fluoride supplement - yucky taste, what to do?

[Mayan]

The peds prescribed DS with fluoride supplement on the 9 months visit.
It's multi-vitamin drops with fluorode and iron. It's brown in color, and I have to admit it smells disgusting and tastes even worse (strong bitter medicinal flavor!). x(
DS won't take it. He did they 1st time, but he is smart enough to know not to fall for that again!!!
I tried mixing it with his formula as suggested (put 1 ml in 120 ml of formula) but even after a 1:120 dilution, you can still taste it!
Plus - I think DS gets enough iron is his formula and his hemoglobin test was perfect - why load him with more iron? it will just constipate him...
What do you use to add fluoride? Any tastier suggestions?
Maybe a different brand? one that only has fluoride and does not require taking a whole ml?
any suggestion would be helpful...
Mayan
mom to Adi (12/04/02)

[Momof3Labs]

Colin loves his fluoride vitamins (no iron in his) - I thought they tasted awful, but I didn't tell him that!

If your baby is on formula with iron, I would think that is plenty. Baby cereals add even more iron to their diet. You can use tap water (if your municipality adds fluoride) or bottled water with fluoride added to cover the fluoride side of things.

If your ped is still insistent that your baby needs the supplement, try to find a compounding pharmacy. My friend had vitamins made up in a peach flavor (then found out her baby was allergic to yellow dye - go figure).

[spu]

charlotte + else just started taking prescription fluoride drops too - they take Fluor-a-day drops. It's colorless and tastelss. They take 2 drops a day. Maybe you can switch?


susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte + else

http://home.earthlink.net/~sunger1/bash/nonflash/year.html

[lukkykatt]

I mixed it in with DS' cereal. Between the cereal, and the apple sauce that I put in with it, DS never seemed to mind. He'll take it right from the dropper though...

[KimberleyDawn]

Mayan,
Sorry no advice for your yucky fluoride drops but after reading your post I wondered about the comment on ds's hemoglobin results. William is 7 months and his ped has never tested his blood for anything. Is this normal or should he be testing him for something?
Kim

[Mom2Miri]

I just got the fluoride prescription too. Haven't filled it yet but the ped said that babies find the Tri-Vi-Flor more palatable than the ones with iron. The plain fluoride (no vitamins) tastes best so they said if she won't even take the Tri-Vi-Flor to call back and switch to that one.

HTH,
Helen
Mom to Mirielle 2/25/03

[Mayan]

My peds does a routine hemoglobin test at the 9 month visit.
Mayan

[alkagift]

Mayan,
I'm pretty sure it's just the iron in it. When we were just doing the over-the-counter drops and had to pick Tri-Vi-Sol or Tri-Vi-Sol with Iron, Iron was the problem. My ped just prescribed the TriviFlour too--after I told her the iron completely flips out my little DS's digestive system.

Even the AAP says that the PolyViSol tastes terrible and that babies don't really need all those other vitamins--just D.

Allison
Mom to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[22tango]

On a somewhat-related note....

Anyone else out there HAVE to give the drops with iron?? Karenna had no problems w/ the Tri-Vi-Sol+flouride...but she was just prescribed the ones with iron after her 1 year iron count was low. The added iron smells (& I'm sure tastes) just AWFUL!!! And I'm having the WORST time getting her to take it now. I could really use some advice -- since I can't just switch her back to a no-iron version!

[emilyf]

I also mix it with cereal and fruit, he doesn't seem to notice-but he's not picky. We started this at 6 mos, and I'm still giving it although not every day-lots of times I forget.
Emily \r\nmom of Charlie born 11/02

[Tondi G]

Why not just get flouridated water and mix it with his formula??? we get it from Sparkletts, home delivery! Between flouridated water and iron fortified formula I think he'd be fine!!! My son would never take the vitamin drops... now we buy gummy bear vitamins and he loves them... though he is 2 years old already!

Good luck
~Tondi and Mason 7/8/01