Solids at 4 months?

Question

I was surprised when my paediatrician said that at four months we could start my baby on solids. He’s 3 months now and we will discuss how to start at his appointment next month. He did say solids as in vegetables etc. Is this pretty normal? I planned on baby led weaning, not sure if that still follows those guidelines? What is everyone else planning on doing?

Answer

I wouldn’t. We practice BLW at 6 months old, 4 months is way too early for gut health imo, some drs still give that outdated advice

Answer

4 months is pretty outdated advice. Pediatricians typically recommend starting at 6 months as that’s when their bellies are able to handle it...and even then it’s more to get used to the texture and tastes of food. The majority of their nutrition will still be from breast milk or formula through end of the first year. 
With my oldest we tried BLW starting at 6 months, but it didn’t go well so we started with thin purées, began thickening them, and by 8ish months she was basically eating what we were eating, but in tiny pieces. At 22 months, she eats everything we eat, and about a million snacks a day 😂 (fruits, crackers, cheese, yogurt, etc).

Answer

4 months is the previous recommendation, from before the current was issued which states 6 months.
We were pretty successful with a sort of BLW with my first daughter.
I took all of the scheduling I could find, collated into a master list of "6 months: apple, potato etc... 8 months, 10 months etc" and then put together foods fitting that list as she grew. We didn't do any purees but steamed the vegetables and cooked the meats until they were very soft and offered them in finger sized pieces. The meals which needed to be spooned were pre-loaded onto 4-6 spoons.
I loaded a plate with her food and put it in front of me, baby on my lap, and put my plate a bit further away for lunch. (Later she sat in a high chair.) She was really not interested in it for a while, but she loved the idea of participating in the meal and grabbed onto the pieces, waved them around a little bit, sometimes put them into her mouth but really, for the first couple of times she was completely uninterested. It took a couple of meals before she got interested at all, and even then she just kept tasting.
For the first few months she was mostly practicing the motions, developing the skills of moving food into her mouth, chewing etc. She had absolutely no problem with chewing even though she initially had no teeth. She also loved the pre-loaded spoons. She only had a problem with overcooked stuff (my MIL insisted on purees and when I convinced her that her granddaughter ate steamed veggies she steamed them until they melted away...) which she tried but couldn't grab.
She had loads of fun. Didn't really make a mess to be honest, she usually was honestly trying to pick up the food, taste it, or just discovering what exactly it was.
She kept to mostly tasting until she was 12-13 months old, when she started to actually eat full meals. She was eating entirely the same as we did when she was 18 months old, the only exception being mushrooms (the last item on my schedule, at 24 months old, everything else by 18 months) and choking hazards.
She's 3 years old now and is great about eating. Apart from a few bouts of "too busy to stop to eat" when she was eating her dinner while walking around for weeks on end, I can't think of any problems with eating. She was always interested in whatever we ate, tried all foods at family meals, isn't afraid of trying new things, happy to eat fruits instead of sweets a lot of the time (though she grew to love sweets in the last year, I blame the grandparents and dad's sweet tooth) and she's even fond of spicy foods.
I have one confession to make. Whenever our health visitor would ask about how we were progressing with solids, whether we made it through the purees etc I just nodded along. I made sure to discuss the schedule and she had some great points, but I knew the local health visitors were under strict rules of promoting the pureed diet which is their official recommendation.
I can only recommend being patient and letting your child take the lead while ensuring the irons you offer up are safe and healthy! ♥

Answer

I've always seen 6 months and even my pediatrician said 6 months. But we are gping to start ricr cereal next month when he is 4 months old. That is to help with his reflux (hopefully)

Answer

We’ve been having solids here and there every couple of days, she’s 15 weeks old, she loves it 🤷‍♀️, tonight for her ‘dinner’ after her bottle she had chicken, corn, pumpkin and apple purée and she absolutely loved it ! 😊. When starting solids, always give baby their bottle or breast first, then offer solids after

Answer

My pediatrician said nothing but breast milk before 6 months. However, a close friends told her to start at 4 months. I think it depends on doctor for what they suggest. I think either w oh I’d be fine.

Answer

My pediatrician’s NP said 4 months of the baby is formula fed and 6 months of breastfed. My first baby was formula fed and we didn’t start purées till she was 9 months. Apparently toy that was considered late. My little one is 3 months and breastfed and I plan on starting solids around 6 months

Answer

I'll start pureed bananas @4 months

Answer

Our pediatrician recommended starting between 4 and 6 months just letting her hold and chew on a spoon and letting her have purees once she gets used to having something besides a nipple in her mouth.
 My mom is already talking about how much fun Thanksgiving will be because the baby can have mashed potatoes. I'm sure I'll let it slide because she won't be more than maybe a bite. 
My little one has been showing an interest in food since she was about 2 months old so I'm pretty sure this is going to go way faster than I was originally hoping.

Solids at 4 months?

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