OK, going to preface this with;

Tams, please dont feel that i am ganging up on you, as there has been a run of similar posts directly after yours...

OK - i have re written this several times and can say what i want to say without sounding b*tchy, so please take it with a pinch of salt and put it down to the fact that i cant say things well when i am typing

When we all had the earlier discussion about introducing solids, there was discussion about the time frame of 4-6 months... the reason that these numbers are blurred is because they KNOW that the digestive system matures SOMEWHERE between this time, but there is no way of knowing which baby has a mature gut at which age, so thats why WHO raised the age to the upper limit (to cover all babies) and some health professionals still will say introduction at 4 mths is OK.

I found a news article that was written regarding the info from the british Scientist (something like that) after the discussion and it was interesting the rationale to switching back to below 6 months. I also read the Huggies website that you mentioned Tam and found their information to be fairly interesting too

to those that have decided to start earlier than the 4 month mark, i am not asking you to 'explain yourselves' at all, i am just curious as to the reasons why your babies need to start on solids before the 4-6 month?

I had a chat to my CMHN about this (introduction at 4 mths) two weeks ago at A's last check up and she said that if a parent is adamant to feed their baby solids at 4 months, they still recommend delaying as longs as possible, but also tell them that they should feed them something that is prepared by them not out of a packet or jar as this can do the most damage to the gut due to the added bits and preservatives etc.

I am not sure what age i will be introducing solids to A, however as per the recommendations of not just WHO, but medical proffessionals too - a baby needs to be able to sit up unsupported, have no head lag, no tongue thrust reflex and should be grabbing at food from parents/others plates.... so those are the cues that i am using, not the 'age' as once they are present i will be fairly confident that her gut is ready for the food that i introduce.

Sorry again, if i have offended and dont want to turn this into a fight... maybe i should keep my comments to myself, but i know that once one parent does something, everyone tends to follow that lead, so wanted to share my opinion and understand yours

I will be back to do persies later, otherwise this will be a novel!