How old for baby food?

She's filling up on cereal. Stop giving her so much so she'll take her formula. She needs the calories in formula more than the cereal

my dr said that if they go more than 5 hrs without a bottle during the day they are getting too much solid food, id cut back, shes too young. she should have about 32oz of formula a day at least

She doesn't eat much cereal.. she eats 1 oz in the morning and 1 oz at night. It's necessary because it's the only thing that will help with her bowels. She's been on this routine for a while.. it's only recently she's decided to take less of a bottle.

My kids didn't start eating food until they developed an interest in it on their own. Before one year or so I consider solid food a supplement, not a source of nutrition. Most of their actual nutrients should still be coming from breastmilk or formula. At that age, my kids were sampling a few simple foods, but food wasn't taking the place of any of their breastmilk. If she is rejecting her bottle, she may be getting too full on the cereal, or she may be having trouble digesting it. Try cutting back on the cereal to once a day or feeding her a food that is easier to digest instead, like a single fruit.

Keep in mind that solids fed to babies before they turn 1 are for the experience of eating them, not for nutrition (a subject most doctors know nothing about). Nutritionists recommend starting solids at 6 months; many are now recommending skipping cereal and starting with a bit of avocado mashed with breastmilk (or formula). Then baked sweet potato, oatmeal, pumpkin, pureed peas, etc. Jarred baby food tastes awful, is expensive, and you never really know what is in it. Be sure to avoid the allergy trigger foods. This is not a complete list: before age 1, no soy, dairy, wheat, citrus, egg white, strawberries; before age 2 no honey, chocolate, nuts.
The best book on feeding babies, toddlers and their families is called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. You should be able to find it at your local library. There is some great information on the website: www.superbabyfood.com
Also www.babyledweaning.com

babies should not be getting any solids until 6 months IMO.

my son started cereal around 3 months and he also slowed his formula intake a little bit. he only ate it once a day when he got up in the morning. what i did to keep my son interested in formula was add a tiny bit of baby applesauce to his bottles (after talking to the pediatrician). he gobbled up his bottles and his cereal after that. i put one baby spoonful of applesauce per 4 ounces of formula. by 3 and a half months though he got baby food so i increased the amount of the baby food in his bottle.