Wanted to wait until 6 months and do BLW, but DS seems to want food NOW?!

[glimmer]

I am a first time mum and have to admit I haven't read enough about weaning. I wanted to do BLW at 6 months, but something happened in DS behavior and he seems very eager to start eating solids now (4 months 3 weeks, but born in week 42, so more than 5 momths adjusted). He wants to drink from the cup (and does!!! - EBM and very small amounts of fennel tea) and always grabs my food. If I give him finger-good, he does not move it to his mouth, but he is definitely very interested in the spoon and immediately puts it in his mouth (not just to chedk it out -- he wants to eat from it, e.g. EBM!). He seems to be hungry constantly and is waking up very often during the night to drink.

Now, I am confused as to whether to hold out longer or start to put something mushy in front of him. Could you point me to some sources about this including other threads. I wanted to follow recommendations, but sense that my DS is ready to start on solids.

Insecure, Glimmer

glimmer, my ds stole some potato from my plate at dinner one night and ate it and that was the sign i took to mean he was ready, lol. i'd be hesitant of encouraging it unless it's 100% his decision to eat

you really should read aitches blog though before you start, it's extremely helpful

Thanks again for sharing your experiences and the links to the BLW blog. Will do some more reading and hold off will mashed things. I did allow him to suck on a pear and apple and gave him some momsicels, which he happily ingested (and this was already a mess :-)) He also grabbed a piece of bread and while I watched to see if he would move it to his mouth, he'd already bitten off a bit and chewed it - so much for much intention to not give him any gluten. Will watch my bread from now on! Other than bread I will allow him to explore, as long as he oicks it up himself.

there's alot more than bread you need to be careful of at such a young age... trust me, i speak as the mother of 2 kids with food intolerances and it's devestating when they can't eat what the other kids are eating

aitch used to have a very good list of what foods are safe when, i presume it's still up there. please read it and don't take it lightly. if you are determined to let him eat the least you can do is make sure what he's eating is as safe as it can be