I was advised by hv and gp to start my ds on solids at 15 weeks - he weighed 17lbs 15oz (is now 19 weeks and just over 20lbs) but has always been big right from birth and bottles simply weren't filling him - but my son was definitely an exception to the 6 month guidelines....so other posters please note I'm not advocating early introduction of solids as a general rule!!!
I was advised to start with baby rice and then try different fruit and veg, introducing a new one every four or five days to see if he took any reaction. I was also warned not to give him anything with gluten in it until he was at least six months old to minimise the possibility of him developing coeliac disease. I was giving him solids at lunch and tea and he also gets an organic rice cereal at breakfast which I've introduced this week as he was waking in the night for a feed
If you must start solids early from experience I would advise you to be really careful as their digestive systems are so delicate. My son now gets three very small meals a day, because at his age milk should still be his main source of nutrition and the solids are simply to supplement what he gets in his bottles. As for jars and stuff, I was also advised that it is best if you can prepare stuff yourself as at least you know exactly what's in it.
What I do is if I'm cooking any veggies for our own dinner I put a few aside, puree them in the blender and put them in ice cube trays in the freezer. All I have to do is pop a couple out and heat them up at mealtimes - it's actually really handy to do and a helluva lot less expensive - plus there's very little waste.
