BLW before 6 months? yay? nay?

[annieee]

my lo is just 5 months, exclusively BF and doing well, gaining plenty of weight and seems satisfied. however, past week or so when i have eaten near him he has been getting super excited (mouth open, hands flapping, craning at me) and if i eat too close to him he tries to stuff whatever i have in my hand into his mouth!
yesterday it was a grab at my chicken wrap (!) tried going in his mouth and when i moved it out of his eyeline he burst into tears, today it was my banana.... thought i would see how he fared so gave him a large chunk, he held it in his hand and shoved it in, bit off a bit, chewed and swallowed it. I had every intention of waiting until 6 months to wean, BF is just soooo convenient, but it feels a little hypocritical to 'feed on demand' and then stifle his natural urges to try to eat. what are peoples views/opinions, not sure what to do with him now! I am obviously aware of the reasoning behind no gluten/dairy allergenic foods, but cant help but feel my baby is trying to tell me he is ready! thanks in advance :)

[BertieBotts]

Yay! We started BLW at 5 months. I couldn't fight DS off my food any longer.

If he can sit up straight with support, it's fine to start. I actually think if you're going to start before 6 months it's better to do BLW.

Interesting article I read recently about whether to avoid wheat/meat etc - I'll see if I can find it.

[tootssweet]

We've had a go - ds is 6 months exactly today but we have been trying BLW for last 3 weeks as he did the same as yours eyeing up our food & trying to eat his sister's tea. Good luck with it - I feel we are still 'playing' at weaning a bit but he seems happy enough.

[thefurryone]

I started BLW with DS last week at 22 weeks, like your DS he looked keen and I figured that if he could get food to his mouth, chew it and swallow it then it was clearly a sign of him being ready. To be honest I didn't really expect him to swallow anything but his nappies suggest I was wrong about this!

Apart from a bit of crust at lunch time today I've only given him fruit & veg so far.

[OliviaTwist]

I'm having this problem too. DS is 22 weeks. I have always been a bit judgey about early weaning.....until now. DS is super keen to get his hands on food and I have no doubt he would get it in his mouth.

I never felt DD was bothered and we started at 26 weeks.

I am super tempted to give him a bit of brocolli or babycorn but DH keeps frowning at me.

Hmmmm....

[Flisspaps]

If he can sit unsupported, has no tongue thrust reflex and is showing that he is ready, then I don't see that it's a problem to go for it. 6 months is a guide, not a law, but the nearer he is to that age the more likely he is to be ready :)

The most he will probably do with anything you give him is wave it around a bit, get some in his mouth, gum it and then drop it on the floor anyway.

[BertieBotts]

Doesn't have to be unsupported - as long as he can sit up straight, ie not in a propped up or reclined position. DS didn't sit unsupported until 9 months. He was able (and quite willing!) to crawl up to the table, climb onto it and take the food directly out of our hands by then

[peedieworky]

Wow! This post has really reassured me. DS has started making nom nom noises and faces when we eat and keeps making a swipe for anything we eat or drink. I hadn't heard of BLW till he was born and had always planned to go down the Annabelle Karmel route but was totally sold on BLW by other Mums I met. But he seems so keen to try food that I ended up buying baby rice yesterday (not given him any, the thought of it utterly depresses me) and resigning myself to a future of purees as he's only 5 months old. Feel much happier to think I could try him on a bit of banana or something!