How Much Milk a Baby Needs (5 days - 6 weeks)

This information is for a baby 5 days - 6 weeks of age.
(taken from The Nursing Mother's Companion by Kathleen Huggins)


1. Weigh the baby naked at least an hour after eating. Try to be pretty exact with your pounds and ounces and then figure out the baby's weight in kilograms.

2. To figure out approximately how much milk your baby needs in a 24-hour period, multiply the baby's weight (in kg) by 6 and round to the nearest whole number.

Example: 3.317kg x 6 = 19.902oz

Baby needs approx. 20oz/day

3. Calculate how much milk the baby needs at each feeding. Divide the amount of milk the baby needs daily by the number of times he/she eats in a 24-hour period. 

Example: 20oz / 8 = 2 1/2 oz

Baby should eat approx. 2 1/2 oz/feeding

NOTE: If your baby is eating 8 times a day you can skip step 2 and just multiply the baby's weight in kg by 22.5. You'll get the amount that your baby should eat at each feeding in milliliters. 

Example: 3.317kg x 22.5 = 74.6325milliliters

Baby needs approx. 75 milliliters/feeding

To figure out this amount in ounces, divide by 30. 

Example: 75/30 = 2 1/2 oz

NOTE: If your baby is eating 9 times a day you can find how much milk he/she needs by multiplying the baby's weight in kg by 20. 

Example: 3.317kg x 20 = 66.34 milliliters

66 milliliters / 30 = 2 1/5 oz