Still concerned over when to give baby cereal?

Our dr told us to give our son (now 4 in half months) rice cereal in his bottle when he was 5 weeks old (due to his acid reflux, it really did help) the dr told us when he shows signs of wanting to eat off of a spoon to go ahead and try it that way. We tried it when he was 4 months old (rice cereal off of a spoon) and he took to it immediately. So we asked the dr when we could try him on Gerber 1st baby foods and she said anytime just to wait 3-4 days inbetween to see if he has any allergies. He is doing great with the Gerber 1st foods. The Pediatric ociation can give you a "guideline" on when you should feed your baby cereal but thats all it is... a guideline. All babies grow and progress at different rates and times, my son took well at 4 months eating from a spoon and so far he has done amazingly with the Gerber 1st foods too and they done recommend those until 6 months. My son was 8lbs 7 oz when he was born and he is a little over 17 right now, and giving him the cereal and the gerber food hasnt made him overweight, right now for his height and weight he is in the 75th precentile which the dr said was good. You can go by what the American Pediatric ociation says about when to feed your baby the cereal, but if she is ready I dont see why you couldnt do it now. Especially since she seems ready. Like I said its just a guideline about when most babies are ready to eat cereal, but all babies are different. Some babies wont even attempt to eat off of a spoon until they are 7-8 months and thats ok for that baby! It sounds like she is ready to me and our son has had no ill effects from feeding him off of a spoon or starting cereal earlier than recommended. I am a first time mom so I was weary of doing it, but its been the best thing for my son and its good to seem him progress so well. The dr has told us he is doing perfectly and like I said he is doing the Gerber 1st foods now and loving it. Hope this helps!