How much formula should my baby have?

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It is widely held to be best to feed your baby with breast milk, as it is the most natural food for your baby and contains all the elements he or she needs to grow and to develop his or her immune system. If for any reason your baby cannot be fed with breast milk, or if you do not produce quite enough for your baby, then formula which is derived from cow's milk, can usually be used as a substitute. It is still a good idea to have skin to skin intimate contact with your baby even if he or she is not feeding, as this encourages the bonding and development of your baby.

Principal Factors

How much formula your baby requires will depend upon their age and weight and upon whether they are feeding with only formula or a combination of formula and breast milk, or alongside solids. Your baby will tell you how much he or she needs and if they are still hungry, they will let you know about it! They will feed as often as they need to and you should learn to detect when your baby is hungry, giving them as much as they want. You should not, however, give your baby a bottle every time they cry, but instead learn to understand if your baby is hungry or requires something else, such as attention or sleep. Different babies will want different amounts of food and many babies' appetites will change in a matter of days and from month to month.

Rough Guidelines

There are only rough guidelines available and you should ask health advisers to expand on exactly how much your baby will need as they grow. If your baby is not eating solids then a general rule for the amount of formula you should feed your baby is between 2.5 and 2.7 ounces per pound of their body weight in twenty four hours. An example might be, if your baby weighs six pounds, then they will need fifteen to sixteen ounces of formula in a day. These guidelines will not apply to babies who are born prematurely, or to babies with a low birth weight. In either of these cases you should ask a midwife or doctor for specific personal advice.

Age Factors

How much formula you should feed your baby depends on their age, too. A newborn baby will not follow a schedule of feeding; if they were being fed with breast milk, they will simply take as much as they need, so do not worry if your baby does not stick to specific amounts of formula. You will know if your baby wants more, as they will finish it quickly and ask for more in the familiar vociferous style of any infant. If you are trying to start a new born baby with formula, then during the first week it is best to start small with 30-60ml of made-up formula for each feed. As your baby grows they will take more milk and by a month old, they might be taking between 90 and 120 ml at each feed, which is about three or four ounces per feed, although some can consume from 400-800 ml or 14-28 ounces per day. At two months to six months, your baby should be feeding with 120-180ml per feed, which is seven hundred ml to one litre or twenty three to thirty five ounces of formula per day. By six months, you can feed them anywhere between 180-220 ml at a feeding, with their total formula intake at roughly 900ml or 32oz in a day.

Introduction to Solids

At around six months, babies should begin to be introduced to solid food, but breast milk or formula at this point will still constitute most of their nutritional value and will continue to up until they are a year old. When introducing your baby to solids, make sure that they are getting a wide variety of foods to ensure that they are getting all the nutrition they need to support the development of their growing bodies. Juice should be avoided as it does not offer anywhere near the same nutritional content as formula.

When solids begin to be added to the diet, the amount of formula milk which they consume should begin to decrease. The Food Standards Agency recommends guidelines for a baby's intake of formula (once they are established on solids) as being about 600ml or 20oz; or one pint of formula milk per day. This should be alongside an otherwise varied diet, up until they are a year old. Over the age of one, babies can be moved to drinking full-fat cow's milk rather than formula milk. Once again, these are only rough guidelines and it is always best to check with your health carer.

How much formula should my baby have?

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Principal Factors

Rough Guidelines

Age Factors

Introduction to Solids

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