An 11-month-old typically needs about 18 to 24 ounces of formula per day, spread across three to four feedings. That works out to roughly 6 to 7 ounces per feeding, spaced every four to six hours. At this age, solid foods are making up a growing share of your baby’s diet, but formula still provides essential calories, protein, calcium, and vitamin D through the end of the first year.
Daily Formula Amount and Schedule
Between 10 and 12 months, most babies settle into a pattern of three to four formula feedings per day. Each feeding is around 6 to 7 ounces, and nighttime feeds are generally no longer needed. The NHS suggests roughly 400 milliliters (about 13.5 ounces) as a daily minimum, though many babies drink closer to 20 to 24 ounces total depending on how much solid food they’re eating.
The key thing to understand at 11 months is that formula intake naturally decreases as solid food intake increases. A baby who eats three hearty meals of table food plus a snack or two will likely drink less formula than one who’s still warming up to solids. Both can be perfectly normal. Formula remains the primary source of nutrition through the first year, but “primary” doesn’t mean “majority of calories” at this point. It means formula fills critical nutritional gaps that solid foods alone may not cover yet.
How to Tell Your Baby Is Getting Enough
The number of ounces matters less than what you see in your baby day to day. Three reliable signs that your 11-month-old is getting enough formula and food overall:
- Wet diapers. You should see at least four to six wet diapers in a 24-hour period.
- No hunger cues between feedings. Your baby seems content and settled after eating, not rooting or fussing for more within an hour.
- Steady weight gain. Your pediatrician tracks this on a growth curve. The exact percentile matters less than a consistent trajectory.
If your baby is hitting these markers but drinking a little less than 18 ounces of formula, that’s not automatically a problem. Babies are good at self-regulating intake when they have access to enough food.
Balancing Formula and Solid Foods
At 11 months, your baby can eat a wide variety of soft table foods, finger foods, and mashed or chopped versions of what the rest of the family eats. Most babies at this age are eating three meals a day with one or two small snacks. Formula fills in around those meals rather than replacing them.
A common mistake is offering a full bottle right before a meal, which can blunt your baby’s appetite for solids. Try offering formula between meals or after solids so your baby has a chance to practice eating real food when hungry. That said, if your baby is on the lower end of solid food intake, formula before meals is fine to make sure they’re getting enough calories overall.
There’s no exact calorie ratio to aim for. The general principle is that solid food gradually takes over while formula tapers down, and by 12 months your baby will be ready to drop formula entirely.
Water at 11 Months
Babies between 6 and 12 months can have 4 to 8 ounces of plain water per day, according to the CDC. This is in addition to formula, not a replacement for it. Small sips of water with meals help your baby get used to drinking from a cup and support digestion as they eat more solid food. You don’t need to push water at this age since formula already provides plenty of hydration.
Getting Ready for the Switch to Milk
With your baby’s first birthday just weeks away, this is a good time to start laying the groundwork for the transition from formula to whole cow’s milk. You don’t need to wait until the exact day your baby turns 12 months to begin small introductions.
Starting around 11 months, you can offer about an ounce of whole milk in a sippy cup once a day. This isn’t meant to replace a formula feeding. It’s a way to test whether your baby tolerates cow’s milk and to get them used to the taste. If your baby isn’t a fan, try mixing equal parts whole milk and prepared formula, then gradually shift the ratio toward more milk over a couple of weeks.
The goal after 12 months is to move away from bottles entirely and onto sippy cups or straw cups. Practicing with cups now, even with formula in them, makes that transition smoother. UC Davis Health recommends offering formula in a cup during this stage rather than always relying on bottles.
When Formula Intake Drops Suddenly
It’s common for babies around 11 months to go through phases where they drink noticeably less formula. Teething, a mild illness, or simply a growing preference for solid food can all cause a temporary dip. As long as your baby is still having enough wet diapers and gaining weight appropriately, a few days of lower formula intake usually isn’t cause for concern.
A more persistent drop, where your baby consistently refuses formula and isn’t making up the nutrition with solid foods, is worth bringing up at your next well-child visit. Babies still need the fat, protein, and micronutrients that formula provides until they’re fully established on whole milk and a varied diet of solid foods after their first birthday.