An infant feeding form for daycare tells your baby’s caregivers exactly what to feed your child, how much, when, and what to avoid. Most centers hand you a blank version at enrollment and will not serve your baby any food until you return it signed. To complete it well, you need your baby’s identifying details, the brand and type of breast milk or formula you are providing, approximate feeding times and amounts, a list of solid foods your baby has already tolerated at home, and any allergies or medical restrictions. Everything below walks through each section in the order the form usually asks for it.
Where the Form Comes From
Your daycare’s director or enrollment coordinator will usually hand you the form as part of the enrollment packet. Some states publish a standardized template through their Department of Health or Department of Social Services, and some facilities post it on a parent portal. There is no single national form, because each state’s child care licensing agency sets its own template requirements. The content, though, is largely the same everywhere: identifying details, what milk or formula to serve, the feeding schedule, approved solids, and allergy or medical notes.
What To Have in Front of You Before You Start
Sit down with the blank form, your baby’s pediatrician records, and any formula or food packaging before you write anything. Having it all in one place keeps you from guessing at a brand name or a volume and then having to resubmit.
- Your child’s full legal name and date of birth, matching the enrollment file exactly.
- Whether you are sending expressed breast milk or formula. For formula, write down the exact brand and type of iron-fortified product. If you supply your own, the form needs the brand so caregivers never substitute without your knowledge.1USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Feeding the Formula-Fed Baby
- Approximate clock times your baby eats and the volume per feeding in fluid ounces.
- Every cereal, fruit, vegetable, protein, and grain your baby has already tried at home without a reaction.
- Any food your baby must avoid, with the reason.
- A signed statement from your baby’s healthcare provider, if your baby needs a non-standard formula or has a diagnosed dietary disability.
Filling In the Breast Milk or Formula Section
Federal nutrition standards split infants into two age groups. From birth through five months, every meal and snack is breast milk or iron-fortified formula and nothing else. From six through eleven months, breast milk or formula is still the foundation of every meal, with solid food components added once the baby is developmentally ready.2USDA Food and Nutrition Service. CACFP Infant Meal Pattern
Write the specific volume you want offered at each feeding. If your breastfed baby regularly takes less than the standard serving sizes, note that on the form. The CACFP allows smaller servings with additional breast milk offered later.3eCFR. 7 CFR 226.20 – Requirements for Meals
Be explicit about what you are supplying and what you expect the facility to provide. When a parent sends in breast milk or formula, the facility supplies all other required meal components for the meal to qualify for CACFP reimbursement. Parents are allowed to bring in only one food component per meal, so if you are already sending breast milk, the facility handles everything else.4USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Feeding Infants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
Filling In the Solid Foods Section
This is where most mistakes happen. Daycare staff should never introduce a new food to your baby without your written go-ahead, and the feeding plan form is where that written authorization belongs.4USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Feeding Infants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
List each food your baby has tried at home and tolerated well. Include the texture — pureed, mashed, or soft diced — so caregivers serve a consistency that matches your baby’s stage. Solid food introduction generally begins around six months, though some babies show readiness a bit earlier or later.3eCFR. 7 CFR 226.20 – Requirements for Meals If your baby is not ready for cereals, proteins, or produce yet, write that clearly so the facility does not offer them prematurely.
If your baby has a texture sensitivity or is behind on chewing skills, use the notes or special-instructions area to spell it out. Experienced caregivers already know the standard choking hazards, but they do not know what is specific to your child.
Allergies, Religious Restrictions, and Medical Statements
The allergy section should include every food your baby has reacted to, a short description of the reaction (rash, vomiting, swelling), and any foods the pediatrician has told you to avoid even if your baby has not yet been exposed. Facilities participating in CACFP are instructed never to serve a food the baby has reacted to unless the parents say it is safe again.4USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Feeding Infants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
If your family avoids certain foods for religious or cultural reasons, note that in the same section. A religious substitution, such as swapping pork for another protein, does not require a medical statement. The USDA recommends facilities keep a parent’s signed note on file for these requests.4USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Feeding Infants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
When a Doctor’s Note Is Required
A separate medical statement signed by your baby’s healthcare provider is required in two situations: when your baby has a disability that restricts their diet, and when your baby needs a formula that is not iron-fortified or not FDA-regulated. The statement must include the name of the food or formula to be avoided, how it affects the baby, and the provider’s signature.1USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Feeding the Formula-Fed Baby
Without a valid medical statement on file, meals served with a non-iron-fortified or non-FDA-regulated formula cannot be reimbursed through CACFP, and the facility may not be able to accommodate the substitution at all. Get the statement from your pediatrician before enrollment day so there is no gap.
Storage and Handling Instructions
Many forms include a section on handling and storage, or the facility will ask you to initial a separate storage policy. Even if the form does not ask, attach a note with your storage preferences, especially for breast milk.
According to the CDC, freshly expressed breast milk can stay at room temperature (77 °F or cooler) for up to four hours, in a refrigerator for up to four days, and in a freezer for about six months.5Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Breast Milk Storage and Preparation Label every container with your child’s name and the date the milk was expressed. Prepared formula that has been offered to the baby but not finished must be discarded within two hours.6Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How to Clean, Sanitize, and Store Infant Feeding Items
If you are sending frozen breast milk, note how you want it thawed: warm running water, a bottle warmer, or overnight in the refrigerator. Microwaving breast milk is not recommended, because it creates hot spots and can break down nutrients. The more specific you are, the fewer judgment calls a caregiver has to make in the middle of a busy room.
Submitting the Form and Keeping a Copy
Turn in the completed form to the facility director or upload it through the parent portal if one is available. Most facilities require it to be signed and dated by a parent or guardian before they will serve your baby any food. Some centers will go over it with you on the spot to clarify anything that looks ambiguous, so bring the formula container or a photo of the label so they can confirm the brand and type.
Keep a copy for yourself. If the facility does not offer a photocopy, snap a picture of every page before you hand it over. You will need your own record to remember exactly what you authorized, especially when it comes time to update.
Updating the Form
An infant feeding form is not a one-time submission. Babies change quickly during the first year, and the plan has to keep up. Update it whenever your baby’s eating habits shift: a new solid food tried at home, a switch in formula brand, or a change in feeding frequency. The USDA’s guidance to CACFP facilities is that the feeding plan must be updated as needed and re-signed by the parent.4USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Feeding Infants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
Most parents end up revising the form at least two or three times during the first year: once when solids are introduced, again when textures advance from purees to soft chunks, and possibly a third time if the baby moves from formula to whole milk around twelve months. Do not wait for the facility to ask. If you tried a new food over the weekend and it went well, update the form on Monday so the daycare can start offering it too.