Hi ks,
you said your little girl is 4 mths, how many weeks is she, like is she at the start or end of 4mths?
My little girl is now 22 weeks (she'll be 5mths on Sunday), I started her on rice cereal about 3 weeks ago, because of feeding problems since going to the bottle. She wasn't to impressed with it to begin with, and really didn't seem interested, however I persisted in offering her a little each day after her morning bottle. At the end of last week she started showing some interest (at 20 weeks), and on the weekend we started offering a small amount of weet bix (about 1/4 weetbix softened with boiled water, and a little formula). This week, she has been having 2 teaspoons of rice cereal mixed with formula and 1/4 teaspoon of pureed apple in the morning, and 1/4 weet bix at night, and appears to be loving it.
I think you really need to go off your own instincts and feelings, obviously starting to early wouldn't be a good idea, but if you feel she is ready, offer a small amount of rice cereal and see how she accepts it. Go slow, obviously you wouldn't go rushing into giving her pureed veg or meats for a while, but there shouldn't be a problem with rice cereal and weet bix as they are both fairly natural products with no additives. Usually they say not to introduce eggs to a child until after 6 mths.
Another thing to consider is how at risk your baby is for allergies, do you have a family history of allergies, or do you have any allergies (even as mild as hayfever)?
Check with you Dr. if you are still not sure.
Just for comparison sake, we have a very strong family history of food and skin allergies, my son (now 8) started on rice cereal under medical advise as young as 6 weeks as he had severe gastro oesaphagael reflux, my other daughter (now 5) started on rice cereal at 8 weeks because she was always unsettled. Now considering they both started at about the same time, my son has no allergies or other medical problems, and my daughter had allergies to just about everything. I really think allergies depend more on the individual child, and your family history.
There are brochures and books advising the best time to start different types of foods and what foods have a higher risk of allergy reactions (such as eggs), your health centre might be able to advise where you can get these.
Good luck, i'm sure whatever you decide as her mother will be the right thing for both of you.
Mel, mum of Joshua 8, Maddison 5, Hailey 5 mths