SOLIDS 4-6 Months!? 12 Month?!

I started my son at 4 months and he is doing great. I really think that it is up to the parents and the ped. No early than 4 months and I think that past 7 is to late, but thats my opinion.

My baby's doctor said to try to wait until 6 months of age but if baby is excessively hungry then feed her. If I recall correctly, with my first daughter I started with rice cereal at 4 months because it seemed as though she wanted to eat when we were eating. She did fine with it. With daughter number two it seems as though she is going to wait awhile before she exhibits a desire for solid food. I am going to wait until I see some signs that she wants it.

I gave both of my boys food at 4 months. They are 3 and 5 now and have NO food allergies and no problems with digestion. It's really up to you though.

All kids are different, keep that in mind. You can read a million things and they will all be different. Just take cues from your baby and try things and you will figure it out.
My first baby started screaming every time I cooked. I thought, "How inconvenient". (Not in a mean way), but she wouldn't nurse, she wouldn't touch jarred baby food, she just screamed.
I figured out that she could smell food and it made her hungry and she wanted to taste real food.
I started giving her cereal, little bites off my plate, she wasn't into anything bland at all.
My son was the same way. By 6 months, they were trying everything.
Some say it's too early, but neither of my kids had any food allergies and they both ate every single thing that I ate including any vegetable or fruit. Fish, chicken, turkey, mashed potatoes, eggs....
Some kids are food sensitive, but fortunately, mine weren't.
To this day, they eat everything.
My babies loved cream of wheat with a little brown sugar or tart fruit like plums or apricots.
In my family, kids just seem to eat early and we don't have anyone with allergies to anything. But, you do need to be careful introducing one thing at a time in case there's a reaction.
I think your baby will let you know when they want to taste some food. I nursed my son for 15 months and he still ate everything that was "solid" food.
Don't rush, but don't wait too long either if your baby is interested in eating.

Best wishes!

P.S,
Oh yeah....never listen to "older" women.
We survived and so did our kids with few food allergies, kids who didn't throw tantrums in stores or restaurants and were potty trained before 4 years old.
What do we know?
Times have certainly changed. That's cool.
Guess it's just a miracle there are any humans on the planet at all until the "young" mothers arrived on the scene.
Who knows how things will change 20 years from now?
Be sure when you have your first grandbaby that you remember the advice of "older" women is not necessary. Or relevant.

I'm not directing this towards you, but seriously, don't listen to "older" women?

What's older?
What's the cut off age that you don't appreciate a woman's input any longer?

I said and still maintain that you'll be fine listening to your own baby's cues.
Mothers for centuries have done that and you and your baby will be fine.

The baby will tell you when he is ready. My son started showing signs at 6 months (literally would cry while watching us like a hawk while we ate). My daughter didn't show signs till close to 6 months.

I started both my children on rice cereal at 4 months according to my pedi's reccommendation. There are so many ideas out there it is hard to know what's right or what's best for your child. I did read an article a few months back that had an interesting view, although I don't know if it had been researched thoroughly. It said that babies should be introduced to cereals, fruits and veggies as early as possible so that their bodies won't reject these foods as they get older. Something about linking so many food allergies to waiting so late to intro foods. I have no idea if this was just an idea or if any research had been done. Food for thought though(no pun intended!!). Talk to your pedi and decide what's best for your child. If you intro foods and your baby has difficulty or just doesn't like it, you can always stop and begin again later. Good luck!

AS with mosth things..in the big picture of life.. it just doesnt matter.. I am 40+ and back when I was a baby they started feeding us rice cereal at 6 weeks.. and quickly added frutis veg and meat by 6 months.. I am fine..no allergies..

Fast forward 40 years and they recommend wating till 4-6 months for solid foods..

Keep in mind (this is from the pediatrician) solid food for the first year is practice for eating- not nutrition.. so if the baby ate nothing but milk for an entire year that would be fine too.. there is very little nutrtion in a small jar of green beans.. not many calories either..

I fed my daughter starting at 4 months - my son at 5 monhts.. The thing is you dont want to add solids foods too fast so they wont drink the formula or breast milk.. so we did 1 solid meal a day for 2 months.. then 2 meals for 2 or 3 months.. by 9 or so monthe they were on 3 meals..

when you start foods they are only getting a tablespoon of food anyway.. but just dont fill up that tiny tummy so they dont drink the milk.. they need the milk.

We get told to wait till around the 6 month mark but "they" never really tell us why and it can be very confusing and frustrating because you've got everyone and their brother telling you all kinds of crazy things lol but here is a great website with a great explanation as to why it's best to wait until at least 6 months:

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/early-solid-food-feeding...

It explains that baby has an open gut which means whatever baby ingests can also enter the blood stream. Good reason to wait till their little systems are more prepared to handle solids huh!?

And 6 months is just the beginning guideline. My first wouldn't take solids till he was around 7 months old and my second was over 9 months old. No biggie and no reason to worry! Breastmilk or formula should be the primary source of nutrition for the first year with solids for practice and as a small supplement to breastmilk or formula.

And always offer breastmilk or formula first and solids in between feedings.

TALK TO YOUR PEDIATRICIAN! My doctor recommended we start at 4 months, but I knew my son wasn't ready, so I waited until he was 5 months old, and then started him a rice cereal. He's now 17 months old and a FANTASTIC eater. He'll eat anything. Historically, solids were given earlier, and most babies were fine. The reason doctors recommend waiting at least 4 months is because of the risk of triggering allergies (younger babies' tummies are not designed to digest most kinds of foods), and so if you have a lot of food allergies in your family, your pediatrician may recommend you wait until your child is 6 months old, or even older. However, solids are also unnecessary for basically the first 10-12 months of a child's life. A breastfed baby is already getting all the nutrition it needs, and solids are introduced to a) get a baby used to eating (chewing instead of sucking) and b) help a baby sleep through the night. So if you decide to wait until your baby is 6, or 7, or 8 months old to introduce solids, you're not going to hurt him/her. You just may make your job feeding the baby a little more complicated, but so what? In the long run, it won't matter much.

I agree that reading too much can create more stress instead of less! I discovered this with my first baby, but there is so much information out there that it can be overwhelming to know WHAT to read! A really great book is "Your Baby's First Year, Week-by-Week" by Glade Curtis and Judith Schuler. It won't answer all your questions (it has only a small section on colic, nothing really significant about vaccines, etc.), but it is a fabulous basic outline of things you need to know each week about your baby. What is normal behavior, when to start solids (and why), what to do in case of certain illnesses, etc.

I am an advocate of following what my child wanted. When he was 4 1/2 months, he had 2 teeth, so I thought he might like to use them (he teethed very early), and he stopped taking the breast at 5 months. He got formula and I added cereal to it, then began giving him porridge (like cereal, homemade) too. He loved it. By 5 1/2 months, he was getting crushed pumpkin, sweet potato and reg potato with a little gravy for flavour and tiny bits of shredded chicken from the family pot. (I am in Jamaica - where we hear a lot about letting our kids eat the same as we do, therefore from the family pot - makes life easy, one cooking, easy on seasoning and salt so baby can eat.) He is a very healthy 5 1/2 yr old now, and loves to eat!

Gillian is right about following his lead. Our first baby ate at about 8.5 months. Our second ate at about 6 months. It depends on them, just offer occasionally, he'll tell you.

My Ped said to start a little rice cereal at 5 mos. Personally, I do think 4 mos is too early. And looking back, I could have waited until 6 months. But I did one meal of rice cereal mixed w/ breastmilk mid morning, when my daughter was alert and happy. She definitely got a kick out of it, and it was fun. But, she wasn't really consuming much of that one meal. Remember, at that age, it's only to help them learn how to eat, not actually get any nutrients, because they need breastmilk/formula for the first 12 months. And any solids are only supplemental for learning purposes. With that said, I stuck with the rice cereal for a few months. I didn't see any reason to introduce other solids since she wasn't even really eating the rice cereal yet! I had enough to stress about as a new 1st time Mom, that all of the solid food thing was a bit overwhelming! Plus the Ped reassured me she was getting what she needed from breastmilk. With my daughter, we kind of bi-passed all of the jarred baby foods because she didn't care for them after all, she went right to finger foods at around 9 months, avocado was her favorite! But, do what you think you want to do, at this age it's all experimental eating. You've gotten lots of good advice on other posts. Have fun, and most of all, don't worry too much what everyone else says, do what you feel is best and the right time for YOUR baby! :) :) :) Good luck!

I didn't read all the other comments.

With my older son, I started him on cereal around 3 mos. He was hungry. He was drinking bottles non-stop. Adding cereal to his diet helped. He was an eater. He was eating finger foods by 6-7 mos.

With my younger son, who was quite a bit smaller, solids never even crossed my mind. We went to his 4 mo check up and the pediatrician asked if we started on solids. He said to go ahead anytime. I waited a few weeks. He was happy with just BM. Once we started solids with him it was much slower and gradual than it was with my older son. By 11 mos he bucked all baby food and will only eat table foods.

Every kid is different so I don't think there's a right answer.

I'd wait it out awhile. Our son was strictly breast fed till 9 months. After that, there were still days where all he would choose was to nurse instead of eat "food".

hi, i was like you. my mother in law and everybody wanted me to start early at four months and i didn't. I started my son on baby cereal at five months... then by six months he was already eating gerber. He's eight months now and is still eating gerber and i'm barley introducing him to real fruits and veggies and some home made soup, without the salt. My sister in law started solids early at four months and from what she told me her son wouldn't sleep well at night, too much gas. Maybe at that age it didn't set well in his tummy?? who knows right, but I say if u want to wait until six months thats good. Good luck

First--about the books? I finally got rid of most of mine after my husband threatened to do it :-) I'm a huge information junkie, too, but the problem is that a lot of people tell you what you "should" do when they're really just describing "what worked for them." If a book said there was only one way to do it or made me feel bad, then I got rid of it. One popular book said "if you can't make this work, you don't have willpower." I laugh now, but I cried so much over that book! NOT WORTH IT!!!!

And people will do it to you face-to-face too. One lady stopped me in the grocery store parking lot and randomly told me she put rice cereal in her boys' bottles when they were newborn and they're both over six feet now, so it must have worked!!!! You just can't take it seriously. I know that's easier said than done, but you're not alone :-)

About the food--there's a lot of good information that babies' digestive systems just are not ready at four months. Plus, if you try to feed them and they stick their tongues out--the presence of that reflex means their muscles aren't ready.

That being said, what worked for me was to start my kids at six months. They had only breastmilk up until then, and I started them slowly (one new food every three days) on organic food (I made/froze my own). That felt right to me and seems to have worked for them. I continued to breastfeed until about fifteen months with each of them, so there was no pressure for them to get nutrition from the solids.

I took a lot into consideration--they were both completely full term, healthy, on the large side, good sitting up skills, and very interested. We do have allergies in our family, so I was careful not to introduce allergenic food early. I found that the www.wholesomebabyfood.com site was helpful to me, although I used my judgement too!

Good luck and enjoy your son!

Your son will tell you when he's ready. My kids started fussing when they saw me eating, and when I put them on my lap, they would reach-out for the food. A hungry kid will let you know. Just follow your son's lead.

L.
www.cheercounseling.com

Does your baby seem hungry? Like you can't produce enough milk for him (or the bottle just doesn't seem to satisfy?) Use your instincts. You know your baby better than anyone else on this earth- including your pediatrician. Now, before I'm scalded for that remark, ask your baby's Dr. and use your own intuition as well. My son was hungry at 4 mos. so I tried cereal but he just didn't like it. (I think I used sour breast milk :) Oh well. Then I started him on one meal a day or every other day of sweet potato or butternut squash or carrot puree. They are naturally sweet, nutritious and the squash is esp. easy on a new tummy. He started really wanting food regularly on his own around 5 to 5 1/2 months. I made my own food and still do. -SOOOO much less expensive and I can control the quality of ingredients. Annabel Karmel has a great baby food cookbook- very easy. All this being said, your baby should be able to sit with support. I started with a bumbo seat and tray (It helped my son sit more securely before I got his highchair).
And, your baby should be ready to lose his tongue-thrust reflex. Sassy has spoons (I found them at Target) that are super gummy and my son was able to just suck the food off the spoon. They really worked well. I hope this helps. Just remember, you know your baby. Trust yourself.

Most doctors say to wait until 6 months, because their digestive systems are very immature before then. At 6 months, a child's stomach is developed enough to handle foods. A baby doesn't need food before 6 months, anyway to be honest.

my daughter is now six. my son is going to be 4 at the end of the mo. with my daughter the dr said not to feed her solids until she was 6 mos. i don't know why as she was on the smaller side. i fed her at 4 mos anyways not much, just a spoonful here and there, but she never really like the rice cereal or baby food anyways, so i basically had to go to regular food when she was about 8 mos. the formula didn't seem to satisfy her and she was drinking A LOT. my son they said that i could start him on solids at 4 mos but even he didn't like the baby food much. sooo....basically it depends on the dr (even in the same practice you can have different opinions)...also when my daughter was 9mos the dr told me to introduce her to whole milk. my son i was told to wait until 12mos. anyways, i've also read that now drs are saying to wait to feed solid until babies are 12mos old. that's ridiculous. i would go with how you feel and what you think your baby needs. is he/she satisfied with the formula? are they eating 9oz at a time? eating frequently? you are the mother, you know what your baby needs. and by deciding to or not to give solids, it's not going to affect their futute. in the long run, it's not that big a deal. i read a lot, too. but there comes a time when you have to put the books away, and raise them and love them how you know how to, and not how the drs say to. you have to remember, not every child is the same, so how can a book tell you what to do?

You will know when your baby is ready when he can move the food from the spoon to the back of his mouth and swallow with out gagging. This ability is formed anywhere from 4 to 6 months. (both of my boys started solids at 4 months). Start with very thin rice cereal, if he gags, wait a few days and try again until he can do it. Than start making making it thicker. Once he can handle that he can start trying other foods, at one a week.

Def talk to your pediatrician. Every baby is different. I started my little man on solids when he was four months. He was so ready and took to it very well. My sister tried her little guy then but he wasn't ready ... tried again at 6 months and was a little better but didn't get better until he was around 8 months. Then I have another sister who didn't even try til 8 months. I would def say it depends on the baby and check with your doc. Some are ready before others and you are the mom ... you should make your own decision based on your child ... only you know your child best!!

F.,
I believe that the Medical field is constantly changing lanes on us & the Docs who represent them, since I raised my girls (last birth, 1977) I have found this to be true & in reading I have found, as you have so many new & conflicting opinions it can make you seasick with the dizzying speed to which they write the 'do's & don'ts' of raising/feeding your new arrival!

I gave my babies (including the three Grands we got to raise in 2,000) mashed, blended foods right around 3-4 months to taste, just little bits from what we were eating in the way of veggies/fruit at dinner, at 6 months they were in their hi-chair and enjoying the foods. I, personally didn't give my babies meat until I knew they would actually chew the meat and then only chicken, I am not a veggie/fruit only person but I do believe that beef &pork are harder to digest and I don't think they taste good from the blender anyway.:)

I believe that a new Mommy should read, listen, digest all the info that she can handle (without getting dizzy:)) and then do what she thinks is best.

A.

Put the books down. Seriously! You're going to make yourself crazy! I did that with my first. I read as much as I could about everything I could. I just didn't feel like I had enough information to be a good mom. I finally chucked the books and started using my Mommy Instinct. It worked better for me than any book ever did.
It's recommended that you don't start solids (including cereal) until 6 months.
Between 6 & 12 months your baby will be doing pleasure feedings, meaning that they are simply learning to enjoy different tastes and textures. They will still get most of their nutrition from formula or breastmilk. My girls really got into table food (not baby food) around the 10 month mark. We did baby food starting at 6 months. Lots of older people seem to think that baby's have to have cereal when they're 2 weeks old.It's not the case. Cereal will NOT help your baby sleep at night. Cereal will only make them feel fuller with out actually being full. Babies NEED the nutrients they get from formula or breast milk. They don't NEED the nurtients from baby food.
Also, when you do decide to start baby food, I suggest you look at the labels. Certain brands are definitely better than others. Gerber is LOADED with salt. LOADED with it. If you can make your own, I suggest that you do.
Just relax and let your instinct guide you.

Introducing solids before 6 months can cause allergies and digestive issues. but I know of many people who give solids before that. But if your baby is doing well without solid food, then why risk it? I think it's better to be on the safe side, and wait. Also, you can check out wholesomebabyfood.com for more information.

It's best to have breastmilk as the sole source of nutrition for the first year... the infant's gastrointestinal tract does not fully mature and become a closed system until 9-10 months. If they have breastmilk, there is no issue... but if formula or solids are introduced before the closure of their GI system, colic, severe gas and cramping, diarrhea and food allergies are very likely to occur. Breastmilk has bacteria, enzymes and antibodies that are ALREADY present in the infant's body from birth - - but formula and solids allow foreign bacteria, proteins and such to invade an immature and sterile body system.

I want to add... just because an infant mimics your behavior - such as trying to hold utensils, or opening their mouth and pretending to chew - does not mean they are ready for solids, but are mimicking and learning new behaviors by watching their favorite person. The swallowing reflex that is required to safely swallow a textured solid (even pureed is textured) doesn't happen until after 8 months.

Don't force solids, wait until at least 8-9 months if possible. If an infant isn't forced to try solids, they will not be excited about it until about 8-10 months.

I've always waited until my babies are 6 months. I have ten children from ages 23 to 8 months. I just always thought it was better for them to wait. Now with my last one the dr. was even suggesting to wait. Don't stress out, your baby will be fine whenever you decide to start solids. Enjoy your little one they grow up way to fast.

hi F.,
i feel your frustration! i have two kids and with my first, i read a ton. soon i started feeling the same way you did, that there was a lot of conflicting info out there. i decided (and still follow this practice) to read for info's sake and then go with my gut. it's harder to do with your first because you are learning by doing but all moms (and people) have intuition and you need to do what feels right for you. and definitely, try not to read as much because it will make you crazy! re: sollids, popular opinion is 6 months. peds have suggested 4-6 months if the earlier time is right for your baby. you know your baby is ready when s/he shows interest in your food. if s/he is breast of bottle feeding voraciously and never seems to be satisfied, solids may be a good option. i know people that have waited later. i started at 6 with both my kids. my son was into it, my daughter took a few more months to really want to eat solids, so i just stuck to nursing.

just try to relax and do what is right for you, no one philosophy about anything is going to sit right so take what works and discard what doesn't. and don't let anybody tell you what is right or wrong for you or your family, only you know!

good luck :)

to me it depends on the baby. you are going to get contradictory answers here. use your better judgement. wic starts the babies on cereal at 6 months. I started both of mine on cereal at 2-3 months. reasons why were this. my oldest was allergic to his formula and not eating. it took me 2 months and alot of moms to figure this out so after that I changed his formula and was able to back off the cereal. he only got a couple of teaspoons of cereal till 4 months then he got bowls of it. they had no knowledge of formula allergies back then. it was just starting to be reconized.

my youngest was eating a full 8 oz bottle every 30 minutes he was literally starving to death. by 4 months he was eating an 8 oz bottle with 4 oz of cereal mixed in every 2 hours. I did not start anything other than cereal till 6 months on both boys. when my youngest hit 6 months I started him on lots of protien since he was eating so much. he was in a size 5 by the time he was a year and a half. in both cases the boys were acting like they were starving. if your child doesnt act like it is starving I would hold out till 6 months or longer depending on the child and how fast it is growing and such. if growth is normal and they don't act like they are starving wait till wic starts them on cereal. they will be fine if their weight is good and not acting like they are starving.

some moms hold out on solids and exculsively breast feed for a year but some kids can't do that. trust your gut. 2 months is young to start feeding 6 months is normal in most cases but it depends on your kid. if you feel like the kid needs it give it to them. if you feel like they don't need it then don't. good luck and happy mommying. you will stay confused on what to do it is normal. :)

I never fed any of my three children solids until they were around 8 months old. One I breastfed, two...feeding them solids before 6 months can create food allergies and their digestive systems aren't able to really handle it. I started with veggies on all of my babies because they are the least allergenic. I agree about not listening to older women for the reasons stated

Hi There,
I'm first time mommy and this question drives me nuts,too! My mom is completely shocked that my daughter's pediatrician (who was also mine! lol) told me no rice cereal or baby food until 6 months! She was feeding us solids by 4-5 months and giving us rice cereal at 2-3 months. (Mom claims it's the only way we slept through the night) Luna (my daughter) is 19 weeks and eating 8 oz (sometimes she wants more) every 5-6 hours. She sleeps through the night, but she doesn't seem satisfied, so today I tried a little bit of rice cereal and it was a miracle! She ate 9 oz at 1:30, had some rice cereal at 4:30 and was ready for her bottle at 9:00 pm! Needless to say sometimes parenting is a trial and error job, You have to make decisions that are right for you and your baby and take advice from others with a grain of salt. Good Luck!!

First off F., take a deep breath and calm down. It's difficult being a first time mom, especially if your parents are telling you do things differently. Your son will tell you when he is ready for solids. I would suggest that when he hits four months old, that you start introducing him slowly to the rice cereal (stay away from Gerber though, buy it at Whole Foods) ... the cereal @ Whole Foods is a bit more pricey, however it tastes better (slightly). If he seems to like the cereal, then start on the stage one baby foods ... my daughter absolutely refused to eat the baby cereal or baby foods and at five months, I was taking small (really small) bites of food off of my plate and giving it to her to mash with her gums. Good luck and just pay attention to the signs your little one is giving you and when in doubt, check with his doctor.

Both my girls werent interested at 4 months. I tried anyways. At 5 months seemed to be the key for us. When ever the baby is staring at your food and trying to get it, try then. Only a couple of stage one were deem acceptable by my girls. They didnt like the jar bananas but loved it when i smashed up fresh ones. I used the rice cereal to make their first cereal with formula and water. Make it running at first. The concept of spoon and then swallowing is a learned one so dont expect it to be anything but messy and only a little bit will be in the mouth. Dont wear good clothes. Diaper only is the easiest to cleanup. After that try oatmeal and as baby gets older you can add fruit to it: applesauce, bananas, etc. Just playaround with the thickness to find what appeal to your baby.

Note: On the boxes of cereal and jarred food there is a age guildline. Just the boxes of each brand as some might differ slightly. Gerber has picture on the jar food of the stage.
I do not recommend the meat and gravy unless you have a STRONG STOMACH! Prunes only if baby is consipated. Sometimes a certain brand of a flavor is preferred so if baby doesnt like gerber's mac and cheese(like mine didnt) try another brand (BEECHNUT).

Always remember to trust your gut. If you want to wait til 6months the go ahead. Your baby wont be hurt by it. Most parents start earlier out of excitment or that baby is want more bottles due to hunger.

You've gotten a lot of responses, so I didn't read all of them. I definitely agree with the wait until 6 months group. Too many children in our country are overweight and/or obese, and there are studies that show it starts very early. If you're child is doing well, why change things. Listen to your pediatrician, it is their job to stay on top of the latest recommendations. I am a reader, too, and you can drive yourself crazy. I have learned to take the doc's advice on most things, and read only if I have a particular concern about something. You need to be proactive, but not so much that you become obsessed. Besides, pretty soon you won't have much time to read!

Talk to your pediatrician. It's the best thing you can do. I was told no cereal until at least 4 months. My first was 6 weeks early so she did not begin eating cereal until almost 6 months. To be honest with you, I stopped reading when I had my first due to all of the contradicting info out there. I just followed my pediatrician's advice (she is fabulous with girls only of her own as well) and I called a lot of my experienced girlfriends (I still call them and I am on #3).

The big thing I learned is NOT to listen to the "older" women in my family. After all, as babies, we were being given food (& cow's milk) by 6 weeks, having our umbilical cords cleaned with alcohol, sleeping on our bellies, and riding in cars without any car seats.

Hang in there! It will all turn out okay!

I also didn't go through all the comments, but I wanted to pass along some sage wisdom I've gathered recently by reading a lot of other comments here on the site.

Pediatric guidelines change ALL the time. Our kids are 21 months apart, and there were many changes between the first and second child as infants (they're now 2 and 4) such as how and when to introduce certain foods.

The best advice is to talk to your pediatrician about matters like these - they're the ones who receive the updated guidelines and policies from the American Academy of Pediatrics (app.org).
I'd also recommend 2 publications:
1. Your Baby's First Year - should have been provided at your first well-baby visit and is from the American Academy of Pediatrics (copy should be free)
2. HealthyChildren.org - the parenting website from AAP.

Most information on health-related items is available through WebMD and MayoClinic.com as well. CDC has some good information as well.

Most other websites are opinion filled vs. fact filled. And, even since my kids were infants, much has changed. I have to keep up on this professionally, but most of us Moms don't have that luxury, so I'd always advise to take the advice on this site and then verify on your own either by asking your pediatrician or by finding credible medical advice through reputable sites.

Good luck!

I waited until 6 months for solid food for both my son, now almost five and a very healthy 40 lbs, and my daughter, who turned 6 months last Wednesday. In fact, at her 6 month check up, the doctor told me not to start solids for a while because she is only in the 25% for weight and needs to fill up on formula because of the fat content. If I put her on solids now, she'll decrease her bottle feedings and eat less fat, not gaining enough weight. I love to read, too, but there is too much conflicting info about kids so I've learned to keep it to a minimum. Pick up something fun to read instead and just talk to your doctor. You'll feel much better.

Congrats on being a first time mom. I can totally appreciate and understand your frustration in feeling more confused the more you read. I have felt that way many times. Ultimately I usually go with my gut feeling, pediatrician, and advice of one of my sisters and a close friend. I did not introduce solids to either of my two boys until they were 6 months. I chose this based on the concept that the a infant needs to show an interest in solids, can sit well supported, and that their primary source of nutrition for the first year should be breastmilk/formula. These guidelines are based off of the American Academy of Pediatrics. These guidelines have been the same for years. The AAP recommends starting solids at 6 months. Unless your peds recommends something different for your baby I would go with that. As far as the feedback you are getting from your family members....This is your baby and you are doing what you believe to be best based on the information you have gleaned. This may not be what they think or what was popular when they were raising babies but let's face it a lot of things that were done when we were kids weren't right...many aren't legal anymore (i.e.letting you toddler sit in the middle console of the station wagon. That was so fun as a little kid but so dangerous! hehehe. As my mom has said many times..."it is a wonder you kids are alive today".) So ultimately go with what you feel is right based off all of the info you gather. There will always be conflicting information regarding just about every aspect of parenting. It isn't easy to weed through it all but I think your willingness to read and educate yourself is key. Keep up the good work!

Many pediatricians recommend that babies be fed only milk, either breastmilk or formulas until 6 months or a year. This is to avoid potencial allergies, and other digestive problems. This is not new. I did this with my firstborn (a year), then my second and third child (6 months) who are now 38, 33, and 30 YEARS old. After this period they started on veggies and then cereals. Veggies first, before the got used to sweets on fruit. Hope this helps. Good luck with your baby.

Most importantly, what did your child's pediatrician have to say? He or she knows the health history of your child and can best advise you on how to proceed.

With my first we started at 4 months. With my second, we started around 5 months. The event that prompted such a decision was the fact that the boys started getting frustrated and angry when we were eating table food but they weren't getting any. Our pediatrician had recommended that if we saw them doing that (along with other developmental signs) that we could try solids. Both experiences have been positive and fun.

I didn't think I'd start my baby on solids until 1 year but she showed me she was ready at 6 months. Each time I would eat she'd open her mouth for me to give her some so I took that as a clue. I started with veggies and fruit and will not do cereal until 9 months. They don't start making the enzyme to break down grains until then.

LOL. I am a reader too. some things I refuse to read bc they will make me crazy so I totally understand you!!! right now it is being said that (well I dont know if you nurse so this might not apply) if you nurse they suggest that you do that for the first 6 mo and then introduce solids. I love the website wholesome baby. com it was very very helpful for me. I am not sure what the rule is if you are using formula so sorry about that. my dr. did say that 4 mo is okay. I really wanted to wait until 6 bc of the things I read but my DD was showing a strong interest, grabing our food, asking for it (she is very very verbal) at 5 mo so I did give her some soilds then. I started w/ the baby cerials and then avacado as it is very good for LO: high in healthy fats that help brain dev......hope this helps!