Too early for blw...?

[MakesCakesWhenStressed]

My 4 month old has been grabbing things in front of him for a couple of weeks now. Last night I put a finger of cutted up apple on the side of my plate nearest him and he picked it up and (as with everything else he gets hold of) put it in his mouth and chomped. He spent a happy half hour chomping, dropping and picking up this piece of apple with obvious enjoyment.

He can sit up by himself for about 10 seconds, or much longer if supported, so that aspect is fine. As long as l avoid food containing gluten is it ok to continue letting him try my food? If so, is there anything else it might be better to avoid until 6 months?

Why not wait till he's six months old? I don't think that putting things in one's mouth is a sign of readiness, it's just what babies do, they discover the world with their hands and mouth. My 7 month old daughter chews her plastic bib that has zero nutritional value, it's not food -it's an instinct. Plus, I would avoid apple, it's a choking risk.

cakes babies put things in their mouths before they're ready to wean. 10 seconds unsupported sitting isn't really long enough.

Personally I'd wait until nearer 6mo

Your name has planted cake ideas in my head

Have you had a read of www.babyledweaning.com?

Did I sound a bit abrupt in my post? Sorry, it was meant to be lighthearted and now seems all pedantic...

It is advised to wait till 6 months.
Because of their digestive system, not because of what they want to put in their mouths.

DD is 5 months and puts everything in her mouth - it's their primary sensory organ - they explore the world with it - it's the one thing they have proper control over (before their hands worked, they used their mouths and now their hands work, they can use them to put things in their mouths!)

It could also be a sign of teething.
DD was eating my big toe earlier, and it was mainly to ease her gums, not because she wanted to eat my toe!

I have read the gill rapley book but that kind of presupposes that babies won't grab at food until 6 months...

Am I just supposed to bat his hands away from my food until then? It didn't say.

You can take the food off him or keep it out of reach

no, it doesn't.
i'm reading it now, and she says over and over that babies will try to grab at everything from about 5months.
I suppose the idea is to eat so she's near you but can't reach the food, and give her something else to chew - like a teether or something.

DD's favourite noise is the crisp packet, and she grabs at the packet when i'm having some: so I emptied a packet and taped up the top, and gave to her. straight in the mouth, satisfied what she was trying to do, but wasn't food.

I've started giving my DD bits to suck on. She'll be 5 months on Saturday.

She is drinking 5 bottles a day at 8oz each and every three hours so I cannot literally fit any more milk in her. She is also teething so certain things she sucks on for flavour and confort for her gums. I have so far offered (and she enjoyed) Melon wedges, the centre of the Pineapple, Broccoli and Chicken breast.

Advice is to wait til 6mo to ensure that their stomachs are fully ready for food, but in all honesty, their stomachs dont mature overnight on the night they are 5months and 29 days old.

no, they don't. it's a gradual thing.
but 5 months is too early.
the advice is "no younger than 6 months", which allows for later too.

If you have read GR's book you will have seen that it's not safe to let a baby who can't hold its own head up start blw, especially with something that can break into little hard bits like raw apple.

He can totally hold his own head up! He can stand just holding onto my fingers for balance! Physically he's strong and ahead of the game, hence why I was wondering if he might be ready for food early :)

unfortunately, those muscle controls aren't linked to gut maturity.
don't worry, it'll be time when he's ready :)

savour the clean floors while you can!

Sorry. I read 'can sit up for all of 10 seconds' as couldn't hold his head up.

Still think raw apple's risky though. And I say that as an enthusiastic BLWer who gets fed up of all the 'but he'll choke if you give him more than puree' bollocks.

Yeah, i;d avoid apple for the time being. Melon or banana would prbably be better.

Well, I'm not going to stop BLWing my DD unless she seems like she is not enjoying / handling it. I feed her 8oz of milk and by 2...2 1/2 later she's looking for more food.

mmmmm, melon. Might buy a nice one for me and let him enjoy it second hand!

What do you reckon? Galia? Honey dew?

I went for Galia. I cut the peel off the wedge and she just sucked it.

I also gave her the core from the pineapple which she loved, I thought it would be too strong a flavour, but obviously not. Think it has helped her sore gums too.

Cakes - that's what I do too - I say to her, "Mummy's eating a cake/apple/sandwich/etc - so you can have it in about an hour, when it's worked its way through"