A baby feeding tracker that shows the pattern, not just the log
What should I record when I track a baby feed?
Record four things for every feed: the time it started, which type it was (breast, bottle or solids), how much or how long, and which side or bottle volume. That is enough to show feeds per day, the gap between them, and whether intake is steady: the three things a child health nurse will ask about.
What to log
Start time, feed type, amount or duration, and side. Four fields is enough. More fields is why people stop logging.
What it shows
Feeds per day, the gap between feeds, cluster-feed evenings, and whether a change is a trend or a single hard day.
Best for
Parents mixing breast and bottle, anyone handing over to a partner or carer, and the week before a health check.
What should I track for each feed?
For a bottle feed, the useful record is the start time and the volume actually taken, not the volume offered. Logging what was offered inflates the daily total and hides the days a baby was not interested, which is usually the thing worth noticing.
For a breastfeed, log the start time, which side, and roughly how long. Duration on the breast is a weaker signal than volume in a bottle, because an efficient feeder can finish in eight minutes what takes another baby twenty-five. The pattern across a week matters far more than any single number.
For solids, the food and a rough amount is enough. The reason to log solids at all is that they change milk intake, so a drop in bottles that looks alarming in isolation often makes sense the moment the solids sit next to it.
- Time the feed started: the gap between feeds is the most useful derived number
- Type: breast, bottle, or solids
- Amount for bottles (taken, not offered) or duration for breastfeeds
- Side for breastfeeds, so you can pick up where you left off at 3 am
How many feeds a day is normal?
Newborns feed frequently and irregularly. Roughly 8 to 12 times in 24 hours is the commonly published range for the first weeks, including overnight. Feeds spread out as babies grow, and by six months many babies have settled into a smaller number of larger feeds alongside first solids.
These are ranges, not targets. A baby who feeds 14 times one day and 9 the next has not done anything wrong. What tracking gives you is the ability to tell the difference between an unusual day and a genuine change in direction, which is very hard to do from memory when you are tired.
How do I spot a cluster feed versus a feeding problem?
Cluster feeding shows up in a log as several short feeds bunched into a few hours, most often in the evening, with a normal night either side of it. It is common, it is exhausting, and on a chart it looks like a spike rather than a shift.
A change worth asking about looks different: fewer feeds sustained across several days, or feeds that stay the same while wet nappies drop off. That is the combination to raise with a clinician, and it is much easier to describe when you can say "five days" instead of "a while".
Why does a shared feeding log matter more than a private one?
The most common feeding question in a house with two carers is "when did they last eat?" The most common answer is a guess. A shared log answers it without a phone call, which is the entire point of tracking during a handover rather than after it.
BubSync keeps feeds in the same timeline as nappies and sleep, visible to everyone with access to that baby, so a partner coming home at 6 pm or a grandparent arriving on Thursday can see the day without asking for a recap.
Typical feeding pattern by age
| Age | Feeds per 24 hours | What usually changes |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 month | 8–12 | Irregular timing, frequent night feeds, cluster-feed evenings |
| 1–3 months | 7–9 | Gaps start to lengthen; a longer night stretch may appear |
| 3–6 months | 5–8 | Larger, faster feeds; daytime rhythm becomes more predictable |
| 6–12 months | 4–6 milk feeds | Solids begin; milk volume gradually reduces around them |
Ranges published by the Australian Breastfeeding Association, Raising Children Network and NHS Start for Life. Ranges, not targets. Babies vary widely.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a baby feeding tracker help with?
- It helps you log feeds consistently so you can see feeds per day, the gap between them, and whether intake is steady, which is much more reliable than reconstructing the day from memory at a health check.
- Should I track breastfeeds by time or by amount?
- By time and side. Volume cannot be measured at the breast, so log when the feed started, which side, and roughly how long it lasted. The weekly pattern matters more than any single duration, because feeding efficiency varies a lot between babies.
- Do I need to track every single feed forever?
- No. Most families track closely for the first weeks, during a change like starting solids, or in the lead-up to an appointment, then track more loosely once a rhythm is obvious. A log you keep for two useful weeks beats one you abandon on day four.
- Can my partner see the same feeding log?
- Yes. BubSync keeps feeds in a shared timeline, so partners and carers see the same record in real time and nobody has to ask when the last feed was. Family sharing is a paid-plan feature at launch.
- Does BubSync work without internet?
- Yes. Feeds are saved on the device first and sync when a connection returns, so logging a 3 am feed in a room with no signal still works.
Keep reading
General information only, not medical advice. If feeding changes suddenly, if wet nappies drop off, or if weight gain worries you, speak to your GP, midwife or child health nurse.
