The rule of thumb
About 2.5 oz per pound a day, up to about 32 oz
Newborns take 1–2 oz per feed, 8–12 times a day. At 1 month that's about 3–4 oz a bottle, at 2 months 4–5 oz, at 4–5 months 5–7 oz. The calculator works it out for your baby's exact age and weight; the full chart by month is below.
Your day and night feeding rhythm
- Per feed: 4½–5½ oz (135–160 ml) of formula, 6 times a day.
- Per day: about 27–32 oz (800–950 ml).
- At night: 0–2 feeds, varies a lot.
- Breastfed: nurse on cue, and watch diapers and growth, not ounces; a pumped bottle is about 2½–4 oz (75–120 ml).
- The real test: plenty of wet diapers, growth along their own curve and a baby who is content after feeds.
How much a 3-month-old drinks
| Per feed | Feeds a day | Per day | Night feeds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formula | 4½–5½ oz (135–160 ml) | 6 | 27–32 oz (800–950 ml) | 0–2 |
| Breast milk in a bottle | 2½–4 oz (75–120 ml) | 7–9 | about 25 oz (750 ml), typically 19–30 oz | 0–2 |
Compared with 2 months: a little more per bottle, a feed fewer, and about the same total. For a baby of typical weight (13½ lb, WHO median). A heavier baby drinks a little more, a lighter one a little less: about 2½ oz per pound a day (about 165 ml per kg), rarely more than about 32 oz (960 ml) in 24 hours (AAP). The calculator above does it for your baby's weight. Night feeds are a typical picture, not a target: babies vary a lot.
What's different at this age
The total stops climbing. Your baby keeps growing, but daily milk levels off near the 32-ounce (960 ml) mark the AAP gives as the usual maximum. Bottles get a little bigger and fewer instead. Breastfed babies are steady too: on average about 25 ounces (750 ml) a day from 1 to 6 months, whatever their age (KellyMom). So a 3-month-old drinking about what they did last month is normal.
Easily distracted. Babies now look around, turn to every voice and pop off the bottle. The AAP reads a fidgety, distracted baby during a feed as one that's probably done. A quiet, dim room helps if feeds keep getting cut short.
A hungrier week is possible. The Czech national breastfeeding guide lists about 3 months as another typical growth spurt (SZÚ).
Night feeds
Many 3-month-olds have 1 night feed, some 2, some none. In the Henderson study, half the babies slept from midnight to 5 a.m. by 3 months, and night waking remained common after that (Henderson 2010). The 4-month sleep regression is just ahead and can bring night waking back for a while.
Breastfed babies: what to watch instead of ounces
At the breast there is nothing to count, and you don't need to. Breastfed babies feed on cue, typically 8–12 times a day in the early months (AAP); in one study of 1–6-month-olds the range was 6 to 18 feeds a day, and how often a baby fed said nothing about how much milk their mother made (Kent 2006). Watch the signs below instead. For a bottle of pumped milk, plan on about 25 ounces (750 ml) a day divided by the number of feeds: this amount hardly changes from 1 to 6 months (KellyMom).
Is my baby getting enough?
- Wet diapers: 6 or more a day, pale and not smelly (AAP).
- Growth along their own curve on the WHO charts (AAP). Our growth percentile calculator shows where your baby sits; the curve matters more than the number.
- Content after most feeds: relaxed hands, settled for a while (CDC).
Hungry or full? Paced bottle feeding
Hungry: hands to mouth, turning toward the breast or bottle, puckering, smacking or licking lips, clenched hands (CDC). Crying is a late sign. Full: closes their mouth, turns away from the breast or bottle, relaxes their hands (CDC).
Paced bottle feeding lets your baby set the speed: hold them fairly upright, keep the bottle closer to horizontal so milk flows only while they suck, and pause every few minutes (Kassing 2002). The NHS puts it simply: be guided by your baby, give them plenty of time and don't force them to finish. Leftover milk means it worked.
When to call the doctor
- Fever of 100.4 °F (38 °C) or more under 3 months: call right away (AAP).
- Signs of dehydration: fewer wet diapers, a sunken soft spot, few or no tears, drowsiness (NHS).
- Vomiting a lot, forcefully, or a baby who seems in pain (NHS).
- Wants to eat all the time, even when full, or has trouble gaining weight (AAP).
Trust your instinct: if your baby seems unwell, call, whatever the numbers say.
Born early? Use the corrected age for the number of feeds and for starting solids, and real weight for the amounts. Our corrected age calculator works it out.
Questions
How much formula for a 3 month old per day?
About 27 to 32 ounces (800–950 ml) in 24 hours, usually in about 6 bottles of 4½–5½ ounces (135–160 ml).
Why does my 3 month old drink less than at 2 months?
Daily intake levels off around 32 ounces, and distracted feeds are common now. If your baby has plenty of wet diapers and keeps growing along their curve, a steady or slightly lower total is fine.
How much breast milk for a 3 month old?
About the same as at 1 month: on average 25 ounces (750 ml) a day, typically 19–30 ounces (KellyMom). A bottle of pumped milk is usually 2½–4 ounces.
How many times a day should a 3 month old eat?
About 6 bottles for a formula-fed baby; breastfed babies often nurse 7–9 times. Your baby's cues matter more than the count.
Feeding by age
All ages: the baby feeding chart · the full feeding calculator · how to prepare formula safely · water and tea
Same age: weight percentiles · wake windows and naps
Sources
- American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org: Amount and Schedule of Baby Formula Feedings
- AAP, HealthyChildren.org: How Often and How Much Should Your Baby Eat?
- CDC: How Much and How Often to Feed Infant Formula
- NHS: Bottle feeding advice
- AAP, HealthyChildren.org: How to Tell if Your Breastfed Baby is Getting Enough Milk
- CDC: Signs Your Child is Hungry or Full
- Kassing D., Bottle-feeding as a tool to reinforce breastfeeding, Journal of Human Lactation 2002 (paced bottle feeding)
- NHS: Dehydration
- Kent J.C. et al., Volume and frequency of breastfeedings and fat content of breast milk throughout the day, Pediatrics 2006
- KellyMom: How much expressed milk will my baby need?
- Státní zdravotní ústav and Laktační liga (Czech National Institute of Public Health): Kojení, všechno, co potřebujete vědět (2023)
- Henderson J.M.T. et al., Sleeping through the night: the consolidation of self-regulated sleep across the first year of life, Pediatrics 2010
- AAP, HealthyChildren.org: Fever and Your Baby
- World Health Organization: Child Growth Standards, weight-for-age (the typical weights)
Spotted a mistake or an outdated figure? Write to [email protected].