At three months, you notice that your baby clearly increases the amount of milk he consumes. And for good reason: it is at the peak of growth! Worried about whether your baby is drinking enough? Find here all our advice on how to best support your child and meet their growing nutritional needs.

Over time, your baby gets bigger and gets more milk. The feedings or bottles are gradually spaced out and this is quite normal: do not be tempted to wake your baby up to feed him if he is sleeping peacefully. He knows perfectly how to regulate his sleep and his appetite according to his needs.

At three months, the baby’s feeding rhythm is generally well established: he demands to eat at regular times and you can better anticipate his meal times in order to organize yourself well.

While there is no real rule regarding the amount of milk for a child, because of course it all depends on his appetite and needs, there are however recommended average daily amounts given for guidance only. According to these, a three-month-old baby usually takes between 4 to 5 bottles of 150 ml to 180 ml per 24 hours.

However, these figures are only an average because baby alone regulates his appetite. The important thing is therefore to listen to your child’s needs, without ever forcing or restricting him.

If you are still breastfeeding your baby, you will certainly know that the ideal is to feed him on demand by offering your baby to breastfeed as often as he wants you to.

On the other hand, if you return to work and you want your child to benefit from your breast milk for a while longer, you will need to rely on a breast pump to stock up. It may also be good to know that French law allows you to take time out of your working hours to express your milk!

At three months, on the other hand, a rhythm should be established: you are generally around 5 feedings per day, with a feed at night or in the early morning. This rhythm will allow you to better organize yourself with regard to your baby’s meal times.

But again, there is no real rule: the key is to adapt to the needs of your child, who is starting to know how to make himself understood very well, especially when he is hungry! Be careful, however, not to bring the feedings too close, otherwise your child may not have time to digest his previous meal.

As for the duration of each feeding, it lengthens and the infant feeds more and more efficiently: it absorbs more milk during feedings, allowing it to be more satiated.

It may also be that the amount of milk contained in a breast is no longer sufficient. In this case, your child will make it clear to you: he is trying to suck more while being agitated or even getting angry. Obviously, you will be able to offer him the other breast so that he can quietly finish his meal. Just let him go to the end of his feed before changing sides so he can enjoy all the benefits of your breast milk. The composition of the latter changes in fact over the course of the feeding. By changing breasts, milk production will become even more important: your body will naturally adapt to your baby’s growing needs.

Just think about changing breasts from one feed to another so that the stimulation is balanced. So as not to get sideways from one feed to the next, if you don’t feel a big difference in volume when you palpate your breast, two solutions can help:

• The notebook technique: note in a notebook the time of the feed, its duration and the side given first
• The elastic technique: take a hair elastic and at the end of each feeding, change your wrist according to the given side. It will be your benchmark for the next feeding!

Be reassured about your toddler’s diet: if he is gaining weight regularly, if his growth curve changes gradually and his stools are normal, it is because his diet allows him to cover his nutritional needs.

If, however, you notice any disorder such as persistent digestion concerns, do not hesitate to consult your pediatrician.

If baby is agitated, or even gets upset at the end of his bottle or at the end of the feeding, do not hesitate to offer him a 30 ml bottle (30 ml of water + 1 dose of milk) or a change breasts if he is breastfeeding: he may tell you that his hunger has not been satisfied! Because remember that your baby is growing and his needs increase as he grows!

Does your child tend to take his bottle several times? Does he stop feeding? Let him go at his own pace and make him possibly burp to expel any too much air that he might have swallowed. But this is not mandatory: again, it all depends on your baby. Either way, do not give your child a bottle that has been heated 30 minutes earlier, or that has been served at room temperature if it has been more than an hour: prepare another bottle.

Whether breastfed or bottle-fed, remember that until at least 4 months old, milk must remain its exclusive food: do not try to introduce any other food, whatever it may be, at the risk of trigger food allergies.

Also remember that your pediatrician is your main point of contact for discussing your child’s diet, behavior and health. So do not hesitate to ask him if you have any questions.

Breast milk is the most suitable food for young children: it is ideal in every way to meet their needs. Rich in water, balanced in proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, breast milk also provides (almost) all the vitamins that baby needs. All except Vitamin D!

When the baby is breastfed, it is necessary to supplement it with Vitamin D with a few drops. This food supplement must have been prescribed to you by the pediatrician as soon as you leave the maternity ward.

At three months, it is necessary to continue this supplementation with Vitamin D because the latter plays an essential role in the mineralization of the skeleton of the child: it indeed allows him to fix calcium well to densify his bone mass. However, vitamin D is synthesized mainly by the skin when it is exposed to the sun, while of course, young babies are never exposed to the sun because of their very fragile skin. Food only meets a third of needs.

Vitamin D intake must be daily until the introduction of powdered milk in case of weaning, and up to 18 months in case of long breastfeeding. Subsequently, if breastfeeding continues, supplementation will take place on a daily basis but only in winter, up to 5 years.

If the child is bottle-fed, however, vitamin D supplementation is not necessary because infant formula, also called “infant milk”, is carefully enriched with Vitamin D to meet the nutritional needs of the little one.