Baby solids feeding schedule 7 months

7- and 8-month-old feeding schedules

How much does your baby need to eat and drink every day – and how can you make sure they're getting all the vitamins and nutrients they need? It can be tricky to find the balance, since 7- to 8-month-olds are eating more solid foods, but still need anywhere from 24 to 32 ounces of breast milk or formula each day. These feeding schedules for 7- and 8-month-olds will help you fit all the pieces of your baby's diet together.

At 7 and 8 months old, your baby is focused on moving more, playing more, and learning more about the world around them. Also big on their to-do list is experiencing new solid foods. Now that they've got the basics of eating down, it's time to start expanding their palate and introducing them to new flavors and textures.

It can be a big help to see what other parents are doing. Below, you'll find several sample schedules modeled on those of real BabyCenter parents and reviewed by a pediatrician on our Medical Advisory Board.

As you're creating a schedule for your baby, here are some things to keep in mind:

At 7 and 8 months old, babies need solid foods two to three times a day.
They're still getting most of their nutrients from breast milk or formula, though. A formula-fed baby will drink about 24 to 32 ounces of breast milk or formula in a 24-hour period.
At 7 months old, your formula-fed baby will most likely drink 6- to 8-ounce bottles three to five times a day. By the time they're 8 months old, they'll have three or four bottles per day. (Here's how to tell whether your baby is getting enough formula.)
Breastfed babies also need about 24 to 32 ounces of breast milk daily, though it'll likely be on the lower end of that range. Your baby will most likely nurse three to five times a day at 7 and 8 months old. (Here's how to tell whether your baby is getting enough breast milk.)

Now's the time to start increasing the amount and variety of your baby's foods and to introduce finger foods and perhaps a sippy cup. If you're baby-led weaning, your baby is already familiar with finger foods but may be ready for you to expand their menu.

If you started with easy-to-eat foods like avocado, banana, and applesauce, you can start encouraging your baby to get a bit more adventurous. In fact, you can work on incorporating foods from the major food groups, offering bits of shredded chicken or fish, yogurt and pieces of cheese, soft fruits and veggies, and whole grains in the form of hot or cold cereal.

Also, talk to your pediatrician about the best way to introduce high-allergy foods such as peanuts, tree nuts, egg, wheat, soy, dairy, fish, shellfish, and sesame.

Keep in mind, though, that your baby's tummy is still on the small side, so they'll only eat a little bit of food at each meal. You can aim for 1 to 3 tablespoons of grains, fruits, veggies, and proteins per meal, and slowly increase that amount over the next few months.

Sample 7-month-old feeding schedule

7 a. m.: Nurses.

8 a.m.: Breakfast – 3 tablespoons of baby cereal mixed with 2 ounces of breast milk, plus some pureed fruit.

8:45 a.m.: Playtime.

9:30 a.m.: Naptime.

11 a.m.: Nurses, then playtime.

11:45 a.m.: Naptime again.

12:30 p.m.: Lunch – 3 tablespoons of baby cereal mixed with 2 ounces of breast milk, some pureed fruit, and water in a sippy cup.

2 p.m.: Naptime.

3 p.m.: Nurses.

3:15 p.m.: Playtime.

5 p.m.: Dinner – 3 tablespoons of cereal mixed with 2 ounces of breast milk, some pureed veggies, and water in a sippy cup.

6:30 p.m.: Bath time.

7:15 p.m.: Nurses.

7:30 p.m.: Bedtime.

Sample 8-month-old feeding schedule

7 a.m.: 8-ounce bottle, then playtime.

8 a.m.: Breakfast – a pouch or jar of fruit.

9 a.m.: Playtime.

10 a.m.: 6-ounce bottle and nap time.

12:30 p.m.: Lunch – a pouch of meat and veggies.

1 p.m.: Playtime outside.

2 p.m.: 6-ounce bottle and naptime.

5 p.m.: 4-ounce bottle, then playtime.

6 p.m.: Dinner – half a jar of veggies and a half jar of fruit.

6:30 p.m.: Playtime.

7:15 p.m.: Bedtime routine, 8-ounce bottle, then bedtime.

Meal ideas for 7- and 8-month-olds

Not sure how to get started planning nutritious meals for your baby? You can follow the rule of four: give your baby one serving each of protein, carbohydrates, fruits, and veggies. If you're not sure how much to feed your baby, check out our visual guide.

Here are some simple things you can serve your 7- to 8-month-old.

Breakfast:

Yogurt with pureed fruit
Mashed sweet potatoes
O-shaped cereal
Baby oatmeal
Cottage cheese with pureed fruit
Scrambled eggs

Lunch:

Mashed black beans
Pureed chicken
Ground beef and pureed veggies
Lentils
Turkey and zucchini puree
Whole-grain crackers with a thin smear of peanut butter
Mashed banana with Greek yogurt

Dinner:

Pureed beef with steamed peas
Small pieces of whole grain bread with mashed avocado
Shredded turkey
Whole-grain pasta with tomato sauce

Learn more:

Your 7-month-old's growth and development
Your 8-month-old's growth and development
Recipes for babies 6 to 12 months old
Age-by-age guide to feeding your baby

A 7 Month Old Feeding Schedule That Works Like A Charm

What's in this post...

Here is a tried and true (and adapatable) 7 month old feeding schedule that’ll help your little one nap well during the day, sleep well at night, and have peaceful days.

I have long said that the 6 to 12 month time is one of my absolute favorites.

Baby is sitting up.

Smiling.

Napping a tad less.

And usually sleeping through the night.

It can also be a time of adjustment.

Baby is finally eating solids and it’s likely time to drop that third nap and probably drop the dream feed if you haven’t already. Baby is getting a little chunkier and wants more food.

Actually, this is a precious time with baby.

Before the 7 month old feeding schedule… KNOW THIS

Before I give you what has worked for me as a 7 month old feeding schedule, know this.

Babies at this age need to eat as many solids as they can.

They will be hungry and breast milk alone will no longer be enough. Or, if it is, you’ll be cluster feeding like your 7 month old was a newborn.

➡️ Pediatricians used to recommend introducing purees or solids at 4 months of age. They now suggest 6 months.

➡️ So the 5 to 7 month mark generally means that unless baby is getting a lot of breast milk and whatever solids you offer, they will be hungry.

And this will affect their sleeping and their moods.

7 Month Old Sample Feeding Schedule

7:00 am – Wake up, milk, solids for breakfast

8:00 am – Free play (floor time, cuddle time with mom, sibling play)

9:00 am – Nap time

10:45 or 11:00 am – Wake up, milk, solids

12:00 pm – Free play (floor time, practicing sitting, standing, pulling up, sibling play)

1:00 pm – Nap time

3:00 pm – Wake up, milk, solids

3:45 pm – Free play (errands, play with siblings, floor time, etc.)

5:00 pm – Short nap

5:30 pm – Wake up, milk, solids

6:15 pm – Bedtime routine habits and ideas (bath, singing, cuddling, putting on lotion, lights, curtains, etc. )

7:00 pm – Quick feed (milk), and down to bed (you may want to add cluster feeding here too if it fits)

And… if baby isn’t sleeping through the night yet.

10:00 pm – Dreamfeed

Note:

Daily baby logs are a great thing to have on hand if you are noticing a lot of changes you can’t make heads or tails of.

If your baby wakes up earlier or later than this routine, you can simply adjust based on your baby’s wake time. The wake time is actually very important in a baby’s day to day routine.

If baby wakes early from a nap, yet is content, don’t push up the feeding. Leave it until normal time unless baby is clearly hungry.

Get down familiar rhythms and routines throughout your day. These cannot be understated for babies. (here is more on family rhythms and routines)

Weaning From Nighttime Feeds

If your baby is still not sleeping through the night, then this is a great time to start helping them do so.

Solids and milk throughout the day will help them to fill their tummies.

And… get in the necessary nutrients that’ll allow them to sleep peacefully throughout the night.

It is actually one of the best times to begin sleep training since baby is naturally a lot less likely to wake if hunger was their primary reason for waking.

Imagine baby needs 10 cups (to make things even) of milk and/or food a day. We know all babies are different, but go with me here.

If you are currently giving your baby 5 cups of milk and 2 cups of food during the day, that leaves a 3 cup deficit.

This means baby will likely wake up at night to get in the full 10 cups he needs.

The best way to wean?

To give them all they need during the day so they don’t need to wake for it at night.

Watch this short video to learn why babies at this age can get quite whiny and what you can do to avoid this.

A Dream Feed Might Work For You

If your baby is still feeding a few times per night then you may want to start doing something called a Dream Feed.

Now, we don’t typically add IN a night feed at this age, we are trying to eliminate them, but it may help you get a few more hours in.

Dream Feed: A feed given between 10 and 11 ish at night that should help baby sleep a longer stretch, eventually until the morning wake time.

Try feeding baby as much as possible during this feed and weaning baby from other nighttime feeds until eventually the dream feed is the only feed left.

After baby has slept until the morning with only the dream feed for a few weeks, then it’s safe to drop the dream feed.

At that point, baby should be sleeping all through the night.

7 Month Old Schedule Interesting Tidbits

Here are some interesting things to note or keep in mind during this 7 month period.

Babies will likely be able to sleep through the night at this age if they’re eating well enough. Not only are they getting breast milk they are getting solids.

Here’s where you’ll discover if your baby didn’t sleep through the night out of hunger, or if they have some sleep props you need to work on.

Baby might act uninterested in solids, that’s fine. Still, continue offering them and be sure to give them veggies or fruits they like so they will get the nutrients needed.

Introduce solids slowly so you can monitor the baby’s reaction to them. Don’t introduce too many new foods at once.

Give a top up bedtime snack. Right before bed, give baby milk and some yogurt or applesauce, etc. to help fill baby’s tummy before they go down for the night.

7 Month Old Schedule Printable

Print his, tweak to fit your family, and feel more confident and in control of your days.

Want Printables to hang up?

If you want routines and schedules for not only the 6 to 9 month age, but for the 12 month, 18 month, and on I’ve got great news. I’ve created a book chock full of routines that work.

Routines that keep babies well rested, happy, and content. Routines that account for all the things you need to do and they are mom tested. The best part?

The book comes with printable routines (3 choices for each age) that you can hang up and use!

So instead of having to reinvent the wheel every few months, you’ll have tried and true mom tested routines right at your fingertips.

Rhythms, Routines, & Schedules Pack

Easy to implement routines, rhythms and schedules from birth through school-aged kids to help you streamline day-to-day life with kids, including a step-by-step guide for getting started.

Learn More

FAQs about 7 month olds

What time should a 7 month old go to bed?

7-month-olds should go to bed by 8 p.m. at the latest, and on average go to bed around 7:00 p.m.

If your baby is still taking a late afternoon or early evening cat nap, this will be easy to manage. Contrary to what you might think, the earlier a baby goes to bed the better they sleep all night.

What should my 7 month old wear to bed?

By 7 months of age babies should no longer be swaddled to sleep. Since they can roll over and move, you want them to be able to do so.

However, you don’t want them to attempting crawling out of the crib, so appropriate to the season layers are good, plus a sleeping bag on top to keep their legs in!

Is my 7 month old hungry at night?

7 months of age can bring about some sleep regressions. One main cause of this is that 7-month-olds are hungry and in need of ample solids to keep their tummies filled.

If they aren’t yet eating enough solids or don’t have enough appropriate protein in their diet, they’ll be genuinely hungry at night. They will need more milk feeds to get them through. Answer? Feed more during the day!

Can you let a 7 month old cry it out?

Cry it out is a form of sleep training that quickly helps. Babies learn to self-soothe, settle, and re-settle on their own. It is age appropriate by 7 months if you choose to use it.

Sources:

The importance of schedules and routines
Routines minimize chaos which promotes resilience and regulation
Routines indicators of predictable family life contributing to childhood development

Family Routines Reboot

Take our 3 day challenge to create life-giving family, child, and self-care routines.

Learn More

Baby menu at 7 months: what is possible and what is not yet

- Anastasia Ivanovna, what are the nutritional features of children at 7 months?

- The menu for a baby at seven months is different from the menu for a newborn and a baby at one year old. This difference exists due to the fact that a number of body systems, including the gastrointestinal tract and oral cavity, have not yet been formed in a newborn, he is only learning to suck. From four to six months, the diet begins to include complementary foods - food that is different from breast milk or infant formula. In the year of the child, in ideal conditions, they are transferred to a common table.

Some pediatricians recommend introducing complementary foods from five to six months, sometimes even from four. But the enzymatic system of the baby's body has not yet been formed, so pedagogical complementary foods are possible at four or five months, and pediatric complementary foods by six months.

— How to combine breastfeeding or bottle feeding with complementary foods?

— Pediatricians and nutritionists recommend separating these meals and giving the main dairy food and complementary foods in separate meals so that the child understands what he is eating.

If complementary foods started at 4-5 months

— What rules of baby food should parents know?

— The functions of the gastrointestinal tract are formed in such a way that the body needs to adapt to the incoming products. With proper complementary foods, it is important to monitor the child's condition in the food diary and, if necessary, consult a doctor.

Basic feeding recommendations for seven-month-old babies

One new product is given in small doses at the beginning of the day every four days to monitor for allergies, constipation, peeling and other reactions.
One new food can be given per feeding.
Water is best offered between feedings and not given with complementary foods.
Do not force-feed: if the child refuses a certain dish, it can be offered at another time and in a different form.
A child is not given unfamiliar food when he is not in a very good mood, teething, or has just been vaccinated.

— How to identify food allergies and find the allergen?

Observant mothers will see or hear the problem. The baby will have something on the body, constipation or indigestion will begin. A restless child will cry. To track the allergen, it is advisable to keep a food diary and keep your finger on the pulse. If there is a connection with the pediatrician, ask questions and, taking into account the vaccination calendar, the physiology of the development of your child, offer him certain products so as not to once again provoke an immune response.

What foods can be given at 7 months

Read also

Why it is necessary to introduce meat complementary foods into the baby's diet and what products can be combined with it.

— What purees and cereals can be given at 7 months?

- If this is the first complementary food for a baby, then monocomponent purees, dairy-free and milk porridges with one cereal in the composition are good: they are easier to digest and it is easier to track the reaction of the body using them.

— In what order can complementary foods be given?

— If your baby is overweight by seven months, it is better to feed him vegetable puree. If everything is in order with weight, then preference can be given to cereals. All new products are introduced gradually: they begin to feed in the amount of 5-10 g, gradually increasing the volume to 50 g. By seven months, a portion of porridge at one time can reach up to 200 g. The third option for complementary foods, if parents want, can be fruits. It is in this sequence, because fruits are sweet, and the child does not always eat unleavened vegetables or cereals after them.

Each product will also have its own processing specifics:

vegetables and fruits are given in the form of puree;
purchased cereals are prepared according to the instructions;
homemade porridges are boiled in water, then milk or a mixture is added if desired;
cottage cheese is properly stored in the refrigerator, tracking the expiration date;
dairy, vegetable broths are brought to a single consistency (mashed) so that the child develops the correct perception of the product.

— How many times to feed a child at 7 months and how much food to give?

- You need to focus on five feedings per day. If your baby cannot tolerate the interval between meals, it is worth supplementing with breast or formula after the introduction of complementary foods.

How to calculate complementary foods

A baby at seven months should weigh about eight kilograms. 1/8 of the child's weight is the daily amount of food, that is, approximately a kilogram of food, taking into account all feedings, or 200 grams per meal.

Sample menu for a 7-month-old baby (Russian Federation)

— At what age can semi-solid and solid foods be introduced into a child's diet?

- By 6 months, most babies are ready for a new food: the baby realizes that something is hard in his mouth. By the age of seven months, the skill of palmar grip is formed: the child is able to hold solid food in his hand, and he can be given biscuits and crackers to grind. Allergists and pediatricians consider 6-10 months as the optimal period to begin the introduction of semi-solid and solid foods. But if the swallowing apparatus is not formed, there may be problems with chewing and swallowing disorders up to the gag reflex.

— What should parents do if their child refuses to eat? How to create food interest?

— It is necessary to understand the reasons for the baby's refusal to eat, among which may be: The pediatrician will track changes in health by analysis and, if necessary, adjust the diet.

At seven months, significant changes occur in the work of the gastrointestinal tract, the child actively shows interest in "adult" products, in new tastes. It will be easier for the baby to readjust if you choose products that will match his physiology and fully cover his needs for growth and communication. You need to carefully monitor the reaction of the body to each new product for 4-6 days.

* Breast milk is the best food for babies. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child's life and continued breastfeeding after complementary foods are introduced until the age of 2 years. Before introducing new products into the baby's diet, you should consult with a specialist. The material is for informational purposes and cannot replace the advice of a healthcare professional. For feeding children from birth.

WHO recommendations for introducing complementary foods

08.08.2019

Readiness of the child to complementary foods According to the WHO recommendation, existing for 2018, it is optimal to introduce complementary foods to an infant at 6-8 months. Until six months, the baby's gastrointestinal tract is still not sufficiently formed, all the necessary enzymes are not produced for the assimilation of food other than mother's milk or formula. And by 9-10 months, the child can already form stable stereotypes of eating only liquid food, and overcoming them will be painful and difficult for the baby.

Thus, WHO defines the following signs of a child's readiness for the introduction of complementary foods: the maturity of the digestive system; extinction of the solid food ejection reflex; the appearance of the first teeth, making it possible to chew; the readiness of the baby to be stable in an upright position; emotional readiness for new tastes and sensations.

Complementary feeding system WHO has developed recommendations for three complementary feeding options: cereals, vegetables, and meat.

Fruit complementary foods are not recommended for cereals and vegetables. This is due to the fact that up to 8-9 months the gastrointestinal tract of the baby is not ready for the absorption of raw fruits and fruit juices. It is vegetables and cereals that will populate the intestines with the necessary bacteria for the absorption of fruits.

Kefir, according to the WHO, is not considered complementary foods because it is not a solid food. The WHO complementary feeding scheme includes kefir only as an additional food from 8 months. The introduction of cow's milk is recommended by WHO only from 12 months.

Any complementary feeding scheme assumes that portions of complementary foods will systematically increase from half a teaspoon to 100-200 g. The first dishes for complementary foods are prepared exclusively with one-component. Each next component is introduced only after complete addiction to the previous one (6-7 days).

Product sequence

The following sequence of introduction of complementary foods is proposed.

Vegetables at 6 months.
Porridges on the water (oatmeal, buckwheat, corn) at 6.5 - 7 months.
Fruit puree, yolk at 8 months.
Milk porridge at 8-9 months.
Meat puree at 9 months.
Meat by-products at 9-10 months.
Kefir, cottage cheese, yogurt at 9-10 months.
Fish at 10 months.
Juice at 10-12 months.
Berry puree at 12 months.
Meat broths at 12 months.

The introduction of vegetable oil (olive, sunflower) in puree and porridge is allowed from 6 months: a scheme with 1 drop with a gradual increase to a volume of 1 teaspoon. The introduction of butter begins at 7 months: the scheme is from 1 g to 10 g in porridge.

For formula-fed babies, the first feeding schedule is similar, with a few exceptions. For these babies, it is better to introduce complementary foods from 5 months, because the milk mixture does not give the small body all the “building material”. The introduction of complementary foods differs only in terms: vegetable purees and cereals are introduced a month earlier.

First cereals

If the child's weight is significantly less than normal, WHO recommends starting complementary foods with non-dairy cereals. For babies, cereals are prepared only with non-dairy, unsalted, semi-liquid, absolutely homogeneous in consistency. The first cereals are prepared from cereal flour (the sorted and washed cereals are carefully ground and crushed).

The following sequence of introduction of cereals is proposed: buckwheat, rice, corn, oatmeal, semolina. It is recommended to cook semolina porridge only once a week, because it contains practically no nutrients, but it is rich in gluten, which can cause problems in the intestines. Proportion for the preparation of the first porridge: 5 g of cereal flour per 100 ml of water. After slightly cooling the finished porridge, chop again. In the finished porridge, you can add 1-2 drops of vegetable oil or a little expressed breast milk.

From 9 months, the baby's nutrition system involves multicomponent cereals, from products already well known to the child. You can already add vegetables and fruits familiar to the baby to cereals. At 9 months, it is allowed to cook barley and millet porridge for babies. And by 10-11 months, cereals on the water will be a great addition to meat and fish meatballs and steam cutlets.

Vegetable food

The first purees are made from one vegetable.

The order in which vegetables are introduced into baby food suggests the following order: zucchini, cauliflower, pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, green peas, and beets. These vegetables are introduced within 6-9baby months. After 1 year, you can give your child cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes, sweet peppers, white cabbage. After preparing the puree, make sure that the mass is completely homogeneous, there are no fibers and small particles, the consistency is semi-liquid. Don't salt. Add 1-2 drops of vegetable oil or expressed milk.

If the child refuses vegetable complementary foods, cancel this product for 1-2 weeks. Try to temporarily replace it with another and return to it after a while.