29 August 2026 · Veronica Chi
Business & Product Director · Mum of two
How Much Should a Baby Eat? Portions by Age
This is the question that generates the most anxiety and deserves the least. For the whole first year, milk is the main source of nutrition and solids are practice — so a baby who eats almost nothing at seven months and drinks well is doing fine. What matters is the direction of travel across months, not the volume in any given bowl.
Meals per day, by age
| Age | Meals a day | Milk | Roughly how much solid food |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months | 1, building to 2 | 5–6 feeds, unchanged | 1–2 teaspoons, up to a few tablespoons |
| 7–8 months | 2–3 | 4–5 feeds | 2–4 tablespoons per meal |
| 9 months | 3 meals + 1–2 snacks | 3–4 feeds, around 500–600ml | 4–6 tablespoons per meal |
| 10–12 months | 3 meals + 2 snacks | 2–3 feeds, around 400–500ml | Approaching a small version of your meal |
| 12 months+ | 3 meals + 2 snacks | About 350–400ml whole milk | A third to a half of an adult portion |
Treat every number as a middle rather than a target. Two babies of the same age eating half and double these amounts can both be entirely well.
A better way to judge a portion
Use the child's own hand rather than a spoon measure. A portion of any one food is roughly the size of their fist, and an appropriate serving of a new food is about the size of their palm. It scales automatically as they grow, which no printed table does.
How much milk, and when it comes down
- 6 to 9 months: milk stays the main source. Solids are added around feeds, not instead of them.
- 9 to 12 months: solids take over as the main source and milk gradually reduces. Offer solids first at mealtimes by this stage.
- Breastfed babies: continue to feed responsively rather than counting. Supply adjusts, and there is no need to calculate a volume.
- Formula-fed babies: roughly 500 to 600ml a day at nine months, falling to about 400ml by twelve.
- After one: around 350 to 400ml of whole milk a day. More than that displaces iron-rich food and is a common cause of low iron in toddlers.
Why the amount matters less than it feels
- Appetite is self-regulating and remarkably accurate over a week, and wildly variable over a day. Judge by the week.
- A baby learning to eat spends most of the meal handling, squashing and dropping food. Very little going in is the expected outcome at six months.
- Appetite drops around the first birthday, sharply and normally, as growth slows. This alarms almost every parent and is not a problem.
- Teething, illness, a developmental leap and hot weather all suppress intake temporarily.
- Growth is the measure that matters. A baby tracking along their own centile line is eating enough, whatever the bowl looks like.
Signs they have had enough
Learning to read these matters more than hitting a number, because responding to them is what keeps a child's own appetite regulation intact.
- Turning the head away, or leaning back.
- Closing the mouth, or pushing the spoon or bowl away.
- Slowing right down and becoming distracted.
- Playing with the food rather than eating it, or throwing it consistently.
- Stop when they show these, even if the bowl is full. One more spoonful is where feeding problems begin.
Snacks, from around nine months
Small children have small stomachs and need to eat more often than adults, so one or two snacks between meals is appropriate from around nine months. Treat them as small meals rather than as a separate category of food — fruit, vegetable sticks, cheese, yoghurt, toast. Constant grazing is the thing to avoid, because a child who never arrives at a meal hungry will not eat much at it.
When to ask someone
- Weight gain has flattened or the child has dropped across centile lines.
- Fewer wet nappies than usual, or signs of dehydration.
- Refusing all solids consistently beyond about nine months.
- Choking, coughing or a wet-sounding voice during and after most meals.
- Fewer than around ten to fifteen foods accepted in total by around two, or whole food groups excluded.
- Any distress at mealtimes that is escalating rather than settling.
Questions parents ask
How many meals should a 6-month-old eat?
One a day to begin with, building to two over the first month or so. Amounts start at a teaspoon or two and may reach a few tablespoons. Milk feeds continue unchanged — solids are added around them rather than replacing them.
How many meals should a 9-month-old eat?
Three meals a day plus one or two snacks, with roughly four to six tablespoons per meal, alongside three to four milk feeds or around 500 to 600ml. By this stage solids are becoming the main source of nutrition and are usually offered before milk.
How much should a 6-month-old eat?
Very little, and that is expected. One or two teaspoons at first, possibly a few tablespoons, once or twice a day. Most of the meal will be handled, squashed and dropped rather than eaten, which is how the skill is learned.
How do I know if my baby has eaten enough?
Watch for turning away, closing the mouth, pushing the bowl away, slowing down or playing with food, and stop there even if the bowl is full. Over a week, steady growth along their own centile line is the real measure rather than any single meal.
Sources
This guide is general information, written to help you understand a topic and ask better questions — it is not medical advice and does not replace your own doctor, midwife or paediatrician. Anything that worries you about your baby belongs with them.