baby led solids. what if they are ready before 6mths?

I feel my dd is ready for solids . she can drink from a cup with out spilling (meaning she swallows the water/ebm) and eats from a spoon with out pushing it out with her tounge. i have given her about 2 0r 3 spoons of pureed carrot over a coulpe of days and each spoonful she will want more and open her mouth when ever a spoon is placed near it ...

do you think this is something all 4tmhs do ??

she has always been a hungry baby... but also has reflux so i dont want to upset that any further ..

she is not a large bub either , she is quite petite ...

any suggestions ??

Most likely the answers you will get will say no, wait til 6 months. But we started solids earlier, because we felt, as you do, that Jazz was ready. Most 4mo will suck on pretty much anything near their mouths though, but the not pushing food back out is a good sign.

The theory behind BLS is to give bub food that is not exactly pureed though, and they can't generally handle that until about 6mo. We've been doing full puree and only in the last 2 days have started some lumpier stuff with success. Did try before now but she was never ready for lumps.

My personal opinion is that you know your bub. If it doesn't work out, you feel shes not ready, you can just stop and start again when shes ready. xxxxx

Hi Lea,
I started my bub with solids at 4 months (as did a lot of friends of mine - one of which is a GP).
Weaning at 4 months I think is perfectly safe - the only problem is how she is capable of digesting the food. Make sure you research what is safe to give for example cow's milk shouldn't be added to anything and should only be introduced at 12 months as they are able to break down certain proteins.
Carrot sounds like a great start :) If she has had reflux, be careful not too give her anything too acidic (not that you should this early anyway) and a couple of spoonfuls at a time (as you have been).
Take care :)

Lea, I think you are asking two questions here so I will answer each.

Firstly, is she ready for solids? Well it is possible, only you know your child best. However, at just 4 months it is unlikely that her gastro-intestinal tract and system is sufficiently developed for solids. Barb has a written a fantastic post which I will have to hunt up and sticky, which outlines all the different reasons why GI systems can't sufficiently process food until around 6 months. The things you are describing do sound like normal 4 mo behaviour to me.

Secondly, if you do start solids now, can you use the Baby Led Solids method? BLS is suitable for use from when the baby is ready for food. So if she is ready for solids now, then yes. However, again, it is usually around the 6 month mark before they are ready.

HTH.

as leasha said the theory is that by going when a baby is ready you can skip the whole pureed stuff.

other signs for being ready are teeth and being able to sit so when these are all put together it makes for a "normal" eating time

also drinking from a cup is quite possible at that age.. and often recomended rather then going to a bottle.

you know your baby and are going to do what you want with her.

:

---

If it doesn't work out, you feel shes not ready, you can just stop and start again when shes ready

---

Sorry Leasha hun, I don't mean to pick on you here :hug: I do however have a concern with comments such as this. The problem is that issues caused by introducing solids too early can take a long while to show up, so you most likely won't be able to tell yet whether or not there is a problem. These problems then usually stay with the child throughout their life.

Something else to consider anyway. Especially when there is no down-side to not starting when they are ready. As they don't need food until around 12 months, waiting won't hurt.

I know a friend of a friend who last month weaned her 3 month old...apparently she gobbles 2 jars+ of baby food in one go.

While this is not the path I personally want to take, I assume this shows it is possible and I don't judge anyone for their choices.

I had #2 on solids from about 4 and 1/2 months she needed it and my mchn said to go for it but stick to the rice cereals with ebm or formula and only give it to her after she had had a bottle. not to make it a meal on its own as they need the bm/formula more!

I stopped preventing my bub from grabbing at vegies one week shy of six months. He only really plays at this age anyway, he doesn't like the taste hahaha.

Hi,

I started ds on solids at 5 months 1 week old. Looking back on it now, I actually wish I had waited. In fact, it was the subject of my first post on BB and MantaRay told me to wait- I wish I'd listened! ;)

He didn't really eat a lot till he was about 7 months anyway and solids is just so much work. Not at first- but it builds up quickly before you know it all the preparing, chopping, cooking, then throwing out cause they won't it anyway :D, washing, wiping and cleaning takes forever and i wish I had given myself a bit more of a break before I started doing it!!

But that's just my laziness speaking. If you feel bubs is ready, go for it. But don't increase the amount too quickly or add too many meals too soon- it just adds up to more work!

I started my first on solids at 3 months and it was a BIG mistake. He now has Asthma and bad eczema and food allergies and I do believe this is the cause.

So I would HIGHLY reccomend NOT doing it from under 6 months.

I was actually talking to my mum about this today and she told me that I was actually started on solids (weet bix and goats milk) at 6 weeks! Can you believe it! 6 Weeks and i have no allergies etc - am actually the only one in my family that doesnt!

Just thought i would add that in as it sounds so rediculous to have a 6 week old on solids! Aparently she was advised to as my reflux and sleeping were so bad and the theory was that something more solid would stay down better!
Things have changed in the past 10odd years havent they!

:

---

The problem is that issues caused by introducing solids too early can take a long while to show up, so you most likely won't be able to tell yet whether or not there is a problem. These problems then usually stay with the child throughout their life.

---

Just reading this thread with interest (we're not ready for solids yet) but was wondering what kind of problems can result from early introduction?

thanks for the replies .. i think i will not giver her anything yet .. .. dont need any allergies on top of reflux ... no thanks ..

6wks :o i have heard of babes being fed at 2 wks .. that goodness for reasearch !!

Belfie, there is still a lot of research being done about this and there is no proven causal link. However, it is believed that allergies, excema, asthma, and a range of tummy and bowel problems such as IBS, Chrone's Disease etc, could be either as a result of, partly as a result of, or worsened by, the early introduction of solids.

As I say, this is not definite, but it seems to be a high risk to take when the one thing that is known is that solids are not usually needed before 6 months, and that no harm is done by not introducing solids even if the baby is ready.

I will have to find Barb's post. It's worth a read.

MR- do u know where that post of Barb's is?? Would be interested to read it!

When you say weaned what do you mean? Weaned off the breast to formula bottles or from milk completely?

I know I will sound judgemental and I don't apologise for it, but I don't want anyone to get any ideas that they can wean their child onto 2 jars of baby food a meal at 3 months old.

Even if a child is started on solids so young, they still require milk as their main source of nutrition. I would hope that someone wouldn't think it was OK to do that with their child because of reading that! You would be hard pressed to find any health professional to support that decision I would think!

:

---

I know a friend of a friend who last month weaned her 3 month old...apparently she gobbles 2 jars+ of baby food in one go.

While this is not the path I personally want to take, I assume this shows it is possible and I don't judge anyone for their choices.

---

This thread reminded me of something I thought worth mentioning..We went to the nurse the other day for DS's check (7-8 month old) and she told us how the latest research on starting solids is showing a few different things and giving new and quite different advice. She gave me a link of where this info is but I can't find it at the minute, will try to find it again later though.

Crying baby and yelling toddler bbl

Following this thread with interest :). We have only just started DS on solids at 5 months 3 weeks... I waited as close as I could to 6 months, and now that I have started I am giving a very small amount and only after a breastfeed.
He was so, so ready :)

Do as much research as you can, and treat food as a new experience rather than as replacing any milk. That's my best advice :).

I don't understand why people think that their child is ready when they aren't 6 months old? (this is not aimed at anyone in particular)

Common answers

They grab at my food.
Don't they grab at anything you put in front of them? To them it's not the food they want, it's what you have.

They feed more frequently.
Babies often go through a growth spurt close to 6 months, and feed more frequently. This does NOT mean they are ready for solids. Solids are NOT meant to fill them up at 4, 5 or 6 months old, they are a learning experience.

They seem interested when I eat.
All babies seem interested at everything you do. They seem interested when you shave your legs (I know Ash does) but it doesn't mean I am about to go shaving him does it?

They started waking in the night.
It's known that babies start waking and often feeding more often than normal before big developmental milestones (walking, crawling, rolling etc) and a few of these happen on or before 6 months. Ashton has gone through many wakeful periods and I have linked them all to what he was learning and doing at the time. The first time he started crawling (5 months) was when he also started feeding every 1-2 hours, 24/7. All that brain power and concentration, not to mention the physical excersise of actually crawling was making him a hungry boy. Hungry for booby NOT solids.

Seriously, if your thinking about starting BEFORE 6 months because they are 'ready' just wait. It's only a couple/few more weeks. Those few weeks really do make a HUGE difference to how ready they are INSIDE. Their digestive tracks aren't ready for food so early...

FWIW I started Ash early, at 5 months. He had very little solids before I realised what a big mistake I was making and I stopped them. He didn't start eating solids again until he was 7 months old. He wasn't ready at 5 months, I read all the signs wrong and listened to the wrong people. Sure enough, a few weeks later he was not only crawling but saying his first word and pulling up on the furniture. All a lot for a little bubba and he went on to feed 1-2 hourly for a week or so and then cut back to 3-4 hourly. Growth spurt is probably also the reason he did this.

i waited and gabbi didnt have solids until 7.5 mths !

yay :)

Loves her food now hey Lea :)

shes pretty good ! would rather eat with her hands than off a spoon :) (which suits me , as i can eat my own tea now :lol:)

hehe yes Ash is like that now. I'll try feed him some days but NOPE he wants to get right in there with his hands. So nice to be able to eat with the kids and not after :)