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.
My son is 14 months old. His weight at birth was 2.8kg and now the weight is 9.5kg. He has 8 teeth now. I breastfeed him in the morning and the for the afternoon nap and then during night whenever hewakes up. In the day time I give him oats, yoghurt, mashed banana,wheat flour cooked in water with salt, jeera and dhania powder mixed in it., cerelac. I give khichdi in the night. I started semi solids from 9 months as he did not eat with ugh interest till then.
When I started solids I started with cerelac, and khichadi blended in mixer. At that time we used to make him sleep on our legs and then feed. Now he can sit but if I try to feed him in sitting position he just takes 2-3 spoons and then refuses. But in sleeping position he eats well. My first question is is it ok to feed in this position and how to change this habit of eating in sleeping position. My second worry is that till now he is used to all soft blended, pureed feeds.
If now we give him anything to b chewed n eaten he refuses after maximum a bite or two. Then I have to blend it as my first priority is that he should eat. How should I make him eat lumpy food. Also every day we give him same dishes. I worry if I change his routine he might end up staying hungry thruout the day and only cry for bf. Pls advise
Hi Anshika, there are some dangers with choking and aspiration seated in this position. Are you in the USA, if so I’d definitely look into feeding therapy, as there are so many considerations a therapist would make based on your specific situation.
Hi Alisha!
My baby pretty much follows your 11-month schedule. He is now 10.5 months old. Today is the 2nd day I took away his mid-day bottle since he’s been doing well with table food. He seems fine without this bottle. However, should I have still given him formula in a cup instead of totally eliminating it?
I’d check with your doctor to make sure he is getting the total number of ounces he needs with his formula. But it would be great to get him used to drinking his formula from a cup, although he is probably not going to drink a large volume.
Hello,
Your sites are full of useful information. Thank you! It’s making us feel a lot less stressed about her turning one soon.
We are looking at your sample schedules and we’re hoping you could give us some insight. Our daughter’s naps at 11 month is pretty much as stated, 9:30am and 2pm. Do you think at 12 months and 13 months it will start to move and be at 10:30am and 3pm like your example, or could it hugely vary and might still be at 9:30am and 2pm?
This is all new to us as our first child has special needs.
It could definitely vary. The schedules on the post are just examples, and you will have to adjust to your child’s needs.
Hello again. Still trying to wrap our heads around this. It’s highly variable how long our daughter’s naps are. At two naps a day, our goal is 1-1.5 hours but sometimes we only get 40 mins. Our question pertains to timing of food. Is it better to
-stick to set times for when she eats?
-stick to duration of time from when she gets up?
Or
-stick to set times but vary it a bit if need to adjust schedule for the day (example: early bedtime)
Also, for the last few months her bottles have been thirty minutes after waking in the morning and thirty minutes after waking from each nap and bedtime. We waited the 30min for her to “build an appetite” for her milk after waking. Do we need to move the bottles to be immediately after waking before we start the weaning process in a few weeks?
Follow her lead and keep to the 2.5-3 hours between meals, that’s the most important interval. But, since this is a transition it’s not always going to line up right, which is hard for us as parents. The specific time doesn’t really matter:)
Hi! The issue we have is my son(13.5 months and 16 lbs) hasn’t been growing very well and his dr is concerned. We even see a feeding therapist due to dr orders. The issue seems like he will have milk or solids but he can’t tolerate both. It’s almost like he gets full very easily. Within the last month we tried taking one milk feeding away so he would eat his solids better. He has a milk feeding(with 3.5 oz whole milk and .5 heavy cream) at 7, 2 and bedtime given with a nuk soft spout sippy. I usually try to wait 1.5-2 hours to offer a meal after he drinks his milk. And at meal time he takes about 4-5 small bites of food and then gets fussy and is finished. He is also a super slow eater. Those 4-5 bites seriously takes like 20-30 min. We recently tried giving his milk during his meal and he drank 1.5 oz and ate about a 1 inch cube of egg quiche, 1 bite of waffle( a bite of his is like less then a dime) and then got fussy and was done. An example of portion sizes he eats and drinks…..3-4 ouces Of milk 3x a day(which isn’t even his 2 servings usually), breakfast 3-4 small bites of waffle(pretty much 2 quarter size pieces) 1/4-1/3 of a egg quiche in shap of a small muffin and a couple blueberries, and that’s a good breakfast for him), lunch he may have a 1.5 quarter size piece of pbj and half a cracker and couple bites of fruit, dinner last night he ate 4 rotini noodles and was finished. It was 4 hours since his milk and he only ate 4 noodles! For snacks we are lucky if he eats half of a cracker. Please keep in mind these examples are of good meals! Usually these don’t hope. In a day. Maybe one meal will be like the examples and the rest will be less.He can drink through a straw but absolutely refuses to have milk that way and it has to be warm. Are these portion sizes enough and am I being to critical or should I try another type of schedule. Maybe this is normal for his age and size. I am constantly concerned he isn’t drinking or eating enough. Calorie intake is always on my mind so his milk is important to us cause it’s 30 calories per oz cause we also add heavy cream to each milk feeding. Decreasing that any further scares me because I’m afraid that he will get that much less calories per day since it’s seems like he is such a poor eater. His eating is so frustrating that family even hates watching him if it crosses a meal time. Any advice is appreciated. And please tell me if I am being to critical about his portion sizes. My grandma says I’m to critical but is growth chart speaks otherwise. You may need more info than what I gave you so please just ask.
I totally understand your worry! The first thing I would do is check with your doctor and get their recommendations. I think it is totally justified to be a little concerned. I would highly recommend this post on high calorie foods because there are some really simple ways to increase their calories and get more bang for you buck with what they are eating.
I’m in the exact same boat with my 11 month old! It like you were talking about my son except he is still on formula. Did you see improvements or changes with time passing or find that a different schedule helped things?? It stresses me out with him turning a year soon
Hello! We are transitioning to whole milk and off bottles (13 month old twins). For the “12-13 month old – On 2 Naps” you have Breakfast at 7:30-8am and then lunch at 12pm. This is 4-4.5 hours but you say that meals should ideally be 2.5-3 hours apart. Should there be a small snack before 1st nap to account for this? We wake at 7am and then 1st nap is 10-11:15 so lunch is 11:30. This makes for 4 hours between meals.
The schedule is just an example, but generally it’s okay for the meals to be spaced a little further apart while napping. I will often tweak schedules based on how well they are eating. If an additional snack is needed before nap time, then add it in if it works for you. It sounds like you are doing great though!
We are looking at the sample schedule above and were wondering why the milk and then afternoon snack is AFTER the second nap before weaning but the afternoon snack/milk in cup is BEFORE the second nap once weaned.
The schedules are just a sample. You can adjust them to whatever works for you. The nap time is later in the second example.
Hi Alisha,
Thanks so much for the great advice! We have been pretty close to following what you have layed out except one piece I was wondering if you could share your opinion on the feeding schedule. My LO (12 months) wakes daily at 5:00-5:30 and is awake. No going back to sleep until 6:00 or 7:00. Right now we give her a bottle when she wakes and feed her table foods at 8:00. We’re working on weaning her off her last two bottles in the morning – 5:00 and night – 7:00. Any ideas on how you might tweak the schedule you have for such an early riser? Thanks!
My son is 11 months and I’ve been at a bit of a loss in how to go about transitioning from formula to whole milk when it’s time. This post was the most helpful one I’ve read. Thank you!!
Yay! You’re so welcome!
Hi Alisha! My baby has been drinking from an open cup and straw cup since he was 6 months old. However, I can’t get him to drink his milk from a straw cup. How should I go about this?
Also, we are weaning from night breastfeeding. My baby is not sleep trained. Will I have to sleep train him in order not to give any bottles at night? Thanks!!
Hi kathleen, this is such a common problem with the milk in a cup. Scroll up and click on the links for bottle weaning (there’s tips in there for both questions). You will probably have to sleep train to wean at night. Hope that helps!
Alisha,
My 21 month old still loves to nurse. She often wakes up 3 or 4 times a night, and nurses back to sleep. I am so exhausted. I didn’t ever let any of my babies cry it out. She is weaning during the day. But I don’t know how else to get her to self soothe back to sleep at night, and if she cries, she wakes everyone up.
I have tried binkies. I have tried having daddy do it. Nothing works. She just screams unless I put her to sleep.
How about water? My son has water with every meal now. When should I give him some if he gets milk with every meal instead?
In between meals, have it always available where he can grab it and drink it himself:)
I am looking at the “Feeding Schedule Around 11 months”… Do you recommend a specific amount of ounces for the 11am + 3-330pm bottles?
My son is currently 10.5 months and gets 3 – 4oz bottles + Breakfast + Lunch while at daycare between 7am-5pm… if we eliminate one bottle we will be right on track with your recommendation which should be an easy transition for us!
I’d check with your pediatrican’s recommendations for the total amount of formula they want him to have daily and divide that with the schedule your moving towards!
Hi Alisha,
Hoping you have some advice for me.
My daugther turns 14 months at the end of January. She’s been in kindergarden since 4 months of age and use to eat really well at school up until the schools closed for the December holidays (We live in South Africa).
Obviously it’s a new year, new class, new teacher and assistants so this in itself is an adjustment of sorts. I am however finding myself concerned about her eating habits.
Since monday she’s not eating much at all! On monday she didn’t want to have breakfast at school which is typically served around 8am, nor did she have lunch, and when we got home she also refused dinner. Tuesday we fed her some cereal before school as we figured she must be starving and didn’t want a repeat of what happened the previous day, so she ate breakfast well at home, but then once again skipped all the meals at school and also did not want any dinner. Since she’s not eating solids I’m offering milk on demand but calculated that she bottomed out at approximately 45oz of milk (1.3Liters) in a 24 hour period since that was all she had during that time.
The teacher at the school confirmed that she seems to be teething although I could not see or feel anything, but it does seem there seems to be a tooth on the way. She got her first set of bottom teeth at 7 months and nothing since. The top two have not yet popped but now it seems the bottom ones will be next.
I decided today, to drastically cut back the milk intake to 17 oz, because surely if she gets hungry enough she will eat the solids, but I’m concerned that she might just take whatever milk she can get and refuse the solids wholly during this time.
What am I to do?
I gave specific instructions regarding how much milk the teachers should offer and when, and was told that she had atleast half a bowl of porridge this morning, but she didn’t want to have her lunch. I also need to mention that the routine at school is as follows:
8Am Breakfast followed by a bottle
08:30-09:45 AM Morning nap
11AM: Lunch followed by a bottle
12:00 – 01:30pm Nap
Snacks are offered between 2-3pm and then I pick her up at 4pm
I suspect that the mealtimes are too close to each other for her liking (since every child is different) and if she has an afternoon bottle anytime after 2pm she refuses dinner. I have therefore asked the teacher to decrease morning and lunch bottles to 4 oz and not to give another bottle in the afternoon, but I will give one before bedtime since we’re trying to cut back on the milk and she still has them during the night.
There was a time where she’d only have 1 6oz bottle during the night but of late she seems to wake up at least twice during the evening and have 5oz each time. It almost feels like things were going much better when she was smaller but getting worse as she gets older. I know things can get difficult when they teethe but I’m absolutely at the end of my wits with getting her to eat.
Do you think we’ll see an improvement when cutting back on the milk? Or is this a phase we need to ride out until the teething is done. I’m so concerned because I know at this age they can’t just live on milk and main nutrition should come from solids, but what do I do if she doesn’t want to eat. She isn’t sick and doesn’t have an ear infection so no other reason, other than teething that could be the cause of her not wanting to eat.
She used to eat very well, especially at school. Most days she’d be satisfied from the meals at school that she wouldn’t even want dinner but nowadays we’re lucky if we can get a breakfast in.
Please help.
It will definitely be helpful to keep milk at 16 oz total for the day. Pair them as much as you can with meals. This will help with appetite. Do you have the opportunity there for feeding therapy. You can find more at yourkidstable.com/feeding-therapy
I also have a class that includes my help with picky eaters. You can find more out at yourkidstable.com/mealtime-works
I just found your website today and have totally gorged on all your articles. Thank you so much for your excellent advice! Not feeling quite so overwhelmed now and feel like I have a plan.
Thank you for your great posts!
Aww thank you Erin, that’s wonderful!
We are really struggling with our 11 month old who used to be a good sleeper. He is now waking up so many times during the night. He had been on only two 8oz bottles one morning and one at night. He has 3 big meals during the day.