This very helpful feeding table is summarized from The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems by Tracy Hogg. It is designed for a baby who weighs 6-6 1/2 lbs. or more at birth, and assumes your baby doesn’t have any digestive or neurological problems. For preemies, use their developmental age.
The First 3 Days
- Bottle-feeding: 2 oz. every 2 hours (between 16 and 18 oz. total)
- Breast-feeding: 1st day – 5 min. at each breast (all day, whenever baby wants); 2nd day – 10 min. at each breast (every 2 hrs); 3rd day – 15 min. at each breast (every 2 1/2 hrs); 4th day or once milk comes in – Hogg recommends emptying one breast before switching (every 2 1/2 hrs).
- Breast-feeding moms should feed more often to get the milk flowing at this time.
Up to 6 weeks
- Bottle-feeding: 2-5 oz. per feed (7 or 8 feeds per day; 18-24 oz. total)
- Breast-feeding: Up to 45 minutes
- Feed every 2 1/2 – 3 hrs during the day; cluster feed in the early evening (feed at two-hour intervals in the early evening, at 5 and 7 or 6 and
- “Dream Feed” your baby somewhere between 10 and 11 pm. This means you feed your baby while she’s asleep. Not talking, turning on the lights, or changing diaper. Just feed and plop baby back in the crib.
- Babies are capable of going 4-5 hours during the night, depending on weight and temperament.
6 weeks-4 months
- Bottle-feeding: 4-6 oz. per feed (6 feeds + dream feed; typical range is 24-32 oz.)
- Breast-feeding: Up to 30 minutes
- Feed every 3 – 3 1/2 hrs; by 16 weeks, should be able to go 6-8 hrs during the night. Don’t continue cluster feeding past 8 weeks.
- Goal should be to extend the time between feedings during the day, so that at 4 months, your baby lasts around 4 hrs between feeds. Exception for babies going through a growth spurt.
4 – 6 months
- Bottle-feeding: 5-8 oz. per feed (5 feeds + dream feed; typical range is 26-38 oz.)
- Breast-feeding: Up to 20 minutes
- Feed every 4 hrs; should be able to go 10 hrs during the night.
- Between 4 and 6 months, some babies’ appetites are affected by teething and their newfound mobility. So, they may consume less.
6 – 9 months
- Bottle-feeding: 5 feeds a day, including solids. Liquid intake is typically 32-48 oz. Liquid consumption declines by the number of oz. of solids baby is eating. (A baby who once took 40 oz. of liquid now takes 15 oz. of solids and 25 oz. of liquid, totaling 40 oz.)
- Breast-feeding: Give food first and then the bottle or 10 min. on breast. Since they can gulp liquids quickly at this age, it will probably only take 10 min. (versus the 30 minutes).
- Typical routine: 7:00 – Liquid; 8:30 – Solids “breakfast”; 11:00 - Liquid; 12:30 – Solids “lunch”; 3:00 – Liquid; 5:30 – Solids “dinner”; 7:30 – breast or bottle before bed.
You might also want to check out this Solids Feeding Guide that goes up to 15 months.
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This makes me feel much more confident about what I've been doing for my almost-6-months baby. As we start daycare next Monday (OMG the world may come to an end on this day), I've been trying the following schedule:
7 am Bottle (6 oz)
11 am Bottle (5 oz)
1 pm Solids (vegie w/ cereal)
3 pm Bottle (5 oz)
5 pm Solids (vegie w/ cereal)
7 pm Bottle (6 oz)
8 pm LIGHTS OUT!
The baby seems happy. May need to squeeze in another solids in the morning, though…
Laura – Looks goood! Sounds like you have a good routine going. Good luck with first day of Daycare
Wow. I feel lucky. I feed my 6 month old only 4 times a day. She is BIG (93rd percentile!)…
6:30 am: bottle (7 oz)
11 am: 1 Tbsp yellow veggie, 2 Tbsp Single grain cereal, bottle (6 oz)
3 pm: bottle (7 oz)
7 pm: 3 Tbsp single grain cereal, bottle (7 oz).
She does eat less than guidelines I have seen, but my girl is 19 lbs, so I don't think I am under feeding her!
My baby is 9 weeks old going on 10 weeks and he's taking 2-3 oz every 2 hours. I want to get him on the 3 hour baby whisperer schedule but he will not take more than 3 oz at a time. He will gag and throw up when I try to feed him more than that. What should I do? Help!
J's Mom – I'd try to ease into the longer stretches slowly. First add a little bit more (or nurse a little longer) for a couple days. Then continue this gradually so your LO is consuming just a tad more than 3 oz over the course of a week or so. You can also try giving a paci between meals to see if that satiates his sucking need. If both these don't seem to work, I'd consider just going with what he's capable of consuming happily. It may be that he has a tiny tummy. Which is no fun for mommy, I know. As they get older, their tummies get bigger and are capable of holding more calories between meals. Be careful though, if he's throwing up..don't want to push too hard. Good luck!
My 6.5 month old prefers solids to liquids. He wont nurse or take it from a bottle when he wants solids.
7 am – Nurse him for about 5-10 min
9 am – 1 Stage 2 fruits (short nap)
10.30 am – Nurse him for 10 min
11.30 am – 3 oz of cereals( he takes his longer nap after this)
3 pm – Nurse for 10 min
4 pm – 1 Stage 2 Veggie(short nap)
5.30 – Nurse for 10 min
7 pm – 3 oz of cereals (bed time after this)
He wakes up atleast thrice during the night & I nurse him back to sleep.
His weight has dropped from 75 to 50 percentile. I think he needs more milk, but cant make him drink. Please share your ideas to get his intake better. Thanks.
Anon – I went back and reread some of Baby Whisperer's thoughts on babies at this age. First, she reminds readers that babies will drink more efficiently at around 6 months… meaning, he will be able to drink more in just 10 minutes than before. So that's one thing to keep in mind. Secondly, as he eats more solids, remember to deduct 2 ozs of liquid for each 2 oz of solids. Less liquid intake for more solid intake. Do you have any idea how many oz he is getting overall? If you bottle feed/pump etc, you can estimate better. I would definitely compare the oz in to the table provided and see where he fits in. Another suggestion is to feed him dinner at 5:30, then only milk at 7ish (before bedtime). He may be getting quite full from the solids at 4 and then at 7. I'd say at 6 months, 3 meals a day is pretty sufficient so as not to take away from the milk. Lastly, at 6 months you can start thinking about different types of sleep training. It doesn't have to be CIO/Ferber, but try to think of a technique that is comfortable for you. But the 3 middle of the night wake ups is probably habitual at this point rather than necessary. Additionally, the milk at night may be throwing off his milk intake during the day. Try using a paci or other soothing technique to get him back to bed. Hope those ideas help! I'm curious what your Pediatrician thinks about the drop from 75% to 50%… is it a concern for your Ped?
Hi my baby is now 4 days old and is doing wonderfully, I was just reading and was a little confused as to what age I can start dream feeding her is it now or at 6 weeks???? Please let me know that would be great!!!!
My baby has bad reflux and is 6 weeks. The nurse told me to only feed him 3 ounces every 3 hours. He weighs 10 pounds and I just think this is enough for him. Is it? I did have him on 5 ounces every 4 hours because that what he wanted. And I had asked another nurse and she said feed on demand. I am so confused because of this reflux it seems like no one knows what they are talking about. Is there any advice you can give? Thanks.
Jackie – Congrats on your new little one! I’m sorry to hear about the reflux, and I’m sure you are feeling frustrated as I’m sure it is a challenging predicament you’re in. Unfortunately, I don’t have too much knowledge about infant reflux. But just based on the Baby Whisperer’s feeding schedule, it sounds like at 6 weeks … anywhere between 2-5 oz around every 3 hrs is perfectly normal. So, both what you are doing and what the nurse is suggesting sound right. But this may not be addressing your concerns with the reflux. In this situation, I would certainly talk to the pediatrician and follow his/her guidelines. I’m sorry my advice isn’t much help, but since there are some extra concerns in play, it’s better to work with your Ped to find the right combination that works for your noob. Best of luck!
NM: Maybe you can help me out with this one. My almost 7 month old still only eats between 4-6 oz at a feeding…here is what our schedule is like:
7:am – 4 oz formula (I make a 6 oz bottle, but he usually only eats 4oz)
10:15am – 4 oz formula
11am – 3.5oz fruit
2:15 pm- 4oz formula(sometimes will have 6 oz here)
6:15pm – 3.5oz vegetable, 4 oz formula
8pm – 4oz formula then bed
Does this look okay to you? My doc was surprised that he wasn’t wanting to eat more at each feeding, but he is not interested in more usually…Thanks for your help!
Thank you so much for this schedule, it has allowed me to find my sanity! I needed a schedule, but couldn’t figure anything out with everyone’s opinions interfering regarding my 8 week old son! I was worried I was over-feeding him, that I was somehow a bad mom for letting him sleep 8 hours straight each night, and that ‘scheduling’ was a bad thing! Thank you for outlining the steps from The Baby Whisper, so even I could understand in my sleep-deprived state! We’re using the 4 hour schedule, and it’s a lifesaver!! Thanks again, NM!!
Hi Jenni! Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Congrats to you on your noob
I hope you’ll stay in touch, subscribe to my blog and keep reading. Best to you on your mommyhood journey!
Hi, started trying to put baby on a routine 2 days ago and my baby just started her 6th week. I know it should be eat, activity and sleep but sometimes my baby falls asleep during her meal and right back asleep after her diaper change. Should I be waking her up to do some sort of activity or just let her go back to sleep? The schedules estimate about 30-45 mins per feeding but she only fed for 10 mins and then diaper change lasted about 2 mins. I know I should still be flexible based on my daughter’s needs but if she keeps this up then not sure how her schedule will change.
Hi Maybaby! Does your noob snack throughout the day? If so, the 10 minutes of feeding may mean that she’s not getting all the milk she needs before she dozes off. This is a topic I’m going to cover soon, but it happened with us which caused lots of disruption and frequent snacking/nursing. If she’s eating at the appropriate times and getting her fill, then she may be doing fine. I think after about a month or two, it’s a good idea to try and keep them up for a little while for some mild “activity” just so they don’t get in the habit of nursing to sleep. You’ll have to assess based on your own situation. Good luck!
hi! my lil girl is 6 months old and im trying to figure out a new routine for her with her solids/bottle. she eats really well, 8 oz in a bottle, or 3.5 oz baby food combined with 4oz bottle. i LOVE the baby whisperer, but am confused about this schedule…it just feels like i am doing a LOT of feedings throughout the day. what do you recommend doing…should i feed her every 2 hrs alternating liquid/solid like the baby whisperer routine or just make each 4 hr feeding a combo of liquid and solid? its interesting, i was SO prepared when i was pregnant and knew exactly what i was going to do for a routine/schedule when she was born…but this whole solids thing has thrown me for a loop:) any help would be WONDERFUL…i am really stressing bc i hate not being sure of what would be best for her! thanks so much:)
Hey babyh! The transition to solids is a lot of experimenting to find out what works best for you and baby. I’d say that while combining all the eating into one sitting is much more efficient, it could be too much for your little one to handle and digest at once. I think that’s why it sort of ends up being that you wait a bit and offer milk afterwards. Again, play around with the combination and see what works best for your little one. If she’s getting too full with everything at once… she may start to spit up or drink just a little (which may not be enough nutrient wise). Remember that at this age, milk is still the number one source of nutrients. Solids are fun and just an introduction to the whole food thing at this point.
Hi, thanks for this site! You really are doing a great job with it. I need some hep with my LO. She is 4 and a half and we started her on solids slowly a couple weeks ago. She is doing really well with them, but I am having a hard time integrating them into her daily schedule. I am winding up having a different schedule every day and it is starting to take a toll on my little girl and me. I am wanting to follow the schedule outlined above, feeding alternating with solids, but am confused as to where the naps fit in. Usually my LO sleeps about 30 minutes after she is done her bottle. She sleeps for one hour, usually to the minute. Any suggestions? Thanks for your help! And thanks for this site!
Hollie- Thanks for commenting and I’m glad you’ve found my blog. Please subscribe for the latest updates! As far as solids go… it’s a trial and error process that’s for sure. On the one hand, you’re trying to get the new routine adjusted. On the other, your little one will be experimenting with new foods approx 1 each week (maybe as she gets closer to the 6 month mark). By the way, just making sure you’ve got the go-ahead from your ped to start solids at 4 1/2? Usually peds like to recommend they wait till 6 months at least in case of allergies, etc. When you’re feeding solids, I’d do that first then follow with milk so that she doesn’t get sleepy right away. Also, the feeding process is messy and slow, so it does take patience and you may have to just go slowly and add a little more food every couple of days. Try and feed a bit, then give her milk soon after … keep her awake if possible and then let her nap. Remember that solids at this early stage is just to get them used to trying solids, swallowing, playing with the textures. Primary nutrition will still be from milk. The one hour naps are really great! Most of us get stuck in the 45 minute naps. Be flexible and play around till you find a consistent routine that works for your little one. If she is a really impatient eater or gets hungry right after waking, then you can switch and do milk first … just adjust the amount a little less so she’ll still have room to try her solids! Good luck.
I’m really enjoying your website! Thank you! I need some advice about what to do about feedings. My 7 week old still wants to nurse every 2 hours. At night she will go up to 5 without, but that isn’t regular. She does suffer from horrible gas and I think sometimes she wants to nurse so because she thinks she’s hungry when she is actually gassy. Her hunger cues are not just sucking on her hands, she has always gone straight into crying at the 2 hour mark, even in the hospital.
Please give me some advice about what to do! Should I let her cry until 3 hours between feedings? Or keep doing every 2 hours.
Katie- You don’t really get into a routine until about 3 months. Until then, you really should be feeding her whenever she’s hungry. Every 2 – 2 1/2 hours at 2 months of age sounds perfectly normal! After 2 months, you can sort of experiment and see if she can be tied over with a pacifier for a little bit, just to extend the duration in between feedings a few minutes longer … which may eventually become every 2 1/2 – 3 hours. You can sort of play around with that a bit, but in the end, it’s most important at this age that she gets the feeding and sucking time she needs!
Hi I love your site and have been glued to it for the past days =D My 4 week old follows the easy schedule without having to train her. It’s pretty cool how she is on it at the exact same times too, the trouble though comes at night when she cant seem to fall asleep as easy. My questions are, she usually bottle feeds at 4pm but then I am not sure what the cluster feed is. Do I wake her up at 6 to give her 2 ounces and then take her a bath then 2 more ounces when I am done and off to sleep she goes? Also, since I don’t want to take her a bath every day, what do I do on days I do not take her a bath? Will wiping her down and putting on her lavender lotion throw her off schedule? Thanks again for your site!!
HI, I have twins, a boy and a girlMatthew and Isabel they are now 5 and half months.
They are still waking up in the night many times, I am trying to soothe them back to sleep with a pacifier and it works, but they still wake up several times, especially after 12 am (they are in bed by 8 pm). Sometimes they wake up every hour up until 6 am. shouldn’t they be sleeping longer stretches now? even after I soothe them back to sleep around midnight? I have stopped feeding them in the night a couple of weeks ago because they were not eating well in the day. and now they eat very well int the day!
I have started solids two weeks ago.
their schedule is the following.
7.30/8 am formula (usually 5 to 6 oz)
nap around 9/9.30 am
solids (veggie with cereal) 12/12.30 pm
nap around 1 pm
3.30/4 pm formula 5 to 6 oz
cat nap around 4.30 or 5 pm
5.30/6 pm fruit with milk or cereal
7.30 pm 7 to 8 oz formula
It is hard to keep them on a precise schedule, now Matthew wakes up earlier around 6 and wants to have his formula so then at 8 am (when I wanted to give them their first bottle he only has a few oz).
please let me know if I should modify something?
I am wanting to let them cry a bit in the night (as my pediatrician as advised me to do) to see if they can fall asleep on their own but two babies crying is hard ! Also I would like to sleep train them maybe in amore delicate way!
thank you!!!!
I
I wanted to apologize for the grammar mistakes in my message, you can see I wrote it very late at night and in a tired state. I love your EASY feeding and sleeping schedule, I started it today and of my two babies one followed it at perfection.
Thank you for all this great information and guidance! I never thought I would be on set schudule but it works and I feel more happy and confident.
I am still afraid to sue the Cry it out method for them to sleep longer stretches and maybe even the whole night. I see though that it works ; I hope I have the courage to do it.
With two babies crying I think it might be harder. DO you have any advice on twin sleep training? Should I maybe divide them for a few nights to see what happens if I let them cry a bit? Sometimes I think the other is wakened by the cries of the other. I use a white sound machine and it seems to work a bit.
Thank you.
Hi! A friend of mine (with 6 kids) told me about her routine which turns out to be the EASY routine. I was nursing my son and he was eating every hour, so I didn’t being this routine until we started supplementing and now he is strictly on formula. He is eating every two hours like clockwork but is only taking in about 3 oz. Occasionally he will take 4-5 oz. He is now 14 weeks old and we are running on a 2 hours EASY routine. I would love for him to at least be on the 3 hours routine considering he is almost 4 months old. I try to hold off feeding but after just a few minutes of him screaming I feel bad and I always put 5 oz in his bottle and try to burp him, tickle his feet, etc. to try to get him to eat more. He sometimes is ready for a nap just before an hour of being awake. Any advice on how to try to get him on the 3 hour routine?
Also… since he eats so little at a time he sometimes (not always) needs an ounce before he can nap. I would love to break him of this totally!