Wondering about weaning

Annika is approaching the middle of her first year which means we are getting very close to being able to offer her solids and start weaning her. With my first three children I found this to be exciting and fun. Letting them taste all the interesting, yummy, and sometimes not so yummy things. Watching them try picking up little bits of things and then rub their fist all over their face until something ended up in their open mouth. Laughing at all the funny expressions that result after something tart. But this time I don't feel the same.

Up to this point the only thing that has gone into her little stomach has been breast milk. She is to be my last baby and I am finding that I want to keep her a little baby, I don't want to begin weaning her, a process which will ultimately end our nursing relationship. It's kind of funny that I would be worried about the end of breastfeeding because if things go the way nature intends I will still be breast feeding her for years.

Regardless of my feelings, she is starting to show signs that she will soon be ready to start solids and I will of course follow her cues. So what are theses signs that a baby is ready to start making the switch for a liquid diet to a solid one?

• Baby can sit without support. Annika is getting there, she can sit for about half a minute before flopping over.
• Baby has lost the tongue thrust reflex, that they no longer push solids out of their mouth with their tongue. We can put a check her for Annika.
• Baby had developed the pincer grasp, they can pick up small things with their thumb and pointer finger. Big no on this one, Annika still can only rake things up with her whole hand.
• Baby makes chewing motions, often while watching you eat. Annika sure likes to watch me eat and follows my fork and will even open her mouth too sometimes, but no chewing motions yet.
• Baby seems to be more hungry and nurse more often. This need to nurse shouldn't be confused with the need to nurse because baby being sick or getting comfort for teething pain and should be more of a long term need. This one is hard to judge and really you need to consider this one in with all the other signs of readiness. I think that she might be, but I also think she is teething so really I feel more comfortable using the other signs. Please note that it is typical  for a 4 month old to go through a growth spurt and will temporarily need to nurse more and that should not be confused with readiness to start solids.

So based on the above signs, Annika is not quite ready, but soon will be.

I'm sure some people will have noticed that I have not given a specific age as a sign of readiness to start solids. That is because there really isn't an age on which all babies will be read to start eating solids. Typically babies who have all the signs are about six months, with some of course being ready a little earlier and some being ready later. Annika right now will be 6 months old in 5 days, and will not quite be ready on her six month birthday so we will wait a little bit. I know that some people still are introducing solids at the 4 month mark, but any number of health agencies (WHO, Health Canada, Unicef, American Academy of Pediatrics, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners to name a few) recommend waiting until 6 months.

So why wait? I'll save that for next time. I'm typing with one hand and this is taking too darn long.