Is 4 months to early?

[bigZ]

DS is coming up to 5 months, and he watches intently while people eat, he is trying to grab at food when he's sitting with someone eating. He is also now waking in the middle of the night for a feed again after previously sleeping through. Is it to early to start him on a little bit of solid food maybe some farex?

[loumia]

Both my DD's started on some very very runny farex at 4 months (they both stopped sleeping through & getting hungrier) i used to give a little bit to them once a day after a bottle with no problems, they loved it (GP also said it was fine) I increased it when they were 5 months & started introducing other starter foods mixed with farex & by 6 months they were well onto their first solids.

They are both now great eaters & love trying new/different foods

It sounds like your DS is trying to tell you something lol every baby is different & develops at different stages, some babies can be quite difficult to get onto solids & some need to start a bit earlier. Just let your bub guide you :cheerleader2:

[Izzys Dragon]

If he is interested in food & is trying to grab it off people then you could give him a bit, if you think he is ready. 4 months is the earliest recommended I think.

I didn't find that solids really helped with sleeping to be honest - think DD just had a change in her sleep habits that coincided with her wanting solids (we started just prior to 4months as DD was fascinated by us eating etc).

Don't recommend going with farex...it tastes & looks like wet cardboard.

We offered DD a bit of rice cereal with EBM to start with, then pureed vegies like pumpkin & sweet potato. Now we're offering toast fingers with vegemite & bits & pieces of our food. She grabbed my mum's roast chicken roll the other week & ripped off a chunk :D.

We taking it easy, just offering a bit & stopping when DD loses interest. "Food is just for fun before 1" is a good saying. If DD wants our food we'll usually let her have a try (assuming it is a safe food for a baby).

[leoness79]

My son started basic cereal with EBM at 4 months for the same reason. Unfortunately it didn't help him sleep through again or even go longer between feeds! He is 6 1/2 months now and loves trying different foods. Your baby definitely sounds ready to start trying solids. All those signs looking at and grabbing for your food!

[ayashe]

I think that if you think he's interested, go for it! :D

[onedayatatime]

I think I'm in the minority here but I didn't read other replies so that's a guess.

But the current recommendation is 6 months for solids and not before.


But parents know their children best so it's up to you. My bub is the same age and watches me eat too (and wakes in the night for a feed when wasn't before) but it doesn't enter my mind to give her any solids yet. Didn't with last bub either and she was strong as an ox by 6 months and quite chubby for a breastfed bubba.

I am a stickler for rules though!

[Misschief]

In Europe they start at 4 months. That's the set norm over there. The kids are all perfectly healthy and normal.
I recently got told that the Australian government wants to change the recommendation to be inline with Europe again. It seems that there aren't too many people out there who wait until 6 months, so they might as well bring it back to 4 months again.

The only reason they changed from 4 to 6 months, is because there were a lot of parents who wanted to start solids well before the recommended age.
So when it was 4 months, they would start already at 2-3 months. This is too early and that is why the government changed the recommendation to 6 months.
Now, if people start at 4-5 months, that's fine. Its not a problem. As long as bub shows interest and that he/she is ready for it.

[Pawzette]

I started all of mine at 4 months on solids, I have never had any issues with fussy eaters, no allergies and no sicknesses what so ever.. I don't think I would start earlier but I would defineately start now :) He does sound like he is ready for it.

My son is 4.5 months, he started waking through the night, and wanting more to eat.. now he has two meals a day and LOVES it :) HE is on Raffertys garden foods and LOVES it.. he gets soooo excited when he sees me with a bowl, package, spoon and bib! And then when he gets into his highchair his mouth is already open!

[eviezmum]

My DD was premmie and had pretty bad reflux, so our pediatrician told me to start her at four months. His explanation was the solid food would sit in her tummy better and take more of an effort to expel, and the solids would help her put on weight and "catch up" as she was still pretty small.

I don't know that solids at 4 months helped the above, but it certainly didn't hurt!! The problem I had was she really wasn't interested in food until nearly 6 months.

As a PP said, you know your baby and if they're showing signs of being ready, give it a go. A little farex won't hurt.