Your baby’s routine at 9 months old is full of play, trying new foods and hopefully more sleep at night!
If you’re looking for a sample 9 month old daily routine then this will give you answers to your big questions about what your baby should be getting up to at this age.
Baby’s daily schedule at 9 months
- 3-4 milk feeds per day
- 3 solid meals per day
- Wake window – 2-4 hours
- Sleeps 10-12 hours at night
- 2-3 naps per day
- Nap length 30 mins to 2.5 hours
You might be wondering how many naps they should be taking, how to fit in their feeds and meals and how long your nine month old can stay awake.
This simple guide to your nine month old baby’s routine should help you figure out the best way to fit in all their naps and feeds, giving you a happier baby!
Sample routine for a 9 month old baby
This sample 9 month old baby schedule works whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding your baby and whether you’re doing traditional weaning or baby-led weaning.
Scroll down for a free printable version of this routine!
| Time | What’s happening? |
|---|---|
| 7am | Wake and milk feed (around 4oz) |
| 8am | Breakfast (solid food) |
| 9am | Nap |
| 10am | Wake and possible milk feed (around 4oz) |
| 11.30am | Lunch (solid food) |
| Midday | Play |
| 1.30pm | Nap |
| 3.30pm | Wake up and possible milk feed (around 4oz) |
| 5pm | Dinner (solid food) |
| 6.45pm | Bath and bedtime routine |
| 7pm | Milk feed (around 4oz) |
| 7.15pm | Bed |
You may also like: Routine for 8 month old baby
Routine for your baby at 12 months
Routine for your baby at 10 months
9 month old baby feeding schedule
At nine months your baby may be on two to three meals of solid food a day, while still taking roughly three to four milk feeds.
By 12 months your baby should be on three meals a day and around two milk feeds, according to NHS advice. So this gives you an idea of where your baby should be heading towards between nine and 12 months with their daily eating.
I remember when introducing solid foods to my own babies finding it a little overwhelming trying to squeeze in milk feeds and meals to their daily routine. It was hard to know exactly when to drop bottle feeds and how much I should be encouraging them to eat solids on the days when they clearly weren’t that interested.
The good news if you’re in a similar place is that it all just works itself out. Your baby gradually becomes less enthusiastic during milk feeds, as they eat more heartily during their solid meals.
The big thing I recommend – whatever timings you use during the day for your routine – is to offer milk feeds after solids at lunch and dinner. This means your baby should have more of an appetite when they come to eat their food, and so be more willing to try new things, which is what weaning is all about!
But as I always say, don’t place too much pressure on yourself at this stage when it comes to the amount of solid foods your baby actually consumes.
Sometimes you may put food down in front of them and they barely take one bite. Don’t let this put you off. Keep offering solid foods at regular times every day and your baby will eventually get used to this.
The biggest thing that helped with encouraging my own kids to eat, apart from finding the stuff they really love eating, was to eat at the same time as them. They would steal food from my plate or copy what I was doing. This helped to normalise the act of eating and trying new things for them.
How many milk feeds should a 9 month old have
Your nine month old is likely to be on between three and four milk feeds per day. Your baby will be taking up to 600ml (20oz) of formula or breastmilk in a 24 hour period.
Some babies at this age are still be waking for a bottle or breastfeed at night.
As your baby moves into the final quarter of their first year they may start to drop more of their milk feeds.
But every baby is different and they will drop milk feeds at a different rate.
The biggest sign that your baby is ready to drop a milk feed is that they are not interested or do not finish the full feed like they normally would. If your baby is taking increasing amounts of sold foods at their meal times this is totally normal.
When it comes to dropping feeds, assuming your baby is on five milk feeds in total during the day at six months then the lunchtime one is normally the first to go. After this it could be the mid morning feed that goes next followed by the mid-afternoon feed, but every baby is different so try to follow their cues to see which feed is best to drop for your baby.
Remember to offer your baby some water in a free flowing cup with their food, so that they are getting used to the taste and habit of drinking from a cup.
How many naps does a 9 month old baby need?
At nine months a baby will likely be on two naps per day. These will probably be taken mid-morning and after lunch.
By now you hopefully have a solid routine when it comes to getting your nine month old down for a nap.
But naps can be disrupted by things like growth spurts so if your baby does become difficult to settle just try to ride through this phase. If they are still on three naps then consider dropping them down to just two naps a day.
How long can a 9 month old stay awake
Every baby is different when it comes to their wake window, however at nine months a baby will typically be able to stay awake for 2.5 hours to four hours.
At nine months it is much easier to tell when a baby is becoming tired and ready for a nap. They will be yawning and rubbing their eyes, become less engaged in playtime and may become fussy as they move towards becoming overtired.
How to get your 9 month old to sleep through the night
First of all it is entirely normal for a nine month old to not be sleeping through the night just yet.
However there are a few things you can do at this stage that will gently encourage your baby to sleep for longer spells at night.
At nine months your baby may still be waking once for a feed. However now that they are taking increasing amounts of solid foods that middle of the night feed is not necessarily needed to nourish them.
Around two thirds of babies over six months are able to sleep through the night, according to Stanford Children’s Health.
The NHS says that in babies aged six months to a year night feeds may no longer be necessary, and some babies will sleep for up to 12 hours at night.
If your baby is growing well – and producing plenty of wet and dirty nappies – and you want to cut out the milk feeds at night then you could try offering water to them at night instead. I found this helped us to drop night feeds within a matter of days.
Other ways to try and encourage your baby to sleep for longer at night include:
- Checking how much daytime sleep they are getting. Record when and how long they are napping. If their daytime naps are longer than two hours then consider reducing these.
- Having a solid bedtime routine. Help your baby settle to sleep independently by having a bedtime routine that involves turning lights down low, reading a story and then settling them into bed to fall asleep.
- Don’t rush to their side. Babies often cry out in their sleep. Try to wait a couple of minutes before rushing to them if they fuss in their beds, as they may settle themselves back down.
- Try to settle them back to sleep quietly and calmly. If your baby does wake in the night then keep the lights down low, soothe them with a cuddle and then try to settle them back to sleep in their crib.
There are lots more tips for helping your baby to sleep on this post and tips for gentle sleep training here.
Meal ideas for a nine month old baby
By now your baby will be sitting up much easier in their high chair and is likely to have tried a wide range of foods.
If you have been using mostly traditional baby weaning, where you use purees, then consider offering lumpier meals to your baby. You could stop mashing the food as much, or reduce the amount of time it spends in the food processor being pureed just so the texture is a little more like regular food.
At this stage, if you are not already, you could use a little baby-led weaning in your routine.
Some brilliant meal ideas for your 9 month old include:
Spaghetti bolognaise
Hard-boiled egg – peel away the shell, slice and serve to your baby
There’s lots of baby meal ideas and tips for making your own food for your baby on this post.
Free printable 9 month old baby schedule
I’ve got a free version of this simple nine month old baby schedule for your to download as a PDF and keep. Print it and make notes around it as you need to!
Download your FREE printable copy of this routine here:
