We started in with finger foods when Nij hit six months. We've only been on the trail for less than two months, but there are a few things that have made a difference to us. In the very earliest days Nij would store huge amounts of food in his tiny mouth -- I assume in preparation for the event when we'd forget to feed him for days on end. If he'd get laughing huge, jam-packed bits of broc, potato, nectarine, whatever would come tumbling out. I'd read about other babes doing the same thing and being able to clear out the excess so there was no fear of choking, a bit of gagging, and I didn't worry that he was never going to get it right. He spent a fair amount of time laying down or falling over in those days, so, keen to avoid choking we would manually sweep out the roof of his mouth, particularly before bedtime. While he still stores the odd fragment, mostly his mouth is empty at the end of the meal now, the bits of food presented to him have pieces missing and the final evidence of solids being introduced is undeniable. Just this week we bought a plastic pelican type bib. I cannot believe what a difference it makes to how I feel about meal times. For six weeks I've gone through meals with a thin (or think) patina of grunge smeared across the back of my hand as I retrieved the full meal from the crevice between Nij's legs and his chair over and over again when his tray had been cleared (of course, surreptitiously so it hasn't become a game). We've had this funny little bib for four meals and when it is placed around my boy's neck he immediately reaches inside for what treats may be found. Of course, he then discovers he has to get to work filling it, but most of his food ends up right in that little pocket, within his easy reach and Papa Nij and I can enjoy our meals. And...here in Canada we see Public Health Nurses. Before our most recent visit Papa Nij and I prepared our most honest, yet innocuous answers for the inevitable questions. "Yes. We've started him on solid foods. He seems to really enjoy broccoli, asparagus, various meats and nectarines. Yes, we realize that iron may be an issue which is why we've focused on dark green vegetables and meats and he is still breastfeeding. No, we have no idea how much he eats in tablespoons. We really haven't paid much attention to that because we understood that solid food at this point was more for the introduction than for the calories." We left off mentioning the method to save the grief but everything else they wanted and needed to know was there. And frankly they didn't ask whether we let him feed himself or I would have reconsidered full disclosure. Actually...we haven't told many people that we've gone straight to self-feeding but once they see Nij eat and start asking questions, they get a great deal of information about a method of "introducing solids" (that's what we call it here) that takes advantage of a child's great desire to explore. And it really is fun.