11, 12, and 13 months plus can be a difficult time to determine a toddler feeding schedule with so many transitions from baby food and bottles. Get these sample feeding schedules with milk for 1 year olds from a feeding expert and mom.
A baby’s first year is filled with many changes, and as it comes to a close around 11 to 12 months, often one of the biggest changes is fully transitioning to table foods and totally leaving behind baby food.
At the same time, parents are also trying to navigate how to wean from breast or bottle. Many parents feel overwhelmed and are unsure how to make these changes, and understandably so.
Although I cover transitioning to table food and bottle weaning here in lots of detail, it is important to have a feeding schedule in mind too because it helps make these big transitions successful.
Today, I’m sharing three sample schedules with you that I use as a licensed occupational therapist for babies 11, 12, and 13 months old. Basically, a feeding schedule for 1 year olds, so you can see how to make the transitions work for you.
They are flexible and have options for a 1 year old milk schedule, or a 1 year old feeding schedule with or without milk included.
Feeding at 11, 12, and 13 Months (Aka The 1 Year Old!)
If I had to pick one word to summarize feeding babies at this age, it would be: unpredictable. Honestly, they are so busy and easily distracted that you’re baby won’t eat anything at some meal and others they may seem to eat more than you.
This is normal, and I want you to keep that mind. It is important to not jump through too many hoops to get your child to eat, because they will soon learn how to wield that power.
Setting up a routine and schedule around meals goes a long way in curbing the unpredictability and potential picky eating.
I would also encourage you to move completely to table foods by 11 months, if you haven’t done so already. An occasional pouch is okay when you are out and about, but by this age babies should be eating a variety of table foods.
The schedules I share below are made based on this assumption. See further down in the post if your child is having difficulty with this transition.,
In my 8-10 month old feeding schedule, I recommended introducing a straw. If you haven’t done that yet, no problem, they will likely pick it up very quickly. While the straw is a great choice, at this age, your child may be ready to drink from an open cup.
I know how shocking that sounds. It is a surprise to most parents, but stay with me.
Open cup drinking is an important developmental skill, and challenges children to use the muscles in and around their mouth in new and different ways. This helps them progress with managing different types of food, as well as their speech.
Great, right?
Yes, there is always the potential for messy eating with kids, but read why it is actually important to let your kids get messy!
So be brave and give the open cup a chance. It is a wonderful tool to add into your routine, as you can serve your child’s milk and water in it during mealtime.
Because this is a time of transition, I’m going to share with you three schedules so that you can see the transitions.
First, you will see the schedule at the beginning of 11 months, then you will see it once the baby is weaned, usually around the first birthday or in the next few months.
In the latter case, I gave you samples for either one or two naps, as this is often a transition at this age too! Of course, all of these factors vary from child to child.
Get more specifics for bottle weaning and breast weaning.
Sample Feeding Schedule Around 11 Months Old
*This schedule is just a sample. Your child may sleep at different times and you will need to adjust accordingly. I suggest taking note of the time intervals so that you can apply to you child’s individual schedule. You can use this 1 year old sleep schedule as a reference.
6:30-7:00 AM: Wake-Up – Breastfeed/Bottle upon waking *This is usually the second to last feeding you will take away. Sometimes it’s the last if your child is more attached to this than the night time feed.
7:00-7:30 AM: Breakfast – Water available in an open cup or straw cup, table foods (include a fruit/veggie, carbohydrate, and protein).
9:30 AM: Nap
11:00 AM: Breastfeed/Bottle upon waking *This is usually the first milk feeding I take away, if there are no complaints from the baby, and I promptly feed them lunch instead with milk in a cup. Some babies may start to nurse or take very little from a bottle earlier than their birthday. It is okay to follow their lead.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch – Water in a straw cup, table foods (include a fruit/veggie, carbohydrate, and protein).* Give milk at this meal once the previous formula/breast milk is eliminated.)
1:30-2:00 PM: Nap
3:30 PM: Breastfeed/Bottle upon waking, immediately followed by an optional small snack such as fruit and crackers/dry cereal/rice cake. *This is typically the second bottle or breast feeding I take away, but it can be the first if this works better. Once this bottle is gone, offer milk in a cup and some protein to the meal like peanut butter, hummus, cheese, or beans.
6:00 PM: Dinner – Water in an open cup or straw cup, table foods (include a fruit/veggie, carbohydrate, and protein).
7:30 PM: Breastfeed/Bottle before bed *Typically this is the last breastfeed or bottle you will take away, and it can be the most difficult. However, feedings at this time won’t interfere with their other meals.
7:45-8:00 PM: Sleeping for the night
*Times are given in a range of possible start times, not duration. If you are concerned about how much your baby needs to eat, see this post on Portion Sizes.
Sample Feeding Schedule for 1 Year Old with 2 Naps
Specifically, this is an example around 12 – 13 months
7:30 – 8:00 AM: Breakfast – 15-30 minutes after waking. About 4 oz. of milk in an open cup or straw, a protein, carbohydrate, and fruit/veggie.
10:30 AM: Nap
12:00 PM: Lunch – 15-30 minutes after waking. About 4 oz. of milk in an open cup or straw, a protein, carbohydrate, and fruit/veggie.
2:30 PM: Snack – About 4 oz. of milk in an open cup or straw, a protein, carbohydrate, and fruit/veggie.
3:00 PM: Nap
5:30 – 6:00 PM: Dinner – About 4 oz. of milk in an open cup or straw, a protein, carbohydrate, and fruit/veggie.
Sample Feeding Schedule for 1 Year Old with 1 Nap
Beginning around 12-13 months Old
7:30- 8:00 AM: Breakfast – 15-30 minutes after waking. About 4 oz. of milk in an open cup or straw, a protein, carbohydrate, and fruit/veggie.
11:00 AM: Lunch – About 4 oz. of milk in an open cup or straw, a protein, carbohydrate, and fruit/veggie.
12:00 PM: Nap
2:30- 3:00 PM: Snack – 15-30 minutes after waking: About 4 oz. of milk in an open cup or straw, a protein, carbohydrate, and fruit/veggie. *This meal should include all the elements listed, but will be on a little smaller of a scale.
5:30 – 6:00 PM: Dinner – About 4 oz. of milk in an open cup or straw, a protein, carbohydrate, and fruit/veggie.
Tips for Feeding 1 Year Olds
As a pediatric occupational therapist, I get a lot of questions about when and what to feed 1 year olds. Here’s some answers to the most common questions:
- Milk should be around 16 oz. total for the day after 1 year of age.
- Ideally, meals should be spaced 2.5 – 3 hours apart, counting from the start of one meal to the start of the next.
- Babies and toddlers are capable of feeding themselves a lot of food at this age. Yes, it’s messy, read the benefits of babies getting messy while eating. I encourage you to allow them to feed themselves as much as possible, even with a spoon!
- If your baby is gagging a lot or you’re nervous about their occasional gag, then head to What You Need to Know About Baby Gagging.
- Try to have as much variety in your toddler’s diet as possible, ideally not serving the same thing two days in a row. Need some inspiration? I’ve got you covered! See The Mega List of Table Foods or The Ultimate List of Meals for Toddlers.
- If you’re concerned about how many calories they’re eating or need to increase your babies weight, then see High Calorie Foods for Babies.
- Around this time you may also be considering getting rid of the binky or dummy, if so, I’ve got a guide that will help you know when and how to do it. Check out Everything You Need to Know About Pacifier Weaning.
What If Your Toddler Isn’t Eating Well? Is It Picky Eating?
If you feel like your baby isn’t getting the hang of table foods or is consistently eating very small amounts of food at 10 months of age, then I would strongly suggest scheduling an evaluation through early intervention (if you live in the states) or seeking out a private or outpatient therapist.
I highly encourage you to save a seat in our free workshop on how to get your child eating table foods, if you haven’t already. This will give you practical strategies on working through this transition with your baby or toddler.
To get you started with strategies you can use at home, grab my, Learn to Eat Table Foods Cheat Sheet, that I’ll send right to your inbox. It has a step-by-step plan and some other tips that will be helpful.
Unfortunately, many times, pediatricians advise to wait it out, but trained feeding therapists (usually OTs and SLPs) are able to catch early signs of underlying sensory or motor difficulties. The earlier these problems are addressed, the easier they are to overcome. Head to Everything About Feeding Therapy to read more.
More on Feeding Schedules for Babies from Your Kid’s Table
The Best 6 and 7 Month Old Feeding Schedule, So Easy to Follow
Introducing Baby Food: Everything You Need to Know
The Ultimate Guide to Feeding Milestones for Babies and Toddlers
Feeding Red Flags for Babies and Toddlers
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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.
Hi Alisha
Really helpful post
Just wondering if having milk with meals won’t affect iron absorption and how much milk you are giving at these times.
Thanks
I have an 11 1/2 month old, and I am trying to see what I can do to transition her to a sippy cup and have her eat closer to meal times. She fights to drink out of a bottle, always has. She has to be very hungry to drink milk or eat food, thus we have to space them apart by 1.5 hours. We have to hold a toy or book in front of her as she lays down to drink. Will not hold her bottle for longer than a minute, will let go and want to play. In turn, we have to entertain her to drink. This said, she also does not ever let me spoon feed her, she only will eat what she can pick up. I have been giving her a sippy cup with her meals (water) for a couple months now, and will not get the hang of tilting it up to drink, thus i have to tilt it for her, where she will only drink a few sips then plays with it (chews). She still has no teeth.
Please help in any advice on what I need to do to transition her to have milk in a sippy cup (yes have tried all sorts of cups), and get her to eat food closer to when she has her milk.
Just a side note, she sleeps 12 hours through the night since she was 4 months old, has been walking since she was 7 months old, so is not behind physically, sometimes I feel she just doesn’t care to do it since she has very little interest in drinking.
This is what her schedule looks like:
7am: wake
7:30: 6 oz formula bottle
8:15: Breakfast: eggs and spinach, fruit (refuses bread, pancakes, muffin..etc)
9:30: naps (usually 30min, but occasionally over an hour)
10:30: 5 oz formula bottle
12:30: lunch: chicken or beef, potatoes or squash, green beans,peas, carrots etc)
1:00: 2 oz bottle since she hardly drinks from sippy cup at lunch
1:30: naps (1:30 hr-2hr)
3:45: 6 oz formula bottle
5:30: dinner (similar to lunch, but I give her a couple pieces of fruit as dessert
6:30: 3 oz milk since she hardly drinks from sippy cup at dinner
7:00: sleeps through the night for 12 hours.
Thank you for any advice in advance!
Hi Sarah, I’d definitely try straw cups, if she doesn’t know how to drink from them I’d start here.
I’d also try to start moving your schedule to look something like the one I shared in the post, at her age now she’s going to need a good 2 hours with no milk or food to be hungry. I’d also consider early intervention, which is free in home feeding therapy. You can read more about it here.
My son is 11 months now.
6:30 wake
7:00 breakfast
8:15 bottle 8-9 oz
9:30 nap
11:30-11:45 lunch
1:00 bottle 8-9 oz
2:30 nap
3:30-3:45 some yogurt and snack
5:00 dinner
6:15-6:30 last bottle 7 oz
7 bedtime
Now my question is, how do I transition to milk? It seems 8-9 oz is a lot for a feeding. Do I lower the amount and do 4 milks a day instead of 3? Do I do cups with milk thru the day and keep the night bottle for a while? So confusing. He loves his straw cup and also the 360 cup. He eats well but I’m sure can do more soon. Also we are on organic babies only toddler formula. Since he was 5 months old. We decided this was a good fit for him. But now he’s almost 12 months and I’m confused on how to do this transition.
Lenah, this is definitely just a guide. I’d check with your doctor as well. For me like to take one feeding and start offering it at a meal and giving them milk or formula in a cup. From their I keep eliminating. Transition is hard, its a process, sometimes it’s 2 steps forward 1 step back 🙂
Hi my baby 12 months old how many male can I give to her thank you
At 12 months the recommendation is 16 ounces:)
Hi
Could you give me some advice. My baby is about to turn 1 year old and she just decides to not drink any milk, from formula, cows milk, even I try to mix yogurt with milk or the instant breakfast mix (for a boost of calcium). What can I do? I feel like the more food I introduce to her, the pickier she gets.
Hey! Thanks for reaching out. That can be so frustrating! We definitely suggest you keep offering the different foods and milks during mealtimes. It can be helpful for you to model drinking it as well. Our free table foods workshop is a really great resource that I think would be helpful for you. It gives you some more tools and ideas to start using right away. You can save your seat HERE. Let us know if you have any questions 🙂
Best,
Andrea
I’ve read several of your articles now and I really enjoy them. I think you offer such great advice for battling picky eating and preventing an unhealthy relationship with food. I only have one concern… extended breastfeeding seems to be completely missing in your articles for toddlers. It is been proven time and time again that the continuation of breastfeeding into the toddler years is greatly beneficial for the child. Even the AAP supports breastfeeding beyond one year of age, as long as the mother and child continue to be comfortable with it. How come you never seem to talk about it?
Goo question Nicole, I personally did do it, so its not my experience, BUT I think it can be great as long as its structured. I’ve seen a lot of kids who don’t learn to eat because they continue to nurse like they did when they were babies. I admittedly have a little hesitancy because of that. I think its wonderful if mother’s are able or wanting to continue though!
My LO has been giving me so much hard time with milk. I exclusively breastfed her for 9 and a half months (no bottles incorporated). Weaning was very hard but i managed to give her 20-24 oz a day. Now her birthday is in 10 days and for the past 20 days she has been barely accepting 8-12 oz of milk a day (most is put into her food), doesnt matter if formula or cow’s milk. She drinks water with a straw or from an adults cup or glass but she refuses milk in them when i try. She got disgusted by the sippy cup. I even tried a little sugar in her bottle but with barely any results. I tried changing her formula brand but i got same reactions. Can u suggest anything else i can do? I feel helpless and frustrated every single day.
Hi Alisha! Thank you so much for your blog. I’ve learned so much through your different articles. I have a few questions similar to a previous poster. I read your response to her and that was helpful, but still need a little advice. I’m a FTM of a 13 month old who has transitioned to table foods well over all. I went the traditional route of purees first then slowly adding in a variety of bite sized finger foods, ect. The main issues we are having are weaning her from her bottle to a straw cup, decreasing her milk intake and increasing her water intake, and figuring out a better morning routine. She’s at daycare from 7:45 am until 4 pm. Currently she has all meals and bottles at daycare except a morning and before bed bottle of 5-6 oz whole milk, and dinner at 5:30/6pm. I’ve tried to reduce her morning bottle and give her table breakfast foods at home, but unless it’s at least 8am, she’s not interested in table food. They will not feed her solid food until 9am at daycare.
Her schedule looks like this:
At home:
7:00am – 5/6 oz bottle
At daycare:
9:00am – 3 oz bottle with breakfast
12:00pm – 3 oz bottle with lunch
3:00pm – 3 oz bottle and snack
At home:
5:30/6pm – Dinner
7:15pm – 5-6 oz bottle
I always offer her water with dinner and with her meals when she’s home with me on the weekends. They also offer her water at daycare, but she mostly just plays with it or chews on the straw. I’ve tried to offer her the milk in a straw cup, (have also tried the 360 cup and a few other traditional sippies with no success), with her meals but she’ll only drink maybe an ounce total, if that. I know she’s capable of drinking from a straw, so I’m wondering if going cold turkey with her might be the way to go? Perhaps starting with taking away the 3 middle bottles and replacing them with straw cups? And at what point do you stop the before bed bottle. I’m sure she won’t be happy about it when that day comes.
Any and all advice and suggestions would be very welcome!!
I love how thoughtful you’re being about these decisions. This is a tough call and to be honest is a bit of judgement call. I’d do a gut check for yourself… what do you think is best… cold turkey? Or giving it another month or two? For me I’d probably wait a little longer, what she’s doing is really normal for her age. However, I’d cut back on some of those bottles, one at a time. I think this bottle weaning post will be helpful if you haven’t caught it already! Hope that helps!
FTM of 13 month old girl. Her current schedule is:
6am wake – 8oz bottle (4oz whole milk, 4oz formula)
8:30am – breakfast (table food w/ water in sippy cup)
11:30am – lunch (table food w/ water in sippy cup)
12pm – nap
2:30pm – snack (table food w/water in sippy cup)
4pm – 8oz bottle (4oz cow’s milk, 4oz formula)
7pm – dinner (table food w/ water in straw cup)
9pm bed – 8oz bottle (4oz whole milk, 4oz formula)
4 issues I’m having that I could use some advice on. Help :), thanks!
1) She refuses to drink milk by itself in any type of cup (sippy/straw/360). I’ve even tried adding strawberry/chocolate syrup to it and no luck.
2) I’d like to eliminate the 4pm bottle next but due to our schedule that produces a large gap until the 7pm meal.
3) She doesn’t drink that much water with her meals. Just occasionally sips at the cup so I’m worried about her getting enough fluids and staying hydrated, especially if I eliminate another bottle feeding.
4) She is very dependent on the first bottle as soon as she wakes up. And our schedule doesn’t allow for breakfast until she gets to daycare a bit later. I’m worried I won’t be able to eliminate this anytime soon.
Hi Jenny, Great questions. The first couple can be answered in this post on how to wean from the bottle.
As for the water, that’s normal. Have it available to her all the time. Generally speaking we only need half our body weight in ounces of water a day. So if she weights 20lbs she needs 10oz total. Don’t make yourself crazy with counting this, just to give you an idea! She’ll regulate this herself and she’ll still be drinking around 16 oz of milk too!
I’d keep trying the milk in cups, just keep offering it. Try different cups too!
As for the morning bottle, you might want to start to decrease the amount you give her in the bottle and then have the rest in a cup she can drink in the car. Ideally I’d get her up earlier for breakfast at home or have everything ready so she can sleep later and eat within 40 minutes of waking at daycare. Experiment to see what works best for both of you:)
I wish I’d come across this post earlier. My LO is 15m now and she still doesn’t touch/eat anything that is pureed. I’ve been complaining to the pediatrician but she made me wait. We just got approved by early intervention and I hope she will finally start showing interest in eating finger foods.
*is not pureed
Ahh, also check out: how to transition to table food!
Early intervention will be great! Keep trying and read this post: my baby won’t eat solids.
How about after waking ..15 mins. after waking(7am) feeding food only…. and by 10am feeding bottle?…is it good nursing??
If they are under 12 months that sounds like a plan! Otherwise I like to pair together the meals and milk, but experiment and see what works for you!
I do not want to give my daughter cows milk and she is allergic to nuts so I can not give almond either, which is what my husband and I drink. I am reading more and more about how milk actually isnt necessary after 1 if they are getting enough calcium from food. Can the milk in your sample meal plan/schedules be substituted with water and juice?
Absolutely!
So I’m a ftm, and have never dealt with going from formula to milk and table food before. My daughter is 11 month old today and we have switched her to a sippy cup successfully a month ago due to a lip tie and that’s fine and dandy. She also drinks water from a straw cup regularly and tries to drink from my cup lol. I am trying to figure out what I need to do to start transitioning her to a toddler schedule vs the infant one weve been on for 11 months! Im baffled. I read this article and want to use the 11 month feeding schedule you have above because it is already close to what were on right now. But what type of food do you mean when you say carbs, protein? I already offer fruits and veggies as finger foods with baby food and as snacks. Also I should add that she doesn’t want her formula anymore, we’ve tried a few different brands and found only 1 that she will kind of drink and I have decided I want to incorporate whole milk into her diet as well. I know it’s before one year but she likes it way better than her formula. Any advice would be appreciated really! I don’t even know where to begin with stopping the morning and night time formula feedings… or how to get her to only drink from a straw cup. Help! Lol. Thank you!
So for carbs: noodles, crackers, breads, etc.
For proteins: meatballs, cheese, yogurt, chicken, fish, nut butters, eggs, etc.
Everything you’re doing sounds great! It’s definitely a process and I think you’re in great shape. She can drink from a sippy cup still, I would just make sure she has the straw at least some of the time. As she gets older this will be easier. I have another post on weaning from the bottle, click here, it will be perfect. Let me know if you have more questions!
My son is 11 months old and we’re trying to transition from nursing to bottles/sippy cups. I have plenty of frozen breastmilk to get him past a year but I’m struggling with the morning feeding schedule. He goes to bed at 7:30pm (I nurse him) and consistently wakes up at 4:45/5am to eat. I nurse him then and he goes back to sleep until 7:30am. He might have a couple sips of milk from the sippy cup when he wakes up but typically doesn’t eat until breakfast at 8:30am. I feel like the 5am feed is more out of habit than anything. Would you recommend trying to cut this feed out? As much as I love our bonding time, I’d also like to sleep past 5am once in awhile…and it also seems to put him on a weird morning schedule. Thanks!
That’s a tough call, it does sound like habit. I think its totally fine for you to cut that out if it feels right to you! I know that sounds a little vague, but your mama instincts are the best judge here. Just remember its a transition and you’ll likely have some protesting or some back and forth before your able to move past it.
Do you have any posts like this for a little one who is 15 months old? I am really trying to hammer out a consistent feeding/napping schedule for my little boy… thank you!
Cassie, the second schedule is perfect for any child once they are weaned! My two year old is still on that schedule with the one nap option:)
Alisha,
Love this information! My daughter is 13 months old tomorrow and is a slow weight gainer and eats like a bird (not necessarily picky). We feed her 4 6 oz bottles per day and feed her 3 meals + 2 snacks… similar to your schedule, but we try to sneak in a morning snack. Sometimes I feel like it’s too much and we usually only wait 1.5- 2 hours between feeding (food or bottles). Do you recommend waiting longer? Do you think that can build a healthier appetite for a child who has basically no appetite and little hunger pains?
I do actually! But, every child is unique, I’d experiment for a week or two and see if it helps, my guess is it will!