The Doctor Says

Most doctors will say cereal is OK at 4 months, but they also don't advocate breastfeeding as much as the American Academy of Pediatrics. So if you are breastfeeding and want to follow AAP's standards, they say exclusively breastmilk only for six months and then cereal. On the other hand if there are reasons for starting sooner, such as reflux issues or baby just doesn't seem satisfied then you could introduce a small amount. I waited until 5 months for my kids.

at the advice of our peditrician we waited until the babies were eating 32 oz of formula/nursing(which is harder to measure) a day. What we were told is that the babies need that amount of formula/breast milk to get the right amount of nutrients a day before giving them cereal. If you start cereal and their formula intake decrease at 4 months old they will not get the daily requirement for items such as vitiams and iron. So my advice to you would be look at the amount your baby is drinking and if she is at the 32 oz or higher then introduce the cereal if not then wait until she is at that point or very close. My formula fed baby never went over 28 oz a day-and she got cereal at 4 months and then the breast fed babies got cereal closer to 5-6 months. I also learned to keep life simple. The first one we were always excited to go to the next stage, but feeding cereal complicates life too.
Good luck

I agree she is only taking down 3 4Oz. Bottles at daycare and nursing she nurses a lot but I think more so because she misses the boob during the day. Not because she is hungry I don't think. I think I will wait I just don't think she is ready for cereal.
Thanks for the input.
Or maybe I am not ready for my little baby to grow up knowing she is my last lol.

Our ped said it was ok at 6 months with Luke, but actually told us to start around 3 months with Shawn.  Shawn's situation was a bit different because of his reflux issues.  We tried cereal early on with Shawn, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference for his spit-up, so I only occassionaly gave it to him (usually only when he was so cranky and I needed something to take his mind off of fussing).  I think 4 months is pretty early unless, like Julie mentioned, reflux problems, baby not feeling satisfied after eating, etc.  It certainly wouldn't hurt to wait another month and reconsider :)

Jessica
~ Mommy to Luke and Shawn

I had to give my son the cereal shortly after coming home from the hospital. Because he would spit up the formuala (apparently it wasn't heavy enough) He did great. Then as he got a little older I switched from rice to oatmeal in his bottle.

I started my daughter on rice cereal at 4 months. We started with just a little bit at a time (1 tablespoon once a day) and now she has it two to three times a day.

I gave both my sons rice cereal when they were 2 months old. They had no problem. But i only gave it to them at night. They acutally slept through the night.

I am a massage therapist here in michiana. I just set up an office at Newton Center. Please give me a call for pricing and times 574-309-6937. Thanks everyone.

I've started all of my kids on cereal at 4 months. They all nursed for the first 7 months to one year and they all did well when started on cereals at 4 months and veggies at 6 months. Not everyone agrees witht starting them at 4 months but my kids did great.

Sarah