HELLP [ first time mom ]

I did not start any solids until well past 6 months.

Are you sure she doesn't just mean thats the EARLIEST you can start? Because I wouldn't......

My DD started eating baby food at 4 months. The formula wasn't holding her over and she wouldn't eat the cereal.
She ate lots of sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, carrots, etc.
She's now 13 months old and has been eating table food since about 9 months.

Cereal is pointless and the AAP recommends 6 months for solids anyway. Just wait the two months and you can even skip the baby food all together if you want and go straight for table food.

I delayed food for the first six months. Nothing but breastmilk - not even cereal.

If you formula feed there is no need. Formula is everything your baby needs.

My son doesn't have cereal. He has solids every now and then but that's because he tries to steal our food. The one time he had cereal was adult cream of wheat.

Quoting Mother of Hayward.:" My DD started eating baby food at 4 months. The formula wasn't holding her over and she wouldn't eat ... [snip!] ... sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, carrots, etc. She's now 13 months old and has been eating table food since about 9 months."

   

Tried baby food for about two weeks at 8 months. He wasn't ready so we waited until 10 months and just went straight to table foods.

Personally I am not planning on being a "text book" mom. If something is going to seriously injure my child clearly I will NOT do it (ie feeding LO honey), but if LO is ready at 4 or 5 months for baby food and the book says not until 6 months I don't really care. lol

You aren't supposed to introduce any solids, including rice cereal, until 6 months. At least that is the recommendation. Unless of course you are dealing with a medical issue. The baby's tummy is still developing, and they are not able to process solids, including cereal, until 6 months. Sometimes later.

I started cereal with breastmilk at 4 months and baby food at 5.5 months...

Quoting Jennybananna:" Cereal is pointless and the AAP recommends 6 months for solids anyway. Just wait the two months and you can even skip the baby food all together if you want and go straight for table food."

This. There is no benefit to starting with cereal, and no reason to start before six months. Cereal is nutritionally void and has been found to replace calories baby should be getting from breast milk or formula (as opposed to adding to total intake) when introduced early. Why Delay Solids?

There actually is a reason why they say not before six months - I don't remember all of it, but in the newborn care class I had to take they said that until 6 mo, babies' digestive tract isn't prepared for anything other than milk/formula. They told us that introducing other foods before 6 mo can increase risk of food allergies and intolerance because their bodies treat it like a foreign substance rather than nutrition.

Quoting BelleDiabolique:" There actually is a reason why they say not before six months - I don't remember all of it, but in the ... [snip!] ... increase risk of food allergies and intolerance because their bodies treat it like a foreign substance rather than nutrition. "

Open gut
Until around six months of age babies have what is often referred to as an “open gut”. This means the spaces between the cells of the small intestine will allow large molecules to pass directly into their bloodstream. Consequently, as well as the beneficial antibodies in breastmilk passing into baby's bloodstream, allergy-triggering proteins from other foods,

Quoting I'm His Amy He's My Rory:" My son doesn't have cereal. He has solids every now and then but that's because he tries to steal our food. The one time he had cereal was adult cream of wheat."

This is how i was, too - my son started being interested in my food when he was around 6 - 8 months old and we tried different things, I made a lot of "baby food" for him. I think they are ready when they show interest in other food.