4 months or 6 months for starting solids?

[allisonmh]

When did/will you start solids? 4 months or 6 months?

 

[mel28nicole]

I started shortly after 4 months but it is best to wait closer to 6 months. Only started earlier because she had constipation issues and her pediatrician recommended starting with cereal/oatmeal to help her poos. Around 5 was when I started to introduce jarred foods and veggies.

If you're doing BLW its best to wait til 6 months.

 

[CaptainMummy]

6 months here. My dd3 is 5 monthd today and I havent even thought about weaning yet. Its too much mess to start early, if you ask me!

 

[Perplexed]

Offered her food from around 6 months...but she was wobbly when sat up and didn't have a big interest till closer to 8 months,

 

[mammy2oaklen]

6 months here as I will do baby led weeing like I did with my others

 

[MindUtopia]

6 months. The reason being (besides that's what the guidelines say and I think those are definitely important to take into consideration in deciding what you personally want to do) is because we wanted to do baby-led weaning. BLW is awesome and it was such a pleasure to let her explore food on her own terms. We now have a very adventurous 2 year old who eats all sorts of things that kids her age don't normally like (except for bland food and anything breaded and fried, like a fish finger, she won't touch those and I have no complaints about that!). I think BLW is so fantastic and you really can't do that at 4 months, so I'd never sacrifice that for the choice to wean early.

Also, it wasn't a deciding factor at the time, but looking back I'd say one of the main reasons I'm so glad we didn't wean early was simply because it gave us more time for just doing milk feeds. Weaning, if you're going to offer healthy, home-cooked meals, takes time and money and effort. Why make more work for yourself when you're finally hitting the time when you might be getting a bit more sleep, your baby is more interactive, and you could be focusing on having fun with them? You'll be slaving away over healthy family meals for all of you for the next 18 years. There's no reason to rush it. I'm glad we had just a few more months when life was a little less complicated. If it was a rough day and I was exhausted, we could just get a frozen pizza. I didn't have to worry about what I'd feed her. And we got away with spending a little bit less on fresh food. I didn't have to stress about bringing food with me when we visited friends or family (who never seem to want to eat a meal at the same time my daughter is hungry, so I'm always preparing her an early lunch in other people's kitchens when we visit) and I didn't have to pack up healthy snacks for a day out. We could just bring a bottle and it was easy. Weaning just adds an extra layer of complexity to doing anything. I get that people get really excited about it and I think that's why so many people still start early. But I think sit back, relax, enjoy your baby just being a baby for a couple more months. Besides just being what's recommended anyway for a host of medical reasons, it's just nicer and more enjoyable too, especially if you eventually go down the BLW route when they're ready.

 

[allisonmh]

I don't necessarily mind waiting, but it just seems like he's ready now at 4 months... He literally watches us like a hawk when we eat and he doesn't seem content with formula anymore, it's like he just wants more and more even when he's eating like 36ozs a day. My mom gave me one of the baby food makers, but apparently she dropped it so she told me to make sure it worked so if not she could take it back; so I made some puréed carrots bc that's what I had. Since I had made them, I gave him a tiny bit just to see what he'd do and he went crazy. He was trying to take the spoon from me and shove it in his mouth... Lol. So I just don't know... Of course the pediatrician said it was fine and that he can start solids if I want, but I just can't decide...

 

[staralfur]

Watching you eat and increased milk consumption aren't signs of being ready for solids. There are physical signs that you need to pay attention to (ability to sit with minimal support, loss of tongue thrust reflex, ability to pick up food and move it to their mouths themselves) while also keeping in mind that the recommendation is 6 months because most professionals believe it's the safest time to introduce solids. The fact is that you don't know what your baby's gut looks like or is capable of handling, so why not play it safe and wait until as close to 6 months as you can manage?

If he doesn't seem satisfied with the amount of formula you're giving him then offer him more. Milk offers more nutrition and calories than puréed carrots.

 

[Zeri]

No option for 5 months? My son is 5 1/2 months and I just started him on cereal and will try another food soon. He seems ready.

Your son seems so too. If your ped didn't have a problem with it and your son seems ready as per the guidelines (you can find them online), then it should be ok.

 

[patch2006uk]

A 4 month old is at more risk of choking, as they can't hold their heads up as well and keep their airways clear They also can't clear anything that gets lodged as easily. Babies can and do choke on puree. Even if you don't wait until 6 months, wait until they're capable of holding their heads up long enough to eat. Mine were started BLW at 23 weeks and 25 weeks, so just shy of 6 months, but both were sitting independently by then and were capable of self feeding.

 

[allisonmh]

Patch, he can sit up in his high chair. He's not sitting completely unassisted yet, but as long as something is behind him, he can sit and hold his head up. I wouldn't say he can feed himself, but he understands the concept of what's going on. He holds the spoon with me and moves it towards his mouth and opens his mouth when the spoon approaches. The 2 times now that I have given him purée it's literally only been less than a teaspoon so he's not really eating much, more so just tasting.

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

4 months, based on her doctor's recommendation and her own readiness. We started with rice cereal and moved onto purees pretty quick. I also bought some of the Gerber baby snacks and let her experiment with picking them up (she had the pincer grasp down at 4 months as well, although she just sucked on them for the first couple of months).

If the pediatrician is fine with it and you're okay with it, then trust your instincts - either way. You don't have to give them a lot in the beginning. And it's perfectly okay to wait another month or two as well!

 

[patch2006uk]

Patch, he can sit up in his high chair. He's not sitting completely unassisted yet, but as long as something is behind him, he can sit and hold his head up. I wouldn't say he can feed himself, but he understands the concept of what's going on. He holds the spoon with me and moves it towards his mouth and opens his mouth when the spoon approaches. The 2 times now that I have given him purée it's literally only been less than a teaspoon so he's not really eating much, more so just tasting.

In that case, I'd sit him in the highchair with an empty spoon to practise for a couple of weeks. Have you looked into BLW? If he's already wanting to control things coming towards his mouth, it might be a roaring success!

 

[Lemonade]

We have just started at 5.5 months. She was showing all the signs; she can sit up unsupported, has lost the tongue thrust reflex, can hold her head steady. Her weight gain also slowed down between 4.5 and 5.5 months, which our health visitor suggested was another possible reason for starting. Also, she was born at 42 weeks exactly, so would have been 6 months yesterday if born on her due date...I know that doesn't officially count, but I was very sure of my dates due to fertility treatment, so she was definitely late!

 

[noon_child]

?

If he doesn't seem satisfied with the amount of formula you're giving him then offer him more. Milk offers more nutrition and calories than puréed carrots.

I agree. He may be able to start foods a bit earlier than 6months if his physical development is good but it won't really help with the hunger till he's ablt to digest a full balanced diet of fat, protein, carbs etc. food at first is more about taste, learning self feeding skills, socialisation etc. milk is the main source of nutrition till at least 1yr old.

 

[bdb84]

I seem to be a bit different here.

With DS, I started solids way too early. Classic "my mom knows best" situation there as I was a young mom who simply did not know better. He also was a formula fed baby.

With DD1 (breastfed), I attempted to wait until 6 months and then begin BLW but we ended up giving it a go around 5 months. She did well, but BLW wasn't for me. I still stuck with it, but wasn't a big fan of it.

With DD2, I plan to wait until at least 5 months again and do a mix of purees and BLW. With DS, he was on purees until he was an older infant (9-10 months), with more routine meal times, and I truly believe that contributed to his fully content demeanor and amazing sleep cycles.. whereas DD1 was a chronic fuss pot who never slept well.

Obviously it could just be a contrast in personality and capability, so that's why I'm flexible and we will just find what works best for us.

 

[mafa]

I started solids on 6 mos. Now she is 1. Weight - 9.600 kg. It's a good?

 

[redneckhippy]

My LO is almost 4 months now and he still just seems like such a baby, I can't imagine starting him on solids. Plus I don't really get the eagerness to start solids. My MIL asked me the other day if we had started juice and it just seemed crazy to me. The thought had never even occured to me that he would be ready for that. I plan to hold off on solids for as long as possible as the only thing I see solids as a switch to stinky poop...which I'm not looking foward to. It would be fine by me if he doesn't have solids until closer than a year.

 

[liz1985]

Ive ticked 6m but we started with both at 5.5m. I dont beleive yiu need to wait till 6m on the dot but i do think that around 6m is best as i trust the research. Both mine were ready at 5.5m they could sit unaided, bring their own food to mouth etc. However if they wernt ready at 6m i would also have waited a few more weeks to start. We did tw with ds and blw with dd. I prefer blw purly for the easyness of it, but dont think ones better than the other in terms of making them better eaters. Both of mine have been fab eaters and ds could use a fork and spoon well before dd.

 

[mum140381]

over the years i have started my children at all different ages but found 6 months to be the best
1st 12 weeks
2nd 12 weeks
3rd 4 months
4th 4 months
5th 4 months
6th 6 months