Understanding Your Baby’s Milk Intake
As a new parent, one of the most common concerns is whether your baby is getting enough milk. Breastfed babies have varying needs, and understanding these can help you ensure your baby is well-nourished.
Typical Breastmilk Intake by Age
Here is a Milk Calculator for the exclusively breastfed baby.
Here’s a table summarizing typical breastmilk intake at different ages:
| Age | Breastmilk Amount (oz/day) | Breastmilk Amount (mL/day) |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 months | average 25 oz (19-30oz) | 750 mL |
| 7-11 months | average 30 oz | 875 mL |
| 11-16 months | average 19 oz | 550 mL |
| 12-24 months | 14-19 oz | 400-550 mL |
| 24-36 months | 10-12 oz | 300-360 mL |
How do you know if your baby has had enough?
Determining if your baby is getting enough milk can sometimes be challenging, but there are several signs to look for:
- Weight Gain: Regular weight checks can help monitor your baby’s growth. Consistent weight gain is a good indicator that your baby is getting enough milk. Follow this calculator to see if your baby is on track for weight.
- Diaper Output: A well-fed baby typically has 6-8 wet diapers and several bowel movements each day.
- Feeding Patterns: Your baby should seem satisfied and content after feedings.
- Developmental Milestones: Meeting developmental milestones is another sign that your baby is getting the nutrition they need. See here developmental milestones to know if your baby is on track.
- Read more details on the signs for knowing that baby is getting enough milk when breastfed. Sometimes baby can’t extract the milk proeprly due to tongue tie, or poor latching. Learn how to help baby latch.
My personal experience
At some point, my baby fell off the weight graph, which, by the way, is up for debate whether you should follow or stress about it. But I did stress about it, and it’s not good. Stress affects your milk production.
Anyway, I bought a baby scale and before and after each feed, I weighed the baby without the diaper to know how much they ingested. (Without the diaper, just in case they peed in the meantime.) This was a lot of added stress. First, because the scale is not as accurate for each ounce. And second, even if the baby fell from the curve, she was still good, just on another curve (I think around 17%). I met babies on 3% who ended up fine. Don’t stress too much!
Then, I stopped breastfeeding for a day and just pumped and gave her milk by bottle so I could measure how much she drank. Although by bottle, the baby eats much more—so it’s not a good comparison. What I learned is that when I pumped, I got 3.5 oz from both breasts, and sometimes the baby just fed from one breast. Now, it could be that the baby gets more out of my breast than the pump, or it could be that the baby needs more milk but is just tired and lazy to get to the other breast—hence she ends up eating less. Either way, you could just not stress. The baby will tell you if she’s hungry. But overall, if you have 30 oz on average, you are good. Or if you don’t measure, then if the baby is doing well then you are good as well.