When can my son start solids?

6 months+ for both of my children

6 months I started my first on both puree and other food at 6 months but I will do 5 months this time

I’ve given it to my baby in her night time bottles but she doesn’t like them, ima try again at the beginning of 5 months. She’s 4 months in 3 days.

With my oldest she started around 4 months old and did well with it. My son he started around the 5/6 month mark. If baby shows readiness you can start or you can ask you baby’s pediatrician

@Jesika what are some specific sign of readiness?

I'll be going from 6 months as long as baby can do the following stay in a sitting position, holding their head steady coordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at their food, pick it up and put it in their mouth swallow food (rather than spit it back out)

Things like oatmeal and cereal is best to give later in the weaning journey as it’s not as easy to digest. Wait with giving the baby food until after 6 months their digestive system is not ready for food before and giving baby food too early can lead them to have diarrhoea or something worse. They also up to 10 months get most of their nutrients from milk, times goes quick before you know it you will be preparing 4 meals a day so don’t rush x

When they show the signs… Head is steady and can sit upright with minimal support Interested in watching you eat tries grabbing your food Opens mouth when you offer food or spoon Swallows rather than pushing it back out (loses the tongue reflex) Picks up things and brings it to their mouth

6 months, their digestive systems really are not mature enough for food before then.

My son’s doctor gave him the ok at 5 months because he was showing all the appropriate signs.

6 months minimum with all signs of readiness. 4 months is outdated advice

2/3 months my son was weaned and my partner was weaned from 6 weeks old as they were both hungry babies! You know your child best! If you think they are ready go for it! My son and partner also love their food now and I see so many people who waited that now have fussy eaters or underweight children. My sons turned out really tall for his age so probably why he needed more than just his bottles! In the 90s we were all weaned from 3 months or earlier as recommended at the time and never had any issues with food intolerances etc x

I waited til my son sat up unsupported and started at 5 months old

i’m waiting till my baby is 6 months old!

4 months with both of my kids. They should be able to sit up with minimal assistance, have good head control, and be interested in and reaching for your food. We got the go ahead from our pediatrician both times when we started

@Ashley Lopez my daughter was starting to sit up and grabbing at our food. My son same concept expect he would literally knock plates over for our food lol. I started my daughter with purées and she kept majority of it in her mouth my son hated purées so I gave him grits and he loved it

I would skip the cereal it has no benefits. Solids at 6+ months and meeting all signs of readiness

@Georgia this is really poor advice, we know so much better now and have to do better. Just because you or someone else was okay doing this doesn’t mean it’s something anyone should do. Breastmilk and formula are complete nutrition and babies miss out on a lot when they don’t have that.

@Casey my boy had the same amount of formula alongside his food it wasn’t instead of. Every baby is different no two are the same, the “advice” given by the NHS in the UK is a guideline and my doctors at the time recommended it. So no it’s not poor advice hun. When they are showing signs of readiness will be different for every child/baby. Come back to me when you’re a professional to be able to tell me it’s poor advice but for now stick to being a business consultant x

@Georgia you said “weaned” meaning they were done. 2 months is way too early to even start weaning regardless

@Casey my baby also suffered poor reflux and only when he was weaned did his reflux stop so there are also benefits.

@Georgia I would take reflux over them missing out on crucial developments. So many better remedies for reflux anyway. This is not my opinion btw. Please don’t give this advice to new mums 😘

@Georgia and you can stop with the personal attacks pls, thanks 😊

@Casey I can and am speaking from my own experience. We only saw the massive benefits this had for our boy and was recommended for our son by the doctors. He became so much happier and his reflux stopped. Someone may be in a similar position and it helps their child also. I tried everything for his reflux and nothing helped he had the same amount of formula as every other baby his age so what did he miss out on crucial developments for? He had the same as your baby but more? And it helped.

@Georgia that’s really great Georgia I’m happy for you. You have a very special circumstance though so again, this advice was helpful to you but shouldn’t be regurgitated as something all moms should do

@Casey I didn’t say for all mums to do it? They asked a question on when we all started and I said my experience. One that has only benefited me and thousands of others from the research I did. You share your experience and I’m sharing mine please be respectful of others experiences and journeys. Unless you have experienced reflux in your own baby also don’t tell me what you’d take over it as you’d know it’s a sad and painful experience to watch your baby being in discomfort. It’s also not a special circumstance as I found out after my son had it and did research on it, please only talk from experience you personally have.

They push 4 months when their bellies aren’t ready. After 6 months for sure!

Agree with signs of readiness. My pediatrician said 4 months but I tend to believe this is old advice too. I’ve read research about neurodevelopment. They get all the nutrients they need from breastmilk (preferably if you are able) and formula (I had no choice but to do both due to a low supply). There are more heavy metals in food now that can harm neurodevelopment (why rice cereal is no longer recommended due to natural arsenic levels we can tolerate but they can’t). My understanding from that research is introducing food takes away from the amount of milk/formula which they need for brain development. Mine was showing interest but I held off until 5.5 months and if I did it again would just wait until 6.

Physicians are not perfect and can give outdated information too. Even culturally… I don’t have the capacity or time to research or question everything but having a baby has also made me think more about what is natural and reconsider some advice from western cultures and think about what other advice might be good too. I’m also going to try hard to remember my advice could be outdated when my daughter has kids and not be offended if she does things differently. She will hopefully turn out fine, but maybe her little ones will be even better off :)

@Jamie so true!

@Georgia If the doctors recommended it then you shouldn’t be giving other people that advice as that was specific to you and your and your baby and advised by a medical professional for medical reasons. This person has not stated they have any medical reason they want to start weaning. A babies digestive system is not fully developed until 6 months, it can cause a lot of discomfort and digestive issues if done too early without a medical reason.

@Megan thanks for the reply 👍 As an FYI I didn’t advise anything I was sharing my experience. If the poster wanted the standard 6 months answer from everyone they could do a simple google. The doctor recommended it regardless of reflux the NHS is a guideline only as babies grow at different times not every baby will be ready at 6 months some will be before some may be after but it’s up to the parent to judge based on THEIR baby not you

I wait till they can sit unassisted.

@Georgia I’m amazed a medical professional said it was okay to wean a baby at 2 months regardless of a medical issue or not, I could totally understand if it was mainly for medical reasons but that fact it wasn’t shocks me. Especially with all the risks that can come with weaning too early, developing asthma, obesity later in life, eczema, digestive issues, allergies, gastric bleeding, infections. Not to mention the choking hazard it poses when a baby can’t sit unaided. But like you said, you know your baby best so I’m glad it worked for you. Our little one also suffered severe reflux and cmpa, our doctor told us weaning early was a last resort due to all those risks. Luckily we managed until 6 months.

I was recommended to wean at 5 months 1 week by a paediatrician and they checked he could sit unadided and had hand and eye co ordination and all the other things and I've been referred to a dietician too. There is a NHS thing you can do to check. I know people who started to wean earlier than I did but I only started because I was told by the paediatrician. My sister in law weaned her first baby at either 6 weeks or 2 months (can't remember what she said)

@Georgia im sorry but what you are saying is so wrong I can see you take any advice other than yours as an attack. It is wrong to wean at such young age the risks are massive, with your next baby I suggest breastfeeding as it reduces the risks of baby having severe reflux. You guys let babies br babies dont try and give them food then they simply don’t need it yet

@Georgia your advice may not be appreciated by others, but any advice is appreciated to me. I understand you feed your little one this way due to certain circumstances. Every child is different so thank you for your advice!

Thank you all for the advice

@Georgia i was the same, weaned my baby with puree at 4 months and her reflux stopped. No “crucial development” missed out d

Yeah I do know there is a direct link between asthma and allergies and breastfeeding until 6 months (and hoping your baby doesn’t need antibiotics until after 6 months too but you can’t control that). My starting food at 5.5 didn’t concern me from that standpoint as it lessened her supplemental formula not her breastmilk. I’m not stressed that I didn’t wait 2 more weeks but again would wait if I had a do-over just understanding more of the things I better understood later that have been mentioned in this thread. And it’s not like you can’t give or take a few days anyway. Of course weaning vs weaned are different. I’m assuming most people using the term weaning mean their babies are having a combo of food and breastmilk/formula. My baby is 14 months, off formula, eating full meals and snacks but I’m still breastfeeding up until age 2, sooner if she decides she is not interested

@Georgia I don’t know why I just wrote another long post. If your physician gave you that advice and you felt good about it, then you are just sharing your experience and this app is meant to be supportive so i wish people would rethink criticizing you Now (you may not like me saying this) I am shocked by your physician advice and I think people are going to comment about that. As far as under weight if a baby is under 6 months, especially under 4 months, my opinion is they aren’t getting enough breastmilk and need formula too. I am curious when you say weened if your physician was still having you give the babies formula but you don’t have to answer that if you’re tired of this thread by now 😋

@Ashley Lopez no problem! I think we have to remember the people that give us this advice about what we should do with our own babies are normally the same professionals who literally make money off our children also being unwell! No 2 babies are the same in any other department so why should we treat weaning the same 🤷🏻‍♀️ We’ve only ever all been weaned at 3 months or before and none of us have ever had any issues regardless of what the professionals that are now making money off us having issues say… I’ve done a lot of research into independent studies where people don’t make money off the research and advice they give and none advise weaning before 6 months is harmful x

@Georgia there is a ton of evidence that weaning before 6 months is not ideal. I’m sorry but now you’re just giving advice that’s potentially dangerous misinformation. Did you also read studies about how it is not beneficial for babies to have anything other than breastmilk for 6 months? Formula is a suitable substitute but giving pureed foods and ground up rice is not. Our generation has a ton of GI issues, allergies, asthma, and many other issues from not being breastfed. To not even give formula is reckless. I’m starting to have an issue with how you’re wording this now. Nobody makes money when I breastfeed, so why do all the major health orgs suggest it? Your theory makes no sense.

@Casey Casey I’m sure Asthma is caused from all the shit pollution in the air we pump into the environment as opposed to abit of mashed up vegetables 😂 There’s also a ton of information that weaning before is fine? Who and which studies we choose to believe is up to us and what WE DECIDE IS BEST FOR OUR BABIES. A mother knows best not the people telling me what’s best based on them making money off our children being ill… their industry would literally die out and they wouldn’t have jobs making the big money they do if we were all healthy? Wake up and try not to be a brainwashed sheep and think with your own brain. If you want to listen to advice given to you by someone that’ll only ever make money off you being sick and not healthy that’s on you. But otherwise I’ll give my experience which has never harmed anyone and you stick to giving yours 👍

@Georgia ? It is a proven fact that not breastfeeding for at least 6 months exclusively increases risk of asthma. I’m sorry but you’re just making up things to suit your narrative that are not even true. My doctor encourages me to breastfeed, didn’t want me to give solids until at least 6 months, and wants me to continue extended breastfeeding for the health benefits for baby and me. Why would he suggest that if you think he wants to keep my kid sick? That makes zero sense. Calling me brainwashed because I breastfeed my child is crazy. I’m doing the healthiest thing for her, no one makes any money off that. Again, delusional.

@Casey I didn’t mention anything about you breastfeeding? I was talking about weaning you can breastfeed and wean at the same time? I guarantee the “generation” full of increased allergies is down to all the shit breastfeeding mums are now putting into their bodies and spreading to their babies instead of nutritional foods. Bored of this conversation now. I’ve said my experience and the OP was grateful for it so that’s all that matters. I’m not slamming you for giving information I don’t personally believe in so how about you all try be respectful of other peoples views and experiences. The amount of shit caffeine you’re pumping into your body and breastfeeding through to your baby will do more harm than puréed vegetables at 3 months let me tell you that for free 😅

@Georgia that’s not even how breastmilk works. Babies don’t get allergies that way. You’re just being insulting now for the sake of it. Please stop. Educate yourself and maybe you can have a successful breastfeeding journey one day. Until you do, sadly you won’t realize how wrong you are.