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Iron-fortified infant cereal for babies

How to serve it at 6, 9 and 12 months.

The CDC says to offer a variety of fortified infant cereals such as oat, barley and multigrain, not only rice cereal, and the AAP names iron-fortified cereal for iron and zinc. Not on the CDC's or AAP's choking lists. Not a major allergen.

Checked October 29, 2026.

How to serve infant cereal at 6, 9 and 12 months

Serving infant cereal, following the CDC and AAP texture and choking guidance
AgeHow to serve it
About 6 monthsMix with breast milk, formula or water to a smooth, thin texture and feed by spoon, never in a bottle.
About 9 monthsThicker and lumpier as your baby's skills grow.
About 12 monthsOften replaced by family foods; the CDC says children this age can eat more of what you eat.

Every baby is different. Start the same way for every food: your baby sits up, you are right there, and the pieces match what they can do.

Is infant cereal a choking hazard?

It is not named on the CDC's or AAP's choking lists, but the CDC says its list may not include every hazard, so the size and texture rules still apply. The AAP says to cut food for infants and young children into pieces no larger than one-half inch, to have children sit while they eat, and to watch every meal.

Is infant cereal an allergen?

It is not one of the nine major food allergens the FDA names.

Even so, try one new single-ingredient food at a time, so you can tell what a food does (CDC).

Where this comes from

Neither the CDC nor the AAP pages we read name this food, so this page applies their general rules; it is not food-specific advice from them. The serving steps follow the CDC's texture advice and the AAP's finger-food and choking pages.

Call your pediatrician if…

Your pediatrician knows your child. Call them if you have a worry about a food, a reaction or choking. The AAP and the CDC have more:

Peabody editors write these pages from the sources below. We are not doctors, and this is not medical advice for your child.

Sources