I'd thoroughly recommend considering babyled weaning where, at or around 6 months, you introduce solids as finger food and let your baby experiment with tastes and textures.

By waiting 'til 6 months you don't have to worry about most of the foods which are considered unsuitable for younger babies - gluten for example, and so can let them have a go at whatever you're cooking for yourself.

My youngest was weaned this way and he particularly enjoyed broccoli or pasta with bolognese. Admittedly he probably didn't ingest much of anything for the first couple of months, but he enjoyed it and it was far less hassle than the puree method which I used with my older children.

We plan to start our daughter on veggies and skip the cereal for a while. When we do start cereal, we'll start with oatmeal rather than rice cereal since it has more nutritive value. I think we'll start her on avocado as I've heard it is easy on the tummy, and most babies like it. This is just "heresay" though - what my friends have told me :)

As far as a "schedule", our doc has mentioned that we should wait 2-3 days between each new food so we can know if she's allergic to something. And, be sure you introduce one ingredient at a time, and especially if you're buying jarred baby food, make sure it isn't a mixture of multiple ingredients or you won't know what your child reacts to, if a reaction occurs.

My favorite website for baby feeding is http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ -- they suggest avocado for a first food. Lots of recipes, ideas, and age-appropriate guides.

More advice -- don't overthink it. As an analytic person, I've been overthinking everything regarding my baby and it just gets me stressed out, and then I realize it's all been OK. As long as you start gradually, it really doesn't matter what they eat first, as long as you avoid the big no-nos (milk, honey) and go very carefully with anything you are allergic to.

The jarred stuff has the advantage of being very easy and introducing the baby to some different tastes. I wouldn't necessarily avoid it; just try lots of different things.

I would recommend starting with avocado because it's kind of "baby superfood" - packed with nutrients, good fats etc. and easy to eat and handle if it is ripe enough.

From http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/avocadobabyfoodrecipes.html:

"Avocado makes a great first food for baby due to its texture and creaminess as well as its high nutrient content.

Avocados are often called one of nature's perfect foods because they are said to contain everything a person needs to survive.

A wonderful "good fat" food for baby's brain and physical development, try an avocado as baby's first food instead of refined cereals.

"Sodium- and cholesterol- free, avocados contain valuable nutrients including 8% of the recommended Daily Value (DV) for folate; 4% DV for fiber and potassium, 4% DV for vitamin E; and 2% DV for iron. A serving of avocado also contains 81 micrograms of the carotenoid lutein and 19 micrograms of beta-carotene. Per serving, avocados have 3.5 grams of unsaturated fats, which are known to be important for normal growth and development of the central nervous system and brain."***

Here in Northern Europe, where I live, there are no specific "baby cereals" on the market at all and cereal is not given for babies. WHO recommends globally 6-months exclusive breastfeeding and that solids are started gradually at that age, while breastmilk still remaining the main source of nutrition until 1-year-old-age.

In my experience, there are a lot of 'plans' out there and suggestions on how to do this but the most important thing to remember is that they are guidelines. Some kids have food aversions and will never like certain things. In our case my daughter has always, always refused to eat cereal and most guides place heavy emphasis on the need for cereal. Our dietician and pediatrician said that it was not the end of the world - just keep trying - thats all you can do. As long as you are offering variety of foods you will be fine.

The reason that cereal is recommended as a start is because it is fortified with iron, something that babies need in their diet at 4 months to start developing their adult hemoglobin (if they are breastfed, formula is also fortified with iron, so it is less necessary)

This being said, I've always mixed my rice with some veg or fruit that is high in Vitamin C to help with the absorption of iron. Avocados are my son's favorites. But, other favorites of his are just plain chick pea flour with water (also called chana flour) It's high in iron naturally, and easy because you don't have to worry about pureeing and removing the husk form the lentil.

My daughter didn't care for cereals or oatmeal until very recently (about 9 months old), but she has always been absolutely voracious for fruits and veggies. We waited until she was 6 months old, and then let her start trying whatever fruit we had on hand: organic applesauce, smashed pears, peaches, sweet potato, avocado, banana. Around 8 months, we let her start working on finger foods like puffed brown rice cereal and chopped up veggies (she LOVES steamed green beans and carrots).

One thing I will say from my experience: don't waste your time with "baby food". Real food is not only "good enough", but better then the jarred stuff for many reasons. And if you do wait long enough to introduce solids, you don't even have to spend any time pureeing... just a little mash with a fork and you're good to go!

It's recommended, no matter when you start solid foods, that your baby's main source of nutrition is breastmilk or formula until 12 months of age! :)