Printable View
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 :)