Breast Feeding and Solids

My son is just about 6 months old.  I have been putting off solids for as long as possible to give him the full benefits of breast feeding without any interruptions or conflicting wants, however, the time has come.  The irony is that with my first born, now 2 years, I was eager, anxious and restless about wanting to feed him.  It was an exiting new stage to first time parenthood and I am sure I rushed it.  The one good thing was that even though I was 'rushing it' as much as possible I made my own baby food because that was an exciting part of it all too.  I did wait for the important stages that show your child's maturity has been reached, such as freely holding his head up, sitting in his own, tongue reflexes under control, and showing a desire to partake in food- ie- reaching out to food, opening mouth to food, licking and salivating while watching eating.  So perhaps, after all, I didn't actually rush it but rather, since my boys are so different and the cues and learnings are so different, since my first was a month earlier than my second, it feels rushed whereas it was probably just right for him.  I definitely know how much easier it is to bring baby somewhere and not have to worry about solid food but every stage is important and waiting too long can be just as detrimental as starting too soon.