I started giving my youngest cereal and baby food at around 4 months. He's has pretty much always been super interested in whatever we're eating. And really, if it put a dent in the 4 5-ounce bottles of breastmilk he took at daycare every day, I was willing to give it a try! ;-)
Stacie - Mom to two boys

My daughter got her first "official" bite of food at six months. For a few weeks prior to that, though, I'd sometimes offer her a tiny bit of food from my plate, like carrots from a bowl of soup.

But I will say, part of the reason I held off was because I was still in that new-mom "there is a right way to do things and gosh darn it, that's how we're going to do it!" phase. I'm not sure I'll be so stringent with my second child.

With our first I think I tried as soon as she hit 4 months. lol I was so excited! With our 2nd I think I waited until 4.5 months, it just wasn't as exciting as it was with the first. Our 3rd I waited until about 5-5.5 months. And with our 4th I waited until 6 months. We'd offered a small taste of like potatoes or something on our plate I'm sure before that but when I actually got the baby cereal and started it got later and later with each one.

I think it's still exciting, it's just not as much a "necessity" as I thought it was with the first. Our 5th is just about to turn 4 months and I'll proably wait until 6 months, if I can. I'll play it by ear and see how she does.

Sarah ~ mother of 5, blessed wife of 9 years

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

I started at six months but she would have nothing of it. Finally, after trying for two months to get her to eat cereal/baby food, my pediatrician suggested I just start giving her finger foods.

So I started cutting up things really really small - cheerios in thirds, tiny bits of cracker, little bits of cooked apple, peas without the shell on it, etc. And she started eating right away.

I was able to get maybe ten jars of baby food and only one bowl of cereal in her (the only time I got it in her was when we were at a restaurant/someone else's house and there were new things to look at). She just wouldn't have any of it. I've learned since then that she's a do-it-herselfer in pretty much everything in her life.

You really have to know your child. My first I started putting ceral in his bottle at 7 weeks. He was eating 8 oz of formula every hour and a half(I couldn't get to the grocery store b/f I had to mix another bottle). You just couldn't fill him up. And adding the ceral really helped. My second I didn't start on any food until she was 5 mo old. She just never had any interest in food (and she still doesn't care about eating at 3yrs.). You know down in your heart what your child needs.

Cereal is a very complex carb for such a little person. I did not feed
my children 'cereal' type foods until they were 12 months. I would
try baked sweet potato and maybe some pureed avacado. Both are full
of vitamins and the avacado has some really good fats they he may be
craving!