Six months. I don't think it's possible to figure out a child's internal gut development based on their interest in food or ability to grab or sit. Lots of physically advanced children have digestive issues.
6 months.
Although we are still ebf at 7 months now...
Six months. I don't think it's possible to figure out a child's internal gut development based on their interest in food or ability to grab or sit. Lots of physically advanced children have digestive issues.
And lots of kids older than 6 months have digestive issues as well --I don't think a date on the calendar is any better at determining an individual child's gut development.
Six months. I don't think it's possible to figure out a child's internal gut development based on their interest in food or ability to grab or sit. Lots of physically advanced children have digestive issues.
And lots of kids older than 6 months have digestive issues as well --I don't think a date on the calendar is any better at determining an individual child's gut development.
True. But with the issue of the gut being developed enough to handle solids, there IS a good idea of what age is old enough, and that's six months. Obviously, if your child then shows difficulties, you should pull back and try again later.
At the end of the day, i don't think a couple weeks is really going to make a huge difference...one way or the other. My guy sounds a lot like yours, and I probably would have started him around 5.5 months, but my husband was pretty firm on the 6 month thing...simply because that's what i had always said before. So, yes, a few tastes got in his mouth before 6 months, but mostly we tried to wait. If you decide you do want to wait until 6 months, here's a few things that helped us get through those last couple weeks:
Sitting him in the highchair (which connects to our table...so he was still very much "with us") while we ate rather than on our laps. that way he wasn't so close to the food. We gave him a big bowl of individually wrapped candy left over from halloween. He loved to just mush his hands around in it.
Frozen breast milk pops, made with little popsicle molds, given while we eat. He went to town on these!
This one we discovered by accident while at a restaurant when he was quite fussy... he had his pacifier in his mouth as we were desperately trying to pay the bill to leave. While i was signing for the bill, he grabbed a huge handful of salad off my plate...Straight to the mouth. But, the pacifier kept any food from actually getting in. He didn't seem to notice however. We tried it a couple more times at home, and he seemed perfectly content to play with food and put it to his mouth without any actually getting it in. So, if your lo takes a pacifier, you can always try that too!
I just read "The Importance of Early Complementary Feeding in the Development of Oral Tolerance" from Pediatric Allergy and Immunology 2008: 19. I found this passage especially enlightening:
"In 2001, the World Health Organisation (WHO) revised its recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding from 4 to 6 months (1). This was based (at least in part) on reduced gastrointesti- nal infectious disease noted in a Belarussian study, and had major implications for disease burden in developing and semi-industrialized countries. At that time, there was also a paucity of evidence regarding the other risks and benefits of introducing complementary foods from 4 vs. 6 months of age (1). These recommendations were aimed at reducing morbidity in developing countries, but may not be appropriate in the growing world population experiencing progres- sive industrialization and escalating risk of immune dysregulation. Similar recommendations have been adopted for the prevention of allergic disease in the USA, the UK, Australia and other industralized countries, based on the theoretical concern for increased gut permeability and immaturity of mucosal immunity in infants. However, there is now mounting concern and some new evidence that this recommendation for delayed introduc- tion of complementary foods may have detri- mental consequences. In Western countries, where these recommendations have been adopted into practice, rates of food allergy have escalated rather than declined in the last 10 yr (3–5)."
6 months or later for us, but again it is up to the individual. As long as BM or ABM is not replaced but the introduction to solids.
I just read "The Importance of Early Complementary Feeding in the Development of Oral Tolerance" from Pediatric Allergy and Immunology 2008: 19. I found this passage especially enlightening:
"In 2001, the World Health Organisation (WHO) revised its recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding from 4 to 6 months (1). This was based (at least in part) on reduced gastrointesti- nal infectious disease noted in a Belarussian study, and had major implications for disease burden in developing and semi-industrialized countries. At that time, there was also a paucity of evidence regarding the other risks and benefits of introducing complementary foods from 4 vs. 6 months of age (1). These recommendations were aimed at reducing morbidity in developing countries, but may not be appropriate in the growing world population experiencing progres- sive industrialization and escalating risk of immune dysregulation. Similar recommendations have been adopted for the prevention of allergic disease in the USA, the UK, Australia and other industralized countries, based on the theoretical concern for increased gut permeability and immaturity of mucosal immunity in infants. However, there is now mounting concern and some new evidence that this recommendation for delayed introduc- tion of complementary foods may have detri- mental consequences. In Western countries, where these recommendations have been adopted into practice, rates of food allergy have escalated rather than declined in the last 10 yr (3–5)."
I read something very similar just now in a German conference paper, although I'm having trouble accessing it just now. Basically they said the 6 month EBF was meant for developing countries and that babies in most European countries, including Germany, may begin offering solids between 4-6 months.
That said, we've tried banana and avocado the past two days and that stuff is so slippery it kept popping out of his fist. I ended up mashing and offering him the spoon, which her ferociously attacked. He never got any banana down, but he did manage to swallow some avocado yesterday. It came back up later when he spit up as per usual (I've got a happy spitter). I'm really glad I didn't offer him too much. That would have been a horrible mess. So we'll be taking it slow.
Personally I wait until at least 6 months. My oldest started around 7 months, my youngest closer to 10 months. When they were grabbing stuff off the table I noticed it was more boredom than wanting to eat anything so I gave them toys and they were happy. Better throwing a toy then mashed potatos and the like. Both my girls are very healthy eaters and no allergies so far, since we eat a wide variety of food then I doubt they will have allergies later. I can't think of to many things they haven't had yet.I think you need to go with what you feel comfortable with.
I just read "The Importance of Early Complementary Feeding in the Development of Oral Tolerance" from Pediatric Allergy and Immunology 2008: 19. I found this passage especially enlightening:
"In 2001, the World Health Organisation (WHO) revised its recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding from 4 to 6 months (1). This was based (at least in part) on reduced gastrointesti- nal infectious disease noted in a Belarussian study, and had major implications for disease burden in developing and semi-industrialized countries. At that time, there was also a paucity of evidence regarding the other risks and benefits of introducing complementary foods from 4 vs. 6 months of age (1). These recommendations were aimed at reducing morbidity in developing countries, but may not be appropriate in the growing world population experiencing progres- sive industrialization and escalating risk of immune dysregulation. Similar recommendations have been adopted for the prevention of allergic disease in the USA, the UK, Australia and other industralized countries, based on the theoretical concern for increased gut permeability and immaturity of mucosal immunity in infants. However, there is now mounting concern and some new evidence that this recommendation for delayed introduc- tion of complementary foods may have detri- mental consequences. In Western countries, where these recommendations have been adopted into practice, rates of food allergy have escalated rather than declined in the last 10 yr (3–5)."
[Bolding mine in above quote]. We have chosen to wait until 6 months to start our girl on solids. I don't feel she *needs* them and I don't consider grabbing things and putting them in her mouth a particularly strong sign. She grabs everything and puts it in her mouth. Especially things DH or I are paying particular attention to 
I will be watching the research on timing with interest over the coming years but, for now "mounting concern and *some* new evidence" is not enough to make me to rush into anything.
Well OP,
I really had no clue that you were supposed to wait on solids for 6-9 mths or however long you felt appropriate. I spend most of my time trying to figure out how to help her reflux, how to help her with teething (she has been teething since 8 wks...no joke), and how to keep her from biting (me).
Anyways, with her reflux doc suggested we try rice cereal at 13 wks. Well she hated it. It didn't help her and we didn't do it again. However at 4 mths now, she has had pureed carrots and sweet potatoes. I am confused as to why this would take the place of nursing? I would call it more like snacking. I mean she still wants to nurse every 2 hours 
She no longer does a tongue thrust (unless she gets too much)
She also has better bowel movements as she used to be really constipated and would have painful bms.
We follow her clues. She lets us know when she is no longer interested. This doesn't mean I am going to give her alcohol if she shows interest in that too. That is a little extreme mamas.
Anyways, I don't think there is a right or wrong answer, try as some might to prove it.
Good luck and have fun.
Well, we went ahead and gave her unsweetened applesauce a few days ago and she loved it. We're going to try avocado and banana sometime soon. The scientific research I've read seems pretty conclusive on solids and allergies, and as someone who lives with allergies, I want to do what I can to help her avoid them. Plus, she wants and enjoys solids. Win-win IMO.
Plus, I started menstruating again at 8 weeks PP and am back to my pre-pregnancy weight so half the supposed benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 mos. don't even apply. 
Thanks everyone who contributed to this thread; it was definitely helpful!
I was really concerned with waiting until 6 mos for solids with my first. With my second he was losing weight EBF ( due to breastfeeding difficulties and a tongue tie) and I was not able to pump enough to supplement him (we use a supplemental nurser) I went to the Newman Breastfeeding clinic in Toronto and they suggested offering solids while waiting for domperidone to up my supply - in order to avoid giving formula. So at 5 and a half months he "tried" some avocado, I don't think he swallowed much of it and thankfully I was able to use a friends expressed milk to help supplement for a few days until my supply caught up. Now that his solids cherry is popped lol I'm not sure when we'll start making it more regular and as long as he continues to do well ebf, I won;'t worry much about when he actually "eats" the solids
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