Solid foods can be introduced earlier on than many parents realize.
You can start introducing solid foods to your six-month-old alongside breast milk or formula. Solid food can be added to the feeding schedule to alternate bottle feeding or nursing with solid meals to maintain proper nutrition.
In this article, we’ll discuss 6 month old feeding schedule with solids and formula so that you can start solid foods without worrying about whether you are bottle feeding enough.
Are solid foods safe for babies?
It may seem a little scary to allow your baby to start eating solid food at a young age. After all, they won’t have their first birthday for another six months.
However, many trusted sources, like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC, recommend introducing solids at around six months.
As long as you take proper precautions and supervise the ingestion of solid meals and food, there is little to worry about.
Some solids you should not introduce yet are not considered safe, but your baby’s solid foods are usually perfectly safe for babies at six months of age.
What solid foods can your baby eat?
Your baby’s feeding schedule will be much easier if you already have some foods you’d like to introduce and feed.
Most babies enjoy the textures and tastes of new foods, but if you need help knowing where to begin, it can all seem overwhelming.
There are two distinct methods of feeding babies solid foods, and the continuation of breast milk or formula should accompany both. They are traditional baby food and baby-led weaning.
Traditional baby foods
These are the pureed foods you see on the shelves in the store. Many brands make them, and the ingredient labels tell you exactly what is in them.
They are often divided into stages that help the parent to select which foods are the best to start with.
For example, stage 1 foods are often very thin and nearly liquid in consistency, while stage 2 may be somewhat thicker.
Stage 3 foods often have chunks of pureed meat, veggies, or fruit that require the baby to chew a bit.
Most babies start solid foods of this type with stage 1.
Homemade purees
If you like the idea of pureed traditional baby food but don’t like the prices or don’t trust the labels of the prepared foods you see in the stores, there is another option for parents.
Many parents prefer making their own purees. There are food makers that grind up food to the same consistency as that in the stores. There are many recipes online for you to use for combinations of veggies and fruits, as well.
Some parents feel better making their own food for their little ones; this way, they know exactly what went into the food.
Baby-led weaning
Baby-led weaning, also known as BLW, is a way for your baby to eat solids so that they start self-feeding right away instead of being spoon-fed by a parent or caregiver.
They are given finger foods and small bits of food they self-feed at the infant’s pace.
If you need help deciding which solid foods to start with for BLW, speak with your child’s pediatrician about introducing solids in this form and which foods make the best first foods.
6 Month old feeding schedule with solids and formula
The critical thing to remember when starting solids with your six-month-old is that until twelve months, you need to continue giving breast milk or formula as the primary source of nutrition.
You may have heard the phrase, “foods before one are just for fun,” and in many ways, that’s true.
Breast milk or formula is a much more reliable method of delivering the nutrients your child needs to grow and hit those essential developmental milestones.
If you want to switch from breast milk to formula, that’s one thing, and that’s a personal choice only you can make.
However, you should never stop giving your child breast milk or formula in favor of switching entirely to solid food until the age of one year.
How much solid food should your baby have?
While there is no set rule as to just how much your child should be given when it comes to solid meals, a glance at a baby feeding chart can give you a good idea of how much is considered “enough.”
Your little one should consume 24 to 36 ounces of breast milk or formula daily from six to eight months. This means four to six bottles of breast milk or formula per day (or nursing sessions).
When it comes to eating solids, 4-9 tablespoons of vegetables, fruits, and cereals, as well as 1 to 6 tablespoons of some protein, are considered best for your baby’s nutrition.
This doesn’t all have to be present at the same meal. When your baby starts solids, you should be careful not to introduce several new foods simultaneously.
A baby feeding chart is meant to be a guide, not a rule.
You should also speak to your child’s doctor about how much milk intake, infant formula, or breast milk should be given each day, as well as solids.
Often, paying attention to your baby’s cues is the best way to determine how feeding schedules should be made.
Introduce the first solid foods slowly
Your baby’s diet will, at some point in the near future, have all the variety you can imagine.
Baby’s appetite will get much more robust as they hit growth spurts, try new food, and start to scale back on expressed milk or formula.
It’s important to remember that you should never push food if the baby doesn’t seem ready or is not overly hungry.
Breastfed babies are sometimes a bit slower to want to start solids, and it’s entirely normal for a little one to prefer waiting for you to offer breast milk or formula rather than trying something completely new.
Starting solids should be done slowly and without many different choices on offer.
Food allergies can occur, and you need to know what food was given that your child may be sensitive to. You can’t do that reliably if you offer solids in a wide variety.
Also, consider keeping a food journal so that you can keep track of what foods have been tried by your little one.
Sample feeding schedule for 6-month-old
When a baby is six months old, most parents get the green light to give solids. Follow the baby’s lead to determine if they are ready.
If the tongue thrust reflex is still present in your infant, consider waiting a few more weeks and trying again.
Also, always ensure at this age that your baby’s primary source of nutrition is breast milk or formula. Continue to pump and nurse if you are breastfeeding to keep up your milk supply, and don’t introduce cow’s milk until the age of 12 months or whenever your child’s doctor gives the okay.
The following is a sample schedule that you can use for your baby when feeding solid foods.
As your baby grows, you can increase the frequency and introduce more food, but make sure your child is gaining weight properly and ready for these new food options.
Feeding schedule sample
7 am: Breast milk or formula
7:45 am: Breakfast (cereal and fruit)
8:45-10:45 am: Morning nap
10:45 am: Breast milk or formula
Noon: Breast milk or formula
12:30 pm-2:30 pm: Afternoon nap
2:30 pm: Breast milk or formula
4:30 pm-5 pm: Third nap (typically a short nap)
5 pm: Breast milk or formula
5:45 pm: Dinner (veggies and/or meat)
6:45 pm: Bottle feeding
7 pm: Bedtime routine and sleep
Sample feeding schedules aren’t meant to guide how you feed your baby. Instead, they illustrate to some parents how to mix human milk or baby formula into the day while you give other foods.
For other parents, it can serve as a helpful guide about spacing out the feedings so that your baby’s life is more than just sitting at the table or being a bottle.
Note that your baby does not need three solid meals daily at this age. You still need to bottle feed or nurse; human milk or infant formula should still be your baby’s primary nutrition source.
Introducing solid foods
It can be overwhelming and exciting when you get to the stage of offering some variety to your baby’s diet.
Many parents can’t wait to toss out the bottles, put away the breast pump, and move on to “big kid” foods.
Don’t rush this, though.
Unless told otherwise by your family doctor, a liquid diet of human milk or formula should be your child’s leading source of fat and nutrition until they turn one and can have cow’s milk instead.
Follow your baby’s cues for hunger, and be patient while your child tries out this new and exciting world of tastes and textures.
It’s a messy but fun experience!
Introduce new food slowly, and if your child doesn’t seem to like it, try it again in a few weeks.
Little ones are only sometimes sure about new things, and it may take several tries with one food before they decide they like something.