If you wean before 6 months, do you have to do purees?

[BotBotticelli]

I wanted to wait until 6 months to wean.

However, DS1 is 5 months old (21 weeks) and grabbed a chip off my plate in Wetherspoons the other day and tried to eat it! Obviously I stopped him! He also watches me eating, makes chewing motions with his mouth and weighs around 19lb, has been a big boy from birth.

So my gut instinct is I am probably going to start introducing food in the next week or so. So my question is, do I have to do baby rice/purees if I start before 6 months? Or can I stick some soft steamed carrot sticks, slices of avocado and other veg etc on a tray in front of him and see what happens?

Weight, watching you eat and making chewing motions are not signs of readiness for weaning.
Being able to sit up and loss of tongue thrust reflex are important. Can your baby sit up by himself, grab a peeled banana, bring it to his mouth and eat some of it? If yes, then they're probably ready. If not, stick to milk.

He can sit up very well in his bumbo without slumping does that count? Has been able to hold his head up since 2 weeks old!

Guess I won't know whether he can grab and eat some banana unless I put it somewhere he can find it...he seemed to to pretty well with that chip in the pub though, before I wrestled it out from between his lips!

I would go with purée or natural homemade fruit and veg. My LO is 5 months and loves everything I give him. All baby products but a variety of flavours and he's thriving. He's around 16lb. Go for it.

I had this problem, DS was ready for food just after 5 months (he was sitting unaided etc) but all the advice is either for those starting early and doing purees or waiting until after 6 months. I did purees for a couple of days, then mashed food for a week or so, then almost all finger foods or adult foods that are soft - macaroni cheese, cottage pie, spaghetti bologaise etc. Lots of pasta! I agonised over it because there was no help - you were either in one camp or the other. But I know now all that worry was just one of those sleep deprived first time mum anxiety things. Shame weaning is so emotive and commercialized (Gill Rapley vs Annabelle Karmel) that it is hard sometimes for common sense to be heard.

So yes - go with the steamed fruit and veg and see what he does, even if he hasn't reached the magic 6 month mark.

The guidelines are only that, if your Lo is meeting all of the criteria there is no reason why you can't wean. However 21 weeks is very young and there is little you can offer at this age, you might be best just waiting a bit

Have you read the Mn weaning info? Its very good

I got a handout from my local authority on weaning. It basically says before 6 months, keep it to purees, and also keep it really simple, e.g. vegetables & fruit, baby rice, etc. Don't give cow's milk, cheese, eggs, nuts, etc.

Fairly similar to NHS advice in fact: www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/solid-foods-weaning.aspx

I think the thing about dairy etc before 6 months is that if they suffer an allergic reaction at a very young age, it may be potentially really damaging to their health. As they get older they're more robust.

My DD was about this age when she started helping herself to my food... She could sit unaided... From about 23 weeks I let her take fruit from my plate... I never puréed anything. She only really sucked on stuff in the first couple of weeks anyway. If he meets the criteria (sitting unaided and able to take food to his mouth) then you're probably ok to introduce finger goods here and there for him to play with. I wouldn't purée anything to wean him yet unless you really want to....

Siting in bumbo is not sitting unaided. None of these things you have said mean that you should wean early.

Why the rush to wean? Do you know the health guidelines for weaning before six months?

I would just wait, it's only another 3/4 weeks.

Agree sitting in a Bumbo is not sitting unaided - a Bumbo will support a baby of any age as long as they can hold their head up. My DD was in a Bumbo without slumping well before five months - but she couldn't sit unaided.

If he can sit on the floor or in a high chair without slumping he can sit unaided - in a Bumbo its the seat that is holding him up whether he can or not.

Re needing to sit unaided, the NHS advice states that one of the signs of readiness to wean is "They can stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady." It doesn't say they need to be able to sit unaided; some babies are 9 months or more before they master this.

The main concern is that they flop to the side when eating in a high chair, Bumbo etc as this makes choking much more likely. If they can sit upright, with the aid of whatever they're sitting in if necessary, they meet the first sign of readiness to wean.

DD was 19 weeks old when she was able to sit up, grab food off a plate and shove it in her mouth. We just let her get on with it. Mostly she sucked it. She had everything - garlic bread, pasta, cucumber, tomato, humous. Basically if it was on our plates and she could pick it up, she "ate" it. Not much of it was swallowed for the first couple of weeks. We have no allergies in our family though, so that may be something you need to be aware of.

There are some foods which are a higher choking hazard - purees are one of them because they can slip around behind the gag reflex, which is much further forward on young babies. Whole grapes, whole cherry tomatoes, and apple are also high choking risks.

DD joined us at every mealtime from birth and we did BLW to take the guess work out of when she was ready. The important words are "baby led", in other words, your baby tells you when she is ready, not a calendar or a book.

your baby tells you when she is ready, not a calendar or a book

Only up to a point. They can't "tell" you anything at 5 months old, and the things which used to be considered "signs" that children were ready are no longer accepted as signs of readiness.

The thing about the grabbing food is that babies grab everything, and usually end up eating it, it's what they do.
If he grabbed your car keys you wouldn't think maybe he's ready to drive so just because he grabs food doesn't mean he needs food.
I agree that something magical doesn't happen the night they turn 6 months. Some babies are ready sooner and some are ready later.

I was holding out for 6 months with ds2 but he ate a big adult sized rice cake at 5months. I was walking past him to give it to ds2 and he reached out for it so I gave it to him to see what he would do with it. I did BLW with him from then on - just gave him bits of fruit or veg off our plates at every meal. He refused to be spoon fed!

I meant signs according to the BLW method. Which are:

baby can sit up mostly unaided
baby no longer has tongue thrust reflex
baby can physically grab food and convey it accurately to mouth
baby can suck/chew on food and swallow

As has been said, interest in food, 6 month growth spurt, waking at night, etc. are not signs of readiness. The above are. That is how a BLW baby "tells" it's mother it is ready for food.

I gave first solids when my DS was 2 weeks shy of 6 months. He too was a big baby and could sit unaided. We did baby rice and purées for two weeks (which he hated) and when he turned six months he went straight to finger food and he hasn't eaten of a spoon since. I think if your LO can sit well and doesn't push food back out too much then give him a go with spoons until he can go finger food.

What did you decide Bot?

I did it from 5 months when my ds grabbed a massive prawn with its shell on and put it in his mouth (I obviously took the prawn from him and gave him something more appropriate!)
He got it straight away and loved it.
He was sitting completely unaided at 5 months though. The bumbo gives them support my ds was sitting in it before he was 3 months and was escaping from it at 5 months!
My son had a major interest in food from a tiny age and still does. He adores meal times and eats a wider range of foods than most adults including crab and scallops, game, brie etc. I think blw is brilliant.

Hey guys here's an update: I started off giving a small amount of baby rice at lunchtime this week, and have just today given a small amount of pureed carrot at lunchtime instead. He seems to really love it, it all seems to be going 'in' (ie he is not pushing it out with his tongue), and he even grabs the spoon off me and tries to feed himself!

It might just be coincidence (maybe his teething pain which he has really been suffering with the last few weeks has abated a bit, as two little tooth stumps are now poking through at the bottom), BUT he seems like a much more settled and happier baby since I started with the small bit of food at lunchtime. He has also had a 55 minute nap after his lunch the last 2 days as well....this is really a revolution as previously DS had point blank refused to nap for more than 30 minutes at a time, no matter what I did. So again, maybe a coincidence, or maybe he has been wanting some food and is now a bit happier! Guess I'll never know but my gut feeling is that I have done the right thing for him :)

So I am going to carry on with purees for couple of weeks as he is only 5mo, and then introduce a few soft steamed veg sticks at 5 and a half months, and then, um, wing it from there! Hopefully from 6 months we can focus mainly on finger foods.