When did you start solids?

[Fleur]

DD2 is 4 months today.

I started all my other kids at 4 mths but I know the guidelines have changed since then & I'm really confused as to what we are 'supposed' to do these days....

In the last week she has been paying a lot of attention to our food, and her usual mouthing of everything has become real chewing & biting down (could be teeth too I know).

So I'm wondering, when did you start your LO on solids, and what did you give them?

[Shanti]

Hey Jas,

We started DD on solids at 5mths 1 week..... we felt she was ready. She was ready and she had pureed pumpkin, mashed banana, just pureed stuff really.... veges and fruits.
Avocado, carrot etc..... I waited until then as I felt she wasn't needing it any earlier than that and also I didn't want the extra work!!! but every baby is different and you know your little one the best.

[Jellyfish]

We didn't start properly until DD was nearly 6.5 months. We offered at 6 months but she was not interested at all and seemed unsettled by it so we held off for another two weeks when it seemed to agree with her better. She really has only just started to eat properly (8 months) but still isn't that interested. She will eat but she just doesn't seem that excited or intrigued by it all. We don't want to push and turn meals into a battlefield so try not to stress about how much she is or isn't eating.

We usually do oats + finger fruits for breakfast, sandwhich + yogurt for lunch and vegie puree for dinner.

[Liviam]

I'm going to subscribe as DS is nearly 5 months old and I've forgotten what I did last time so I need some ideas.

[mbear]

DD#1 - 5 months - due to being underweight.
DD#2 - 6mths
DD#3 - 6mths
DS - LAst week, so 5 mths and 2 weeks. This week he has slept 4hr chunks...as oppose to 3 hr chunks since birth. I think he was ready. He tried to grab a sausage outta DH's hand the other night.....

I didn't want the extra work!!!

.totally agree, dont understand the big rush (unless advised professionally of course). Pureeing, splat mats, getting food up your arm and all over baby - total PITA. The longer we leave it the better for me...
Always started with rice cereal and pureed fruits. Pumpkin is always a winner in this home .

[LimeSlice]

DD didn't start til she was 7, almost 7.5 months. She just wasn't interested (and she didn't get her first teeth until 9 months anyway)
When she did start though she was in with both feet and there was no looking back! lol
She started with some purees I made etc and mixed in with her porridge - but we did BLS mostly, and she ate porridge every morning, no need to puree it or anything! lol straight out of dad's bowl!

I think the fav thing I liked about starting her so *late* was that she fed herself almost form day dot. She loved holding her own spoon and by the time she was 9-10 months, she would feed herself completely at all meals. Made life sooo much easier! lol

[MantaRay]

I started at 6 months both times. GL with your decision.

[Inertia]

Started with spoonfuls at 6mo, but I let them start trying out new flavours from 4mo being sure to avoid anything that is not recommended for young babies such as Honey or nuts. She had a great gum at some drops of mashed banana the other day. Because she is still forcing the food out with her tongue it is not about introducing solids, its about introducing flavours. It makes introducing solids later a little bit easier because you already have some clues on what they do and dont like the taste of. Just always soft foods incase they work out that whole swallowing thing.

[Megan]

We started at 6 months here, and started on vegies and fruit. By 6.5 months he started eating whatever we were having as we are doing BLS.

[*EJ*]

When DS1 was at this stage the guidelines were 'not before 6 months'. We started him smack on 6 months and he was great. Loved his food and was really ready for it.

With DS2 the guidelines are as current and my understanding is it's now anywhere between 4 - 6 months. I thought i saw all the signs that said my DS was ready, he was eyeing off our food ALL the time. But his first tastes of farax at 5.5 months came straight back out. He didn't enjoy anything i offered at all for quite some time. It took a good 2 months for him to take to solids and now at 8 months old i can finally say he's eating 3 good meals a day.

Give her a taste and if you'll be able to tell if she's ready for it or not.

[Miss E]

Just wanted to keep an eye on this one, I'm also weighing up when to start. I've introduced water recently so he can start experiencing the sensation of something other than bm in his mouth.

I guess I'm thinking in 2 or 3 weeks we might start (he'll be just over 5 months then), but then I'm not sure if we should wait longer or start now... it's so hard to know...

[Butterfly Child]

I started dd at 4.5-5mnths i felt she was ready and im glad i did, she was a big bub born 10lbs and i felt she needed it, just started her on farax and breast milk just alittle bit every day like a tsp if that ! gdluck with your decision ultimatly just do what you feel right for your bub hun xx

[YoYo]

DS was 6 months and started on mashed veggies and fruit. I introduced chicken fairly quickly too.

He is an eating machine now!

[aussienic]

Ds1 4 months
Ds2 6 months
Ds3 introduced at 6 months no real solids till 8.5 months
Dd1 Introduced at 6-7 months no real solids till 9 months

I (personally) think wait till 6 months and use food as an activity rather then a food iykwim? Then if they take to it then keep going otherwise wait till they are totally ready..

All my kids are pretty good eaters and eat a large variety of foods.

At 4 months they tend to start noticing what we are doing and mimic our movements so this is what your LO might be doing

[Fleur]

Thanks everyone for your replies
Still not sure...I'll keep watching her. I'm not in a hurry (although I am looking forward to it! ) just trying to get my head around it. I think the recommendations have changed more than once since I last had a little one.

I'd like to do BLS, seems we kind of did a bit of this with the others without knowing it - they had some finger foods from early on (as well as purees).

So is current guidelines 4 - 6 months ,or more like 6 months?
Does anyone know the reasoning behind the recommendations (& the changes)?
Does it do any harm to start too early? I know before 4 mths their digestive system can't cope with food....

hmm I had more questions than I thought

[MantaRay]

Jasp, the reason for the recommendation being changed to 6 months (yep, the current recommendation is 6 months) is because no solids are needed before 6 months, and introducing solids before their digestive systems are ready does do damage. Some babies are ready between 4 and 6 months, but because there is no easy way to know which are ready before 6 months and which aren't, the safest thing is to make the recommendation 6 months. If they are ready earlier there is no harm in waiting.

HTH.

[Fleur]

Thanks MR that does answer my questions

I am thinking I will wait a bit longer, I don't think she needs it just now.

I am still loving hearing about first foods though, especially thinking we will do BLS

[MummyTummy]

We started BLS right from the start at 5.5 months. I was waiting for 6 months, but after two weeks of him stealing food from our plates, or forks, spoons etc I figured I would just see what he thought. We never looked back. It was obviously the right time for him. But although he was watching us with interest earlier than that it wasn't until he started stealing stuff off our plate and shoving it in his gob that I really thought he might be ready. And then I held off for another 2 weeks. By that stage he was almost beside himself trying to get to the food. So I think if you are thinking and wondering if she is ready then I think she isn't. You will know..... and it will literally happen overnight too!