Sample Schedules for Starting Solids (6 to 12 Months)

Looking for sample schedules for starting solids? Ideas for how to introduce solids on a schedule. Including sample feeding schedule for 6 months old and beyond.

Ready to start solids with your babe? This is an exciting time!

Here’s everything you need to know about introducing solids safely including sample schedules for starting solids from 6 months to 12 months, plus recommended menu items.

Is Baby Ready for Solids?

The most important thing to consider as your baby approaches the 4-6 month mark, is whether they are showing signs of feeding readiness.

This includes things like:

• Baby is 6 months old (there is no benefit to starting solids before 4 months at the earliest)
• They are interested in food they see around them
• Baby is losing their tongue thrust reflex that keeps food out of their mouth
• They are sitting up on their own for at least 60 seconds at a time

If your baby is showing these signs, great! It’s time to start introducing some solids.

Note that baby should continue receiving breast milk and/or formula for at least the first year of life, as you begin the transition to solid foods.

What Are the Benefits of Solids?

Eventually, your baby’s diet will be predominantly solid foods, but it takes some time to get there.

Solid foods expose your baby to a wide variety of textures, shapes, consistencies, and colors. They’re also important for nutrition, providing an array of vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, fat, and energy.

Eating solids is also important for physical growth and development. As your baby matures, they become prepared to try new foods and get more of their nutrients from solids than breast milk/formula.

Plus, it’s fun to play with and try new foods!

However you decide to introduce solids – using a traditional spoon-feeding/puree approach or a baby-led weaning approach – your baby benefits from the nutrition and exposure.

Recommended Solid Foods for Babies

Below are some nutritious first foods that have worked well for us:

• Tofu
• Avocado
• Oatmeal
• Hummus
• Pancakes
• Soft fruits, like bananas, kiwi, mango
• Soft-cooked vegetables, like zucchini, sweet potato, and broccoli
• Beans, peas, lentils
• Toast, cut into strips

As you design your baby’s menu, these are some great nutrient-dense foods to incorporate that can also be prepared and served in an age-appropriate way.

For a list of foods to avoid when starting solids, see this blog post.

Sample Schedules for Starting Solids

How you choose to design your baby’s solid feeding schedule depends on several things, including what your daily routine looks like.

We recommend beginning with 1 solid food meal per day for 6-month-old babes and increasing to 3 meals per day for 9-month-old babies.

Between these milestones, continue to slowly add new foods and increase how many meals/snacks you’re offering.

By 12 months old, your baby will be eating 3 meals and a few snacks per day of solid foods, using breast milk and/or milk/milk alternatives (e.g., fortified unsweetened soy or pea milk) as needed.

Keep in mind that it can take 10-15 times of offering a food before a baby even tries it, or decides whether they like it. If your baby doesn’t seem to be interested in a certain food, keep offering.

Below are a few example feeding schedules for offering solids to babes at least 6 months old.

Feeding Schedule for 6 Months

• 7am: Breastfeed/bottle feed
• 8am: Breakfast – Iron-fortified baby oat cereal, peeled sliced peaches, avocado strips
• 11am: Breastfeed/bottle feed
• 2pm: Breastfeed/bottle feed
• 5pm: Breastfeed/bottle feed
• 7pm: Breastfeed/bottle feed

Note that you may continue to breastfeed/bottle feed babies this age during the night if they are still waking up.

Feeding Schedule for 9 Months

• 7am: Breastfeed/bottle feed
• 8am: Breakfast – Pancake strips, chopped raspberries and bananes
• 11am: Breastfeed/bottle feed
• 12pm: Lunch – Penne pasta with tomato sauce, green peas, melon slices with skin and seed removed
• 3pm: Breastfeed/bottle feed
• 5pm: Breastfeed/bottle feed
• 6pm: Dinner – Smashed black beans, tofu strips drizzled with thinned nut butter, sliced orange sections with outer membranes and pith removed
• 7pm: Breastfeed/bottle feed

Feeding Schedule for 12 Months

• 7am: Breast milk or milk/milk alternative
• 8am: Breakfast – Toast strips with mashed avocado, half of a banana (remove 2 inches of the skin, leaving the rest of the peel for easy handling)
• 10am: Mid-morning snack – chopped watermelon, diced grapes, hummus
• 12pm: Lunch – Quinoa-based veggie burger patty, steamed cauliflower and beet strips
• 3pm: Afternoon snack + breast milk or milk/milk alternative
• 6pm: Dinner – Lightly fried tempeh strips, kidney beans, roasted sweet potato cubes, steamed cucumber
• 7pm: Breast milk or milk/milk alternative

We hope these sample schedules for starting solids are helpful when your baby is ready for first foods. When you introduce solids on a schedule, this can help alleviate some of the stress of feeding while nourishing your baby well. Have fun with it!

Chime In: If you’ve already done solids with your babe, what has your schedule looked like? Any other tips for new parents?

If you found this post helpful, we suggest you read these too:

• Spoon Feeding vs. Baby-Led Weaning
• Do Babies Really Need 11mg of Iron a Day?
• Plant-Based Baby-Led Weaning Grocery List
• How to Wean Baby to Plant-Based Milk