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Breastfeeding Schedules 6+ Months

A feeding schedule for 6 to 8 month old

When your baby is around six months to eight months, offer your baby breastmilk, before solids. This is because breastmilk is the perfect human food and also they can continue to receive enough nutrition while they're still getting used to eating solid food.

They will have milk feeds around the following times:

early morning
at around breakfast time
at lunch time
just before bedtime
overnight

A feeding schedule for 9 to 12 month old

By 9-12 months old, your baby is likely to be on three meals a day. Depending on what your baby prefers, you can offer a breastfeed before or after their solid food.

Once solid food is introduced, your baby may start to reduce breastfeeding frequency.

In addition to three meals a day, an example of your 9 month old baby's feeding schedule could be breastfeeding:

in the morning
at around lunch time
just before bedtime
overnight

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When to stop breastfeeding

The best way to wean is gradually over time. As you or your baby reduces the number of breastfeeds, your milk supply will slowly decrease. This reduces the risk of blocked ducts and mastitis. Weaning your baby slowly also gives you both time to adjust.

1

Start dropping the breastfeed that your baby seems least interested in. Cut out one breastfeed every few days, or one each week
2

Depending on the age of your baby, replace the missed feeds with formula, cows' milk or water.
3

Make sure you still spend plenty of time with your baby and give lots of cuddles.
4

If your breasts become engorged, hand express or use a hand pump until you are comfortable. Don't try to empty your breasts as you don't want your supply to build up again.
5

For more weaning advice, read our tips for weaning your baby.

Breastfeeding and working

At this age, you might be thinking about returning to work. Many mothers successfully combine work and breastfeeding. Workplaces now have greater awareness of the importance of breastfeeding. They may even have work policies that will support you to continue to breastfeed.

How to continue breastfeeding when returning to paid work

For babies aged 6-12 months, you can replace breastfeeding during work hours with expressed breastmilk, formula or food from a spoon.

Try to introduce your baby to the cup or bottle at least 2 to 3 weeks before returning to work. A baby can feed from a cup from about 7 months of age.

Express during the work day (either by hand or pump) to ensure your milk production is consistent with your baby’s needs and for personal comfort. You may need to talk to your employer about having access to refrigeration to store your expressed breastmilk.

If you have any concerns about continuing to breastfeed once you return to paid work, there is help at hand. Reach out to your local child and family health nurse, an early parenting organisation like Tresillian or your GP for breastfeeding advice.

Breastfeeding and biting

From six months, many babies start teething. This can sometimes mean they start biting on the breast when they're feeding.

The first bite is usually an accident. If the biting is a response to a slow let down, it can help to express a small amount of breastmilk before you start. This will help trigger your let down before you offer the breast.

Breastfeeding FAQ's

Our team are committed to supporting breastfeeding if this is your chosen method of feeding your baby. We provide breastfeeding encouragement, education and support if you're trying to overcome difficulties with breastfeeding.

However, if you decide to wean, this will be respected and supported. Regardless of the method you choose, we believe that infant feeding is an important and pleasurable shared experience for both you and your baby.

There are two ways to approach weaning breastfeeding. One approach is to wean slowly or gradually over time, the other is to wean abruptly. Read more information about how to wean my baby off breastfeeding here.

At 9 months, your baby may be well established with solid food but will still need several milk feeds each day. They usually will have around 3 - 5 milk feeds over the day which might include a feed overnight.

Yes. Women can re-lactate with perseverance and determination at any time. Inducing lactation can also be achieved, for example for mothers who adopt or are the non-birthing parent in same sex couples who both choose to breastfeed.

It involves regularly putting the baby to the breast, or expressing milk from the breasts to stimulate the breast tissue to produce breastmilk. When first starting out it would be important to continue to feed your baby with however the baby had been being fed to date or using a supply line and reduce offering supplemental feeds as the breastmilk supply increased.

You may want to seek professional support from a lactation consultant and/or GP about medication options to support increasing breastmilk supply