The chart below outlines how much food you should give your infant from each food group during the day. The focus of this graph is on how a day might appear in terms of eating. Every infant is unique, and each family will prepare baby food following their tastes, feeding methods, and cultural values (During the first year of life, all babies should be fed either breastmilk or formula)
The first few days of solids for your infant should be spent assisting her in assimilating into the family mealtime routine. She should ideally eat when everyone else is there at the table.
Keep in mind that, until your baby is one, most of her nutrition should still come from breast milk or formula, so those liquid meals should continue to take precedence.
You can begin by eating only one or two solid meals per day, depending on your preferences.
If your little one is in daycare and you want to be the one to give her solids, for example, offer breakfast and dinner. If dinner is too difficult to fit in before her bedtime milk feeding, start with breakfast and lunch.
You can shift to three meals after your kid reaches the age of 8 or 9 months and starts eating more foods (and reduces to only a morning and afternoon sleep, freeing up more time in the day).
These sample schedules may help you see how solids can fit into your baby’s day; however, keep in mind that each child (and family!) is unique. Until your child reaches toddlerhood, her schedule may not be predictable or constant. A regular day, on the other hand, may look something like this:
This plan assumes that your 4- to 6-month-old takes three naps (though some 6-month-olds may only take two) and that you’re spoon-feeding purées to introduce solid meals.
Solids (in the form of soft, hummable finger foods) will not be introduced until after the 6-month mark when your child is better capable of self-feeding if your family follows a baby-led weaning approach.
Wake up around 7:00 a.m. and nurse or bottle your baby (6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula)
Breakfast (at 7:45 a.m.) (1 to 4 tablespoons infant cereal, 1 to 4 tablespoons mashed banana)
Nap between 8:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
Wake up at 10:45 a.m. and nurse or bottle your child (6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula)
Nurse or bottle at 12 p.m. (6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula)
Nap from 12:30 p.m. until 2:30 p.m.
Nurse or bottle at 2:30 p.m. (6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula)
Nap from 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Nurse or bottle at 5:00 p.m. (6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula)
Dinner (1–4 tablespoons mashed sweet potato, 1–4 teaspoons puréed peas) at 5:45 p.m.
Nurse or bottle at 6:45 p.m. (6 to 8 ounces breast milk or formula)
Bedtime is 7:00 p.m.
