Baby Feeding Schedule by Age: From Milk to Solid Foods

Baby feeding changes a lot during the first year. In the early months, feeding is all about breast milk or first infant formula. From around six months, solid foods can gradually join milk feeds, and over the following months your baby can move towards three meals a day and a wider range of family foods.

The key word is gradually. A baby feeding schedule by age is best treated as a guide to what may happen next, not a timetable your baby has to match exactly.

According to NHS guidance, breast milk or first infant formula provides the nutrition babies need until around six months, with vitamin supplements recommended in some circumstances. Solid foods are usually introduced from around six months when a baby shows the developmental signs of readiness. Milk then continues alongside food and remains the main drink throughout the first year.

Here is what that progression can look like.

Birth to around 6 months: milk feeds come first

During the first months, babies are fed breast milk, first infant formula, or a combination of the two.

Solid foods are not normally needed during this stage. The NHS recommends introducing them from around six months rather than using an earlier date on a baby food label as a signal to begin.

Breastfed babies should generally be fed responsively. This means offering the breast when your baby shows signs that they want to feed rather than trying to make them follow fixed feeding times.

Formula feeding can be responsive too. Watch your baby’s hunger cues, allow pauses during a bottle and stop when they show that they have had enough.

Feeding frequency and length can vary considerably between babies. Some will feed more frequently than others, and patterns can change as they grow.

If your baby was born prematurely or has been given an individual feeding plan because of their health or growth, follow the advice from your healthcare team rather than a general age-based schedule.

What about drinks before 6 months?

For fully breastfed babies, the NHS says breast milk is the only food or drink they need for around the first six months.

First infant formula is the suitable alternative for babies who are not breastfed or who receive formula alongside breast milk.

Other milks, including cows’ milk, should not replace breast milk or infant formula as a main drink during the first year.

Do not add cereal, baby rice, sugar or other foods to a bottle. Bottles should contain breast milk, infant formula or, when age appropriate, water.

If you have questions about hydration during very hot weather or illness, ask your health visitor, midwife or GP for advice appropriate to your baby’s age and feeding method.

Around 6 months: beginning solid foods

Solid foods are usually introduced from around six months.

Age is not the only thing to look at. The NHS recommends waiting until three developmental signs appear together.

Your baby should be able to stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady, coordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at food, pick it up and bring it to their mouth, and swallow food rather than pushing it back out.

Chewing fists, wanting extra milk or waking more often at night are not reliable signs that a baby is ready for solids.

Starting solid foods also does not mean milk suddenly becomes unimportant. At first, babies still get most of their energy and nutrients from breast milk or first infant formula.

Think of early solids as an introduction to eating. Your baby is learning about tastes, textures, spoons, cups and the strange experience of moving food around their mouth.

What does feeding look like when solids first start?

Your baby does not need to begin with three full meals a day.

The NHS recommends starting with small amounts of food and choosing a time when your baby is not too tired or already completely full.

You might offer a few teaspoons or pieces of appropriately prepared food once a day at first, then gradually increase the variety and frequency as your baby becomes more comfortable eating.

Milk feeds continue alongside this.

There is no need to measure success by how much food your baby swallows. Some early meals may involve more touching, squashing and dropping than eating.

That is still useful practice.

You can begin with soft vegetables and fruit, then build variety across different food groups. Foods containing iron are particularly useful as weaning progresses, including beans, pulses, eggs, meat, fish, fortified cereals and dark green vegetables.

Babies do not need salt or sugar added to their food.

From around 6 months: introducing a cup and water

Once your baby starts solid foods, you can begin offering sips of water with meals.

The NHS recommends introducing an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve from around six months. Learning to sip from a cup is useful for developing drinking skills and is better for teeth than prolonged bottle use.

Breast milk or first infant formula should still be your baby’s main drink throughout the first year.

Cows’ milk can be used in cooking or mixed into food from around six months, but it should not be offered as your baby’s main drink until they are 12 months old.

Sweetened drinks, fizzy drinks, tea, coffee and baby or herbal drinks are not suitable choices for babies.

From around 7 to 9 months: moving towards three meals

As your baby becomes more comfortable with food, eating gradually starts to look more structured.

NHS guidance says that from around seven months, babies will gradually move towards three meals a day alongside their usual milk feeds.

This transition does not need to happen overnight.

Your baby may initially eat more enthusiastically at one meal than another. Their appetite can vary from day to day, and teething, tiredness or illness can temporarily change how interested they are in food.

As solid food intake increases, some babies naturally take less milk at individual feeds or eventually drop a milk feed.

Breastfed babies can adjust their feeding according to how much food they eat. As a general NHS guide, formula-fed babies aged around seven to nine months may need about 600 ml of formula a day, but this is only a guide rather than a target every baby must reach.

Building variety from 7 to 9 months

At this stage, try to offer foods from different groups across the day.

This can include fruit and vegetables, starchy foods such as potato, bread, rice and pasta, protein foods such as beans, pulses, eggs, fish or meat, and pasteurised full-fat dairy foods such as plain yoghurt and cheese.

Continue offering different flavours, including vegetables that are less sweet.

Texture matters too.

As soon as your baby can manage them safely, the NHS recommends moving beyond smooth purées towards mashed, lumpy and finger foods.

Finger foods allow babies to practise picking food up, bringing it to their mouth, biting and chewing.

Always supervise your baby while they eat and make sure they are sitting safely upright.

From around 10 to 12 months: three meals and milk feeds

By around 10 months, many babies are having three meals a day alongside their usual milk feeds.

The NHS gives around three milk feeds a day as an example at this stage, although breastfed babies will adapt their milk intake according to how much food they eat.

For formula-fed babies, the NHS gives around 400 ml of formula a day as a general guide from 10 to 12 months. Again, individual needs vary.

By now, your baby can usually explore a broader range of tastes and textures and become more confident with finger foods.

Meals can increasingly resemble family meals, provided food is prepared appropriately for a baby and does not contain added salt or sugar.

Babies under 12 months do not need snacks between meals. If your baby seems hungry between meals, NHS guidance suggests offering an extra milk feed instead.

What happens to milk as your baby eats more solids?

Milk does not disappear from the schedule as soon as solids begin.

Breast milk or first infant formula remains your baby’s main drink throughout their first year.

What often changes is the balance.

At the beginning of weaning, solids are small additions to familiar milk feeds. As your baby gradually eats more food, they may want less milk at some feeds or drop a feed altogether.

You do not need to rush this process.

If you breastfeed, you can continue for as long as you and your child want. If your baby has formula, first infant formula can continue throughout the first year and there is no need to switch to follow-on formula at six months.

From 12 months: moving into toddler eating

From around 12 months, feeding begins to look more like a young child’s meal pattern.

The NHS recommends three meals a day containing a variety of foods. Children may also need two healthy snacks between meals.

Formula milk is no longer needed after 12 months, including follow-on, growing-up and toddler milks.

You can continue breastfeeding for as long as it suits you and your child.

From 12 months, pasteurised whole cows’ milk can be given as a main drink. The NHS also states that pasteurised semi-skimmed cows’ milk can be offered from one year, although full-fat dairy products are recommended up to age two because young children need the extra energy and vitamins they provide.

Unsweetened, calcium-fortified alternatives such as soya, oat or almond drinks can be introduced from one year as part of a balanced diet. If your child cannot have cows’ milk, a dietitian can help you choose an appropriate alternative.

Rice drinks should not be given to children under five because of their arsenic content.

A simple feeding progression to keep in mind

It can help to think about the first year in broad stages rather than exact daily schedules.

Before around six months, milk provides your baby’s food. From around six months, solids begin alongside milk. From seven to nine months, babies gradually work towards three meals while continuing milk feeds. From 10 to 12 months, three meals become more established and food variety increases. From 12 months, family-style meals and healthy snacks become more central, while formula is no longer needed.

These are developmental guides rather than deadlines.

One baby may become enthusiastic about finger foods quickly. Another may take longer to accept new textures. One breastfed baby may continue frequent milk feeds while another naturally reduces them sooner.

Look at your baby’s skills, appetite and overall development as well as their age.

Feeding safely as textures change

As babies progress from milk to solid foods, safety becomes an important part of meal preparation.

Always supervise your baby while they eat and make sure they are sitting upright.

Prepare food in a shape and texture they can manage safely. Avoid hard foods such as whole nuts and hard pieces of raw apple or carrot.

Learning the difference between gagging and choking can also help you feel more confident. Gagging is a normal reflex as babies learn to manage food, while choking happens when the airway becomes blocked and requires immediate action.

Consider taking a baby first aid course so you know what to do in an emergency.

Food hygiene matters too. Wash your hands before preparing food, keep surfaces clean, wash produce and make sure hot food has cooled before offering it.

What if your baby eats less than the schedule suggests?

Try not to panic over one small meal.

Babies’ appetites vary. Some days your baby may eat eagerly and on others they may be much less interested.

When solids are first introduced, the amount eaten is less important than becoming familiar with food.

Continue offering a range of suitable foods without pressuring your baby to finish. It can take repeated exposure before a baby accepts a new taste or texture.

Milk remains particularly important during the first year, so if your baby is hungry between meals before 12 months, offer their usual breast milk or first infant formula.

If your baby’s intake is consistently very limited, they struggle with textures, appear to have difficulty swallowing, or you are worried about their growth, ask your health visitor or GP for advice.

When to get professional advice

Speak to your health visitor, GP, midwife or another qualified healthcare professional if you are unsure whether your baby is ready to start solids, particularly if they were born prematurely or have developmental, feeding or swallowing difficulties.

Ask for advice if your baby repeatedly refuses milk or food, struggles to swallow, coughs or appears distressed while eating, has persistent vomiting, or you are worried about their weight, growth or hydration.

If your baby has eczema, a diagnosed food allergy or you are concerned about introducing allergenic foods, discuss this with your GP or health visitor. They can advise based on your baby’s individual history.

Seek professional advice before removing major food groups from your baby’s diet or replacing breast milk or infant formula with another milk during the first year.

If your baby is choking, has difficulty breathing, becomes unresponsive or appears seriously unwell, seek urgent medical help.