When a baby is born, many new mothers are inexperienced with breastfeeding and do not know when to feed their baby. So, how many times a day should your baby breastfeed? For this problem of feeding babies, we can divide them into two situations: one is breast-fed babies, and the other is formula-fed babies.

Breastfeeding baby

Breastfed babies are usually fed 8-12 times every 24 hours, sometimes more. On the premise of the health of the mother and baby, the baby should start breastfeeding immediately after birth, that is, let the baby suck within 1 hour after delivery. At the same time, it is best to let the baby stay with the mother more so that the mother can respond to the baby's hunger signals. It is recommended to breastfeed your baby every 3-4 hours for the first few weeks of life, and make sure your baby is fed at least 8 times every 24 hours. Although feeding on demand, your next breastfeed should be at least an hour apart. If you can't finish breastfeeding in half an hour, after 15 minutes the baby will cry and continue breastfeeding. Feeding too often can cause your baby to pull while eating, leading to indigestion. So for your baby's health, you must pay attention to the frequency and quantity when feeding your baby.

Formula-fed baby

Breast milk is the most ideal food for babies, but if mothers cannot insist on breastfeeding for objective reasons, they can still choose formula milk. In general, breastfed babies usually eat less than formula-fed babies, but breastfed babies eat more often. For formula-fed babies, feed about 60-90ml every 3-4 hours for the first few weeks of life.

Especially when the baby is not yet full month, but sleep time is more than 4 hours, it is necessary to wake the baby to continue to drink milk. By 6 months of age, 180-240 ml can be fed 4-5 times every 24 hours.

Special circumstances and solutions

Babies sleep longer, especially in the first two weeks of life. Except for breastfeeding, they slept almost all the time, and some even slept more than four or five hours at a time. Should I wake my baby to feed, or wait to wake up naturally? Of course, wake up the baby to feed!

Premature or underweight babies have poor wakefulness and may develop hypoglycemia if they are left to sleep. Therefore, if the baby does not wake up after more than 3 hours of sleep, it is necessary to wake the baby to breastfeed. If your baby is not breastfeeding, check your baby for any other abnormalities and if he is sick.

If it is in the second half of the night, do not actively wake the baby, unless the continuous sleep time exceeds 6 hours.

If the baby sleeps for a short time and wakes up in ten minutes, should he feed as soon as he wakes up? If it happens once or twice, the mother doesn't mind; if it is very frequent, you need to find the reason, whether it is insufficient milk, indigestion, etc., and solve it in time.