What age did you introduce solids to your babys diet?

StylinBabyCloth

My daughter is 4 months old, I am not ready to introduce solids by any means, but I am looking to the future at when it might be the right time to start.
With my first dd she was fed her first jar foods at 5.5 months.
My second dd was 6 months. I really never put to much thought into when I started, I know the baby needs to sit up and be interested in dinner/lunch time.

I was wondering what benefits there are too waiting longer until I introduce baby food. I would be making my own too (just for your info)

I am thinking about starting closer to 8 months or when my dd can pick up and feed herself food.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Please post you babys age when you started solids and if you feel there are benefits or cons to waiting to feed baby solids.
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TreeHugginMama · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:08 pm Post subject:

We start them at 1 year. I feel there are many benefits. One is breast milk is all they need for the first year so unless you are supplementing or using formula there is no need for food.
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jodi_snider · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:25 pm Post subject:

i think there are definite benefits. that being said, i started both of mine shortly after 5 months. kellen took to it like a duck to water and it made it a bit easier (after a couple of months) to leave him with a sitter as he refused bottles. ainsley didn't really take off until 7ish months, so we started r-e-a-l-l-y slowly with her. she was very sick around 5 months and lost a lot of weight. part of why i didn't just postpone solids all together was that i didn't want to use formula, but we needed a way to get more calories beyond my breastmilk into her. so we kept encouraging the solids and adding a lot of olive oil to make what she did eat as calorically dense as possible.
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armywife51b · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:44 pm Post subject:

Madison was 4 months old, which was way too early. I tried at 6 months with Nathan but he didn't like them. He was 12 months before he took to eating solid foods.

I would say 6 months at the earliest. The only real benefits to starting solids before 1 year is the practice of eating from a spoon and eventually self feeding. It helps babies understand chewing and having different textures in their mouth besides just liquid. Breast milk has enough nutrients IMO for babies though.
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StylinBabyCloth · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:16 pm Post subject:

Thanks I have always heard that babies don't need more than mama milk for the first year, I just wasn't sure if that was pertaining to liquids and solids.
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CarrieMcD · Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:22 pm Post subject:

I needed this one... I've been a very stressed Mommy since 7 month old Stella is totally offended that I would DARE to offer her anything other than my breast. *sigh* Thanks for this!

She only wieghs about 15 pounds, but functions just fine and is very active and happy. The weight doesn't worry me at all... it's peer pressure.

jodi_snider · Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:26 pm Post subject:

AidynElyMama · Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:42 pm Post subject:

I would totally wait. I've actually read some studies that show the earlier you start foods the more likely they'll develop food allergies, especially wheat. Not sure if that's correct or not, just what I've read. We waited until 10 or 11 months.
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edensmomma · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:02 am Post subject:

My daughter started at about 6 months. She showed interest in food before I started solids. Honestly with the next baby I will probably wait a little longer.
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edensmomma · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:03 am Post subject:

OOPS! I voted wrong! I voted No benefits but I meant to say YES!
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StylinBabyCloth · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:39 am Post subject:

Thanks for the answers. I do feel there are benefits. Dh pretty much trusts that I can make these types of decisions. I thought there are benefits but it is good to hear so many other mamas agree!
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JNW · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:10 am Post subject:

My kiddo started being interested in solids at around 6 mos. He was eating really large amounts well before he turned 1. I think he liked the variety of flavors and textures. He has no food allergies.
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Joni · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:40 am Post subject:

I start my babies on solids as they are able to pick up the food and put it in their mouths themselves. That usually ends up being bits of cheerios, etc. (stuff that is easy to eat with few or no teeth) between 5 and 6 months. I keep it pretty light on the solid side and mostly nursing until they're closer to one year old.

My kids' pediatrician, who is actually pretty crunchy, said that starting solids too early isn't good, but starting them way late isn't the best either (regarding developing allergies). He tends to be really on top of the research out there and stuff, so I trust him on that. I have always given my children a wide variety of foods, never really avoided anything that they could eat without choking--not even spicy stuff and raw stuff. And I have to say, my kids are the least picky eaters of any I've known.

spatulagirl · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:39 am Post subject:

I do child led feeding, so when they can feed themselves and chew they eat. I think if a baby can't feed himself then he isn't ready. Right now my nine month old just started picking up bits of food and swishing it around and chewing a bit. Not much but she is happy and so am I. She has had Nature O's, steamed carrots and banana.

My son took to solids right away and was feeding himself sandwiches around 9 months. My other daughter was slower, like my baby.
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Kristina93 · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 4:09 pm Post subject:

I started my son around 5 months because I didn't have the milk supply necessary for him. I had EBF for 5 months, and he just wasn't gaining weight. Then I tried it, and he HATED it! Two weeks later, we tried again, and he has been loving his food ever since. He's 8 months old this week. I think it's all a personal decision.
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