How do I balance breast milk, formula and food?
When working to balance breast milk, formula, and food, I recommend following your baby’s cues and needs as much as possible and using general guidelines as a loose framework. Weaning is the process of increasing the amount of solid food intake and decreasing the amount of formula or breast milk intake, and can take many months to nail down.
General Guidelines
Below you’ll find general guidelines for weaning, but please keep in mind that every baby is different. Babies may eat more or less than the guidelines and progress at different rates, so don’t worry about following these guidelines *too* closely. The most important metric for tracking intake is consistent growth. Your pediatrician is tracking your child’s growth and will let you know if growth is appropriate. I always recommend speaking to your pediatrician about your specific child’s breast milk/formula and food intake.
This chart (also below) lays out a framework if your goal is to wean by 12 months old. For a formula-fed baby, the recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics is to begin transitioning from formula to cow’s milk at 12 months. The transition can be explained in detail here. For a breast-fed baby, it is parental preference as to how long to keep breastfeeding for–you do not have to transition to cow’s milk at 12 months.
Weaning by 12 Months: General Guidelines
| Before 5.5 months old | If you’ve introduced food, baby is likely not eating enough to reduce breastmilk/formula amount |
| 5.5 – 7 months old | 1 food meal; 28-35 oz of breastmilk/formula (per 24 hours) |
| 7 – 8.5 months old | 2 food meals; 24-28 oz of breastmilk/formula (per 24 hours) |
| 8.5 – 10 months old | 3 meals; 20-24 oz of breastmilk/formula (per 24 hours) |
| 10 months | 3 meals + 1 optional snack; 16-24 oz of breastmilk/formula (per 24 hours) |
| 11 months | 3 meals + 2 optional snacks; 16-20 oz of breastmilk/formula (per 24 hours) |
| 12 months | 3 meals + 2 optional snacks; 16 oz of milk (begin transition from formula to cow’s milk) |
I recommend starting with 1 meal a day, not 3 meals a day. Some pediatricians recommend jumping right to 3 meals a day, but I have seen this in practice many times, and it does not work as well as a gradual build. Babies end up eating for the whole day, limiting time for play, and parents feel overwhelmed trying to prepare 3 meals.
Timing of meals:
The above guidelines list approximate ounces per day of breast milk/formula. However, if you are nursing, it will not be possible to track ounces, which is no problem. By spacing meals with the following timing, your baby will be able to start to wean naturally.
At the beginning of introducing solids, I recommend adding 1 solid meal about 45-60 minutes after a milk feed. This way babies don’t come to the table starving, but they have enough of an appetite to be curious and taste food. At about 7 months, I recommend adding in a second meal and switching the timing of the original solid meal so that it comes before the milk feed. This way babies begin to prioritize eating food. They eat as much food as they desire according to their hunger (I don’t limit it), then they are offered milk. This naturally will start to decrease the amount of milk based on how hungry they still are after the food. See below some example schedules for adding additional meals and continuing to wean milk. If you choose to feed on demand, you can still implement this approximate spacing for solid food based on the timing of your milk feedings that day. Depending on your baby’s age, you may also have an overnight feed.
Example schedule with 1 meal:
7 am: Wake up, then nursing or bottle feed
~ 9 – 11 am: Nap
11 am: Nursing or bottle feed
12 pm: Solid food meal (about 45-60 minutes after milk)
~1 – 3 pm: Nap
3 pm: Nursing or bottle feed
5 – 5:30 pm: Nap
6:30 pm: Nursing or bottle feed
7 pm: Bedtime
Example schedule with 2 meals:
7 am: Wake up, then nursing or bottle feed
8 am: Solid food meal (about 45-60 minutes after milk)
~ 9 – 11 am: Nap
11 am: Solid food meal (before milk feeding)
11:30 am: Nursing or bottle feed (about 10-15 minutes after finishing solid food meal)
~1 – 3 pm: Nap
3 pm: Nursing or bottle feed
5 – 5:30 pm: Nap
6:30 pm: Nursing or bottle feed
7 pm: Bedtime
Example schedule with 3 meals:
7 am: Wake up, then nursing or bottle feed
8 am: Solid food meal (about 45-60 minutes after milk. Alternatively, you can choose to offer the solid food meal first at ~7 am, and then offer milk)
~ 9 – 11 am: Nap
11 am: Solid food meal (before milk feeding)
11:30 am: Nursing or bottle feed (about 10-15 minutes after finishing solid food meal)
~1 – 3 pm: Nap
3 pm: Nursing or bottle feed
5 pm: Solid food meal
6:30 pm: Nursing or bottle feed
7 pm: Bedtime
Example schedule with 3 meals + 1 snack:
7 am: Wake up, then nursing or bottle feed
8 am: Solid food meal (45-60 minutes after milk. Alternatively, you can choose to offer the solid food meal first at ~7 am, and then offer milk)
~ 9 – 11 am: Nap
11 am: Solid food meal (before milk feeding)
11:30 am: Nursing or bottle feed (about 10-15 minutes after finishing solid food meal)
~1 – 3 pm: Nap
3 pm: Snack (the milk feed transitions to a snack)
5 pm: Solid food meal
6:30 pm: Nursing or bottle feed
7 pm: Bedtime
Goal by 12 months:
By the time your baby is 12-13 months old, the ideal schedule would include 3 food meals and 1-2 snacks per day. Cow’s milk would be offered 2-3 times per day, limiting it to 16 oz per day total. Most families find it easiest to offer cow’s milk in the morning before or with breakfast and at bedtime after dinner. If you are nursing, you will come up with the schedule that works best for your family.
The above framework is designed so that babies can wean gradually, increasing the ratio of food to breastmilk/formula over a period of many months. Consistent growth is the best metric for tracking the weaning process. And remember, all babies progress at different rates and will have varied intake!
Originally appeared here on Sept 21, 2022