Formula Feeding Schedule for Babies 1 to 4 Months Old
- May 14, 2012
- by Melissa Lawrence
Hello Moms!
I have to start off by saying Congratulations!! You’ve made it through the first month! This is such a huge milestone for a mother! By now, you may have seen some changes in your feeding pattern, and if it’s ok with your doctor, you may be able to put your baby on some sort of set baby feeding schedule. Keep watching for more details!
Sample Baby Schedule
When it comes to formula feeding your baby, for a 1 month old baby, they should be drinking 3 to 4 oz. of formula at each feeding. As they grow older, you can tack on an oz. for each month. Now, by the time they are a 6-month old baby, you should be feeding them 7 to 8 oz. per feeding. There is also a math formula you can follow based on your baby’s weight that will give you the amount of formula you’ll need for each feeding. I’ve included this in the graphics. Keep watching for more on when to schedule these formula feedings.
Baby Sleeping Schedule
Feedings and sleeping go hand in hand when it comes to babies! From 1-4 months of age, you’ll want to put your baby to sleep 1.5 to 2 hours after your baby has had her feed. Your second feed will come no longer than 4 hours after the last feed. This will actually get your baby to sleep longer at night, good news for mom! Keep watching for a detailed chart!
I hope this newborn feeding chart and newborn sleep schedule has helped bring some order to your hectic life with your newborn! And whatever the outcome, don’t get frustrated! You and your baby will get the hang of feeding and sleeping soon enough!
Baby Feeding and Sleeping Schedule: Formula-Fed 1 to 4-Month-Old
Your first month with your newborn baby probably seemed like the longest month of your life, but the good news is things definitely get easier from here on out. And at this point, many pediatricians will tell you that your baby can begin to transition away from on demand feeding and get into a feeding and sleeping schedule, which means more time for mom!
When your baby is 1 to 4 months old — about4 weeks to 16 weeks — she will be eating approximately 3-4 ounces of formula per feeding, increasing that amount by about one ounce per month.
Another way to calculate how much to feed your baby is to multiply her weight by 2.5 and divide that by the number of feedings per day (For example: 8 lb. baby x 2.5/6 feedings = 3.3 ounces of formula per feeding).
Try to start your first feeding around 7 or 8 a.m., and feed her until she has lost interest in the bottle, burped and seems full. Around 1.5 to 2 hours after the feed began, put her down for a nap. And no later than 4 hours after the first feed, wake her for the next feed.
Feeding and Sleeping Schedule:
7 a.m. – 1st Feeding
9 a.m. – Nap (1.5-2 hours)
11 a.m. – 2nd Feeding
1 p.m. – Nap (1.5-2 hours)
3 p.m. – 3rd Feeding
5 p.m. – Nap (1.5-2 hours)
7 p.m. – 4th Feeding
8 p.m. – Bedtime
11 p.m. – 5th Feeding (directly back to sleep)
3 a.m. – 6th Feeding (directly back to sleep)
Over time, your baby will drop the 3 a.m. feeding, and eventually, the 11 p.m. one as well. But even when she’s still waking up at night, this schedule allows her to be awake and get a lot of the food she needs during the day, so she sleeps longer stretches overnight. This has really worked for me.
And don’t miss my video and schedule for your formula-fed 4 to 6-month-old.
I hope your schedule is getting easier to manage! I would love to hear about your routine. Please add your comments below!
Comments
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aimee.leila
Hi Melissa, we have followed your newborn schedule but now our daughter is 4 weeks we are trying to transition to your 1-4 moth old schedule…how do we get her to switch, or can we maintain the newborn schedule & hope she will naturally go longer between feeds? Our main problem is that no matter whether she feeds at 3am or 4am she will only sleep until latest 6am, so we often start early. Also any tips on getting her straight back to sleep after night feeds…we’re finding we have to hold her until she’s in a deep sleep or she won’t settle.
Thank you from Dubai!!
Melissa Lawrence
I am so honored that you are watching the site from Dubai! I would stay on the newborn schedule until she starts spacing out for longer at night. Don’t worry about the 6am. I would try hard to get a good nap in during the evening hours which will help you the next day. And maybe try to see that 6am feeding as a nighttime feeding and put her back to bed right afterwards while you take a nap. In terms of holding her, you don’t want to hold her until she sleeps (in my personal opinion). You want to leave her swaddled in the crib by herself and even if she fusses, get her used to falling asleep on her own. This is what I did with all 5 of my babies and it worked. But this is a HUGE debate so you have to make sure you want to do this. Alot of moms don’t believe in seeing the baby cry so they don’t want to do it, but I let my kids cry and fuss for a few minutes and fall asleep on their own… if it’s any longer than 10 minutes, you have to make sure the baby is not still hungry or doesn’t need to burp. Stay in touch, sending love, xoxoxo Melissa
Aimee Martin
Hi Melissa, thank you! We’ve managed to transition Ella to 4 hours between feeds successfully – so far, it’s only been 48 hours! Last night she fed at 7pm then we all went to sleep (mum & dad trying to catch up!) and I woke up at 1.30am & she hadn’t woken up…amazing, but I think from tonight I will wake her at 11pm & 3am to feed until she drops one of them completely – would you agree to waking her up at night to feed her each 4 hours? She generally has bad gas (bottom end) that wakes her after I’ve put her down from her last feed – so when I was feeding her at 4am she’d wake up in pain sometime after 5am – and she’s never really slept past 6am – any tips in that regard (early morning gas & getting her to sleep after her last feed until 7am)? We’ll try the leaving her to send herself to sleep from tomorrow morning – I’m worried she’ll never sleep without being rocked/held :s
Thank you for your help, your schedules have been a lifesaver for me! I’m spreading the word to my pregnant friends!
Xx
Melissa Lawrence
HI Aimee!! Definitely ask your doctor whether he wants you to wake the baby at night. If she is growing well and not too small, some doctors will say to “let her go” and see when she wakes up. I would say that you could definately wake her for a “top off” feed at 11pm, burp her well, and then see how long a stint she can do at night. I wonder about the gas — ask your doctor about that also and try some different bottles and maybe a different formula as well. Wishing you well and stay in touch!! OH, and you guys getting a good nap before the 11pm feed is the very best idea! xoxo Melissa
Aimee Martin
Hi Melissa
The putting her down thing is so hard – she really doesn’t settle unless she’s snuggled to sleep…she’s faster at falling back to sleep during the night (thank goodness) but during the day it’s virtually impossible to get her to nap without being held until she’s in a deep sleep. How many up & downs should I try before I give in & just hold her? It’s so time consuming holding her to go to sleep, she’s 6 weeks on Thursday so I’d really like to break this habit ASAP!
Melissa Lawrence
This is SUCH a controversial issue, it’s about “crying it out.” Moms have very different views on this — some think you should never do it, others tolerate some amount of fussing for a few minutes. I personally think that this is a habit that you want to break sooner rather than later, and means that you have to be comfortable hearing her cry for 10-15 minutes or so, any longer and you go in, make sure she doesn’t have a diaper, need to burp, etc. also make sure she is very full… But it is NOT an easy thing to do! The holding thing is a very very tough thing to maintain! But this is really my personal point of view, and other mothers will tell you that they never let their babies cry it out, so it really depends on your comfort level!! LMK what happens! xo M
Anonymous
Hi Melissa,
Love LOVE your show! I’ve recommended it to many friends. So my baby boy is doing great and we have dropped the 3am feeding but how do we know when to drop the 11 am feeding? We normally wake him up for it and put him right back to bed, and I would like to just skip it, but I’m scared he’ll start waking up in the middle of the night. He is 9 weeks.
Thanks for your help!!
Melissa Lawrence
HI there!!! Wow, you are doing great! 9 weeks is still very young! I think you are aways a way from dropping that 11pm feeding b/c for a baby to go from 8-7am is a LONG stretch and does not happen in my experience until at least 4 months if not later, like 6 months. So my recommendation is to keep that feeding for a while and keep feeding him very regularly during the day until he is a bit older. You can try dropping that feeding maybe at 3 months old and see what happens or if he starts waking up earlier — best of luck, xoxo M
Aimee Martin
Hi melissa, Aimee from Dubai again! Our daughter Ella had terrible wind problems & suspected silent reflux so on recommendation we dropped the 10-11pm feed which has helped a lot. Ella now sleeps from 6.45pmish until 3 or 4am when she wakes for a quick bottle then (so far) goes back to sleep until between 6-7am. Did you dream feed all your little ones?
Also we’re struggling with daytime napping, Ella cannot get past the 45 minute cycle…would you try CIO for nap time? So far she’s great at going to bed at night & luckily doesn’t wake at each cycle then, so it’s frustrating she can’t stay asleep for 90-120 mins per nap in the daytime!
Tasks in advance xx
mackenzie.lee
Hi Melissa,
I have a baby boy 8 weeks old. I have been very lucky with him at night. He sleeps around 10 hours a night. We are also having problems with feedings and I’m willing to try anything! Doctor believes he has reflux and prescribed him meds. He doesn’t sleep very long during the day. We are feeding 4 oz every 3 hours. Any advice to get him on a schedule and taking long naps? Any reflux advice?
Thanks!
Melissa Lawrence
Hi mackenzie, thanks for writing. I have a couple different videos on colic, some of the techniques in those might help you. Is the medication helping the baby? 10 hours a night is very very good. For longer naps, check out the video I have on babies aged 2-4 months re schedules and I would say try for a dark room, and getting him down to sleep about 1 hr to 1.5 hrs after the last feed began… if he is having trouble settling, you might try putting him down slightly earlier. Usually with my babies at this stage, they would be hard to keep awake while feeding and after one and a half hours or so of being up, they were ready to sleep again… 8 weeks can also be hard b/c the baby might be starting to resist an arms in swaddle and begin looking for a finger or thumb to suck — are you swaddling?
Mackenzie
Hi again Melissa,
He’s been on the meds for about a week now I believe they are helping. He does spit up a lot and is fussy when trying to burp him. I’m hoping this is just a stage we have to pass. We have tried every formula possible it seems like. Doctor recommended a spit up formula but he was very fussy after eating where a paci would be the only thing to calm him down. I decided to try a soy formula and it seems to be helping he is burping better and isn’t so fussy like before. He is spitting up like crazy still. Not only with burping but an hour after he eats…is that normal? Yes I still swaddle him it seems to help him at night. I will try swaddling him in the day in his dark room with music. Is 4oz too much for a 2 month old? He weighs 10 lbs and has about 5-6 feeding a day. With the medications as well he hasn’t pooped in 3 days…should I be concerned?
Melissa Lawrence
Double check all of this with your dr of course, but here is my view: 1) I wouldn’t worry about him eating too much! You want a baby that age to be getting plenty and gaining weight, I think you have to feed him what he seems to want, 2) all my babies burped and spit a tremendous amount and had bibs until they were a year old all the time, they never did NOT have a bib! ask the doc, but this wouldn’t make me worry, 3) you should follow the same routine for a nap as you do at night, dark room, swaddle, etc… some people like a lighter room during the day, but I never did this and my kids slept great, 4) babies can get constipated… search my site on that, I have a few videos -hang in there, mama, you’re doing great!! xoxo M
Sonia
Hi melissa
My daughter is 6 weeks old and is eating every 3 hours. How do I get her to eat every 4 hours or do I leave her at 3 until she does it herself. Also she falls asleep after she feeds how do I jeep her awake to do as you say put to sleep 1.5 hours after eating.
Thank you so much
Lauren
Hi Melissa,
My baby will be 6 weeks in 2 days.. Since last week we have been doing every 4 hrs taking about 4 oz formula. He wakes at about 330am and like any parent I’m hoping to drop this feed. We wake him for his late evening feed at about 1130, some nights he wakes on his own for the late evening feed, there are times he only takes about 3oz at this feed. Do you discourage waking him for his late evening feed? Should I attempt to have him eat every 3 hrs in the day hoping he will still take 4 oz every 3hr which will add up to more intake in the day?
I realize he is still young to drop the early morning feed but I hope I’m on the right track to do so.
Thanks for your input!
Melissa Lawrence
My general rule is to feed them as regularly and often as possible during the day until they stop to drop the night-time feeds. That being said, some babies don’t want to eat as often as every 3 hours. For a 6 week old, he sounds like he’s doing really well actually! If it were me, I would keep waking him up for that “Top Off” or late night feed until he sleeps through until the morning. Then, when he is older, I would drop it until he goes around 7-7 ideally. Try feeding every 3.5 hours and see what happens, and let me know. xo M
jenjen
hi melissa! my husband and i love your videos – so helpful – and can’t believe you’ve done this five times. 🙂 my formula fed, on demand six week old eats every 2 hours during the day, pretty much like clockwork, and after each of those feedings we engage/interact with him around the house for a little while before putting him down. he has just started lengthening his night time sleep stretches, which we’re excited about. if we feed him at 7 or 8pm, he’ll sleep like a brick until about midnight for his next feeding, then sleep again until about 4am. when i put him down after that 4am feeding he seems to sleep much less soundly and then shows signs of hunger at 6am, when i feed him again. so my question is – do i treat the 4am feeding the same as the earlier night time feedings, like i’ve been doing (i.e. do it efficiently in his nursery – feed, burp, put him back down) or should i treat it like his first daytime feeding since he seems to be more active around that time and wakes up for the next feeding two hours after his last one? ultimately/eventually i would love it if he would ease into a schedule where that 4am feeding gets dropped completely and he sleeps from 1am-ish until 6 or 7, but i’m not quite sure how to get there or when. thanks!
Melissa Lawrence
In my experience, that 4am feeding should be a nighttime feeding. Feed, burp, change, back to bed. He is still very young. He will stretch it out as time goes on. Best of luck with your beautiful baby! M
Brianne
My babe is 5 weeks. He eats 4-5 oz every 4 hours and his daytime schedule is pretty much what you have stated. I’m just not sure how to go about putting him down to sleep at 8pm ish as he is very fussy till about 9. Suggestions? We’ve just been keeping him with us and then do a bedtime routine for his last feeding ( around 10pm)
Jsan
I’m not sure if anyone is checking this anymore but looking for some advice with my 13 week old. She seems to still only be able to stay up 1-1.5 hours I between feeds. Takes about 3 45 min naps and one long nap on average. Her bedtime is 7/730 but she was going 9-11 hours last week now she’s back to waking between 1:30/2 and again around 5:30/6. The other issue we’re having is she’s on a 3 hr. Schedule but her last feed sometimes even her last 2, lately, she doesn’t want a full feed. I think this is why she’s waking earlier again. If I extended to a 3.5 hr schedule tho, that would push bedtime back and already, 7pm is sometimes hard to get her to. I have never tried dream feeding frankly it scares me – I’d hate to disrupt her sleep
Amanda Randolph
I have a question my son will be 3 months on the 27th n he eats 4oz every 3 to 4 hours n I use to burp him every oz but now when I try to bury him he screams so I stop trying n let him eat more but now he is wanting to drink the hole 4oz then burp him is that okay
Jen
Hi,
My baby boy is almost 9 weeks old and is feeding 4oz every 3 hours. We usually feed him around 7pm then I “top him off” around 930/10pm.Should I wake him for the that feeding or let him sleep through?? he then wakes every 3 hours (usually around 1am and 4am) but will not take the full 4oz sometimes only 2,and He is also very difficult to burp at his night feedings because he falls asleep during the feeding. Im going back to work this week and was really hoping he would have dropped at least 1 of his night feedings, any suggestions??
Polly
My baby is 6 weeks old. He has bottle( 4oz breastmilk or formula) every one hour if he is awake. After each feed, he is very happy to play or go back to sleep. Am I overfeeding him?
Brenda
why is my 1month baby boy he is always fussy and not sleeping good at nights he drinking 5oz of bottle
Lisa
My daughter is 3 months old. She usually has 6 feedings in a 24 hour period of 5oz each. The last few nights she has slept through her 3am feeding waking up at 6am instead for a feeding. Should I squeeze in that 5oz bottle that she missed at 3am sometime during the day to ensure she has her 6 feedings, or offer her more at each feeding during the day and keep it at 5 feedings?
Candice
hi, my son is 10 weeks old now. he is drinking between 100-120ml every 2hrs. but at night he sleeps from 18;30 through to between 02:00 and 03:00! should he be drinking so often in the day?