A 5-month-old typically drinks 24 to 36 ounces of breast milk or formula per day, spread across five or six feedings. The exact amount depends on whether your baby is breastfed or formula-fed, their weight, and their individual appetite. At this age, milk is still your baby’s only necessary source of nutrition.
Formula-Fed Babies: Daily Totals
Most formula-fed 5-month-olds take 6 to 7 ounces per bottle, five or six times a day. That puts the typical daily range at 30 to 42 ounces, though most babies settle somewhere around 30 to 36 ounces. A useful rule of thumb: babies need about 2.5 ounces of formula per pound of body weight per day. So a 14-pound baby would need roughly 35 ounces.
There is an upper limit. Pediatric guidelines cap formula intake at 32 ounces per day. Going beyond that consistently can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, or excessive weight gain. If your baby still seems hungry after 32 ounces, that’s often a sign they’re ready to start solids rather than needing more formula.
Breastfed Babies: What to Expect
Breastfed 5-month-olds generally nurse about six times a day. When taking expressed milk from a bottle, they typically drink 3 to 5 ounces per feeding, which works out to roughly 18 to 30 ounces daily. Breast milk intake tends to be slightly lower in volume than formula because breast milk is digested more efficiently, so don’t worry if the numbers look smaller than the formula guidelines.
One thing that surprises many parents: breast milk intake actually plateaus between months one and six. Unlike formula-fed babies, who gradually take larger and larger bottles, breastfed babies tend to hit their peak daily volume around one month and hold relatively steady from there. The composition of breast milk changes over time to meet growing nutritional needs without requiring a big jump in volume.
Night Feedings at 5 Months
Most 5-month-olds still wake to eat at night. Breastfed babies typically need one to three nighttime feedings, while formula-fed babies usually need one or two. Some babies this age can sleep a longer stretch of five or six hours without eating, but plenty still can’t, and that’s normal. Night feedings count toward the daily total, so factor them in when you’re tracking intake.
How to Tell Your Baby Is Getting Enough
Ounce counts are helpful guidelines, but your baby’s own hunger and fullness signals are the most reliable measure. At 5 months, hunger looks like hands going to the mouth, head turning toward the bottle or breast, and lip smacking or licking. Clenched fists are another subtle sign your baby wants to eat.
Fullness is equally clear once you know what to watch for. A satisfied baby will close their mouth, turn their head away from the bottle or breast, and relax their hands. Pushing the bottle away or losing interest mid-feed also signals they’ve had enough. Forcing a baby to finish a bottle after these cues can contribute to overfeeding.
Weight gain is the other reliable indicator. At 5 months, healthy babies gain about 20 grams (roughly two-thirds of an ounce) per day. That’s slower than the one-ounce-a-day pace of the first few months, and it will slow further to about 10 grams a day around 6 months. Your pediatrician tracks this on a growth chart, and steady progress along a curve matters more than hitting a specific number.
What About Water and Solids?
At 5 months, your baby does not need water. Breast milk and formula provide all the hydration a baby needs. The CDC recommends waiting until 6 months to offer small amounts of water (4 to 8 ounces a day), introduced alongside solid foods.
Some parents begin exploring solids around 5 months, and guidelines allow introduction as early as 4 months if a baby shows readiness signs like good head control and interest in food. If you do start solids at 5 months, keep them as a small supplement rather than a replacement. Breast milk or formula should still come first at every feeding, and total milk intake shouldn’t drop. Milk remains the primary source of nutrition through the entire first year, with solid foods gradually playing a bigger role after 6 months.
Per-Feeding Breakdown
If tracking by the bottle is easier for you, here’s a quick reference for a typical 5-month-old’s day:
- Formula-fed: 6 to 7 ounces per bottle, 5 to 6 bottles per day
- Breastfed (from bottle): 3 to 5 ounces per bottle, about 6 bottles per day
- Daily max for formula: 32 ounces
- Night feedings: 1 to 3 for breastfed, 1 to 2 for formula-fed
These ranges are broad because babies vary. A smaller baby might be perfectly satisfied with 24 ounces of breast milk, while a larger baby might consistently take 32 ounces of formula. What matters most is that your baby is gaining weight steadily, producing plenty of wet diapers (six or more a day), and showing clear hunger and fullness cues throughout the day.