A 1-week-old baby typically drinks 1 to 2 ounces of formula per feeding, eating 8 to 12 times over 24 hours. That works out to roughly 12 to 20 ounces total per day, though every baby is slightly different. The key is following your baby’s hunger cues rather than hitting an exact number.
How Much Per Feeding
At one week old, your baby’s stomach is about the size of an apricot and holds around 1.5 to 2 ounces at a time. That’s why feedings are small and frequent. Offer 1 to 2 ounces per feeding, and let your baby decide when they’ve had enough. Some feedings your baby will drain the bottle, others they’ll stop at an ounce. Both are normal.
A common weight-based guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics is that babies need about 2.5 ounces of formula per day for every pound of body weight. A 7-pound newborn, for example, would need roughly 17.5 ounces spread across the day. This formula stays useful as your baby grows, though intake should generally not exceed 32 ounces in 24 hours once your baby is older and drinking more per feeding.
How Often to Feed
Expect to feed your baby every 2 to 3 hours, which means 8 to 12 feedings in a 24-hour period. Yes, that includes overnight. Newborns don’t distinguish between day and night, and their tiny stomachs empty quickly.
Both the CDC and NHS recommend feeding on demand rather than sticking to a rigid schedule. “Responsive feeding” means watching your baby for hunger signals and offering a bottle when you see them, rather than watching the clock. Most babies do settle into a loose routine over the first few weeks, but at one week old, flexibility matters more than consistency.
Hunger and Fullness Cues
Crying is actually a late sign of hunger. Your baby will show earlier, subtler signals well before they start wailing. Watch for hands moving toward the mouth, head turning toward the bottle (called rooting), lip smacking or licking, and clenched fists. These all mean it’s time to eat.
Fullness cues are just as important. When your baby closes their mouth, turns their head away from the bottle, or relaxes their hands, they’re telling you they’re done. Resist the urge to coax them into finishing the last half-ounce. Letting your baby stop when satisfied helps prevent overfeeding and teaches them to respond to their own internal signals from the very beginning.
Signs Your Baby Is Getting Enough
The most reliable way to know your baby is eating enough is diaper output. After day 5 of life, a well-fed newborn produces at least 6 wet diapers per day. You’ll also see regular bowel movements, though the number varies from baby to baby. Steady weight gain is the other big indicator. Most pediatricians will check weight at the first office visit, typically within a few days of leaving the hospital. If your baby is back to their birth weight by about 10 to 14 days old, feeding is on track.
Signs of Overfeeding
It’s possible to overfeed a formula-fed newborn, especially because milk flows more freely from a bottle than from a breast. Occasional spit-up after a feeding is completely normal, but frequent, large spit-ups or forceful vomiting right after eating can signal too much volume. Other signs include unusual fussiness during or right after feeds (from a too-full stomach and trapped air), frequent watery stools, and hiccups or coughing during feeding from swallowing too quickly.
If your baby consistently pushes the bottle away or turns their head before the bottle is empty, that’s not a problem to solve. It’s your baby communicating that they’re full. Trust it.
Why Intake Changes Day to Day
Don’t be surprised if your baby drinks noticeably more on some days than others. Babies go through growth spurts that temporarily increase their appetite. The first common growth spurt happens around 2 to 3 weeks old, so you may notice your 1-week-old gradually ramping up toward the end of the second week. During a spurt, babies are fussier and want to eat more often. This is normal and temporary. Offer extra feedings to meet the increased demand, and things typically settle within a few days.
Room temperature, how well your baby slept, and even how much energy they spent crying can all slightly shift how much they want at a given feeding. The day-to-day variation matters less than the overall pattern: steady weight gain, plenty of wet diapers, and a baby who seems satisfied after most feedings.
Practical Tips for the First Week
Prepare more bottles than you think you’ll need. It’s easier to make a 2-ounce bottle and have your baby leave some behind than to scramble to mix more formula mid-feeding while a hungry newborn screams. Freshly prepared formula that your baby doesn’t finish should be discarded after one hour.
Keep a simple log for the first week or two, even just notes on your phone: what time you fed, roughly how much your baby took, and diaper changes. This gives you a clear picture of your baby’s pattern and is genuinely useful information to share at that first pediatric visit. After a couple of weeks, most parents develop an intuitive sense of their baby’s rhythm and stop needing to track.