Suggested Feeding Schedule for 6 Week Old Baby

As you make the transition to introducing solid foods around six months, life starts to change!

The thought of introducing new foods on top of breast milk or formula and naps can leave even the calmest of new parents apprehensive.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you start to introduce those first foods to your baby, and a sample schedule to help you wrap your head around what to do!

More:For more help with baby led weaning and how to help your baby succeed with eating, be sure to check out this article with a comprehensive guide to baby led weaning and first baby foods!

6 month old baby's feeding schedule pointers

Before we get to the actual schedule, here are a few things to keep in mind.

When to Start Solid Foods With Baby

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting solid foods around 6 months. In this case solid food means traditional baby food or baby led weaning style finger foods. Really, anything other than breast milk or infant formula!

The best way to tell if your baby is ready to start solid foods is by following their developmental signs of readiness.

Once they are ready for foods, grab a good high chair, take a look at the schedule below, and you can start them with some modified table foods or a baby cereal and pureed foods.

Learn How to Set The Best Foundation For Feeding Your Baby!

Learning what to feed your baby is helpful. But what about all the rest?! Things like how they should be positioned for eating, what you should say at meals, and how to set up an environment that fosters a positive feeding relationship-for life!

These are the things your parents and friends don't have the answers for, and they're the things that make the biggest difference!

Grab the Foundations course where I walk you through it all.

Breast Milk or Formula Is Still Their Primary Source of Nutrition

A 6 month old baby's main source of nutrition is still going to be breast milk or formula. Introducing food is to help them get used to it, form a positive association with food, and to start getting some additional nutrients that they start to need right around that 6-month mark.

But your baby's needs don't all of a sudden change to where they need an additional three meals a day and a ton of food and eating opportunities!

The idea is to start slowly and follow your baby's cues as you introduce more food and eating opportunities.

Keep giving breast milk or formula as you were before. That can mean on demand if you're breastfeeding, or following the same general schedule you were before for formula-fed babies and breastfed babies.

Their amount of formula or breastmilk won't necessarily change. The average baby at this time is usually going to be nursing 5-6 times a day, or taking 24-32 ounces of formula. In many cases, it might actually increase because they are having growth spurts and will start to need more!

After you give them their breast milk or formula, add in a meal 30-60 minutes later. This doesn't need to be set in stone, as what works for your baby might differ from someone else's!

The general idea is to offer breast milk or formula first, give them a bit of a break, and then offer them solid foods.

Your 6 Month Old Baby Won't Eat That Much!

At the beginning, babies take time to learn how to eat. Most babies will need to get the handle of how to get food to their mouth and down their throat. They won't really be eating solid meals for several weeks in most cases.

Don't panic if you're a few weeks in and they still aren't getting much solid food down. Give it some time. Remember, their primary source of nutrition is still their breast milk or formula!

 And if you aren't sure what to expect when it comes to solid foods, make sure to grab the Starting Solids course to help prepare you and give you confidence in feeding and to help you set up a great foundation for your feeding relationship with them.

Sample Feeding Schedule For A 6-Month-Old Baby

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that every baby is going to be different. I generally shy away from giving out specific schedules, because different things work for different babies.

But after many parents have asked consistently for it, here is an example schedule for your 6 month old to help you with a place to start for your daily routines.

I'm giving specific times to help you visualize it, but think of this more as a spacing example for your day than an exact example of when you should be doing these things.

A Note On Your Baby's Sleep Schedule

All babies will have different sleep schedules. This is especially true for the first year of your baby's life. Some babies will have a short nap in the morning, while others will take a long nap.

Sometimes that happens no matter how hard you try to maximize the hours of sleep your baby gets!

The best thing you can do is to be consistent in your wake windows. Meaning if your baby gets up at 7 am, you want to be consistent with something like a 2 hour wake window. This means that they will go back down for their first nap 2 hours after waking up.

Follow this same pattern for their later naps and plan to put them down based on when they woke up, not necessarily the time the clock says.

As the day goes on, their wake window might get slightly longer. And as they grow, they will generally start to take longer naps and lengthen their wake time between naps.

Sample 6 Month Old Feeding Schedule With Breakfast

Here is an example of how I might space my day if I was planning to feed my baby solid foods at breakfast time. When they are first starting to eat and for the first several weeks of solid foods, they really do only need one meal a day.

Daily Schedule With Breakfast

• 6:30 am: Wake-up, then nurse or bottle
• 7:30-8:00 am: Breakfast (Head to this article for specific help with what to serve your baby at meals.)
• 8:30 am: First morning nap
• 10:30 am: Nurse or bottle
• 12:00 pm: Second nap
• 1:30 pm: Nurse or bottle
• 4:00 pm: Third nap
• 5:00 pm: Nurse or bottle
• 6:30 pm: Nurse or bottle, then bedtime routine and sleep

Sample Feeding Schedule With Dinner

Here is a sample feeding schedule with dinner as your meal for the day. Again, this is just an example. To serve a different meal, simply aim to have the food 30-60 minutes after you have given them breast milk or formula.

You do not need to serve food at the same meal every day, or exactly at the same time. If your baby sleeps through your normal lunch time when you were planning to feed them, just plan to feed them at dinner.

I do recommend aiming to get in at least one meal a day once you start giving them solid foods to help them get in the practice that they need.

Daily Schedule With Dinner

• 6:30 am: Wake-up, then nurse or bottle
• 8:30 am: First morning nap
• 10:30 am: Nurse or bottle
• 12:00 pm: Second nap
• 1:30 pm: Nurse or bottle
• 4:00 pm: Third nap
• 5:00 pm: Nurse or bottle
• 5:30 pm: Dinner (Here are some dinner ideas for babies)
• 6:30 pm: Nurse or bottle, then bedtime routine and sleep

These Schedules Are Just Starting Places!

This is just a final reminder for you that these really are just places for you to start. Every baby and family will find a different flow that works for them.

Being consistent in wake windows is the most important thing at this age. Sleeping really is primary!

A tired baby isn't going to want to sit at the table and focus on learning how to eat. So do your best to let sleeping and breast milk or formula be the main concerns, and add in meals in between those.

As your baby gets older, the feeding schedule for 7 month olds really doesn't change much.

They might drop a nap, have longer wake windows, and will likely start wanting to have more meals.

To increase meals to 2 a day, simply keep the same things in mind and add a meal 30-60 minutes after breast milk or formula when they are awake.

Looking for help on a feeding schedule for your toddler or 1-year-old? Check out this article with a sample 1 year old feeding schedule !

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Source: https://newwaysnutrition.com/babies/6-month-old-feeding-schedule/