Will 9 days make a difference?

[ProudMama2Monkey]

Hi, this is my first post, I have been lurking and seen some great advice, so I was hoping you could help me.

My DS will be six months in 9 days time, we have already started weaning with puree's as he was a big baby (18lb at 4 mo), he is really enjoying his food and seems to be ready for more. He has started chewing when we are eating and even tried to pull a plate out of my DH's hand. I do feel he is ready for more...such as toast and other finger foods. But I'm worried that I may harm his digestive system, which obviously I don't want to happen.

Also he would have been six months old yesterday if born on his due date, I don't know if this matters.

So my question, would it be best to wait until he is exactly six months or do you think it would be ok to start just now?

Just start now-the 6 months thing is only a guide-I hate the way 1st time mums are made to feel they can't trust their own instincts about their babies.
You're doing a good job-keep doing what you're doing :)

I meant to say, my children are 13 and almost 9, and when they were babies, the advice was to wean at about 14-16 weeks, which I did, as they were both ready, and they're both perfectly healthy :)

Thank you for your reply. I am going to start now, he is definitely ready. Just going to trust my instincts. Thanks again. :)

If you've already started weaning I'm not sure what difference it will make to his digestive system!

Mine started BLW at 22 weeks. You'll know when your child is ready - if they grab food, put in in their mouth and make chewing motions with their mouth rather than moving food around their mouth with ther tongue, then they are ready. My LO likes to grab a loaded spoon of yogurt, porridge or risotto and will then feed herself with the loaded spoon and she's only 24 weeks plus 2 days today. The first time she had risotto (last week) her nappy looked like someone put a tiny bit of risotto in it - they don't digest much to start with but getting used to different foods and the tastes of things is really what they're doing at the beginning anyway. They still get more or less all their calories and nutrition from milk so a few finger foods won't hurt.

Trust your insticts. DS is now 22.5 weeks and we started weaning at 16 weeks. He loves everything I put in front of him. You know your baby best.

I agree with shesparkles in that I hate how us first time mums are made to feel as though we are doing something wrong by weaning "early". Go for it! LO will soon tell you if they dont like it.

Thanks for your reply's. Rita maybe I didn't word my OP as well as I could have. I'm giving DS puree's of root veg at the moment, what I was meaning is would it be ok to move on to a wider range of foods, such as bread, dairy etc.

gourd and SeaChelles thank you for sharing your experiences. He is making chewing motions, I gave him some toast and he was doing great.

Thanks again! :)