Is this a sign she's ready?

My DD is just five months and over the last week and a bit I *think* she's showing interest in food. She has always taken great interest in anything we hold, from our phones to our dinner and always lunges for whatever is in our hand, but lately if I've got food not only does she lunge but she looks right up at me intently. So it's reach out to the food, look closely and squarely at mama, reach out to food again, then look at mama again.

Edit: sorry I meant to post this in the introducing solids section! I'm not wanting to wean at all.

You don't have to start weaning yet. Food for the 1st year is fun and interesting.
You could give her a baby spoon to suck on and play with.
Most people like to wait til 6mth before introducing food really but many start sooner.
My dd is 13months and i have only just started to decrease her milk.
Its very cute the way they follow the food. If you want to see if she is ready some puree pear on a spoon and see if she holds it and /or swallows. If she pushes it straight out she maynot be ready

Sent from my Galaxy with the barefoot princess covering me in kisses, so please forgive the mistakes

Sorry, see if she holds the pear in her mouth- not the pear on the spoon. Your likely to wear it if she a spoon of food in her hand lol

Sent from my Galaxy with the barefoot princess covering me in kisses, so please forgive the mistakes

My DS was doing the same thing but at 4.5 months. He also increased his milk feeds to the point of feeding hourly :o. I was trying to hold off to 6 months but he was just too hungry. So I started solids and he loved them, swallowing easily and eating from his plate.

So she may be ready, you could try her with pear or pumpkin, and it it goes well, yay, if not, wait for a few more weeks :)

There's a lot of "watching" and learning before anything but milk is ready to go down the hatch. Leave it a bit - no need to rush at the first signs. she doesn't need anything til she's 6mnths.

Yep what barb said. DD2 is doing exactly the same, but she still can't sit unaided and still has the forward tongue thrust. They're both the things I use for readiness for my babies, especially for BLS.

Will see if I can get it moved for you.

My DD2 is just a little older than yours and was doing the same things at that stage. We introduced family food a couple of weeks ago at six months and tbh she still doesn't 'get' it. She puts the food in her mouth and sucks and explores it, but she's not really eating it properly. Mostly it's playing and getting used to tastes. Swallowing still makes her gag, so even though there's been the odd bit in her nappy, I really think she's a good few weeks off using food for eating rather than just the sensations.

Which is just fine by me and as it should be! DD1 took about six weeks between introducing food and properly eating it. And then there was no holding her back! She has always been a fantastic eater and I think controlling it herself is a factor.

Yes I definitely want to wait until she's six months. Also with the BLS approach can someone point me in the direction of where to start? Like a good website or thread / stickie here?

The ABA's booklet Introducing Solids was my favourite (not strictly BLS, but it's in that vein). The kellymom website has some good stuff and there's a sticky thread on https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ad.php?t=94619 that gives some references too.

Oh perfect. Thanks so much. I actually feel a bit sad that soon I won't be her only source of nourishment.

It could be some time before she gets much actual nourishment from other sources :)
Just offer her things from your plate when you're ready (only really need to watch out for choking hazards like whole nuts, grapes, that sort of thing).

Thanks for the reassurance MadB- emotional crisis averted!