9 MONTHS and mobile!
VITAMIN D Reminder: The CDC recommends all infants who drink LESS than 32 oz (1 L) of formula daily to receive 400 IU of vit D. Especially at northern latitudes, and especially dark-skinned infants who have higher levels of melanin to block UV light absorption, vitamin D supplements help ensure a healthy immune system, bones and teeth. See our post on vitamins for more information.
BOTTLE FEEDING Reminder: If your baby takes breast milk or formula in a bottle, always hold your baby while bottle feeding, never prop the bottle, lay baby down to sleep with the bottle, or put juice, cereal or anything other than formula (mixed properly) or breast milk in the bottle. You want your baby to bond with YOU, not to the bottle! Maintain eye contact with your baby while they are feeding. Babies have meals and snacks just like we do, and they won’t always take the same amount. Always hold the bottle in a “gravity-neutral” position so your baby can take the feeding at their own pace, take breaks, and take as much or as little as they need. See our downloadable Bottle Feeding Guide for more detailed information.
PROGRESSING WITH SOLIDS: Most babies at this stage are eating 3-5 meals/snacks per day, mostly table foods (the food you eat in your household). You are probably still needing to modify the texture of some foods, but your baby should also be finger-feeding soft, large chunks of food like a piece of banana, cooked vegetables, noodles, bread/toast and soft fruit. Let your baby grab the spoon and play with it and try to feed themselves. Be prepared for messes – it’s a normal part of their learning (as is gagging, which is not choking!!) Let your baby decide how much s/he wants to eat at each meal or snack, and avoid catering to your baby’s preferences…continue offering new foods and a wide variety of foods. Offer water, formula or breast milk in a cup at meal times to continue giving your baby practice with cup drinking too.
WHAT TO EXPECT WITH BREASTFEEDING AND FORMULA FEEDING AMOUNTS: As your baby gains more feeding skills, usually parents start noticing at about 9 months or so that they take less formula or breast milk from a bottle, or ask to nurse less often. This is normal! It’s a natural transition for your baby to get more and more nutrition from food and take less and less from formula or breast milk. By the time your baby is about a year old, they should be drinking perhaps 20-24 oz of milk (formula or breast milk). If you’re exclusively breastfeeding of course you won’t be able to measure; you can trust your baby’s intuitive self-regulation skills. If you are practicing the gravity-neutral bottle feeding technique described above, follow your baby’s lead and respect their signs of satiety.
DISCLAIMER: We know when you surf the web for information, you can get conflicting results, and it’s not easy to know whether you are finding evidence-based, high quality recommendations. That’s part of our job here at Kodiak KINDNESS; we are here to support your informed decisions about infant feeding through your baby’s first year. We’ve done some background work, and to the best of our knowledge, this post reflects current best practices. However, the information contained in this post and any links contained herein is for your informational use only; it is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Furthermore, Kodiak KINDNESS is not responsible for the accuracy of any information contained in this post or links contained herein; it is for you to review at your own risk and discuss, as needed, with your health care professional in order to make a plan that suits your individual circumstances.