Sources of iron

[Eilly]

Hi,

Just started solids a few weeks ago. Wondered what foods are good sources of iron for infants. DS is breastfed and I worry sometimes that he is not getting enough iron. Have been diluting his food with breast milk but wonder if I should maybe be doing this with iron-enriched formula instead. He is almost 6 months old.

Thanks for any advice.

[Rachels]

Your breastmilk contains iron-- you don't need to use formula instead if you're still nursing. In fact, although breastmilk isn't a high-iron food in itself, the baby will absorb 50% of its available iron (compared with about a 7% absorption of the iron in formula). It's fine to use breastmilk to make your baby's food. It's still the best possible nutrition for him for the first year, so it's good if you're smuggling it into his solids. Some cereals are iron-enriched, though, so you could try those. Other options are cream of wheat (my baby LOVES this), beans, whole-grain bread, peas, baked potato, apricots, molasses, prunes, and broccoli.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[brubeck]

It's a little early now, but when your baby is 7 or 8 months old you can introduce Cheerios. They have tons of iron and babies love them! Best of all, they turn into mush in any small amount of saliva (and most babies have more than a small amount) so teeth are not required to eat them.

[twins r fun]

Also, if you get the MultiGrain Cherrios, they are 100% fortified so supply even more iron than the regular ones (100% versus 45%). They also have slightly more sugar ("lighty sweetened"), but it's not too bad and I figure it's worth it. Now how well that much iron is absorbed, who knows!

Nicole