Feeding a 10–12 month old: meals, snacks, family food and milk

From about 10 months, most babies are eating 3 meals a day. The NHS guide to feeding at 10 to 12 months says babies should now be having breakfast, lunch and an evening meal alongside their milk, and the NHS guide to first solid foods says they may be down to about 3 milk feeds a day. The WHO suggests 3–4 meals a day from 9 months, with 1–2 snacks as required.

Breast milk or formula is still the main drink until 12 months; the NHS gives about 400 mL (about 14 oz) of formula a day as a guide. Food moves towards chopped family meals that your baby increasingly feeds to themselves, cooked without added salt or sugar. This guide follows on from feeding at 7 to 9 months and ends with getting ready for cow's milk; feeding toddlers picks up from 12 months.

How many meals, snacks and milk feeds does a 10–12 month old need?

The NHS says lunch and the evening meal can include a main course and a pudding, such as fruit or unsweetened yoghurt. Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby suggests gradually increasing the amount and how often your baby eats over these months.

Snacks are where the sources differ most. The NHS says babies under 12 months don't need snacks and suggests an extra milk feed if your baby is hungry between meals, then 2 healthy snacks a day from 12 months. The WHO fact sheet lists 1–2 snacks "as required" without giving an age, while its complementary feeding page links snacks to 12 to 24 months. The CDC's feeding guide suggests offering something to eat or drink every 2 to 3 hours, which it says works out at about 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks, and its formula guide counts milk feeds and meals together. So before the first birthday a snack is optional, and a milk feed can fill that gap.

How much should my baby eat?

Your baby decides. The CDC's mealtime guide says to let your child decide how much to eat, that they don't have to finish what's on the plate, and that eating different amounts each day is normal. As a US example, the AAP's sample menu for 8 to 12 months uses servings of 2 to 4 ounces (about 60–120 mL, or a quarter to half a cup) of each food, and many babies eat less than that at some meals. Look at the week rather than one meal, along with energy, wet nappies and growth.

How much milk does a 10–12 month old need?

Less than before, but it still matters:

• Formula (UK): the NHS says around 400 mL a day, as a guide only.
• Breast milk: the NHS says breastfed babies adjust their feeds to how much food they eat, and breastfeeding can continue as long as you both want.
• Australia: Pregnancy, Birth and Baby suggests milk feeds after solids from about 9 months.
• US: the AAP's sample menu includes about 720 mL (24 oz) of breast milk or formula a day across 8 to 12 months, more than the NHS figure.

The difference between countries is a reminder that these are rough guides. If your baby is growing well, has plenty of wet nappies and is interested in food, the amount they choose is usually fine. Milk feeds tend to drop as meals grow; the how much formula guide has more on bottle amounts.

What textures and family foods can a 10–12 month old eat?

The NHS says babies at this age can manage mashed, lumpy, chopped and finger foods, and should be moving on to bigger chunks of soft food and a wider range of finger foods. Australia's ASCIA's guide to introducing solids, from Australia's allergy specialists, suggests aiming for soft cut-up or roughly mashed family meals by 12 months. The WHO and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby's guide to introducing solid food say that by 12 months most babies can eat the same foods as the rest of the family.

Keep cooking vegetables until soft where needed, and wash fruit and remove pips, stones and hard skin, as the NHS suggests. Keep offering iron-rich foods: the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne gives the Australian recommended intake as 11 mg a day at 7 to 12 months, reached over time, from foods such as meat, chicken, fish, egg, legumes and iron-fortified cereal. Australia's ASCIA advises having all the common allergy foods in your baby's diet by 12 months and keeping each tolerated one going at least once a week. See iron-rich first foods and introducing allergens.

How much salt and sugar can my baby have?

The NHS salt page explains that babies' kidneys aren't fully developed and can't process much salt. The NHS list of foods to avoid says not to add salt to food or cooking water, and to limit salty foods such as bacon, sausages, chips with added salt, crackers, crisps, ready meals and takeaways. It also says to avoid food and drink with added sugar or sweeteners for children aged 4 and under, including honey, syrup, juice and smoothies; whole fruit is fine.

The CDC says children under 2 shouldn't have added sugars, notes that store-bought packaged toddler foods are often high in sodium, and says no honey before 12 months because it can cause botulism. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says not to add salt, sugar or other additives, and to avoid processed foods such as cakes, biscuits, chips and fried foods.

The easiest habit is to take your baby's portion out before you add salt, stock, sauces or seasoning to the family meal. Foods to avoid has the full list.

How do I help my baby feed themselves?

Self-feeding takes off at this stage. The CDC's guide to fingers, spoons and cups says babies can start using a spoon on their own at around 10 to 12 months, and should be able to feed themselves easily with their fingers by 12 months. The NHS says babies find it easier now to pick up small pieces and feed themselves.

1. Offer a mix. Put a few finger foods on the tray alongside a bowl of something on a spoon.
2. Give them a spoon too. Load it and hand it over, or let your baby hold one while you use another.
3. Expect mess. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby suggests letting your baby make a mess as they learn.
4. Eat together. The NHS says babies learn by watching adults eat.
5. Let them stop. When your baby turns away or starts throwing food, the meal is usually over.

Cups are part of this too. The CDC says children can start learning to use a cup without a lid at about 9 months, and at about 12 months can drink from one while you hold it. The NHS guide to drinks and cups recommends open or free-flow cups, and the CDC suggests about 120–240 mL (4–8 oz) of water a day in total up to 12 months, in sips with meals.

What does a feeding day look like at 11 months?

This made-up example uses the NHS pattern of 3 meals and about 3 milk feeds. Your baby's times and amounts will differ.

Example day — adjust to your baby

Breastfed babies may feed at other times too, including overnight. Peanut butter at breakfast and yoghurt at lunch also keep two allergy foods going for the week.

How do I get ready for cow's milk at 12 months?

Cow's milk can be used in cooking and on cereal now, but not as a main drink until 12 months; the NHS, the CDC and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby all agree. The CDC says giving cow's milk as a drink before 12 months may put babies at risk of intestinal bleeding. From 12 months:

• Which milk: full-fat (whole) pasteurised cow's milk. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby and the CDC suggest full-fat; the NHS also allows semi-skimmed from 1 year.
• How much: Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says no more than 500 mL (two cups) a day, and the Royal Children's Hospital explains that too much milk can crowd out iron-rich food.
• How to switch: the CDC suggests switching gradually, replacing one formula feed with cow's milk first.
• In what: Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says to use a cup rather than a bottle, and the NHS says bottles should be discouraged once your baby is 1.
• Formula: Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says infant formula isn't needed after 12 months, and the NHS says the same of toddler and growing-up milks.
• Breastfeeding: can carry on for as long as you both want, as the NHS and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby say.

Practising with milk or water in an open cup now makes the change smoother. See moving to cow's milk, cups and dropping bottles and weaning from the breast.

What should I do if my baby gags or chokes?

Gagging still happens as pieces get bigger. The NHS describes watery eyes, the tongue pushed forward and retching, and your baby keeps breathing. Choking is quiet: your baby can't cough effectively, cry or breathe.

These steps follow the NHS choking first-aid guide, which also says to get medical help afterwards even if the food came out. After the first birthday the steps change, and they differ between countries, so an infant and child first-aid course where you live is worth doing now; the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne recommends that anyone caring for children does one. Choking vs gagging has the details.

Family food needs the right shape. The Royal Children's Hospital says to cook, mash or grate hard fruit and vegetables, cut grapes in half lengthways and then in half again, serve meat minced or in small pieces without bones, and never give whole nuts to children under 5. The CDC's solids guide suggests cutting sausages and other cylindrical foods into short, thin strips. Keep your baby sitting down and supervised for every meal.

When should I get help?

Call 999 now if your baby:

• is choking and can't cough, cry or breathe, or becomes unresponsive
• has swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, noisy or difficult breathing, or becomes pale and floppy after a food
• is struggling to breathe or has blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue
• is floppy, much sleepier than usual, hard to wake or can't be woken
• has had no wet nappy or wee for 12 hours
• has green or yellow vomit

These come from the NHS guide to urgent help for under-5s, the NHS diarrhoea and vomiting page and Australia's ASCIA.

Get medical help today (same-day GP or NHS 111) if your baby:

• needed back blows or chest thrusts, even if they now seem well
• has hives or welts beyond the mouth area, swelling of the face or eyes, or vomiting soon after a food, and is breathing normally (stop that food until they've been checked)
• is refusing feeds or feeding much less than usual, or stops breast or bottle feeding while unwell
• has fewer wet nappies than usual

Talk to your GP or health visitor if:

• your baby still can't manage lumps or chopped food, or gags and vomits at most meals
• you haven't been able to introduce some common allergy foods, or your baby has eczema or a known food allergy
• you're unsure how to move from formula, or your baby has a cow's milk allergy
• you're worried about growth, appetite or iron

What's worth noting as the first birthday nears?

Jot down how many milk feeds your baby still has and roughly how much, which allergy foods they ate this week, and which family meals worked. It makes planning the switch to cow's milk easier, and gives your GP or health visitor a clear picture at the 12-month check.