Hi collymags, Gill's research was done when the weaning age was 4 months, so all the babies were offered food at that age but most didn't pick it up and eat it until 6 months. The 6 months guideline is a good one, because it's on the safe side for all babies, but obviously some babies will be ready sooner. Iknow of a couple of babies who picked up food and ate it perfectly happily at five months. If you're going to give BLW a try, though, you have to promise to stop counting the bottles, lol, as the demand feeding of milk is very important. Apart from that, you're good to go i reckon. and if miss minnie doesn't pick it up and eat it then you can just give her as much milk as she wants until she gets the hang of it. good luck with everything.