12-week-old feeding baby schedule & amounts

Your baby isn’t just 12 weeks—they’re three whole months! That’s a big deal, mama. Likely moving into another size of clothes, working on their giggles and developing more consistent routines, this is a nice turning point for many families. After 12 weeks of breastfeeding, pumping, formula-feeding or a combination, you can now work on smoothing out any remaining feeding challenges while feeling confident about how far you’ve already come.

Related: 3-month-old baby milestones

How much milk should a 12-week-old baby eat?

The American Academy of Pediatrics and La Leche League recommend the following feeding schedules and amounts for 12-week-olds.

Breast milk: 4 to 5 ounces every 3 to 4 hours

Formula: 4 to 5 ounces every 4 hours

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also recommends that parents should follow the responsive feeding method, also known as feeding on demand, which looks to the infant’s hunger cues for when to feed. The schedules below are just examples—be sure to follow your baby’s hunger signals to know when your little one is ready for the next feeding. As babies get older, their hunger cues and feeding times start to become a little more predictable.

Related: Activities for a 3-month-old

What’s a good 12-week-old feeding schedule?

Remember, it’s more important that you follow your baby’s cues than adhere to a set schedule, so schedules outlined are general guides of how frequently you’ll feed your baby—not hard-and-fast rules.

These guidelines also apply primarily to infants born full-term and without any underlying medical conditions. For preterm infants, babies with certain medical conditions or for any specific questions pertaining to your child, be sure to consult your child’s pediatrician for a more customized feeding schedule.

Related: How much sleep does a 12-week-old need?

What are the breast pump cleaning guidelines for a 12-week-old baby?

Whether you use a breast pump on occasion or exclusively pump, there are some guidelines you should keep in mind when it comes to keeping everything clean and sanitized. Official guidelines from the CDC call for sanitizing pump parts quickly after each use in either the dishwasher or a basin used only for baby items. After some follow-up questions from Motherly, a representative from the CDC clarified that the breast pump cleaning guidelines were offered to minimize the risk of infection—especially for preterm babies or those with immune system deficiencies.

If full cleaning is not possible between uses (like if you’re at work), the CDC said that refrigerating used pump parts until you’re able to clean them is the next-best option. By 12 weeks, your baby’s immune system has also had the chance to develop more, so the risk of getting sick from contamination from the breast pump is further minimized at this point.

Related: Pumping at work: What you need to know and how to prepare

A note from Motherly on feeding a 12-week-old

At 12 weeks, feeding your baby should (more or less) be in a comfortable routine. Embrace that, mama! You and your little one have put a lot of work in to learn as much as you have about feeding by this point. The benefit now is that you can worry less about how to feed—and focus more on your baby’s precious face during feeding sessions.

Look ahead: 4-month-old baby feeding schedule & expert advice

A version of this story was published October 17, 2021. It has been updated.