Should I give my 5 month old food

[Mum070322]

DS is exclusively breastfed and I was planning on waiting until 6 months but he’s so interested in food and cries when we won’t give him any.

he’s currently not able to sit up independently but is fine if he has light support and has complete control of his head and neck he’s also able to pick things up and bring it to his mouth and swallows food.

I was having dinner and had a plain chip on my plate, he was very interested so I showed it to him and put it on his lip not thinking he’d react. He opened his mouth straight away grabbed the chip with one hand, and my hand with his other and was fighting me trying to chow down, eventually I got the very squished chip away and he started crying so I gave him a bit more, he did struggle with the skin but swallowed all the potato from the inside.

Now I’m thinking I should start feeding him food (obviously not chips) but start his first tastes with streamed veg and veg mixed with breastmilk but I have heard weaning too early can cause stomach problems but just concerned I should start while he’s interested.

Start him with stewed fruit or steamed vegetables - no need to mix breast milk in with it!
When my kids were babies (many years ago, they were weaned at a couple of months! Son2 (now 38) was started on pureed food at 6 WEEKS. He's always been a strong, healthy person. How do you think generations before this one managed?

Wait as long as possible because the milk is forming the gut lining which is essential for optimal health throughout life. There's no rush for solids and breastmilk changes each feed to provide the correct amount of nutrients and fats and more. When baby begins to show interest in food if you let them feed themselves this also really sets them up to be able to judge how much goes in the mouth, how to process different textures, and regulate portions - all things removed by feeding purees.

We began solids at 7 months and did the baby-led weaning and she's doing amazing well at 6.

If he cannot sit unaided, he isn't ready. I would wait until 6 months. Though I also wouldn't go with any mush or puree. We did BLW and will definitely be doing it again as it worked so well for us last time.

Sitting unaided is not a requirement for weaning, they just need to sit with support, it's to prevent choking. Sitting unaided is often an 8-9 month milestone.

If he can't sit unaided I wouldn't give him finger food as there is a choking risk.
I'd also be worried about gut development. All those saying 'how did they cope in the olden days' they didn't. Infant mortality was high. (Obviously not saying early weening was cause just pointing out a flaw in your argument)
Finally it's just massively inconvenient. Bf is so easy do it anywhere. Having to faff around with purées and finding baby friendly food when out is not as fun as weening your baby sounds.

Well a chip isn't really food is it?
Grim tbh.

Five months is fine. If his tongue pushes the food back out again all the time he's not ready. If he can't hold his head up unaided he's not ready.
Sitting up unaided is not a realistic test for solids readiness. Most babies 8 months before they can do that for any period of time.

Sitting unaided isn't necessary, it's sitting with support that's important!

Nothing magical happens at the 6month mark that means food is now fine. Use your common sense and if he's swallowing well and not just pushing food out of his mouth again then it's perfectly fine to give him little bits of food at 5 months.

I weaned DS at 5 months and from the word go he was able to move food around his mouth and swallow, he used to cry when I stopped spoon feeding him 😂 Now a very healthy 3 year old with no allergies/digestive issues, and eats everything under the sun!

I've recently started weaning DD at 21 weeks. Her weight gain was faltering with suspected CMPA so GP advised to introduce some solids.

She can't sit up wholly independently but is fine in her high chair and is able to semi-feed herself by grabbing the loaded spoon and shoving it in her mouth at various angles 😂. She's having puréed veg and fruit only at the moment and is really enjoying it.

I weaned DD1 (who is now 21) at a similar age back when the advice was to introduce solids at 4 months. I got a lot of grief from the health visitor for 'delaying' weaning until 20 weeks!

Humans have been raising babies for centuries without NHS guidelines! Use your inbuilt mama instincts! If YOU think your baby is ready, then it is VERY likely they are ready!

And many many babies and young children used to die. Living until 5 was an achievement. What a ludicrous argument.

Christ it's only a bit of cooked potato, not dog shit. 🙄🙄🙄

Why are you pulling me up over the ice cream suggestion and any of the other things? They can all be stupidly high in sugar 🤷🏻‍♀️

A little spoonful isn't going to harm him, and if it gets really hot again, the cold might be a nice sensation.

Dd was weaning at 4 months. Her colic was cured over night and she loved food from the get go. She’s a very good eater now at 9

Ds wasn’t interested in any sort of weaning until he was gone 7 months.

Now at 7, he’s a bottomless pit but he can be a bit more fussy about food

Guidance changes over time and, as with most things, your child knows what they are ready for. I have three healthy young men who started on solids before three months when 'guidance' was different. Nothing wrong with any of them. They all loved food! Everything goes full circle not just fashion (wish I'd kept my dungarees from 40 years ago😂)

I did it at 4 months bc baby was always crying at mealtimes and very interested in what we were having. I gave in when she got to 4 months. She could hold head and neck upright. We just sat her in her little chair and tried her with puréed baby rice and she loved it. From there, I moved onto puréed fruit and veg, then beaches out at 6/7 months.

branched*