Is my 6 month old ready for solids ?

[Alexia26]

Hi

My DD is 6 months old and is exclusively BF. Recently she has been watching us intensely whilst we eat and drink and then becomes seemingly frustrated. Yesterday whilst I was eating a pear she was staring at it ,mouth wide open and then started to whinge and lean forward towards it. The reason I haven't introduced solids yet (I intend to go the BLW route) is because I've been told by our paediatrician and have read in countless articles that she should be sitting unassisted and have lost the tongue thrust reflex, the reflex has pretty much gone now but although she can sit upright she will topple over if not supported . My husband made feel really guilty as if I was denying her the food for the hell of it! . Am I doing the right thing to wait?

We put dd in the bumbo to start with. We did blw so just put food on the tray in front of her and let her get on with it. If she is able to pick the food up and put it in her mouth then she's definitely ready for it . It took dd a few weeks to get anything much in her mouth but we knew she was getting everything she needed from milk so weren't worried.

Sorry, meant to say we put her in the bumbo as she could sit in that but would topple over if sitting allon on her own.

Well, I wouldn't wait much longer... Sitting unassisted means sitting in a bumbo or highchair without slumping face first into their food. My dd didn't sit totally unassisted on the floor until she was closer to 9 months but was perfectly happy getting on with eating solids in a highchair from 5 1/2 months.
Sounds like she would have loved a taste of that pear, so go for it and offer her bits to lick, chew, mash up

Id say let her have some she seems to want it. I have a 6month whoes not fully sitting unaided but sits fab in her high chair. Were trying baby led too! We both seem to be enjoying it

Go for it! I was in exactly the same position when my DS was nearly 6 months. At about this time he dropped centiles following illness so I decided to give it a go. He was exactly as you have described your DD. We started BLW and he took to it straight away. We were given one of those booster seat chairs that you can pop on a normal chair which also has a removable tray. We can squidge him in it better than a traditional high chair so his sitting wasn't a problem. Now at nearly 7 months he is eating and trying so much, and I think its helped his sitting too. Honestly it is so enjoyable if your DC takes to it, lovely sociable meal times

I'd have had to wait until 9 months if I had waited for dd2 to sit 'unaided'. We weaned from around 6months maybe a little earlier by a week or so. From about 8 weeks old dd2 woke up at dinner time - as soon as the cutlery hit the table, every day for a feed and by 6 months was sat beside us at the table anyway (screaming to get up after 5minutes) - It was impossible to wait any longer.

I agree that "sitting unaided" means not slumping forwards into food or slumping sideways in a high chair. Not sitting up completely on their own on the floor.

We started in the IKEA antilop high chair with the blow up cushion insert, so my child was supported on all sides. He could sit up in that quite happily and not slump forwards or sideways.

Thank you everyone,most of the info I read seemed to imply she had to be sitting up perfectly unassisted,which seemed a lot to ask for at 6 months, she does support her head completely and sits up well it's just that left alone she'll fall to one side after a minute. I'm going to start her on solids this week .

Could anyone tell me about the order in which you introduced the food e.g. meat dairy and gluten. We have no allergies or intolerances that we know of but is it really ok to introduce gluten at 6 months? Some people say wait untill 8 months, what did you all do ? Oh one more thing with the introduction of solids I know it's usual to begin to offer water but so early on when they will probably wear more food than they eat and still BF on demand ,is it really necessary or more question of getting them used to drinking from a cup?

Sorry for all the questions but I where I live (South Italy) BLW is unheard of ,water is offered very early on and I don't know anyone who got to 6 months exclusively BF. (Im quite the oddity!) I'm going entirely by what I read and occasional emails to a paediatrician I know in the UK. Our one here told us to start weaning DD at 4 months so I don't bother asking him anything anymore.

You can introduce everything except honey at 6 months. There is some evidence that gluten should be introduced by 7 months to avoid intolerances developing. Just offer a sip cup of water with meals.

No Swordfish, Shark or Marlin at 6 months!

(I know... Slightly ridiculous since who really eats those things?! But maybe in Italy??? So thought I'd mention it!)

Also, no whole nuts till aged 5

Generally when at 6 months most things can be introduced (apart from honey, whole nuts and cows milk as a main drink) an important thing is to be mindful of the salt content, bread and other bakery products have a surprising amount of salt.

We started off with fruits and vegetables, sweet potato wedges, long stem brocolli, fruit purees ( I know a spoon! not for those BLW purists!). Then moved quickly into porridge, bread, cheese, meat etc.

Just make sure you introduce potential allergens (eggs, fish, gluten, peanuts, cows milk eg in porridge one at a time, or if there is a reaction or intolerance you won't know what has caused it.

My approach wasn't strictly BLW but just went with what I thought was a good approach,

Good luck!

Thanks so much , and thanks Belly we do eat a lot of fish here but I'm aware that that fish isn't recommended for babies. I'm quite clear on what not to give , but it's just I have noticed that most introduce vegetables and fruits before other foods. I really like the thought of giving hard boiled egg as a first food but everyone seems seem to introduce this after. Has anyone given egg first?

We gave scotch pancakes first! Home made with eggs from our chickens. It wasn't an issue at all. In fact we've been totally haphazard in what we have introduced and when. I know what DS has eaten in a day so if he did have a reaction I could work out why by process of elimination.

The only thing I'd say about egg whites is they are hard to pick up and hold, DS prefers his eggs scrambled on toast fingers, he really struggles with the texture of the whites on their own. We've been more led by what is easy for him to pick up, and he is improving really quickly.

It is so much fun, post back to let us know how you get on :)

We introduced things as and when we were eating them. Blueberry pancakes were an early success. We tried to stick to homemade food as much as possible to restrict intake of sugar and salt and so on.

I think it's important for them to try as many foods as possible while they are still babies and will try new things as once they are toddlers they become very suspicious of new foods.

We started BLW at 5.5months. I'd suggest things such as broccoli, melon, pear, cheese (Brie went down a storm) and sweet potato to start with. I honestly can't remember when we started giving water but i don't think it was until a bit later, (he was bf until 19months.) we have gluten (bits of hot cross bun and scotch pancakes) from about 7months, I think.

OP I so sympathise with you living in Italy and being so very contrary and modern! ;) I used to get horrified looks for wearing flip flops in October and going out at night without a chaperone (at the age of 19!!) so I can understand your reservations...

Op I really recommend the book 'baby led weaning' by Gill rapley. I bought the e-book version and downloaded it on my phone so it was easy to read a bit while feeding ds his milk or whenever. It really clearly explains what to d, suggests first foods and recipes, and also explains the science behind blw which will help you to tell other people why you're doing what you're doing! It's a quick and easy read but made me feel so confident about the whole thing. Ds is 11 months now and LOVES his food

I think you're meant to wean between 4 and 6 months, it's by 6 months for BF babies as their natural iron stores start to reduce and there is a risk of anaemia if they don't get enough iron from food. Sounds like your DD will love food so go for it!

NHS advice is to wean at "around 6 months" and definitely not before 17 weeks. I would give a multivitamin with iron from 6 months for breastfed babies, just as a back up to what they will get from food.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions, and I will google that book later thanks Curls.
I agree with you MsBug I want DD to try a great variety of foods and we also will be preparing her food at home , I'm going to an organic supermarket to get a few things in for her tonight. I have read that too Keturah,that there is evidence that introducing gluten later on can actually create intolerances, we eat pasta at lunch nearly everyday so she'll definitely be trying some of that soon.
Laquila ,yes you don't know the half of it my MIL can't get her head around that fact that our DD hasn't drunk any water yet and that she's actually alive and well, she's fixated on it I swear. Also I love the thought of giving Brie as I adore it. Is it actually safe to give mould ripened cheese then ? Also was it a deliberate choice to introduce gluten at 7 months?
I also intend to BF for as long as possible. I've bought a Doidy cup, but I haven't tried her with it yet I really don't feel she needs any water at the moment untill she's having a substantial amount of solids.

Also how many times per day do you intially offer food? I'm aware there are no 'rules ' as such but I had thought of starting with breakfast and building up to 3 meals per day but have read since that many offer their babies food at all meals. My worry is that she will begin to BF less so early on.

I've been weaning for a couple of weeks and also ebf but I offer water at every meal as (TMI) his dirty nappies decreased in frequency and are definitely firmer. My friends babies seemed to get constipated when they started weaning so I hope by offering water that this won't happen. It hasn't stopped him feeding regularly throughout the day and all night and it's good that he now takes a sippy cup as he refuses a bottle.

I was a bit haphazard with when I offered food, I try now to offer when I eat otherwise he just stares at mine and I feel guilty. I offered gluten from 6 months, he's still not actually swallowing that much but seems fine. Due to various allergies and reflux we're a bit limited in what he can eat.

Just to say I probably wouldn't offer egg as your first foodstuff, as it's one of the most common allergies among babies.

I'm aware that egg is an allergenic food but mostly everything I have read concerning infant nutrition states that at 6 months old they can eat everything (except nuts honey etc ) providing you have no reason to believe they could be a prime candidate for allergies, most experts are saying that there is no evidence to support delaying their introduction. Obviously allergens need to be introduced one at a time. I do from time to time come across sites saying it's better to wait until 8 months before introducing gluten dairy etc so I have been looking into it a lot over the last few days but as we've no food allergies or intolerances in our families so I'm not going to worry too much.

Hi OP! Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as patronising. I just thought I'd point out the egg issue in case you weren't aware - but you obviously are! We do have a family history of hayfever/asthma and DD (who also had a small patch of eczema) has an egg allergy .