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Your newborn should eat at least 8 times a day, but as often as 8-12 times a day. We recommend all our clients strive to meet the goal of 8 feeds a day. As you are learn your baby’s cues, the feed count may be greater than 8, and that is okay! If they eat 8 times a day, that would spread their feeds 3 hours apart. If your baby is struggling to make it to three hours, focus on the why. Did they not eat enough the previous feed? Did they wake up needing to eat or was it for another reason? Those are all questions that can be answered with time as you learn your baby’s language. For clarification, feeds that are spread three hours apart are from the time the feed starts. If you feed your baby at 6AM, they should eat again around 9AM. As they grow and mature, they will be able to take more in each feed allowing them to become more efficient. This three hour pattern is ideal and necessary to allow for longer stretches of sleep. Longer stretches of sleep should only take place overnight. Because of the longer stretches overnight, your baby most likely will always be eat every two and a half to three hours during the day. Babies are typically ready to become more efficient and drop a feed around 8 weeks old. However, there are many factors such as size, how much they are eating and what they are eating that play a role in dropping a feed. As always, we recommend discussing this change with your provider.