Can I Start Solids Earlier Than Six Months?
While it’s not recommended, plenty of parents start their babies on solids a little ahead of schedule. If you’re tempted to begin before six months — perhaps because your baby is on the bigger side or displays signs of readiness like reaching for your food at the table — keep in mind that baby’s digestive system and swallowing ability are less mature, and that there’s no benefit to doing so. When you do start, the idea at first is to simply get your baby used to gumming and swallowing purees. Milk will still be the main event. By the time he’s one, a variety of nutritious grown-up foods will have edged out breastmilk or formula in your baby’s diet. Meanwhile, remember: There’s no race to get your baby consuming everything under the sun. In fact, a 2006 policy paper from the AAP reported that exclusive breastfeeding in the first half year is correlated to lowered risk of obesity later in life.

If you stop breastfeeding earlier than six months, that doesn’t mean you should start solids. If your baby’s four months old or more, switch to iron-fortified formula, the same as you would do with a four-month-old baby fed non-iron-fortified formula.

Choking Prevention
Some foods pose a significant choking hazard. By far the most dangerous are round, rubbery foods like hot dogs and grapes. These should be cut into quarters until your child is at least four years old and able to chew and swallow steak. Other problem foods include nuts (especially peanuts), raw carrots and seeds like unpopped or partially popped popcorn. Children should be at least three and able to chew and swallow crusty bread before they have these foods. The bits of peanut in chunky peanut butter may also pose a problem.

Here are some tips for avoiding choking problems: