From what I understand, it is recommended to introduce solids between 4 and 6 months of age.

The guidelines are roughly -

Baby must be able to sit up (propped in a high chair is fine but neck control is a must).

Baby showing interest in your food and wants to copy you, perhaps making chewing motions in mimicry.

Introduce plain and not so sweet vedge or grains first before fruits and sweeter vegetables in order to not give them a sweet tooth from the first mouthful. Meats can come into the picture later as little kidneys can't process that much meat in the beginning anyway.

Introducing solids to early can lead to allergies and food sensitivities and as well as that, little babies don't have the control of their head and neck muscles that they need to sit up and swallow so may end up inhaling more food than is good for them.

It's thought to be important to introduce solids not too late as moving the food around the mouth and coordinating the lips, tongue and all the rest of the mouth is a step towards the control a child will learn for speaking. It's also believed that waiting too long may leave you with a fussy eater as an older baby can be a lot more controling of the situation and aware of whats going on.

Appropriately timed solids also help to develop the mouth and prepare the oral environment for the first teeth (my Mum's a dentist -that bit is her advice to mums of babies).


I feel I should add that although I'm new here at this site and I don't yet have kids(TTC), I worked as a proffesional nanny for 5 years and am educated on the topic.

I've given kids their first solids, seen umbilical stumps drop off, watched first steps and heard first words...I am just yet to try the pregnancy, giving birth and breastfeeding thing!!!

Oh, another thing I read recently is that unless the baby was attatched to the placenta until it stopped pulsating, they start to run low on iron by about 4-7 months. -This low-grade anemia is one thing that can trigger babies to start seeking nourishment from elsewhere.

Babies who are not clamped until the full 'transfusion' occurs almost without exception have enough iron to ensure they will not become anemic in their first 12 months.