Newborn babies feed often and irregularly, and NHS guidance describes at least 8 to 12 feeds in every 24 hours in the first weeks. Nappies, stool colour and weight are the things clinicians look at when feeding is being checked, and they look at them together rather than one at a time. This page is health information for learning, and it cannot tell you whether your own baby is feeding well enough. That answer comes from a midwife, health visitor or doctor who can weigh your baby and watch a feed.

How often newborns feed

Feeding in the first days can be close to hourly. NHS guidance says feeds become fewer and longer once fuller milk replaces colostrum after a few days, and that a breastfed baby should feed at least 8 to 12 times, or more, in 24 hours during the first few weeks.

Bunches of feeds close together, often in the evening, are common in newborns. So are feeds that seem too short, and feeds that seem endless.

AAP guidance describes newborns feeding on demand, roughly every two to three hours, with plenty of variation between babies. Feeding at night is part of it, not a sign that something has gone wrong.

Feeding cues

Babies signal hunger before they cry. Early cues include stirring, turning the head with the mouth open, bringing hands to the mouth, and sucking movements.

Crying is a late cue, and a baby who is already crying hard may need calming before they can latch or take a teat.

Responding to cues rather than the clock is what both NHS and WHO guidance describe, for breastfeeding and for bottle feeding.

What clinicians look at

Nobody judges feeding from one feed. The things a midwife or health visitor puts together are your baby's weight over time, how many wet and dirty nappies there are, what the stools look like, how alert your baby is, and what a feed actually looks like when they watch one.

Stool colour is part of that picture. NHS guidance says the first sticky greenish-black meconium changes to yellow or mustard after a few days.

Wet nappies are the other half. A clear drop in wet nappies is a reason to seek advice, and no wet nappy in the past 12 hours is a reason to seek urgent care.

Weight checks

NHS guidance says babies are weighed in the first two weeks to see that birthweight is being regained, and that most babies are at or above their birthweight by three weeks old. After that, weighing is much less frequent unless there is a reason.

A weight on its own is not the answer either. It is read alongside how your baby feeds, how they are, and their pattern over time, which is why the person holding the scales is the person to ask.

If feeding is not going well

Feeding problems are common and they are fixable more often than they are permanent. Painful feeding, a baby who falls asleep at every feed, a baby who never seems settled, or a supply that worries you are all reasons to ask for help early.

Breastfeeding in the first two weeks covers the mother's side of the first fortnight, and when breastfeeding is not working covers what to do when it hurts, stalls or has to change.

If you are feeding with formula, in part or entirely, preparation and hygiene are the parts that are genuinely safety-critical. See bottles and formula.

Mixed feeding

Many families feed with both breast milk and formula. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and also that decisions about feeding are made with support rather than pressure.

Whatever the mix, the signs that need care are the same: a baby who refuses feeds, who is much sleepier than usual, or who has far fewer wet nappies.

When to see a doctor

Seek urgent care for a newborn who will not feed, who is difficult to wake for feeds, who is much sleepier than usual, or who has far fewer wet nappies. Feeding refusal in a newborn is treated as an urgent sign, not a phase.

Ask for a feeding review the same week for painful feeding, for a baby who feeds constantly without settling, or for worry about weight. Newborn warning signs lists the signs that need emergency care, and your newborn in the first two weeks sets out what is usual.

Seek care now: Contact your local emergency services or go to your nearest emergency department if a baby under three months old has a temperature of 38C or higher, is breathing fast, working hard to breathe or grunting, has blue, grey, pale or mottled skin, is floppy, is difficult to wake, is refusing feeds, has far fewer wet nappies or none in the past 12 hours, has a bulging or sunken soft spot on the head, has a rash that does not fade when you press it, or has a fit. Femio cannot assess a baby.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know the milk is going in?

Clinicians read wet and dirty nappies, stool colour, alertness, weight over time and a watched feed together. Ask a midwife or health visitor to look, rather than trying to score it at home.

Can a newborn feed too often?

Frequent feeding is usual in newborns, and NHS guidance describes feeds as often as every hour in the first days. Ask for a feed to be watched if feeding never seems to settle your baby.

Should I wake a sleepy newborn to feed?

Ask your midwife or health visitor, because it depends on your baby. A baby who is difficult to wake, or who is not waking for feeds at all, needs urgent care rather than a plan.

Does giving one bottle end breastfeeding?

No. Many families combine breast and bottle. Support with positioning, attachment and supply is worth asking for early, whichever way you feed.