Get a printable 6 month old feeding schedule with helpful tips to use and adjust for your baby through the end of their 7th month. And, grab some bonus feeding tips that will help you safely and confidently feed your baby!
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I know how fast the first year goes as a mother of three, but I am still in disbelief that my baby just turned 8 months! Feeding each of my three babies have been completely different experiences, as they are all unique little beings. James (the 8-month old) is loving meal times and is quite an eater, for now anyways.
I think part of his success in eating has been due to the 6 month feeding schedule I’ve had him on since he started traditional home-made baby food at 5.5 months. Read about how I, as a licensed occupational therapist, introduced baby food for the first time if you’re looking for some tips and tricks.
*These 6 and 7 month old feeding schedules are also the ones I’ve recommended to the families I work with as a licensed occupational therapist that specializes in feeding babies and children.
As we begin this 8th month, I can see our schedule evolving, and I thought it might be helpful if I shared how I created his feeding schedule for 6 months old through 7 months old.
During these last two months, I’ve reflected a lot on how much James is benefiting from slipping into an already very established eating routine (there are some benefits to being the third child!).
Whether it is your first, second, or even third child, it can be challenging to make this transition from just bottle feedings to breast or bottle feedings AND baby food especially because every child is different.
In my experience, parents often have a lot of questions about how to set up these routines. While I think there is value in that, this schedule is not a hard and fast rule for every baby.
We all know that every baby is unique, but as parents, it’s hard not to compare. Try to avoid playing the comparison game with these feeding milestones, as long as you’re giving lots of positive opportunities for interactions with food.
I should also note that James is breastfed, and only takes an occasional bottle when I’m away from the house (find help for getting a breastfed baby to take a bottle). However, he doesn’t eat frequently like some nursing babies do. If your baby has lots of mini meals, this 6 month old eating schedule may look a little different.
It’s meant to be a guideline to starting a flexible routine that you can tailor to your own needs. This schedule is great for bottle babies, too!
And, if you’re starting to think about those table foods and what ages specifically you can start giving them to your baby, then check out When Can Babies Eat Cheerios?
6 Month Old Feeding Schedule (works for 7 month olds too)
*Times are given in a range of possible start times, not duration. Also, you’ll find some links throughout the schedule for my favorite cups and foods.
6:30-7:00 AM: Wake-Up – Breastfed or bottle upon waking
(This is one of my favorite bottles for breastfed babies)
7:30-8:00 AM: Breakfast – Water available in a sippy cup, about 1/4 cup of various homemade/store bought baby food, and a meltable crunchy food like puffs and/or soft cubed food (see note below).
(These are a great first sippy cup)
9:00 AM: Nap
11:00 AM: Breastfed/Bottle
(One of my picks for bottle fed babies. Keep in mind your baby might be ready for faster flow nipples at this age, as well.)
12:00 PM: Lunch – Water available in a sippy cup, meltable crunchy foods like rice husks. (I don’t look for James to consume much here and don’t offer baby food, but I like him sitting with us and “snacking” a little so that he can get used to the schedule he ultimately will have.)
1:00-2:00 PM: Nap
4:00-4:30 PM: Breastfed/Bottle
5:30-6:00 PM: Dinner – Water available in a sippy cup, about 1/4 cup of various homemade/store bought baby food, and a meltable crunchy food like these wafers and/or soft cubed foods (see note below).
7:00-7:30 PM: Breastfed/Bottle
7:30-8:00 PM: Sleeping for the night
Where to Feed Your 6 and 7 Months Old
My son is sitting in a Tripp Trapp chair, which I love because he’s pulled up to the table eating with the rest of us without a tray. The majority of the time it works out that he is able to eat at the same time as the rest of us.
However, the Tripp Trapp is an investment, a more budget friendly high chair is this one from Ikea, but be sure to add a foot rest for stability so that baby is in a good position to eat well. Check out why seating positioning matters when it comes to eating with this article.
How to Give 6 and 7 Month Olds Water to Drink
Most babies will be drinking water during their meal from a sippy cup until around 9 months. This is one of my favorite sippy cups to start with.
James started drinking from a sippy around 7 months old, and at that time, I switched him to a straw cup at meals (learning to drink from a straw at this age is very early though, most babies learn around 9 months old).
A sippy cup is perfectly appropriate for this age, but look for your baby to be using a straw by one year old. When you’re ready, learn how to teach your child to drink from a straw here.
Now is also a great time to begin offering small sips of water from an open cup- with your help, of course, unless you want mealtime and bath time to happen at the same time. Here is an open cup you can try that is perfect for small hands.
When to Feed Your 6-7 Month Old
You will see that many people recommend 1-2 feedings a day at this age, and that is totally fine. While there were a few times we couldn’t squeeze in two meals on a busy day, I made it a priority to do two meals a day from the time he turned 6 months.
This consistent exposure was very beneficial, and I think is best for most babies. It can seem like a pain at times, but it is worth it if you can make it work.
As mentioned above, if your baby prefers many small breastfeeding sessions a day, that is okay and this schedule can still work for you.
Try to focus your schedule and routine around opportunities for baby to join you for meals at the table with solids and water in a cup, not so much on when they are nursing or taking a bottle.
The goal over time is to offer meals and snacks in a predictable consistent routine. You know your baby best, so definitely continue to breastfeed flexibly at 6 and 7 months, and use this guide to help make it work for your unique situation.
Take note of how well your baby eats in relation to how tired he is, how much time he has had to play, and when he had his last milk feeding.
You may want to adjust your times based on his hunger cues and energy levels. Even adjusting times by 10 or 15 minutes can make a big difference on how much your baby wants to engage with food at meals!
Set your expectations low, and focus on a pleasant experience during meals, not volume of food. It is completely normal to have a meal where your baby only has a few bites. This is NOT his main source of nutrition right now.
6 – 7 Month Feeding Schedule Tips
Babies learn so much about eating by watching us, and has been wonderful to watch how he loves being part of this family time, even at such a young age.
He gets excited to come to the table when everyone is there and will actually fuss if he sees everyone at the table without him!
In the 6 month eating schedule above you read to include “meltable crunchy” foods. Wondering what those are? They’re all of those first table foods you find in the baby food aisle like Biter Biscuits, Puffs, Rice Husks, buttery soft Crackers, etc.
A good rule of thumb is seeing if the food easily breaks down when wet or crushed. In the beginning of the 6th month, you are going to just let them mouth on some of these meltable crunchy foods, and help them put small pieces into their mouth.
Watch them closely, but keep in mind some gagging is normal. If this feels too soon for you to introduce “real” foods, you can wait 1-2 months, but want to begin around 8 months.
By the end of the 7th month, they will likely be feeding themselves some easy to pick up pieces of the dry food and chewing them a variety of these well.
Once they are eating these well, they can begin to have soft pieces of foods cut into cubes like ripe bananas, cooked zucchini, and banana bread. Anything that is very easily mashed between your finger and thumb is likely safe for baby to eat by this stage, even without teeth.
See my post on transitioning your baby to table foods for more details.
As your baby eats it’s important to allow them to get messy. Don’t worry about wiping their face off until they’re finished eating. Strip your baby down to his diaper or plan a bath for after meals. See more on why it’s important for babies to get messy!
While this is a time to just explore foods, if your baby is underweight and you’re trying to beef up the calories you’re giving them, then check out these high calorie baby food combinations and some extra tips to maximize what your baby is eating.
These months are very important for establishing good eating skills, and can go a long way in how your child eats throughout childhood. This feeding schedule for 6 and 7 month olds, and all the tips you’ve read are a fantastic foundation for continued happy eating.
However, if your baby is stressed at mealtimes or is rarely consuming any food during meals by the end of the 7th month, then I would discuss your concerns with your doctor, and consider setting up a feeding evaluation through early intervention (free if you are in the states) or with an occupational therapist or speech therapist through feeding therapy.
Don’t panic if you see some of these challenges with eating, it’s more common than you think.
Some babies just need a little extra help, and that help can make a world of difference and really ward off major picky eating problems in the future.
You can also check out Feeding Red Flags, which will help you pinpoint if there’s a problem, or if your baby is gagging a lot, head to the baby gagging guide for tips on moving past it.
Get Ready for Table Foods
You’ve got a couple of months before it’s time to start introducing table foods, but it will be here before you know it! There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there about the best approach, so I’ve simplified what I recommend as a feeding therapist in our How to Teach Your Baby to Eat Table Foods Guide.
Click here to download it now!
You’ll be all set.
More Baby Feeding Schedules and Tips
Feeding Schedule for 8, 9, and 10 Month Olds
Feeding Schedule for 11-14 Month Olds
Mega List of Table Foods for Your Baby
Did you pin this?
You’re going to want to save this, you can get to all the other feeding schedules here as your baby continues to grow!
Alisha Grogan is a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Your Kid’s Table. She has over 19 years experience with expertise in sensory processing and feeding development in babies, toddlers, and children. Alisha also has 3 boys of her own at home. Learn more about her here.
Thank you for sharing this detailed feeding schedule! It’s so helpful to see a structured plan for feeding a 6-7 month old. I love that you included a free printable; it makes it easy to keep track of everything. Can’t wait to implement some of these meal ideas with my little one!
Hi, I would like to thank you for the useful tips and feeding schedule. My daughter is almost 7 months and she refuses to sleep without breastfeeding. I am following your 6 to 7 months feeding routine and after her breakfast which is at 9:00 am she refuses to sleep without breastfeeding. How can I change this?
Thank you
Hi I’m just curious as to how many oz you are feeding your baby with. With this schedule? My baby is drinking less milk because she started 3 meals a day so was just curious as to how much your baby is drinking 🙂
My baby boy is 6 mths old he has been breastfeed but now my milk is running out and hes refusing to take the formula. I really need some help because i am becoming frustrated and hes starting to bite me with his two new teeth he has in
Hey Mackenzie,
I sent you a link on your other comment 🙂
Best,
Desiree
hi, can you share the suggestion to mackenzie with me too? I am facing the same problem
Hey Thanks for reaching out! We do have an article for getting a breastfed baby to take a bottle you can read all about it HERE I’d also try mixing of breastmilk with the formula you are trying to switch to start out slowly 75% breast milk, 25% formula and provide that for her a few days until she seems comfortable with it, then mix 50/50 and go up from there as she is tolerating! Hope all this helps!
Best,
Desiree
I have a question. My six month old -who is fixing to turn seven- was introduced to some baby foods when he was roughly three months. I now feed him two meals of baby food during the day (eight ounces per meal), but then I heard I should be feeding him more formula. What are your thoughts on this?
Hey Leigh,
Thanks for reaching out! I’d talk with your pediatrician for recommendations on formula/baby food!
Best,
Desiree
Hi,
My baby just turned 6 months old and everytime I try to give his formula feed, he refuses to drink. he is on step 2 s26 gold. he also refuses to eat solids。
Hi Essie! Is he breastfeeding, by any chance? Definitely consult with your pediatrician as soon as possible if he is refusing to eat anything. Your doctor can check to make sure there isnt anything medical that is interfering with his eating/drinking. Or, they can assess if he is tolerating the formula he is currently on.
Best,
Kalyn
Hi, I have a 6 1/2 mos old little girl. She has never taken the amount of formula the guidelines say, but her growth has been good (following her curve). She was taking around 26-27 oz/ day before introducing solids and then this dropped to about 24-25 oz/ day after reducing her feedings from 6/ day to 5/ day (per pediatrician’s recommendation) and starting solids about 3 weeks ago. She seems to really love solid foods (eats 1-2 tbsp per meal and will often want to grab food off of our plates and gnaw on it while we eat too). We added in lunch about a week ago and now we can only get her to take about 22oz of formula/ day (she might take an additional 1oz from a cup- she seems to only want to drink out of an actual cup like a “big girl” and refuses sippy cups so far). I’m worried that this isn’t enough formula/ day for her at this age. Should we cut out her lunch meal? I’ve spoken to two different nurses at our pediatricians’ office and gotten conflicting info (the first said it sounded like she’s doing fine and just let her keep eating 3 meals and the other said to cut lunch out and get her to take more formula). She is generally very happy and has the appropriate number of pee diapers… I don’t know what to do…
PS- our current schedule is 7am bottle (will take 5-6oz), 8am breakfast (baby food with formula or water in cup), 9am nap, 10:15am bottle (will only take 2-3 oz), 12pm lunch (baby food and either formula or water in cup), 12:30 nap, 1:30 bottle (will take 3-5oz), 4pm nap, 5pm bottle (will take 3-5 oz), 6pm dinner (baby food and either water or formula in cup), 7:30 bath and 7:50 bottle (will take 5-6 oz) then to sleep at 8pm and nothing again until the next morning. I’m afraid to reduce her to 4 bottles/ day as she never seems to take very much at her feedings (not sure if her stomach is small or she has a small amount of reflux)
Hi Lindsay, that’s a tough call. I can’t make a specific recommendation, but can say that babies usually moderate their intake well. And, eating is such an important skill. It may be helpful to make an appointment to talk about it with a doctor that you trust.
It looks like your schedule is working well for you!
What should I do with my 7 month old baby who refuses to even open his mouth to eat solids?? He doesn’t want to eat. But he drinks his formula. Another thing he can’t sit alone yet.
Muna, I have the perfect post for you: What to do when my baby won’t eat.
Hey Alisha, I’m a fellow OT but I work with the geriatric population, and I’m a new mom with a 6 month old. I think I’ve been unnecessarily stressing about feeding her and feel like I should know more since im at OT but I don’t. So im so thankful i happened upon your blog in pinterest!! Thanks so much and excited to read more info from you!
Hi. My daughter is just over 6 months old. She’s been eating baby food in the evening (between 5:30 and 6:00) very well for the past month and we started doing a second feeding of baby food about 2 weeks ago. My question is on the timing of the schedule and what you would recommend on how to adjust it. She goes to daycare, and at daycare they eat lunch at 11. So that’s when they have been giving her her morning baby food, so that they can get her on their schedule. She’s up between 6:30 and 7:00 and that’s when she has her first bottle. So when I want to start doing a third meal of baby food, do you think I should still do that at around 8:00? If so, should she then not have a bottle before her lunch at 11? Just curious if you think it would be alright for her to not have a bottle all morning after her initial one when she wakes up. Thanks for your advice! Glad I found this website!!
It’s hard to say at this age, each baby is so unique. It’s okay to feed her anytime if she’s accepting it, but to make sure you’re on track with the calories she needs and her growth chart, I’d definitely check with your doctor. But, mommy instincts are usually right!
My daughter is 8 months old and we started pureed foods at 6 months, she did great. I just started level 2 foods (cooked/steamed food either mashed or chopped finely) about 3 weeks ago and it was going great until 1.5 weeks ago. We’ve been to the pediatrician who says she isnt worried about it. She will grab the spoon and puts that in her mouth. She is munching on wafers but she wont pick up any other food and put it in her mouth. She grabs toys and puts them in her mouth all the time. We do give a cup at breakfast and dinner because we are home with her then, she doesn’t drink from it yet but she holds it and puts it to her mouth. She goes to daycare during the day. Should i be having them only try to feed her once at daycare or with each bottle (she takes 3 six to seven ounce bottles in the 8hrs she is there) I’m an OT myself but i work in acute care so i havent had any additional feeding training. Im getting a little anxious but I’m thinking she is still “okay” for her age?
It can be so hard at this age, there’s so much unpredictability. I think there’s some wisdom in your concern, I think it’s good to always have a watchful eye, because sometimes small problems snowball with feeding. But, it doesn’t sound like you need to be concerned yet. I’d keep offering her those foods and even try pre-loading them onto a fork so that she can bring that right to her mouth. If it were me, I’d also try to place some on her molars, as long as she accepts. I’d demonstrate over and over again, too. One other thing to consider is that if the texture is something she doesn’t like, she may need some play in sensory bins to desensitize. Check out this post for more ideas!
P.S. I love having other OT’s following along!
I love this 6-7 month feeding schedule! But can you specify how many oz of formula I should be feeding my baby at each feeding? Thanks!
Thanks Meghann! Check with your doctor on what they recommend for the appropriate amount for each day, then just divide that by the number of feedings each day.