No way! You can try a teething biscuit, but I would be very careful. 6 months is really very young to be giving any kind of hard foods to. Your not supposed to start cereals and baby foods until 6 months.
Absolutely agree with Nikki! There are still some pediatritians which would suggest starting solids early, but if you look for supporting evidence and into the practices of more prominent pediatritians and baby nutritionists who basing their theories on common sense scientific research, it all comes down to the ages-old principal, -- delay introducing solids till the baby is ready. There is no need to rush in most of the ordinary circumstances ( which are 99% of cases) and all the good reasons to delay in order to help your childs body to get ready for processing solids.
There were quite a few threads lately here about it, may be we can have some good information organised in one thread for an easy reference. I studied medicine and lately also had a few in-depth discussions with child nutrition researches and a leading immunologist. There is ample evidence, that connects diabetis, obesity, severe allergies, immune disorders to routine and early introduction of solids. Granted, there are some cases when it is necessary, but in those cases, it should not be just introducing any solids, or juices, but rather a very choosy and careful approach.
And the best to start with the solids in their original state, like avocado, which is a nutritional system on its own. Rather then getting commercially made baby foods. It is very easy to steam some squash or scoop some avocado, or mix some avocado and pear or carrot. But by doing it, you will be able to give your baby nutrition without compromising their well being. Would you agree that freshly mashed squash or pear is much better then pear or squash puree from a jar, that was sitting on the shelf for some time, was preserved for freshness, homogenised, sterilised, etc....
Once the baby is older and is able to have different fruits and veggies, there are also neat things you can use to prevent your baby from choking and make it easier for the baby to hold the food. They have these little mesh sacks with handles, they look like oversized pacifiers, and you put a piece of fruit inside. It works really great for a few mommies that I've seen using this recently... It also helps the baby to hold it easier....
Hope it helps.
Digg
