Baby feeding schedule by month

A schedule is a guide, not a timetable

Every baby’s day looks a little different. The times below are examples to adapt around your baby’s naps and your family’s routine. What matters more than the clock is following your baby’s hunger and fullness cues: offer food, and let your baby decide how much to eat.

A few things stay the same from 6 to 12 months:

• Breast milk or formula is still the main source of nutrition. Solid food adds to milk; it doesn’t replace it yet.
• Include an iron-rich food at most meals, such as meat, beans or lentils, or iron-fortified infant cereal. See iron-rich first foods.
• Offer sips of water from a cup with meals, up to 4–8 oz (120–240 ml) a day in total. See water for babies.
• No honey, and no added salt or sugar, before 12 months.

How many meals at each age

These steps are one pace that fits NHS and World Health Organization advice, not a timetable either one prints month by month. The WHO suggests 2–3 meals a day at 6–8 months and 3–4 meals a day from 9 months, with 1–2 snacks as needed. The NHS says babies don’t need 3 meals at first, move gradually toward 3 meals from about 7 months, and should be having 3 meals from about 10 months.

• 6 months: start with 1 small meal a day, and build to 2.
• 7 months: about 2 meals a day, moving toward 3.
• 8 months: 2–3 meals a day.
• 9 months: 3 meals a day.
• 10–11 months: 3 meals a day, plus 1 snack.
• 12 months: 3 meals and 2 snacks.

Some babies move faster than this, and some slower. That’s normal.

Sample day at 6 months: first tastes

At first, how much your baby eats matters much less than getting used to new tastes and textures. Pick a time when your baby isn’t tired, and offer food shortly before a usual milk feed, so they’re interested but not too hungry.

• Wake up: breast milk or formula
• Mid-morning: breast milk or formula
• Late morning meal: a teaspoon or two of iron-fortified infant oatmeal thinned with breast milk or formula, or a soft spear of ripe avocado. Sips of water from a cup.
• Afternoon: breast milk or formula
• Evening: breast milk or formula
• Bedtime: breast milk or formula

Breastfed babies usually feed more often than this, and that’s fine. Don’t put cereal in a bottle: the AAP says your baby could choke. Only do it if your doctor recommends it for reflux.

The sample days below include common allergens like egg, peanut, wheat, fish and dairy. Offer each one on its own first, as in how to introduce allergens, and swap in another food for any your baby hasn’t tried yet.

Sample day at 7–8 months: two meals

• Wake up: breast milk or formula
• Breakfast: iron-fortified infant cereal with mashed banana. Water in a cup.
• Mid-morning: breast milk or formula
• Lunch or dinner: mashed lentils with soft-cooked broccoli florets, or flaked, well-cooked salmon checked for bones. Water in a cup.
• Afternoon: breast milk or formula
• Bedtime: breast milk or formula

As your baby gets more confident, move from smooth purées to thicker mashes, soft lumps and finger foods. The NHS suggests doing this as soon as your baby can manage, to help them learn to chew.

Sample day at 9 months: three meals

Around 9 months, many babies start picking up smaller pieces with their thumb and finger. Soft foods cut no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) work well now. The NHS says milk feeds may be about 4 a day at this stage, for example on waking, after lunch, after dinner and before bed.

• Wake up: breast milk or formula
• Breakfast: strips of well-cooked omelet with soft toast fingers (once wheat has been introduced). Water in a cup.
• Lunch: soft pieces of well-cooked chicken, mashed sweet potato, soft-cooked broccoli. Water in a cup.
• After lunch: breast milk or formula
• Dinner: soft-cooked pasta with lentil sauce, and small pieces of ripe pear or banana. Water in a cup.
• After dinner and bedtime: breast milk or formula

Sample day at 10–11 months: three meals and a snack

By now most babies are eating many family foods, cooked with no added salt or sugar and cut to a safe size. The NHS suggests about 3 milk feeds a day around this age. Lunch and dinner can include a main course plus fruit or a plain, unsweetened dairy dessert like full-fat yogurt.

• Wake up: breast milk or formula
• Breakfast: oatmeal made with breast milk or formula, with smooth peanut butter thinned and stirred in (once peanut has been introduced), and soft fruit pieces. Water in a cup.
• After breakfast: breast milk or formula
• Lunch: flaked salmon, soft rice, well-cooked peas mashed flat. Plain full-fat yogurt. Water in a cup.
• Afternoon snack: soft ripe fruit pieces, or grated mild cheese on soft toast.
• Dinner: shredded soft beef or bean chili without added salt, soft-cooked vegetables. Water in a cup.
• Bedtime: breast milk or formula

After a bedtime feed, the AAP suggests following milk with water or brushing teeth.

How milk feeds change

As your baby eats more solid food, they’ll gradually want less milk. The CDC says most babies 6–12 months need formula or solid food about 5–6 times in 24 hours. If you breastfeed, your baby will adjust their feeds on their own as they eat more.

For formula-fed babies, the guides give these rough amounts:

• About 6 months: 6–8 oz (180–240 ml) at each of 4–5 feeds, and usually no more than about 32 oz (960 ml) of formula in 24 hours (AAP).
• 7–9 months: about 600 ml (20 oz) a day (NHS).
• 8–12 months: roughly 24 oz (710 ml) a day from breast milk or formula (AAP).
• 10–12 months: about 400 ml (13½ oz) a day (NHS).

These are averages. The AAP’s rule of thumb: a child who is growing well is getting enough to eat. At 12 months, formula is no longer needed. See what to feed at 12 months.

Where US and UK advice differs

• Formula amounts near the end of the first year. The AAP’s sample menu for 8–12 months includes about 24 oz (710 ml) of breast milk or formula a day. The NHS gives a lower guide of about 400 ml (13½ oz) a day at 10–12 months. Both say to follow your baby’s cues.
• Milk or food first. The NHS suggests offering food before a usual milk feed, so your baby isn’t too full to be interested, but not waiting until they’re too hungry. The AAP suggests a little breast milk or formula first, then a few small spoonfuls of food, then more milk, so a very hungry baby doesn’t get frustrated. Either works: follow your baby’s cues.
• Vitamins. In the US, the CDC says breastfed babies, and babies having less than about 32 oz of formula a day, need vitamin D drops; ask your pediatrician about iron too if your baby is mostly breastfed. In the UK, the NHS recommends a daily vitamin D supplement from birth for breastfed babies and babies having less than 500 ml of formula a day, with vitamins A and C added from 6 months. Elsewhere, ask your doctor or nurse which vitamin drops your baby needs.
• Cups. The NHS recommends an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve. The AAP is fine with an open, sippy or straw cup.

When to talk to your doctor

• You’re worried your baby is eating too much or too little.
• Your baby has trouble chewing or swallowing.
• Your baby has fewer wet diapers than usual, or seems overly sleepy. These can be signs of dehydration: call your pediatrician.

Some days your baby will eat a lot and some days hardly anything. That’s normal too. For portion sizes, see how much should my baby eat.