I've been catching up on posts after being away, so forgive yet one more
comment on introducing solids.  In addition to the many reasons
previously voiced, I simply am a very selfish person when it comes to
feeding my children.  I tried the typical "cereal mush" with my
firstborn; since she absolutely hated it, I decided to just wait until
she could eat what we were eating w/ *minimal* modification.  I refuse
to use a baby food grinder or blender and simply wait until they are
developmentally ready for cut/mashed foods from our plates.  It's a
tremendous learning experience for them, a fun social time for the
family and easy on the parents.  I don't enjoy the mess of trying to
feed them orange paste that's supposed to be carrots and would rather
spend the money saved on all those little jars somewhere else.  My 1st 2
children have been totally different in their readiness to eat...my 2nd
decided to grab a piece of pizza as his 1st food (I would have had
trouble pinpointing food allergies w/ him), but I tried to trust their
instincts as well as mine.  In addition to the benefits of all the
flavors they are exposed to through breastfeeding, giving them our table
foods certainly has provided them a broader range of flavors than they
would get from jars or boxes.

Selfish???  You bet!  Simple to do if you trust yourself and your
children???  Definitely!  I also believe that self-feeding (from the
first time at the breast onward) allows my children to control their
intake and that adolescent eating problems, such as anorexia, should be
minimized if *I* am not the one trying to control how much they eat.  I
definitely make the major decisions about what they are offered, but
they decide how much to eat.