Y'all snapped the pics of your messy-mouthed munchkin starting solids and shared the showtime repast milestone, and now you're wondering where to go from here.

How much solid food should yous offer your baby each day, and when should your child adopt a three-meals-a-twenty-four hours routine? What's the right ratio of solids to breast milk or formula — and should both be on the menu at the same time?

Go answers to these questions, forth with unproblematic guidelines for setting up a general baby feeding schedule.

How often and at what times should I feed babe solids?

At that place's no "perfect" time of day to feed your babe — it's whenever works for you. If you're breastfeeding, you might offer solids when your milk supply is at its lowest (probably late afternoon or early evening). On the other mitt, babies who wake up bright-eyed and eager might exist happy to sample solids for breakfast.

You'll quickly learn when your baby is interested in eating and when she isn't, which she'll show yous by opening her mouth broad and willingly taking bites (or palming and gumming finger foods on her own) versus fussily turning her head away. Follow the cues and don't strength feedings — you lot can always try again after.

Start with one meal a day, so move up to two (attempt one in the forenoon and i in the evening) for the next month or so. As your babe gets older and approaches toddlerhood, you tin work up to three solid meals a 24-hour interval with a snack or ii in between.

Baby feeding chart: How much should I feed my babe in ane sitting?

baby feeding chart

A proficient dominion of thumb when you're figuring out only how much to requite your fiddling 1 during each meal: Outset small and work your fashion upwards.

While your babe's first meals may have consisted of a teaspoon or two of solid food, once she gets the hang of eating, you can utilize the following baby feeding chart every bit a full general guideline:

4 to 6 months:

  • 24 to 36 ounces of formula or milk over 24 hours (or v to eight nursing sessions a 24-hour interval)
  • 1 to four tablespoons of cereal once or twice a day
  • 1 to 4 tablespoons each of a fruit and vegetable once or twice a 24-hour interval

6 to 8 months:

  • 24 to 36 ounces of formula or breast milk over 24 hours (now that your infant'southward a more efficient nurser, you'll probably breastfeed her iv to six times a mean solar day)
  • 4 to 9 tablespoons each of cereal, fruit and vegetables a solar day, spread out over two to three meals
  • 1 to half dozen tablespoons of a meat or other poly peptide (like yogurt, cottage cheese or crumbled egg) a day

9 to 12 months:

  • sixteen to thirty ounces of formula or milk over 24 hours (or three to v nursing sessions a day)
  • Around 1/4 to i/2 cup each of grains, fruit and veggies twice a twenty-four hour period
  • Around 1/four to 1/2 cup of dairy foods a day
  • Around 1/iv to one/two cup of protein-packed foods a day

How exercise I decide the all-time baby food portion sizes?

General serving size recommendations can be helpful, just recollect that every baby is different. It'south perfectly normal for your little eater to chow down one day (and fifty-fifty have seconds or thirds) and clamp her tiny mouth shut the next.

Endeavor non to worry if your cutie'southward appetite isn't ever exactly the aforementioned, or if what she chooses to swallow doesn't quite match upwardly with the recommended servings.

Forcing your infant to eat when she'south not interested isn't fun for either of yous, and over time, it tin make it harder for her to tune in to her body'south natural hunger and fullness cues.

Feeding Baby Solids Safely

Instead, focus simply on offer a diverseness of nutrient-rich foods in historic period-appropriate serving sizes and letting your picayune one have it from there. Your new nosher has the ability to accept in what her body is asking for.

Equally long as you're offering balanced options, she'll likely go what she needs over the course of the mean solar day or calendar week.

On the other hand? Trust your gut. Talk with the pediatrician if yous suspect that your baby has a feeding issue, seems uncomfortable or unusually fussy after eating, or doesn't seem to exist gaining weight as she should be. Together, y'all can figure out what's going on and make mealtime more enjoyable.

How practice I incorporate breastfeeding or canteen-feeding once I introduce solids?

Even though your infant is now slurping purées from a spoon (or, if you lot're trying a baby-led weaning arroyo, learning to gum at finger foods), the majority of her nutrition will still come from breast milk or formula. Consider the solids you serve at first equally salubrious supplements and a chance for your sweetie to explore new tastes and textures.

When should you bring out a canteen or your chest, and when should you dish out solids? There's really no ready rule. Some parents discover that an appetizer of breast milk or formula is a good way to beginning off a repast, so their piffling ones aren't too hungry to settle downwardly to eat.

Other parents offer solids as a outset course and chest milk or formula for dessert. So there are moms who similar to completely separate solids from nursing or bottle-feeding sessions.

Since there's no hard and fast rule, experiment until y'all notice a feeding schedule that works for you.

Sample baby feeding schedules

Your baby'south early on days with solids should be about helping her get into the menstruation of mealtime with the family. Ideally, she'll swallow at times when anybody else is at the table, too.

Just keep in mind that, since the bulk of your baby's nutrition should still be coming from breast milk or formula until she turns 1, those liquid meals should continue to take priority.

You lot can commencement off with just ane or ii solid meals per day — whichever ones are most user-friendly for y'all.

For example, offering breakfast and dinner if your cutie is in solar day care and you desire the honors of feeding her solids. If it'due south also hard to squeeze in dinner before her bedtime milk feeding, begin with breakfast and lunch.

As your baby hits 8 or 9 months and starts eating more than foods (and drops to just a morning time and afternoon nap, freeing up more time in the solar day), yous can transition to iii meals.

These sample schedules below may assistance you envision how solids can fit into your infant's day — but remember that every child (and every family!) is different. Your little one's schedule may not be predictable or consequent until she hits toddlerhood. All the same, you lot might observe that a typical mean solar day looks something like this:

Sample infant feeding schedule for 4- to 6-month-olds

This schedule assumes that your iv- to 6-month-old is taking three naps (though some 6-month-olds volition drop down to ii) and you're introducing solid foods past spoon-feeding purées.

If your family is following a baby-led weaning approach, solids (in the form of soft, gummable finger foods) would not be offered until after the 6-calendar month mark, when your child is probable more than capable of cocky-feeding.

  • seven:00 a.m.: Wake and nurse or canteen (half-dozen to 8 ounces chest milk or formula)
  • vii:45 a.m.: Breakfast (1 to 4 tablespoons babe cereal, ane to 4 tablespoons mashed banana)
  • 8:45 a.k. – 10:45 a.m.: Nap
  • 10:45 a.grand.: Wake and nurse or bottle (6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula)
  • 12:00 p.g.: Nurse or bottle (6 to eight ounces breast milk or formula)
  • 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.: Nap
  • 2:30 p.chiliad.: Nurse or bottle (6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula)
  • 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Nap
  • five:00 p.m.: Nurse or bottle (6 to eight ounces breast milk or formula)
  • 5:45 PM: Dinner (ane to 4 tablespoons mashed sweet spud, ane to 4 tablespoons puréed peas)
  • 6:45 PM: Nurse or bottle (6 to viii ounces breast milk or formula)
  • 7:00 PM: Bed

Sample infant feeding schedule for 7- to ix-month-olds

This schedule assumes that your 7- to 9-month-old is taking ii naps (though some 7-month-olds may nevertheless need 3).

  • 7:00 a.m.: Wake and nurse or bottle (six to eight ounces breast milk or formula)
  • 7:45 a.g.: Breakfast (2 to three tablespoons plain Greek yogurt, 2 to iii tablespoons thinly sliced strawberries, one/4 slice whole grain toast)
  • 9:30 a.one thousand. – xi:30 a.thou.: Nap
  • 11:30 a.yard.: Nurse or bottle (6 to viii ounces breast milk or formula)
  • 12:15 p.k.: Dejeuner (1/4 to i/ii crumbled or sliced hard-boiled egg, 2 to 3 tablespoons mashed or sliced avocado, 1/4 to 1/2 whole grain pita cut into strips)
  • ane:45 p.m. (Nurse or bottle) half-dozen to 8 ounces breast milk or formula
  • 2:00 p.thousand. – 4:00 p.chiliad.: Nap
  • 4:00 p.m.: Nurse or bottle (6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula)
  • 5:30 p.thou.: Dinner (2 to three tablespoons mini meatballs fabricated with turkey or beef, 2 to iii tablespoons cooked whole grain pasta, 1 to 2 tablespoons steamed broccoli florets)
  • vii:00 p.grand.: Nurse or bottle (half dozen to viii ounces breast milk or formula)
  • seven:xxx p.chiliad.: Bed

Sample schedule for ten- to 12-month-olds

  • 7:00 a.m.: Wake and nurse or bottle (6 to eight ounces chest milk or formula)
  • 8:00 a.1000.: Breakfast (1/iv cup cooked rolled oats, 1 to 2 teaspoons peanut butter, two to 3 tablespoons smushed blueberries)
  • ix:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: Nap
  • eleven:00 a.m.: Nurse or bottle (6 to viii ounces breast milk or formula)
  • 12:00 PM: Lunch (ane/iv to one/2 black edible bean and cheese quesadilla on whole grain tortilla sliced into small pieces, 2 to 3 tablespoons steamed carrot half-moons, one/four thinly sliced ripe pear)
  • 2:30 p.chiliad. – four:00 p.m.: Nap
  • 4:00 p.m.: Nurse or bottle (6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula)
  • 5:45 p.yard.: Dinner (3 to four tablespoons flaked salmon, 3 to four tablespoons baked sweet potato wedges, 3 to 4 tablespoons steamed light-green beans with butter)
  • 7:00 p.yard.: Nurse or bottle (6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula)
  • 7:xxx p.thou.: Bed

It will take some trial and error to figure out the best feeding schedule for your baby, just as long as your little 1 is eating a variety of foods and growing and thriving, you can rest assured that she's well-fed.