Giving your baby their first few meals is full of trial and error. There's a whirlwind of details to remember in the early days and months, but once you keep track of their routine, feeding your little one eventually becomes second nature. Having a baby feeding chart can help and we recommend that every new parent needs to add one to their must-have list. Monitoring your baby's progress just got a whole lot easier.
How to Use a Baby Feeding Chart
Whether you're breastfeeding or bottle feeding (or a combo of both), this chart helps log all that's involved with feeding your baby. While the simple checkboxes will help for quickly jotting down the information, there are also areas where you can elaborate on some of the finer details. For example, you'll not only record the time of day you're feeding them but your baby's mood as well.
Baby brain is a real thing, so it's totally normal if you're not sure about what to do with each of the categories. Don't worry — we'll break them all down for you.
- Time: Record the time of every feeding down to the minute. According to Kids Health, babies eat about 8 to 12 times each day, which means you've got anywhere from 90 minutes to three hours between feedings. Your baby will give you cues on when they're hungry, usually through rooting, sometimes crying, or general fussiness. This is how your baby "talks" to you and as the day goes by, you'll learn your little one's specific (and oh so adorable) cues.
- Breast or Bottle: If you're breastfeeding, you may want to keep track of which breast you nursed on and for how long. Likely your body will let you know, but just in case (and to avoid unexpected and uncomfortable fullness), mark how long your baby nursed and on which side.
- Feeding Duration or Ounces: For breastfed babies, the average feeding lasts about 20 minutes (about 10 minutes per breast). But your baby will let you know when they're done. The same goes for bottle-fed babes, and you can record how many ounces your sweet one ate.
- Diaper Change: Keeping track of the diapers will actually tell you a lot. On average, six to 10 wet nappies a day indicate that your baby is likely getting enough to eat. You can also keep track of your little one's number twos with our useful baby poop chart, which decodes scent, color, and texture.
- Baby's Mood: Is your baby sleepy, fussy, or content? Recording their mood after feeding time helps you detect a pattern and anticipate needs. You might want to make note of your own mood, too. A happy parent likely equals a happy baby!
- Notes: What have you noticed about your baby? Any issues with them latching or losing interest in the bottle? Any new milestones, extra burping, or hiccups? Jot down what feels important. If you're nursing, you can also mark down the foods you ate to see if they contribute to changes in your baby's behavior.
Have a fussy baby during mealtime? Give skin-to-skin contact a try. According to one 2020 study, skin-to-skin contact with your baby, whether feeding with breast or bottle, releases the love hormone oxytocin that not only soothes your baby but you as well.
Related: How Many Diapers Babies Need: Newborn Though the First Year
The More Information You Record, the Better
Charting all the things, especially in those early infant days, can be extremely helpful. You'll be more perceptive to any changes, adjust you and the baby to their natural routine, and have important medical information available should you need to go to the doctor. And at the very least, you'll have another adorable keepsake to pass on to your baby once they're not so little anymore.
