Should I be stopping DS from starting to eat?

[Lambzig]

DS is 20 weeks old and a very big baby (9.5kg). He has the first two teeth and think the top two are coming through. In the last week or so if he is sitting on my or DH's lap and we are eating he is constantly trying to grab food and shove it in his mouth.

At the moment I am stopping him as I want to wait for six months minimum (DD didn't eat a thing until 7-8 months as she wasn't interested), but DH thinks I should be letting him try appropriate foods if he is grabbing them.

He is not hungry because he is fed on demand and sleeps through the night, so I don't think he needs to move to food. Planning to do BLW.

Any advice appreciated.

BLW is "baby led" so if he is grabbing food and shoving it in his mouth himself then he is old enough to wean. He probably won't swallow much food to begin with, just let him get on with it.

Totally agree, its baby led and he seems to be leading.

I'm torn on this one - just because his motor skills and curiosity are ready doesn't necessarily mean that his gut is.

BUT, i wonder how much damage you might do by spending the next six weeks saying 'no' and distracting him and discouraging him from eating food and then suddenly doing a complete about turn and starting to encourage him. Very confusing for him i'd think.... I think I'd try to keep him away from situations where he's close enough to grab food and try to eat for a little bit longer but if he does then I wouldn't stop him as such.

I'd let him get on with it at that age tbh.

NHS guidelines are here. According to them, he has displayed all the signs of readiness.

I'd let him get on with it too - DS was grabbing at stuff at that age, but I can't imagine enough got down there to make any difference.. he'd probably already eaten more fuzz from the carpet and sucked fluff and dust from his toys than he actually managed to ingest from snaffled bits of bread

The theory behind BLW is that an average baby (i.e. not one with physical or mental difficulties) can't physically feed itself until it is mature enough to cope with food. 6 months is a guideline, just as there are early walkers, there are early eaters. BLW takes the guess-work out of the equation.

Thanks that's really helpful. He is sitting up by himself too (I mean unsupported by anyone). It just seems so early and I was worried about gut development. Unfortunately, the alternative to having him sit with me at mealtimes seems to be not eating or listening to him scream as he is very clingy non daytime sleeping baby. I don't want to confuse him.

I will try giving him a milk feed just before my mealtimes and see if that helps things.

Had been worrying he was going to make himself ill and worried about gluten for example, in pasta.