A sample feeding schedule for your baby (6-12 months)
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Schedules and babies mix really, really well. They keep things predictable for you, they help your baby to understand when meal times, nap times and bedtime are, and they give babies much needed structure in their day.
Babies on a schedule sleep better and longer, eat better, and are generally in a better mood than babies whose days are constantly changing. Here is a sample feeding schedule for your little one (best for ages 6-12 months). Layla has been on this schedule since she was about 6 months old (with some modifications as she’s gotten older) and it has been working great for us!
Of course, all babies are different and develop differently – so this may not work exactly the same for your baby – especially in terms of quantities of food. But hopefully this helps as a guideline for what a schedule for a 6-12 month old might look like 🙂 Naps and other non-food-related activities are in [ ], and mealtimes are underlined to distinguish. These simple baby food recipes should help you create an easy to follow routine for your baby.
8:00am Breakfast – 5oz Fruit Purees or Chunky Fruit pieces + 2oz Oatmeal
Fruit options: Blueberry puree, prune puree for baby, pear baby food, avocado puree to name a few, but honestly any fruit combination works!
10:00am Snack (Bottle): 7-8oz bottle or sippy cup (breastmilk or formula)
[10:30am Nap]
12:30pm Lunch – 3oz veggies + 2oz lentils / beans + 2oz yogurt / cheese + 1oz grains (quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat pasta).
Veggie ideas: Green Beans, Peas Baby Food, Butternut Squash, Carrot Baby Food, Sweet Potato, Zucchini Baby Food, Broccoli/Spinach/Cauliflower
For the lentils/beans – I usually cook them down to be really soft and add spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala
3:00pm Snack (Bottle): 7-8oz bottle or sippy cup (breastmilk or formula)
[3:30pm Nap]
5:30pm Dinner – 4oz veggies + 2oz lentils / beans + 1oz yogurt / cheese + 1oz grains (quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat pasta)
OR whatever we are eating for dinner.
[7:00pm Bath, Songs, Massage with lotion or coconut oil]
7:30pm (Bottle): 7-8oz bottle or sippy cup (breastmilk or formula)
[1 book before bed]
[8:00pm Bedtime]
Be sure to check out my post about the best organic baby formula, and once baby is older you may want to consider the best multivitamin for kids.
Hi Anjali,
Thanks for the sample schedule. This is really helpful! Can you please share baby oatmeal recipe?
Hi Deepika! It’s super easy – there are two ways to make it (both of which are easy):
1) Just make regular oatmeal, and then puree it so it’s easier for your baby to eat (you can puree it with a little bit of milk if you need to thin it out)
2) You can also use rolled oats, ground up into a flour like consistency in the food processor, and then cook them on the stovetop the way you would regular oatmeal.
Hope that helps!
Hello, I was wondering on the oatmeal that you add in say for breakfast. What kind of oatmeal? The baby oatmeal or regular oatmeal cooked up? Thanks so much!
Hi Heather! You could actually use either regular oatmeal cooked up or baby oatmeal! I typically used regular oatmeal, cooked up and pureed – since I was making it for myself anyway and it was easier – but either one would work!
I see for breakfast you only write fruit with oatmeal, is there a reason I shouldn’t be putting in peas or spinach in my babies oatmeal along with fruit ? His breakfast he’s never picky with so I can really pack it up with vegetables in his oatmeal. He’s 10 months old .
Hi Roza! You can totally put peas, spinach, or any veggies in your baby’s oatmeal along with fruit if he’s not picky! I only suggested fruit with oatmeal because most babies will accept that combination (whereas spinach oatmeal might be a harder sell with many babies!) That said, if your baby takes it just fine, I would actually choose a veggie based savory oatmeal over a fruit one for infants and toddlers (if they will eat it!) Hope that helps!
Hi Anjali,
My son is 8 months old. I started him on solid when he was 4 months. He used to eat any vegies without any problem. But its been like 2 weeks, he is refusing to eat. He only likes yogurt and oatmeal and sometimes he will eat kichdi made with moongdal, rice, carrot and spinich. Other than that he squints his face when I give him any fruits and vegies purees.
I dont know why he stopped eating suddenly.
Hi! Picky eating can emerge at any age — usually it’s a combination of taste buds changing/developing and asserting more control! What I would do is sneak as many veggies as possible into his kichdi, and see if you can add fruit purees into his yogurt/oatmeal so he gets some fruits that way. Then try alternating between these foods that he likes and foods that you want him to eat (e.g. a plain veggie puree). Don’t let him have the bite of the food he wants until he takes the bite of the food you want him to eat. Any time he takes a bite of the new food, celebrate it a ton! And even if you get one bite in that’s better than nothing – keep trying that at each meal before you serve him his “full” meal. The most important thing to demonstrate is consistency, at every meal, every day. Eventually he’ll figure out what the norms are and what’s ok / what’s not! Hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions!
Hi Anjali,
My 8 month old has done extremely well with purees and will eat just about anything. Over the past few days I have began introducing solid finger foods (i.e. whole grain noodles, broccoli, plain meatballs) and she is doing well and enjoying the finger foods. Do you think I should continue with purees as well as finger foods ? My concern is that with purees she is guaranteed to get the full nutrition from the fruits and veggies but the finger foods seem like a lot less food.
Hi Jessica! That’s a great question! I would continue with both purees and finger foods for the exact reason you mentioned – they serve different functions. The purees make sure to help expand your baby’s taste buds and help them to learn what different vegetables, stews, spices, etc taste like; as well as making sure they get all of the nutrients from the veggies/fruits you want them to eat. Finger foods are more for learning the pincer grasp, learning how to chew, and learning what veggies and fruits look like whole (and not in puree form). Most babies will eat what looks like less food with finger foods – especially because so much of it ends up on the floor or on them! So I would just keep doing both until she’s ready to move to chunkier foods overall and then you can transition away from purees!