How Much Should a Baby Eat? (With Bonus Printable Baby Feeding Chart)
You’ve heard the saying, “your eyes are bigger than your stomach,” right?
Well, our eyes as parents are often much bigger than our baby's tummy size. And so many factors can affect appetite, so it can be challenging to feel confident about how much a baby eats.
You might be worried about your child getting enough food. Or, maybe you grew up in a household that encouraged finishing everything on your plate and you now feel conflicted about what to do when your baby doesn’t finish a meal.
How much is enough? How much is too much?
Keep reading for information on baby portion sizes, a printable baby feeding chart, and how much you can generally expect a baby to eat.
How Much Food Does a Baby Need?
Babies grow exponentially during the first year. Infancy is also a crucial period for brain development.
Complementary nutrient-rich foods help your baby grow and develop, and growing kids need a variety of vitamins and minerals, including iron, calcium, vitamin D, and zinc.
However, solid foods during the first year are also called “complementary” foods for a reason! Babies continue to get most of their nutrition from breastfeeding and/or formula for the first 12 months, which means there is no need to worry when a baby doesn’t finish a meal or a portion of complementary foods.
That being said, at around six months old, complementary feeding should start to include baby-friendly versions of whole grains, iron-rich protein foods (i.e., lean meats, poultry or plant protein), dairy foods (i.e., yogurt, cheese) fruits, and vegetables.
A newborn's tummy is about the size of a marble (1 to 2 teaspoons), and by day 10, it’s the size of a ping pong ball (2 ounces). By the time your baby reaches toddlerhood, their belly is only the size of their little fist.
In other words, they can’t fit a whole lot of food in their stomachs all at the same time!
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, "every bite counts." Therefore, babies should eat a healthy diet with no added sugars to ensure they get all the necessary nutrients throughout the day.
Baby-Led Weaning Meals, Portion Sizes & Printable Baby Feeding Chart
It’s reasonable to expect that at meals, babies and kids may eat about one tablespoon of each food offered, per year of life.
So, start small to prevent overwhelm, watch your baby for hunger and fullness signs, and serve more if your baby seems to want more.
A good rule of thumb is to serve about one tablespoon of each food offered at every meal. For example, if you were serving salmon, potatoes, and broccoli for dinner, you could start by offering your baby one tablespoon each of fish, potato, and broccoli (soft and baby-safe).
Babies and toddlers eat every few hours because they can only eat a little at a time.
A typical feeding schedule for babies often looks something like this:
6-7 months old: about 1-2 meals per day + around 4 milk feeds
8-10 months old: about 3 meals per day (while the number of milk feeds varies)
11-12+ months old: about 3 meals + maybe 1 snack per day (the number of milk feeds will vary)
Get my free printable baby feeding chart for guidance!
Should Your Baby Finish Baby-Led Weaning Meals?
The beauty of a baby-led feeding approach is that your baby’s hunger and fullness determine how much and how little they eat.
In my pediatric nutrition practice, I actively advocate for responsive feeding practices during BLW. Responsive feeding practices guide parents in detecting and responding to their baby’s appetite signals. It also provides opportunities for your baby to practice self-feeding skills.
Babies are excellent at self-regulating their food intake and know how much their bodies need. All we need to do as caregivers is offer a variety of healthy, balanced food choices at regular intervals and let them decide whether and how much to eat.
Sometimes your baby won’t eat the entire tablespoon of each food. Or, your baby may gobble up a whole tablespoon of potatoes and want more before eating the broccoli or fish. And that’s okay too.
Appetites vary, so it's important to look at your baby's eating over a few days instead of worrying about intake during a single meal. If your baby's appetite has changed and you notice signs of illness, something else might be going on. Discuss these changes with your pediatrician.
Otherwise, as long as your baby isn’t losing weight and growing appropriately along their growth curve, you can follow their lead at meals.
You might also wonder if your baby can overeat when they control how much they eat.
Most of the time, babies will turn away from food when full.
However, some babies will overeat if they have the opportunity. Responsive feeding can prevent a baby from overeating by recognizing and responding to the baby’s feeding cues.
Feeding schedules complement baby-led weaning and go hand in hand with letting your baby take the lead during meals. Remember, while babies are in charge of how much they eat, you decide when and what they eat.
Why Babies Don’t Finish Meals
A baby's appetite fluctuates from day to day. They might be more active and need more food one day but not the next. This is normal and expected most of the time.
Here are a few reasons your baby isn’t eating as much as you expect.
Baby appetites fluctuate depending on growth spurts, activity, age, and gender. One day they may not eat much and may eat more than you think they should on another day.
They’re not ready for solid foods yet
They’re uncomfortable in their highchair
They’re not feeling well
They have difficulty chewing and swallowing
They have tiny tummies and only need a small amount at each meal
Baby Feeding Tips
Here are some tips to help parents get babies interested in food without forcing them to eat.
Keep mealtimes and mealtime conversations positive
Time meals for when your baby is in a good mood, not too tired, hungry, full, sick, or fussy
Eat WITH your baby (preferably the same foods) as often as you can to help encourage role modeling and a feeling of connection around meals
Practice responsive feeding techniques (paying attention to baby's cues for hunger and fullness and respecting/responding to them) to help strengthen the baby’s internal self-regulation system
Make sure babies are sitting upright in the high chair, with hips and knees at 90-degree angles (adding a small pillow at the back or a couple of rolled-up dish towels on either side of the hips can help)
Final Thoughts
If babies are following their growth curve, have good energy, and seem satisfied after meals, they are most likely eating enough to meet their needs.
Remember that breast milk and/or formula continues to be the primary source of nutrients during your baby's first 12 months. So while adding a variety of nutrient-dense complementary foods is the way to go, don't stress if your baby doesn't finish them.
Complementary feeding is a time for little ones to explore flavors and textures. The more foods and food groups babies are exposed to, the less likely they’ll be picky eaters later.
If you’re getting ready to start your baby on solids, download my FREE Baby-Led Feeding Essential Checklist to make sure you have everything you need to get started. You might also want to check out my new online course for parents, based on my best-selling book which will walk you through the whole process of starting solids using a baby-led approach.
Alternatively, if your baby is almost ready to start solids and you’re looking for someone you trust to map out the entire first 12 weeks of your baby’s solid food feeding journey, check out my new Safe & Simple 12 Week Meal Plan! Over 30 recipes, weekly shopping lists, tons of balanced baby meals, a complete plan for top allergen introduction, & lots of guidance (with photos) on how to safely serve each food.
And if you're looking for personalized nutrition support for yourself, your babies and/or your kids, I am currently accepting new clients in my virtual private practice. Looking forward to meeting you online…