Eat, sleep, poo, cry, repeat! This is the daily routine of babies and it can feel extremely overwhelming to know if you are doing things right. How many ounces of milk should your baby have? Should you think about setting a feeding schedule for your baby?
To begin with, in the newborn stage, a baby’s stomach is tiny and can only hold a small amount of liquid at a time. Whether you have chosen to breastfeed or bottle feed it can be hard to know how much milk your baby is taking in.
If you have twins and multiples it could be a good idea to try to feed them at the same time. Obviously you don’t have to do this, and definitely don’t have to do it straight away. But the alternative is that you will AWAYS be feeding a baby. And this isn’t ideal if you have older children you also have to look after like I did. Or you’d like to keep your sanity in tact.
Ideally, if one wakes up to feed, wake up the other to feed them. Be flexible and adapt to what works for you and try not to worry about setting a strict schedule with newborn twins. Because believe me, it won’t happen!
Breastfed babies eat more frequently than bottle-fed ones. That’s because breast milk is easily digested and empties from the stomach a lot quicker than formula milk does.
Breastfeeding – setting a feeding schedule for your baby
There’s no doubt about it, breastfeeding is exhausting, especially in the early days where babies feed up to 8 to 12 times a day. The main rule seems to be not to let your baby go more than 4 hours without feeding. You may even need to wake them up until the routine becomes more established. Below is a rough feeding routine for breastfed babies. Please bear in mind that all babies are different and this is just a guide. (Oh, and that I’m no expert – you’re on the wrong website for that!)
- 1 to 3 months up to 9 times per day.
- 3 months old around 6 – 8 times per day.
- 6 months old up to 6 times per day
- 12 months old around 4 times per day (maybe more) as solids will be in their diet now
Bottle-feeding – setting a feeding schedule for your baby
Bottle-fed newborns should also eat on demand. On average, that’s about every 3 hours and it is best to follow the guide on the formula tin as per their age/weight to see how many ounces they need. If you are bottle feeding twins at the same time you can alternate which baby is on your lap at each feed so each baby has a turn being held close. Feeding pillows are great if you are feeding two babies at once as they get a bit bigger. For more tips on how to bottle feed twins at the same time, read this.
- Newborn every 2 to 3 hours
- 2 months every 3 to 4 hours
- 4 to 6 months every 4 to 5 hours
- 6+ months every 4 to 5 hours
How to get on a feeding schedule
Your babies should naturally start to fall into a feeding pattern as their tummy grows and they can take in more milk per feed. This may begin to happen between 2 and 4 months of age. You can tell when your baby is feeling hungry, they may start to suck on their hand, or smack their lips together – if you are breastfeeding they may start lifting their head around whilst on your chest. These things are always a good cue to start a feed before they start getting upset and hangry!
Once your babies are a few months old, you may be able to introduce a sleep and feed schedule that works for you. Good luck!
How did I do?
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