Sample 9-Month-Old Feeding Schedule

Around 8 – 10 months, you should begin offering your infant about 2-3 meals per day + 1-2 snacks. You should offer at least 3-4 milk feedings (7-8 oz/feeding) OR 24-32 oz/day. Or, continue to nurse on demand. 

A “meal” for an infant should be composed of about 3 oz of carbohydrates, 2 oz of protein, 1 oz of fruit, and 1 oz of vegetables. This is called the 3-2-1-1 rule. You want to offer enough food so your baby is not bored, but not too much that they are overwhelmed. 

I recommend keeping low expectations for the amount of food your infant will eat. If she eats 1 bite of food and then plays for the rest of the meal, that’s okay. If she eats the whole meal, that’s also okay. Don’t worry about increasing their portion sizes until about 11 or 12 months, if needed, increase their milk feeds!

Continue offering these serving sizes, making minor adjustments to fit the needs of your infant while also reducing food waste. And know that part of offering them these foods is just to get them familiar with these new tastes, smells, and textures.

At the beginning of 8 months, your infant will likely be eating closer to 2 meals per day with 1 snack and as they approach 10 months they will transition into 3 meals with 2 snacks. This brings us to our sample 9-month-old schedule!

Sample 9-Month-Old Feeding Schedule 1:

• 6 AM – First milk feed, 6 oz breastmilk
• 7 AM – Breakfast, hard-boiled egg (iron/protein/vitamin D), mandarin orange slices (fruit, vitamin C), pancake fingers (carbohydrates)
• 10 AM – 2nd milk feed, 6 breastmilk
• 11 AM – Snack, peanut butter puffs (providing a potentially allergenic food early and often)
• 1 PM – 3rd milk feed, 4 oz infant formula
• 2 PM – Snack, full-fat, no sugar added yogurt (2 oz)
• 4 PM – 4th milk feed, 4 oz breastmilk
• 5 PM – Dinner, chickpea penne pasta (iron/protein and carbohydrate-dense food), reduced sodium tomato sauce (vitamin C, vegetable), graded Parmesan cheese, steamed asparagus spears (vegetable)
• 6 PM – 5th milk feed, 8 oz breastmilk

Sample 9-Month-Old Feeding Schedule 2:

• 7 AM – First milk feed, 8 oz infant formula
• 7:30 AM – Breakfast, avocado toast using 1/4 avocado and 1/2 slice of whole wheat toasted bread (fruit, carbohydrates), 2 oz of full-fat, no sugar added yogurt (protein/dairy/potentially allergenic food)
• 10 AM – 2nd milk feed, 6 oz infant formula
• 11 AM – Snack, dried mango slices (fruit, vitamin C)
• 1 PM – 3rd milk feed, 8 oz infant formula
• 2 PM – Snack, 3 finger strips of cold, peeled cucumber (vegetable, good for teething baby)
• 6 PM – Dinner, 2 oz of dark meat rotisserie chicken (iron/protein), canned, rinsed green beans (vegetable), baked, smashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon
• 6:45 PM – 5th milk feed, 8 oz breastmilk

Bottom Line:

As you can see from both sample feeding schedules, they include a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and potentially allergenic foods. The emphasis is on the 3-2-1-1 (which will never be exact by the way!) and iron-rich, vitamin C-containing foods. To learn more about how to create an appropriate feeding schedule for your 8-10-month-old, check out this post.

Written by Sheridan Glaske, MS, RDN, LD