Can I do BLW at 24 weeks?

[Peacheyma]

My DS is 24 weeks. I have been trying to hold out for 26 weeks as the official 6 months, however my little boy is sitting up with us at the table for every meal, he has lost his tongue thrust, puts everything he can in his mouth and seems to grasp the concept of giving it a good gum. He seems so keen to get going and I feel like I'm being counter productive by pulling food out of his mouth and keeping him on breast milk (in which he seems a little bored).

My questions are,

1. Can I start BLW at 24wks?
   
2. If yes, are there any foods I should avoid in the 1st weeks?
   

Thanks for your help!

[lorisparkle]

I started all mine with blw at about this age. My understanding is that if they can sit up comfortably, pick up and put food in mouth independently then they are ready. I started with basic root vegetables steamed in fingersized pieces. With mine I was advised to avoid dairy. I also avoided salt, added sugar and basically anything processed. I increased the range of food slowly as there is a history of allergies in our family.

[GrandPoohBah]

I'm doing a mix, but dd was eating finger foods of fruit and veg at about 22 weeks, and at 25 weeks we introduced other things. She had been sitting up on her own from about 20 weeks, and met the other criteria so I didn't feel too worried about it. Obviously you have to make your own decisions but we were happy with the choice we made, and she LOVES food.

[CornishYarg]

I would be guided by how he is doing against the signs of readiness to wean, rather than a specific date. The three key signs you've referred to tend to come together around 6 months but obviously some will be ready a bit earlier and some a bit later. It just sounds like he's ready a bit earlier. I would wait till 6 months before introducing things like wheat, eggs etc but there's plenty of safe foods to offer him in the meantime.