On every packet of infant food and formula, there's a "note" that says mother's milk is best for an infant for at least 6 months. A month ago, I had (rather imperiously ) written about the benefits of delaying solids and starting E with something called Baby-Led Weaning or BLW. The central tenet of BLW is to allow the child to decide what to eat and how much of it to eat. I was completely convinced of its benefits when we started E on solids. For her first meal, she was given a tray of steamed carrots, beans, and apples. She gnawed on everything for a bit, and then dropped it on the ground to our very grateful dog. E's first meal Since E doesn't have a genetic history of food allergies, I was introducing a new fruit or vegetable every 24 to 48 hours. As such, she tasted pear, beetroot, broccoli, and potato. The warning that the book by Gill Rapley contains about BLW being messy should have been in red lettering; all caps; in bold; underlined; in