% fruit juice not be introduced until at least 12 months of age, if at all. Babies don’t need it, and early juice consumption has been linked to a preference for sweetened beverages later in childhood. Stick with breast milk, formula, and small amounts of plain water.
Per-Feeding Amounts
If you’re bottle-feeding, here’s a rough guide for what a single feeding looks like at 8 months:
- Morning feeding: 4 to 6 ounces
- Midday feedings (lunch, snack): 4 to 6 ounces each
- Dinner: 4 to 6 ounces
- Before bed: 6 to 8 ounces
These are averages. Some babies consistently take 5-ounce bottles, others drain 7 ounces. What matters more than any single feeding is the total across the day and whether your baby seems satisfied.
For breastfed babies, measuring ounces is trickier since you can’t see what’s going in. Focus on how many times your baby nurses (4 to 6 sessions is typical at this age) and watch for the hydration signs below.
How to Tell Your Baby Is Getting Enough
The most reliable day-to-day indicator is wet diapers. After the first week of life, a well-hydrated baby produces at least 6 wet diapers per day, with no more than 8 hours between wet diapers. If your baby consistently hits that mark and is gaining weight steadily at checkups, they’re almost certainly getting enough fluid.
Growth tracking matters more than hitting an exact ounce count. Babies who are following their own growth curve, even if it’s at a lower percentile, are generally doing fine. A sudden drop-off in wet diapers, persistent fussiness after feedings, or a stall in weight gain are more meaningful signals than whether your baby drank 22 or 26 ounces on a given day.
Avoid Forcing a Rigid Schedule
It’s tempting to measure every ounce, but feeding works best when you follow your baby’s hunger and fullness cues rather than a strict timetable. Babies who seem full but are pushed to finish a bottle can end up overfed, which contributes to excess weight gain, even when the bottle contains breast milk. Offer the breast or bottle when your baby shows hunger signs (rooting, putting hands to mouth, fussiness) and let them stop when they pull away or lose interest.
Some days your baby will eat more, some days less. A day with extra solid food might mean less milk, and a day when your baby is teething or under the weather might mean more nursing and less interest in solids. This kind of day-to-day variation is completely normal at 8 months.