is ds ready for solids?

[partypigeon]

He's a few days away from 5 months and has been ebf up to this point. I had been planning to do blw from 6 months but the past few days he's beengetting really cross wwhen feeding -pulling at me almost aggressively and "biting" with his gums , and is watching us intently when we eat and crying, lunging towards our food a bit. So tonight I gave him a couple of tsp of mashed banana off my fingers and he loved it! But I'm not sure where to go from here -I'm worried it's a bit early to be introducing regular solids but on the other hand he does seem very up for it. Any advice gratefully received!

Watching you eat is a red herring, he just wants to join in with your activity - he won't and can't understand that it's anything to do with hunger.

The fussing whilst feeding is very common at this age - could be teething, or just general distraction. It won't be anything to do with your milk.

It is really up to you what you do with weaning, there's no right or wrong. However, I can't see why you would want to start spoonfeeding purée at nearly 5 months when you previously wanted to do BLW? It's a bit of a change around. If he's able to sit up well and pick things up, could you maybe try doing BLW from now, with just fruit/veg until he's 6 months?

Well, I didn't feel comfortable giving him anything chunky because of his age, everything I've read says to only do that from 6 months. I was trying to respond to this change in behaviour and be "baby-led" that way...

my ds was weaned at 8 weeks, dd at 3 months. ive had two very hungry babies who were more than ready and hv said I was right with both (just a couple spoonfuls of rusk/baby rice to start) if hes ready then you know and you do what you feel is best. I now have two dcs who eat all sorts. ds is six and his favourite food is broccoli so I did something right

Do what you feel is right for you and your baby. If you think that he wants to have food now and you're happy to spoonfeed then that's what you should do.

If you do go ahead, I would just be careful not to drop any breastfeeds, and maybe stick to one meal a day until 6 months. Fruit and veg purée is going to be less calorific and less nutrient dense than breastmilk.

(Fattymcfatfat, I'm amazed your HV was happy for you to start solids at 8 weeks, especially with rusks as they contain gluten which is known to have an increased risk of developing allergies.)

I may have already started before telling her so she had no choice but she did say he was ready for more (he was ff and on a 9oz bottle of hungry baby milk every 45 mins) and that I should try not to give too much justa spoonful or so here and there like I listened

I was in a similar situation to you in that I loved the idea of BLW and planned to do it. Then around 5 months we let dd try a bit of puree and she loved it. For the first week or so I pre loaded the spoon and handed it to her which I felt was close enough to baby led principles if not the real deal. And just didn't particularly worry about how much went in her mouth as opposed to high chair tray, floor etc. That boosted my confidence to try her with some finger foods that didn't present much of a choking risk eg cucumber sticks that she could just mash on with her gums, sticks of banana etc. Not every day at that stage, just when it felt like something both me and baby were up for. Then onto cooked veg and other soft fruits and now at 7.5 months she is on mini versions of our meals except when we have kfc I don't think starting a month early is a problem if you feel Ds would enjoy it, though agree on being able to sit/nearly sit and pick things up is important if considering finger food. equally I don't think you should feel that once you start you must do it every day or in a regular pattern. Good luck and hope it goes well however you decide to do it!

NHS website is v good on this (google NHS weaning) it lists the following:

Three signs your baby is ready for their first food

Every baby is an individual, but there are three clear signs which, together, show your baby is ready for solid foods alongside breastmilk or infant formula. It is very rare for these signs to appear together before your baby is six months old.

• They can stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady.
• They can co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so that they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth, all by themselves.
• They can swallow food. Babies who are not ready will push their food back out, so they get more round their face than they do in their mouths.

Thanks folks. I looked at the nhs page and he can't quite sit unassisted yet which is partly why I thought he was too small for finger foods. I think blw is something that fits with my ideals about how I want to do things, but it's good to know it's okay to let go of it! I think I'm going to keep letting him have little tastes of things for now and maybe give him some things to play with next week if all's going well.

With the sitting, the key thing is that they can sit upright rather than completely unaided. Needing a bit of support from the highchair or you is fine, slumping over isn't.

Ah right, well he is pretty good at sitting in that case. Thanks, feeling more confident now!

The "6 months" message is actually "around 6 months". You don't need to do purée just because he hasn't quite reached his half year.

DD stole my banana and started noshing at 21 weeks. She never really looked back. We made finger foods extra soft for her and she managed really well with roasted and steamed veg. A crinkle cut chip cutter helps give food a texture they can grip.

Want to say the same thing with sitting. A lot of babies can't sit completely unaided in the middle of the floor until nearly 7 months. What they mean is not slumping over in a highchair. Look for a straight back when not reclined.

How about just give him some bananas and avocados to play with on the highchair? That way, you let him take control. You can always decide to start spooning mashed/purees when he's not eating by 26 weeks.

This article may be of interest

www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/2013/09/13-baby-led-weaning-myths.html?m=1

I think lunging at the food is a sign he is ready. BLW is just giving them the food they can pick up and eat themselves. So if you put food on his tray and he eats it then I think that is OK.

My ds started to wean himself during the summer hols - we kept having picnics and he would grab cheese sandwiches and breadsticks. He was about 5 - 5 1/2 months (Yes I let him have cheese before 6 months, I"m afraid).