Feeding 

Breastfed babies generally eat more frequently than formula-fed babies. Newborns usually nurse on their mothers’ breasts every 2 to 3 hours. As they become older, feeding frequency will decrease as baby’s stomach becomes larger. 

Formula-fed newborns will eat about every 3 to 4 hours during the first few weeks of life. By the end of the first month, formula fed babies will take at least 4 ounces of formula per feeding. At 6 months of age, baby will take 6 to 8 ounces per feeding. 

It’s important to watch and learn when your baby is hungry. These signals are called hunger cues. When baby wants to eat, she may: 

• Become more awake. 
• Put her hands or fingers on or in their mouth.
• Make sucking motions, stick out their tongue.
• Smack their lips.
• Kick or squirm.
• Begin rooting (moving jaw and mouth or head in search of your breast).

If baby begins crying, this is usually a late signal that they want to eat. If your baby is getting enough food, she appears satisfied for a couple of hours after each feeding. 

Baby’s weight gain

• Baby should gain about 1 1⁄2 to 2 pounds each month, and grow about 1 to 1 1⁄2 inches between the age of one and four months. 
• Baby will gain 1 to 1 1⁄2 pounds per month and grow about 2 to 3 inches between four and seven months. 
• By 8 months, the average boy will weigh between 14 1⁄2 and 17 1⁄2 pounds, while girls will  weigh about 14 and 17 pounds. 
• At one year of age, the typical child weighs about 3 times their birth weight.
   

Breastfed babies tend to be chubbier than formula-fed babies during the first 4 to 6 months of life. Breastfed babies usually become leaner than formula-fed babies sometime between 9 months and the age of one year. 

If your baby always seems hungry or doesn’t have the appetite that you think they should, talk to your baby’s provider.