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 :)

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.

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.

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.

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....

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.

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

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!