Baby Feeding Routines

How do you know when your baby wants a milk feed?

Feeding your baby doesn’t have to be a guessing game. Your baby can tell you when they're hungry and ready to have some milk by giving you specific non-verbal cues. These ‘hunger cues’ include signs such as:

• crying
• chewing on their hands
• if you touch their cheek with your finger, they'll turn their head, open their mouth and search for food.
• if you pick your baby up, they'll turn their head and body towards you, and nuzzle into you in search of milk
• they'll probably be curled up with their arms flexed over their chest and their fists clenched.

The difference between daytime and night-time feed routines

During the daytime, you will enjoy social times with your baby, including during the feed and afterwards. In the first month, your baby is usually most awake at feed times, so it’s the best time to socialise, enjoy and get to know each other.

When you feed your baby at night, you don’t do any socialising. This is a quiet time. That way, they begin to distinguish the difference between day and night feeds.

As your baby gets older, the intervals between feeds will get a little longer and become more regular, but his feeds generally remain about three or four hours apart.

Newborn feeding schedule

For the first month, your new baby will probably feed and sleep every two to four hours, day and night. They will want to feed when they're hungry and not by a clock schedule.

Feeding times will always be ‘around about’ a certain time and in the first month, sleep, feeding and brief social times are unpredictable. Your baby is ‘free-running’ around the 24-hour clock which means they haven't learnt night from day and will feed and sleep at any time during the day and night. 

Don't be surprised if your baby doesn't stick to a pattern. For example, if they fed at 3pm, you might think they've had such a big feed and won't want to feed for another 3 hours. But they may still need a feed between 5pm and 7pm. In the evenings, babies tend to feed more frequently and can be quite unsettled. 

For the first four weeks, your baby’s day will run on a flexible timeline. Your role is to make this routine as familiar, predictable and responsive to your baby’s needs as you can, while learning to recognise your baby’s needs.

What are some other baby feeding routines?

A routine isn't just about the time you feed, it's also about how you prepare your baby for a feed. You could get them ready for a feed in the same comforting, familiar way so they know what's coming. You might decide they need a nappy change or a soft comforting wrap around their body. Make sure you leave their hands free so they can touch you and you can hold each other’s hands. 

Another common and familiar routine is feeding in the same chair and room. You need to have a chair with good back support and somewhere to rest your arm while supporting your baby’s head. 

An important thing you could do is explain to your baby what they're experiencing. For example, just before you start feeding, you could tell your baby that they're hungry and are going to have some nice warm milk. They don't understand yet that the empty, uncomfortable feeling in their tummy is hunger. Your baby relies on you to help them understand.

When they're full and had enough milk, tell your baby they've got a full tummy and have had enough to eat.

Your new baby may fall asleep straight after a feed, because they get so cosy, relaxed and full of milk. If you like, you can put them to bed and see if they take a quick or longer nap.

Alternatively, sit them up and burp them to see if they're just in a ‘milk-coma’ and would be happy to rouse and have a chat with you before sleeping again.

This is what’s meant by being responsive to your baby’s needs, while still being flexible to the timeframe of their feeds. Their routine is familiar because you feed them the same way each time.

Read more about breastfeeding your newborn. 

What’s a typical 5 month old baby feeding schedule?

By 5 or 6 months, your baby is likely to be in a comfortable daily routine around feeding, socialising and sleeping. They may still wake as early as 5am for a milk feed. 

At 6 months, your baby's routine might move slowly towards having a milk feed before solid food at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some babies may still want one milk feed overnight.