When you’re exclusively pumping for your baby – or even if you’re just bottle feeding pumped milk occasionally – it can be hard to know exactly how much breast milk your baby should be eating. How much should your baby get per feeding? And how much should he or she eat in a day?
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As we’ll discuss in the next section, there is a lot of variability in how much milk breastfed babies take. Some babies take 20 oz per day, others take 35 oz.
Because of this, there is no one size fits all answer as to how much your baby should eat in one bottle, or overall in a day.
When you’re trying to figure out how much to feed your baby, the most important thing to look at is your baby.
For example, if baby is often leaving some milk in the bottle, you may want to reduce the amount you feed. On the other hand, if baby is frequently hungry again less than a few hours after a feeding, you may want to increase the amount of milk in the bottles. (Note that there is some nuance here – for example, I wouldn’t include cluster feeds in this.)
Obviously, in addition to this trial and error, you should talk to your pediatrician about any concerns you have about how your baby is growing, and if you should be worried about potential overfeeding.
But – where do you start with figuring out how much breast milk you should feed to baby? To give you an idea, I did a survey of how much milk exclusive pumpers bottle fed their babies.
What is the average milk intake per day for breastfed babies drinking from bottles?
The overall average intake for babies across the first year was 26.8 oz (792.5 ml); after one month of age, the minimum reported daily intake for was 16 oz (473 ml) and the maximum was 48 oz (1,420 ml). Below is a chart showing how the results were distributed:
Here we can see that most babies eat between 24 (710 ml) and 30 oz (887 ml).
How many ounces do breastfed babies eat at 2 months, 3 months, 4 months, etc.?
As one might expect, breast milk intake varied slightly with the baby’s age, with it averaging slightly lower in the first month of life and then increasing up to between 26 and 28 oz (770 and 828 ml) until about 10 months of age.
At 10 months, intake starts to drop; presumably, solids are making up a more substantial part of the baby’s diet. The average drops down to 25 oz (740ml) at 10 months and 19.5 oz (577 ml) at 11 months.
I also looked to see if breast milk intake varied by any other factors that I had asked about in the survey, such as the age of the mother, whether the baby was a first baby or a subsequent child, and race.
I didn’t find any statistically significant differences based on maternal or child characteristics, except for the age of the baby as described above.
How does average breast milk quantity consumed compare to formula feeding guidelines?
I was curious whether or not the results that I got in survey would be similar to formula feeding guidelines, so I looked up the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines.
Reading them is a bit confusing, as the descriptions of appropriate intake use three ranges – the age of the baby (i.e., 1-3 months), the amount of formula (i.e., 2-3 oz), and the number of feedings (i.e., every 3-4 hours).
To simplify things, I broke the guidelines down into the below table:
Here we can see that the total daily recommended intake is fairly close to the averages reported above for babies by age. The recommendation is slightly lower in the beginning, but on par with actual totals for breastfed babies by six months.
Note: The typical feeding schedule for breastfed babies may be very different from that of formula-fed babies. It’s more common for breastfed babies to eat more often and less on schedule than formula-fed babies, likely because (as noted above) breast milk is metabolized more quickly than formula. This discussion is only about total intake.
How much breast milk should you give your baby per feeding?
This depends on baby’s age and also varies quite a bit by baby.
I didn’t include amounts per feeding in my survey, but I will share the amounts in my baby’s bottles at different ages (again, this is just my baby and yours might have different needs):
- First month (after the first week) – 2-3 ounces per feeding
- Second and third month – about 3 ounces per feeding
- Third and fourth month – 3-4 ounces per feeding
- Fifth month going forward – 4-5 ounces per feeding
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Is it true that babies shouldn’t take more than 4 oz of breast milk at a time?
I’m not really sure where this “rule” came from, but I’ve been asked about it frequently.
My opinion is that there aren’t ounce markers on breasts, so nursing moms have no idea if their babies are taking less than 4 oz, exactly 4 oz, or more than 4 oz. Therefore, there’s no evidence that limiting the intake of breastfed babies is necessary or beneficial.
The baby that I exclusively pumped for regularly took 8 oz before bed. After I’d been asked about this a few times, I was curious and I did an Instagram poll to see if I was alone in this.
Again, talk to your pediatrician with any concerns that you have about feeding your baby, but I don’t think you need to take this “rule” at face value.
Will my milk supply increase ass baby gets older and starts to eat more?
Lots of women wonder whether their milk supply will gradually grow over the months as baby starts to eat more.
The answer is no – because as you can see from the data above, the amount of milk that babies take usually stays fairly consistent from the first month until it decreases because solids make up a bigger part of the baby’s diet. The amount they take per feeding might go up, but total intake in a day often remains consistent due to fewer feedings.
What do you think – what’s your experience with the amount of breast milk you feed to your baby? Let us know in the comments!
References
- Healthy Children. “Amount and Schedule of Formula Feedings.” https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Amount-and-Schedule-of-Formula-Feedings.aspx
Comments & Chitchat
I feel like my guy is eating too much! He’s 5 weeks old and eating every 2-3 hours (usually every 2 hours) and has 3.5 ounce bottles. This week he’s been at 30-35 ounces a day. At his one month appointment, he was almost ten pounds and doing great on his growth chart and his diapers have been good. But it just seems like a ton of milk and close feedings for his age. He spits up once or twice a day, usually just if we put him on his tummy or in a bouncy chair too quickly after he eats. Are some kids just huge eaters or is there something off here?
I pump over 50 ounces a day, so there’s plenty of milk for him. I just don’t want to overfeed him!
Hi! My baby was pretty similar and he’s a normal weight now as a much older kid. I would talk to your pediatrician about it, but I personally am not concerned by what you described. Hope that helps!
Should I be concerned or worried if I’m not pumping 30oz a day?
My baby is 4m old and I’ve been trying to get my supply back up. I’m only about 20oz so far. My baby is only 22-25oz with supplementing formula. I pump 5-6x a day always for 30mins each time (1 power pump every day, usually I do it in the afternoon)
My second pump today was only 2oz but it had been 3hrs since my morning pump. Which is 7oz.
I was pumping every 2hrs to try and in ease but getting burnt out so I’ve had to go back to spacing out the time. For my sanity
Please help
I have no idea what to do or what I’m doing. This is all new to me with my second baby cause I couldn’t produce with my first. She had to be on formula
Hi Shelby! Congrats on your baby! It sounds like your schedule is great. In terms of increasing milk supply, here’s what I usually recommend trying and in what order. I hope this helps!
https://exclusivepumping.com/increasing-milk-supply/
I started off pumping after each feed when my baby was 2 weeks due to slow weight gain. I was still breastfeeding and would pump after each feed and got about 1 to 2 ounces.
Due to ongoing challenges with my baby fully transferring the milk out of my breasts and needing to bottle feed on top of breastfeeding, I went to exclusive breastfeeding.
I decided to switch to my own pumping schedule instead of pumping whenever my baby was feeding due to my husband needing go return to work.
I weaned down from pumping 6-8 times a day to 4 times a day and mimicked my work schedule to prepare for when I would return to work. I saw my supply go up by 8 weeks of using fenugreek and legendairy supplements and sticking to this schedule.
Power pumping did not work for me. Prior frequent pumping sessions did not increase my supply. I didn’t know how to pump effectively and my supply went from being able to pump 16 ounces to as as low as 7-8 ounces a day.
I saw my supply increase as time passed (most likely my supply became established) and learning to pump more effectively, i.e. using heat on my breasts before pumping, perking up my nipples before placing the flanges, massaging/using compressions before and during pumping. During week 8 and after, I started seeing a gradual increase in supply. I now yield 20-23 ounces a day. I give my baby formula once to twice a day as needed.
Is there anything else I should consider to increase and maintain supply as well as for returning to work?
Hi! Congrats on your sweet baby!
I have a post that walks through what I’d recommend trying and in what order. I hope it’s helpful!
https://exclusivepumping.com/increasing-milk-supply/
I’m 2 weeks postpartum and exclusively pumping. I pump on average 60-70oz per day. My baby only consumes about 24oz of that in a day. I don’t want to do anything to mess up my supply since I am only 2 weeks postpartum, but I have a lot of extra milk I’m freezing every day and my freezer is filling up quickly!
Do you think my supply will decrease at all? I pump about 6-8x per day for about 20min.
Hi Allyson! congrats on your sweet baby and awesome supply! If you keep doing what you’re doing, I don’t think your supply will decrease naturally. I think you’re doing great and could stick with 6-7x per day at 20 minutes, and then evaluate after your supply regulates. Could you maybe look into donating your extra milk? Congrats again!
Thank you so much for doing this survey and analysis and sharing the results! It really helped me feel more “normal” to realize there is no one-size-fits-all.
So glad to hear it Natalie!!
I am exclusively pumping for my 1 month old. I am able to get anywhere between 24-32oz a day, varies. My baby at 1 month (5weeks exactly) eats 4oz a feeding about 7 times a day. Is that normal?
I’ve read that your breast milk changes with your baby in regards to nutrients when breastfeeding, does that apply to exclusively pumping too? If so, does that mean he will need more of my stored breast milk to make up for the less nutrients? If that makes sense. I could be overthinking all of this, lol.
Hi Maddie! Congrats on your sweet baby!
Both your output and baby’s amount sound normal to me from what you have described. 🙂
Breast milk does change, but it’s not quite as big of deal (in my opinion) as it is often made out to be. Baby should be fine with frozen milk whenever you feed it as long as it’s not expired.
I am 11 days postpartum. I could get my little one to latch in the hospital. However, once my milk came in at home, I was too large and neither of us enjoyed the experience. I couldn’t even see her little head during breastfeeding sessions. I switched to EP at 4 days postpartum. I’m pumping 8-9 times per day for 15-18 minutes at a time with a double electric pump (usually with 2 pump sessions during the night). I’ve been consistently getting 2 ounces per session total but in the last couple days have had a few sessions where I barely got an ounce. My question is, will 2 ounces be my normal output? Do I still have hope of this increasing? I’m barely keeping up with her needs at this point and needing to supplement typically for 1 feed per day.
Hi Bethany! So in total you’d be getting 16-18 ounces per day (if I’m doing my math right)? I think your supply may increase up until a month postpartum – so I would just keep doing what you’re doing for now. If after a month postpartum you aren’t pumping enough to feed your baby, here’s what I would recommend. I hope this helps!
https://exclusivepumping.com/increasing-milk-supply/
Hi Bethany,
I don’t know if this reply is too late, but may I suggest also putting your baby to your breast after you have just finished pumping. At this point, your breasts should be easier to handle for both you and your baby. She will be able to drain whatever is left that the pump cannot get while simultaneously reducing how much she needs from the bottle. Also, this extra action will increase your milk supply, hopefully leading to more yield per session.
Another suggestion is using a hand pump…they are so cheap and yet work wonders for a lot of women who do not get a lot from electric pumps. I recommend Lansinoh which costs about $20 and worked miracles for me compared to electric pumps.
I have twins and right bow they eat about 6 oz in the morning, 2 TBS of baby food each for breakfast, 5 ounces for lunch, 2 TBS of baby food each for afternoon snack, 6 ounces for afternoon, and 7-8 ounces at bedtime. I know this is a normal amount right now but they are almost 10 months old. I want to drop from 4 feedings to 3 but I want to make sure they’re eating enough and I want to start table food. I just do not know how to wean from exclusive pumping 4 times to 3. And our schedule is so very important having twins so I am scared that if I do something wrong, it will mess up our schedule that we have going so good. SOS
Is it normal to do 3-4 oz breast milk every 3 hours? My two month old has about 6-7 feedings a day.
Hi Carissa! Yes, that seems very normal.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you Amanda for this survey data. This is the only place on the internet we could find this information from a somewhat reliable and authoritative source!
Thank you!
This is very helpful. I must be lucky – for 2 months now I’ve been able to keep up to my baby (4 1/2 mo) with pumping just 3 times a day, getting minimum 250mL each time. I pump at 10PM, 6AM, and 2PM (sometimes I’ll split the 2PM pumping to get more, instead pumping at 11:30AM and 3:30PM, to compensate for growth spurts or extra hungry days). She drinks about 90mL each feeding, and has 8 or 9 feedings in 24 hours. From morning wakeup to suppertime she likes it spaced out every 2 hours or so, doing a feed-play-nap pattern. Then at bedtime she has a bottle, wakes an hour later for another, then usually stays down for the night. Once bedtime gets more consistent I will try feeding more at bedtime so she can sleep longer. This is my first baby and she’s been exclusively fed expressed breastmilk. Finding this resource has been so helpful in making me feel confident that she is getting the milk she should be. I’ll be starting her on solids soon, and I know I’ll be back here then to check out those guidelines for milk consumption!
This is a great resource! I just wanted to share that I spoke to our pediatrician about this today and she said the general guideline is to offer your baby 1-1.5 oz of milk per hour from their last feeding. She also suggested I look up paced feeding on YouTube as well to prevent over-feeding. She also assured me there will be periods in which baby goes through a growth spurt and will eat more but should resume back to their normal feeding amounts.
This pediatrician is on it with their information! Our milk changes to the baby’s needs, so the intake amount will not drastically change based on age. As she stated, it will change with growth spurts, but should go back to more consistent amounts agin as long as properly pace fed to mimic breastfeeding.
Unfortunately, there is not a lot of evidence based info easily accessible with this information.
Hi. How many times a day should I offer my baby expressed milk? She is 11 months. How much should she be having per day at 11M and at 1 year? When do babies stop drinking milk altogether? Thank you so much
I just started following you and the awesome information you have to share! A quick question for you.. I am an exclusive nursing mother thinking of transitioning to exclusive pumping. Is it necessary for pumping sessions to include both breasts?
Hi Stephanie! It’s definitely easier to do both at the same time. However, since nursing babies don’t always take both breasts, if that’s what your body is used to, that’s okay too. But you’d have to pump more frequently if you’re doing one side at a time. Does that make sense?
Hello, my baby is one month now and I am only able to pump 2oz each two hours from both breast in total 23,6 a day is that normal ? Thank u
Totally normal! If you wanted to try to increase it here are some ideas:
https://exclusivepumping.com/increasing-milk-supply/
Thank you for this data! Something I have struggled with in regards to how much to feed my baby as an EP-er was that the answer I am often given is- “feed on demand.” That’s nice and all, but a bottle of expressed milk runs out. Was it enough? Pumping for 20 minutes every two hours, it would be hard to pump more and I would have supplemented with formula if someone could have told me how much he should be eating! My conclusion was- no one really knows. This post is the closest I’ve gotten to any real answers, so thank you
Thank you so much Mary! I’m so glad it was helpful!
i read an article stating a formula for how much breastmilk to feed your baby. It’s your baby’s weight in ounces/6/8.
It’s divided into 6 to supposedly calculate the total amount of milk s/he should consume in a day and divided by 8 to calculate how many ounces per feeding.
Forgive me, but I cannot remember the name of the website I read that from.
What a good article! Thank you for conducting the surveys and gathering the data! This is so helpful since breast milk is so different than formula, and I always wondered what the average/“normal” amount my baby should be eating.
For formula fed guidelines, I always saw that there’s an equation for calculating amount of formula per body weight. Did you find anything that may suggest a feeding to body weight ratio?
Also I think they ask you not to feed over a certain amount in formula because formula has a lot of vitamins and minerals, and if you feed too much the baby could be consuming more than the safe amount? Like he can be getting too much calcium and it could start building like in his organs? I don’t know, just speculating.
Hi Jenny! I didn’t find anything about the feeding/body weight ratio, but that’s an interesting thought! Also interesting about the vitamins/minerals – I hadn’t thought of that!
Thanks for this article and data, very much appreciated! Two ideas for future research – (1) I wonder if the length of the baby, or perhaps BMI, would be a statistically significant factor in how much breastmilk a baby drinks? I’m suggesting length as the measurement to study because a heavier than average baby could be considered heavy due to possible overfeeding. My baby is 99%+ in length and drinks a higher than average (per your data) of pumped milk, 32-28 oz per day. (2) I recently read something where a mother pumping breastmilk said a health practitioner did a test of her pumped milk and said it was not as fatty as average milk, in other words, her milk was more like skim instead of 2% or whole milk. Of course the fullness of the breasts at the time of pumping comes into play (more full = less fat), but I’m sure they considered that. I wonder if this factors into how much a baby would drink? Thanks again for this article!
While babies all take in different amounts of milk, I think it’s very important to bring up paced bottle feeding for breastfed babies.
Babies that nurse have to work harder to get milk from the breast, and feeding sessions tend to take longer than for babies that drink from a bottle. If you are a nursing mom that is giving a bottle of expressed milk, it’s key to pace the feeding so that the baby doesn’t chug it down quickly and think they are still hungry. It’s very easy to overfeed mainly-breastfed babies this way and can cause confusion in the amount your child is eating!
Thank you! So frequently I see new mothers asking in mommy groups about how much they’re supposed to feed their child, especially in the exclusive pumping groups. (I was one of them!) There’s so little information out there about expressed breast milk, that everyone is either curious or an expert. I once chimed in about my 4 month old who was eating 4 oz bottles 6 times a day (24 oz total) and was scolded by others that it was way too much. That I shouldn’t be feeding more than 3 oz at a time, ever! Let the mommy guilt set in. I felt awful. I tried to cut back and after a few hours I caved. It was right then that I had to remind myself that these people were not me and not my pediatrician.
A study recently showed that most mother’s get inaccurate advice for caring for their children, and most of it comes from family, friends, and the Internet. If you have questions, speak to your pediatrician!
That would be fine but a lot of pediatricians are also misinformed on breast feeding guidelines and give guidelines for formula which leads to many problems.
If it helps my lactation consultant said babies can eat anywhere between 3-5 oz at a time, she’s been a consultant for almost 20 years. I personally only pump 4 oz at a time therefore he can only eat 4 oz. I exclusively pump and sometimes it’s only 3 oz at times. My baby is 12 weeks currently.