When is the right time to introduce solids to baby?

i have a niece that just turned 6 months, her pediatrician said that solid foods could be introduced at this time as long as it was mashed, especially fruits and vegies. so far it was openly accepted by my niece... ;)

Every child is different, just like every adult is different. I started my second born on cereal when he was 3 days old. I brought him home from the hospital and he was just not getting what he needed from the milk so I started him on cereal and to my astonishment he slept all night from that point on, in fact he was called healthy most of his life, he is now 25 years old. My granddaughter I started on cereal when she was 6 months old, against her doctor's desire, but I felt like she was not getting what she needed from the milk, which was also true, she started sleeping all night, since the doctor's don't want you to feed them cereal or any solids until they are a year old I felt it was what the child needed. You are the baby's Mother, if you give your baby cereal (and we gave it to them in their bottles, mixed it with their milk) and they throw it up, they are probably not ready, but then again if you give it to them and they respond favorably it means they needed this extra bit of food to help them grow. Sometimes the doctor's don't know everything, it is up to you as the Mother to make this decision, not the doctors, they are not the ones that are with the baby the majority of the time and they are only basis their suggestion on a textbook of suggestions for babies.

Each baby is different, just like each person is different. You need to understand your baby to understand what they need. I brought my 7 pound baby boy home from the hospital and he was starving, milk was just not doing it for him so when he was 3 days old I started him on cereal and to my astonishment he slept all night long from that day forward, in fact, most of his life he was called healthy, which to me is another word for being fat. He is now 25 years old. My granddaughter who is 2.5 years old I started on cereal with her when she was 3 months (against her mother's desire, of course this was her first born also) but once we did she slept all night and was very happy. Now we didn't give her the cereal like I was giving my son, we mixed it with her formula, but any amount you can give your child is helpful and 6 months old is plenty old enough to start, although the doctors these days say not, but as a Mother you should know what's best. Try it out, if your baby does fine, continue, if you baby throws up the food and does not do well then it is not time, believe me they cannot talk but they can express themselves to us in one manner or another.