Iron supplements??? Please help, I'm desperate

[Torey]

Hi all,
Okay, here is the situation. DD is nearly 8 months old and refuses to eat any and all baby food. She BF'ds like crazy since she is so big and old (and has never had a bottle). We have tried Earth's Best cereals and an assortment of their jarred veggies and fruits, and DD takes one or two bites and then refuses to eat anymore. This has been going on for the past 3 months. The ONLY thing she cares to gnaw on are teething biscuits. Anyway, from everything I've read in books/magazines it seems like she should be getting iron drops since she isn't taking iron-fortified cereal and she is so big (nearly 20 lbs.). However, when I mentioned this to the Dr. she just dismissed it and said she was getting iron from BM and that they don't do iron anemia tests until 9 months. But I'd rather avoid DD getting anemic in the first place!!! So my question is, for anyone out there with an older baby that only BF'ds, do you give him/her iron drops? Should I demand some from the Dr.? Is it likely that DD is already anemic? Please help. I'm starting to get really concerned about this and don't know whether to find a new Dr. or just be pushy with the one we have.
Added - I'm also going to post this in the Feeding section in the hopes that someone responds.

[Rachels]

Good for your ped! Really. Breastmilk, while it doesn't have as much iron as some solid foods, has a substantially higher absorption rate. Almost all of the iron the baby gets from your milk actually gets absorbed, which is not at all the case with solids. It's not likely that she's anemic. She doesn't sound ready for solids, and that's okay. Breastmilk is still meeting her nutritional needs, and there's no rule that babies have to have solids by this age. In fact, iron drops can be really constipating, so they're not something she should have without demonstrated medical cause. You could look into herbal iron supplements (like Floradix, which is entirely food-based) if you're panicking, but I don't think you need to panic. Your ped gave you sound advice.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[mam615]

I'm surprised your DD didn't get an anemia test at 6 months. Not because of the lack of eating solids (I agree with Rachel about this), but because I thought blood tests for iron were standard at 6 months. From my understanding, they check at 6 months because of the intense rapid growth babies go through in the first 6 months, and if the levels are okay, there isn't really a need to check again because the growth rate slows down so much. So, while I agree with Rachel that breastmilk is 100% nutritionally complete, I do think an iron test is worthwhile. (Although I bet that your baby is just fine!)