Solids at 6 months...??

So we have been thinking about the whole solids issue recently.

I have no desire to give DD solids before 6 months (she is just over 5 now) but want to be prepared etc.

So do I HAVE to start her on solids at 6 months - where does that magic number come from? Will she suffer developmentally if she starts solids at 7 months, or 8?
Is there a problem with being exclusively BF until she has teeth (none yet :()?

She is interested in what we are doing, and loves watching me eat, has always seemed to get hungry/ier when she can smell food, but I dont think this equates to her wanting/needing the food just the experience of what we are doing...iykwim!

So I suppose the question is does she need solids at 6 months if she is happy BFing?
TIA :)

Ah LS, that's an easy one to answer. No!! 6 months is not a magic number. If your DD doesn't seem ready, then she's probably not. My first DS was the same - I tried starting him at 6 months, but he wasn't ready and I think I did more harm than good. He was nearly 12 months before he really ate much. This is quite common with bf babies as they are getting all they need from bm.

FYI, the "signs" that a baby is ready for solids are getting teeth, losing the tongue-thrust reflex and showing real interest in food. The third one on it's own is not enough, as you know all babies want to put everything in their mouths!!

Good on you LS for being intuitive and recognising your DD's needs. That's what parenting is all about.

I agree with MR..... I was mistaken and realised that her interest in food, was an increased awareness and interest in EVERYTHING, not just what we are eating!!
I started a little before 6 mths and she didn't really eat anything until after 7 mths. I will be delaying the mess and hassle for as long as possible with number 2!

Remember the longer you leave it too, means that you can skip the messy puree and go to chunkier food and finger foods.
Good luck with it all!

I don't think she'll be disadvantaged at all. Darcy wasn't interested at all until 9 months. SHe's a top little eater nowadays. She didn't get any teeth at all until 11 months so there was no real disadvantage for her.

I think the general recommendation is no earlier than 6 months, not necessarily that you need to start at 6 months.

I think we will be starting in a few weeks, I've got a feeling DS is really ready but if I try it and he isn't, we'll leave it another month or so. We're also going to skip the rice cereal and purees and go straight to mashed single fruits and vegetables to start with.

I *personally* think that perhaps you should offer some food at around 6 months, if she takes it great, if she's not ready, then wait a few weeks before trying again. I don't think you should wait just for the sake of waiting iykwim? Initially it's about letting them try different things and getting used to the textures etc. You should take things really slowly so it's not like she has to be eating three square meals a day by 7 months or whatever.

I understood 6 months was the general recommendation as the iron stores that bub was born with are depleted by that time and need to be replenished through food. Also their intestines are more mature to be able to cope with solids.

That said if they aren't interested or have still got the tongue thrusting then they may not be ready.

In either case milk is their primary food for the first 12 months.

DS turns 6 months on Sunday and we intend to start him on farex.

Bubs wont be affected at all if you don't start them right away, and solids at first isnt' about a 'meal' anyway - its about learning the different tastes and textures and getting used to eating. Alister is 7mths old now and only been on solids for 4 wks and its only in the last week that he is recognising it as a 'meal' and gets excited about eating it. he is still only on one meal a day though.

Thanks girls! :)
I am not too fusses if she doesn't start at 6 months...I think she will let me know. and for the time being she just seems interested in everything in general, like you said Tan.
I just want to make sure that starting her later isn't going to effect how well she takes to different or unusual tastes, iykwim?
I would like her to have a varied taste from a young age (all my brother ate was cheese lol) like DF and I do, sothat its not a battle when she gets older.

Thanks again :)

Saffi - wrt to iron stores, there is no magic age at which they are depleted. It is generally at some time between 6 and 12 months, and depends on a number of factors including bfing vs ffing (more iron is absorbed from bm than from any other source) and amount of cord blood received (ie if the cord is clamped immediately then baby gets less cord blood and less iron stores). If a baby is running low on iron and needing food, then they will start showing the signs of being ready. If they are not showing the signs then they don't need it.

LS - IKWYM about eating a variety of foods. But IMO exposing them to a good variety of different foods in the first year or so of eating is far more likely to achieve a good eater, than starting earlier. Jack didn't really eat well until nearly 12 months, I tried him but he wasn't interested. Tom started at 6 months and was quickly on 3 meals a day. Both eat a huge variety of foods and I think that's due to the fact that we introduced them to that, and had them eating the same foods as us soon in their eating journeys.

Also, it is about repetition, giving them the same food lots of times, even if they don't like it at first, because often they need to get used to a food before they like it. I have heard the saying that it can take 99 refusals before they eat something, well you'd better believe it. Jack would never eat tomatoes, I lost count of the number of times he flat out refused to try them. Then one day he asked for salad. After I picked myself off the floor I gave him some, he ate it and asked for more. Now tomatoes are one of his favourite foods. If I had have just given him his favourites all the time - yoghurt, cheese and vegemite sandwiches - that's probably all he'd eat now.