Kidy
Nobody hands you a number when you leave the hospital. You get a baby whose stomach is about the size of an egg, and a lot of advice that contradicts itself. Here is what the guidance actually says:
- First days: 30 to 60 ml per bottle feed, at least 8 feeds in 24 hours (AAP)
- End of the first month: at least 90 to 120 ml per feed, roughly every 3 to 4 hours
- By 6 months: 180 to 240 ml at each of 4 or 5 feeds a day
- Formula: the AAP gives about 960 ml a day as the usual upper amount for most formula-fed babies
- First solids: a few teaspoons once a day, milk feeds unchanged (NHS)
Quick reference: how much by age
| Age | Milk per feed | Milk feeds a day | Solid meals a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–1 month | 30–60 ml, rising to 90–120 ml | 8–12 | none |
| 1–3 months | 120–150 ml | 6–8 | none |
| 3–5 months | 150–180 ml | 5–6 | none |
| 6 months | 180–240 ml | 4–5 | 1 (a few teaspoons) |
| 7–9 months | 180–240 ml | 4–5 | 2, moving toward 3 |
| 10–12 months | 180–240 ml | 3–4 | 3, plus fruit or yogurt after |
| 12+ months | milk from a cup | 3–4 milk drinks | 3 meals, up to 2 snacks |
Guide ranges for bottle-fed babies, not an amount your baby has to finish. A baby sitting at the bottom of every row and a baby at the top can both be perfectly well fed, and with breastfeeding the amount per feed is not measured at all.
🍼 Want the number for your baby's weight? The feeding amount calculator turns weight and age into a daily range and a per-feed estimate, and the feeding schedule by age shows how milk and meals stack up in a day.
For the wider picture there is the baby and toddler feeding guide. If your worry is really about intake rather than amounts, is my baby getting enough milk covers the signs that matter more than any number.
Milk in the first six months
Two rules of thumb circulate, and they do not quite agree. European practice usually works from about 150 ml per kilogram of body weight per day in the first six months. The AAP phrases it as roughly 75 ml for every 453 g of weight per day, which lands closer to 165 ml per kilogram (AAP).
Both are estimates for the first months, not a prescription. The same source gives about 960 ml of formula a day as the usual upper amount for most babies. What an individual baby needs is judged on growth, with the pediatrician.
If you are breastfeeding, there is no need to estimate millilitres per feed. How often your baby feeds, wet diapers, general alertness and the growth curve give a more useful picture of intake than any estimate of volume. A kitchen scale does not solve this one.
One more thing about the numbers on the side of the bottle. They average out across a day, not within it. An 11-week-old might take 140 ml at most feeds and 60 ml at the 4:40 am one, and still land in a completely normal daily total.
What changes at six months
Solids arrive, and almost nothing else does. Milk stays the main source of energy and nutrients through the first year, which is why the NHS suggests offering milk feeds after solids at this stage: the tummy is small and fills quickly (NHS).
A first portion is a few teaspoons, once a day, at a time that suits you both. Not a bowl. If your baby eats two spoons and turns away, the meal worked.
Expect the numbers to look wrong for a few weeks. That is what a starting portion is supposed to look like.
What a portion actually looks like
Adult eyes are bad at this. Useful anchors:
- 6 to 8 months: 1 to 2 tablespoons per food at a meal, growing with interest
- Cooked vegetables: about 1 tablespoon per year of age is the AAP's serving guide for the toddler years (AAP)
- A toddler serving: roughly a quarter of what you would put on your own plate
- Grains at 12 months: a quarter to half a slice of bread, or 4 tablespoons of cooked pasta or rice
Serve less than you think. You can always add more.
That last line is the whole section, honestly. Overfeeding is easier with a bottle than at the breast, because the flow does not stop when the baby does, so the AAP's advice is simply to offer less and top up on request.
Seven to twelve months: three meals arrive
Between 7 and 9 months, babies move gradually toward three meals a day, and it may take 10 tries or more before a new food stops being suspicious (NHS). By 10 to 12 months, three meals should be the norm, with lunch and dinner sometimes carrying a second course such as fruit or plain yogurt (NHS).
Two details parents rarely hear:
- Babies under 12 months do not need snacks. If your baby seems hungry between meals, offer an extra milk feed
- Milk feeds drop to 3 or 4 a day in this window, which is a consequence of eating more, not a goal to chase
After the first birthday, the shape changes again: three meals plus up to two snacks, first infant formula no longer needed, and whole cows' milk or water as the main drinks (NHS). Portions for that year are covered in how much should a toddler eat.
Decision logic: read the baby, not the chart
| What you are seeing | What to try |
|---|---|
| Drains every bottle, still rooting | Offer 30 ml more. If the daily total sits above the usual 960 ml week after week, mention it at the next visit |
| Leaves 40 ml at every feed | Make smaller bottles, keep the same number of feeds |
| Milk dropping fast before 9 months | Check whether solid meals are crowding milk out, and offer milk before solids for a while if they are |
| Refuses solids for days, weight fine | Keep offering without pressure. Ten tries is normal |
| Eats well at daycare, not at home | Timing and setting, not appetite. Compare nap end times first |
The rule underneath all five: a single meal means nothing, a week means something, and the growth curve at the checkup outranks both.
Common mistakes
- Chasing the number on the bottle. Intake can differ from feed to feed and from day to day
- Diluting formula to stretch it. Never do this. Follow the packet exactly (NHS)
- Adding snacks before 12 months. Extra milk does the job better at this age
- Letting milk crowd out food after 1 year. Big bottles of milk fill a small stomach, and iron-rich meals lose
- Pushing the last spoon. A closed mouth is an answer. Fighting it buys months of mealtime battles. More on that in my baby is not eating much
- Comparing bottles with another family. Weight, appetite and feeding method all differ
When to seek professional help
Talk to your pediatrician if:
- weight has stalled, dropped through centiles, or growth is already being monitored
- your baby was born preterm, where amounts follow corrected age
- there are far fewer wet diapers, unusual sleepiness, or a sunken soft spot
- feeds are consistently far below the range for weeks, or consistently far above it
- coughing, gagging or choking happens at most meals, or swallowing looks effortful
- solids are still refused at 8 to 9 months, which is worth reviewing rather than waiting out (more on that here)
Frequently asked questions
How many ml should a baby drink per kilogram?
About 150 ml per kg per day is the common working estimate for the first six months, and the AAP's version of the same rule lands nearer 165 ml per kg. Treat either as a starting point for a conversation, not a daily quota, since appetite varies with growth spurts, illness and temperament.
How much should a 9-month-old eat in a day?
Typically 3 to 4 milk feeds plus three small meals, with the meals now carrying real nutritional weight rather than just practice. Portions are still small: a few tablespoons per food is normal, and interest matters more than volume.
Does my baby need snacks?
Not before 12 months. The NHS is explicit that babies under one do not need snacks and that an extra milk feed is the better answer to between-meal hunger. After the first birthday, two small snacks a day fit alongside three meals.
My baby eats far less than the chart says. Is that a problem?
Not on its own. Growth over weeks is the real measure, along with wet diapers and general energy. If the shortfall is consistent across weeks, or the weight curve flattens, bring the numbers to a checkup rather than adjusting bottles at home.
When should milk stop being the main source of nutrition?
Milk stays central through the first year, and solids gradually take over from about 9 to 12 months as meals reach three a day. The handover is gradual and does not need to be forced.
Can I follow a fixed feeding schedule?
A schedule helps you plan the day, but the baby sets the pace, especially in the first months when responsive feeding is the recommended approach. If you want a shape for the day rather than a rulebook, the baby schedule by age lays out how feeds, naps and wake windows fit together.
How KidyGrow helps
The hard part is not the chart. It is remembering, at the end of a long day, whether the 40 ml your baby left this evening is new or has been happening all week.
On day one the app says roughly what this article says: a range for the age, milk first, offer less than you think. By the second week it has your baby's own numbers, and the Daily Brief gets more specific. It might notice that the refused meals cluster after naps shorter than 40 minutes, or that the daily total has been flat for nine days while the number of feeds went down, which usually means bigger feeds rather than less milk.
Sometimes it finds nothing useful. A week with teething and a cold has no clean pattern in it, and pretending otherwise would not help anyone.
What changes is the checkup. Instead of "I think she eats less than before", you have seven days of real numbers, and the pediatrician gets something to work with.
Sources
- AAP HealthyChildren: How Often and How Much Should Your Baby Eat? (accessed 2026).
- AAP HealthyChildren: Amount and Schedule of Baby Formula Feedings (accessed 2026).
- AAP HealthyChildren: Serving Sizes for Toddlers (accessed 2026).
- NHS: From around 6 months (accessed 2026).
- NHS: 7 to 9 months and 10 to 12 months (accessed 2026).
- NHS: Over 12 months (accessed 2026).
- WHO: Infant and young child feeding (accessed 2026).
