when to start?

Some informative infos just for sharing...

How do I know that my baby is ready for solids?

Now your baby is six months, he may be showing signs that he is ready for solid foods. He may be ready if he:

• can hold his head up
• sits well with support
• can take food off a spoon using his upper lip
• can move food to the back of his mouth and swallow it
• has a healthy weight, of about double his birth weight
• is curious about what's you're eating
• can grab finger food and put it in his mouth

When your baby has had enough to eat, he will usually let you know, by...

• refusing to open his mouth
• turning away from the spoon/pushing the spoon away
• becoming restless in his highchair
• leaning back in his highchair

It is far better to respect these cues from your baby than to try to continue to feed him when he is full, which could leave him with that bloated, uncomfortable feeling we are all familiar with if we've over-eaten. But by giving him more calories than he really needs, you also risk excessive weight gain, a problem which could stay with your child for some time to come. He may lose the ability to discern for himself when it's time to stop eating.

Read more: http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/how-much-should-my-baby-be-eating.html#ixzz1ShDvc2iT

Avoid Baby Digestive Problems (4 day rule)

The rule is easy to follow...
Each time you introduce a new food to your baby, you need to continue feeding your baby that same food for four days. You can continue to feed your baby other foods you have safely introduced.
But don't introduce two new foods at the same time.
It's an effective strategy ...
Allergic reactions usually appear quickly - sometimes within 1/2 an hour of your baby eating the food responsible. But it can take up to 3 or 4 days for a reaction to occur. Baby digestive problems, too, tend to take a few days to appear.

By sticking to one new food for 4 days, you will immediately be able to tell which food is causing the reaction or digestive problem. You can then eliminate this food from your baby's diet, although it may be possible to re-introduce it later on. Identifying the problem quickly means you won't need to "experiment" to find its cause ... and you won't risk provoking the same reaction again.
A useful tip is to try introducing new foods in the morning or at lunch time.
If your baby suffers a severe allergic reaction, it will be easier to get medical help then, rather than later in the day.
If the food causes your baby digestive problems, he may experience diarrhea, gas (wind) or some other discomfort. If you've given him the food late in the day, then he - and you - will probably be in for a sleepless night!

Read more: http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/babydigestiveproblems.html#ixzz1ShEUmLAT