Infant Eating Guide

Newborn to Four Months

Breast Feeding: Initially, every 2 or 3 hours (from start to start) for 10 to 20 minutes per breast. After a mother’s breast milk is in and the baby is gaining weight, the night feedings can be stretched to every 4 or 5 hours if the baby wants to sleep. The number of feedings in a 24-hour period will gradually decrease over the first 4 months to approximately 5 to 6 feedings per day.

Formula Feeding: Initially feed the baby every 2 to 3 hours.  Babies usually take between 1 to 2 ounces at first, with a total of 15 to 24 ounces per day during the first month.  After the first month, babies will reach a plateau of 24 to 32 ounces per day.  Never give your infant low iron formula, because this can lead to iron-deficiency anemia.

Four to Six Months

Continue breast or formula feeding as above.  Formula feeding time will decrease to every 3 to 4 hours. You may now start rice cereal diluted with breast milk, formula or water.  The usual amount is 2 to 4 tablespoons 1 to 2 times a day (any time of the day is fine).  At first, make the cereal on the watery side, and then thicken as tolerated. The baby should be spoon-fed. You may also try oatmeal cereal, but it may cause constipation.   If this is the case, you may give 4 ounces of water per day.  Do not place cereal in the bottle, unless directed by your pediatrician.

Five to Six Months

You may begin yellow and orange colored vegetables (carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes).  Introduce one new food every 3 to 4 days in order to detect any food allergies.  Watch for rash, itching, congestion, wheezing, stomach pain, diarrhea or vomiting.  If this happens, stop the new food.  You may try it again in smaller quantities in one month.  The new food should be given alone when first introduced.

Six to Seven Months

Continue breast or formula feeding (24-32 ounces per day).  If desired, give diluted non-citrus juice (up to 8 ounces per day), introducing juice with a sippy cup.  Your baby may now have 2 to 3 solid meals per day at this age.  Pick two of the three food types (vegetables, fruits, and cereal) for each meal.  According to pediatric dentists, it is better not to give juice at all as juice commonly causes tooth decay in infants.

Seven to Nine Months

Continue the breast milk/formula and juice as above.  You can now introduce “Stage 2” foods including poultry and red meats as a good source of iron and protein.  You can also introduce plain yogurt.

Nine to Twelve Months

Continue breast milk/formula and juice as above.  Small finger foods, easily mashed between the gums, should be introduced.  It is recommended that parents and caregivers take a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) class (if not taken previously) before the introduction of table foods.  Examples of recommended food include:

• Grains: Cheerios, selected other cereals and baby crackers
• Vegetables: Green beans, split peas, skinless lima beans, steamed carrots, mashed potatoes, yellow    squash, sweet potatoes
• Fruits: Skinless pears, bananas, skinless steamed apples, peaches, and apricots
• Protein: Boneless white fish, ground meat, tofu, cottage cheese, small pieces of chicken

After Twelve Months

Introduce whole-pasteurized milk (16 to 24 ounces per day).  Your child can now have eggs (introduce the yolk first), citrus foods and honey.  Diluted juice should be limited to 12 ounces per day.

Special Considerations

• Bottle: Never prop the baby’s bottle or allow your baby to sleep with the bottle.  To prevent tooth decay, introduce the sippy cup at age 6 months and do not use the bottle after age 12 to 15 months.
• Nutrition: Fast food, chips, Fritos, and packaged snack foods are high in fat and salt.  Cookies, candy, cakes and sodas are high in sugar.  All of the aforementioned foods should be limited and used only for infrequent special occasions.
• Allergies: Avoid cow’s milk, eggs, citrus foods and honey before 12 months.  Also avoid nuts, peanut butter, and shellfish, especially if there is a family history of allergies to these foods (discuss this with your child’s doctor).
• Choking concerns: Avoid foods with skins, stringy foods, nuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, popcorn, carrot chunks, pieces of uncut grapes and hotdogs.  Do not give any food the size of a quarter or bigger until after the age of 3 years.

Never leave your child alone while eating!

Recommended reading

For more information on feeding techniques we recommend: Feed Me, I’m Yours by Vicki Lansky and Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter.