12/24/2025
One of the biggest surprises I hear from breastfeeding parents is this simple truth: babies eat a lot. Way more often than anyone prepared them for. Not because something is wrong. But because human milk is meant to be digested quickly and babies are designed to come back often for connection, calories, comfort, and regulation.
Here is what “often” usually looks like over the first year, knowing that normal has a very wide range:
Newborns (0–6 weeks)
• Average feeds: 8–14 times in 24 hours, sometimes more
• Length: anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes
• Cluster feeding is very common, especially in the evenings
• Frequent feeding helps build milk supply and helps baby learn how to nurse
2–4 months
• Average feeds: 8–12 times in 24 hours
• Length: often shorter, around 10–25 minutes total
• Babies get more efficient but still need frequent feeds because their stomachs are small
• Growth spurts can temporarily increase frequency again
4–6 months
• Average feeds: 7–10 times in 24 hours
• Length: 5–20 minutes
• Some babies are very businesslike, others still linger
• Night feeds are still biologically normal and protective
6–9 months
• Average feeds: 6–9 times in 24 hours
• Length: highly variable
• Solids may start, but breast milk is still the primary source of nutrition
• Many babies nurse for comfort, reconnection, and regulation just as much as calories
9–12 months
• Average feeds: 5–8 times in 24 hours
• Length: often shorter and more distracted during the day
• Night and morning feeds often remain long and meaningful
• Breastfeeding continues to provide immune support, nutrition, and emotional grounding
A gentle reframe that helps many parents: breastfed babies don’t just “eat.” They snack, binge, sip, nurse for comfort, nurse to sleep, nurse to reconnect, and nurse because the world is big and they are still small.
