Multi vitamin for 6 month old?

[etwahl]

At Lauren's 6 month appt, I asked about iron and fluoride supplements. The ped asked about whether her cereal was iron fortified which it is, but I told him that she probably won't be on cereal all the time and whether I needed a supplement. I also asked about fluoride. He said she can take a multivitamin (liquid form) that he prescribed (i haven't picked it up yet) that would have both in it.

I was just wondering if others did this for their bf babies? I know formula has iron and probably fluoride from the water.

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[LD92599]

DS started on liquid multi vitmains w/ fluoride after his 6 month visit. He is BF'd.

HTH.

Laura
mom to William 3.5.2003

[Momof3Labs]

Colin started on vitamins with fluoride and vitamins A, C and D at his six month visit. He is still exclusively bf'd, plus solids starting at six months.

If you give an iron supplement, keep in mind that it will probably slow down her bowel movements a bit.

[parkersmama]

Nope, no supplements for either of my boys and I won't do it for Amy Grace either. I started them on solids at approximately 6 months and I use tap water (it has flouride) to mix up the cereal. Cereal was a mainstay in their diets and they ate it probably twice a day along with fruits and veggies. I felt that they get enough iron from the cereal and bmilk and the flouride is taken care of in the water. They both turned out extremely healthy and so far have great teeth so I think I made the right decision. The iron is breastmilk is much more easily absorbed than that in vitamin supplements or cereals so they get more of it. From what I've seen, a lot of babies don't like the taste of the vitamins and really, why add them if she's eating solids and getting bmilk? I think the nutrients contained in those are plenty. JMO though. :-)

[etwahl]

I had heard that babies don't get much iron from breastmilk, and that they have enough stores of iron until 6 months but after that, need more?

I'm mixing her cereal with breastmilk, not water.

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[jd11365]

Kayla was given a script for viatmins w/ fluoride at her 2 mo appt. but I haven't given them to her. My hygienist said kids were coming in with spots on their teeth because of too much fluoride. I don't drink tap water...bottled. But, I order the fluoridated bottles from Crystal Springs. She is getting the fluoride from me in bm. Also, I haven't heard of a kid w/ Rickets in the past I don't know how many years, so I don' t think she is going to have a problem if I don't supplement w/ Iron. She will get that from cereal. Smilequeen said it's important to have fluoride if you live in an area that doesn't have it, but since I have it in my bottled water, I feel ok. I'm getting it, and so will Kayla when I mix things with it as she gets older. I leave the medicine to the doctors and the dental to the dentists. I may just ask for regular vitamins without fluoride at my ped appt next week. I'll let you know...

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
5/1/03

[toomanystrollers]

No multivitamins for our babies. All three are/were extended bf'ed. We started iron-fortified cereal around 5-6 months (2x a day?) Knock on wood, I've got very healthy kids :) I did start a multivitamin when my oldest turned 4 b/c she's such a picky eater now.

HTH

[Torey]

I had heard this too, and was very afraid I would have an anemic child since my DD will not eat iron-fortified cereal (or any cereal for that matter). However, my doctor and other ladies on the boards said that she is still getting enough iron from breastmilk and that it is unlikely she needs more. Maybe all the "iron stores are used up" is just propaganda to get people to feed their kids more cereal?:) I'm still confused on this one. However, my DD will be going in for a 9 month check up and they usually do an iron anemia test for babies at this check up. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[parkersmama]

From what I've always seen, there is a smaller amount of iron in breastmilk than in other sources (i.e. formula or cereal) but what iron there is in breast is more easily absorbed by the baby and therefore they actually get about an equal amount. If she's getting breastmilk and any cereal at all, I'd say she's getting plenty of iron. As for flouride, you have to be careful with how much they get. Too much ingested flouride can actually damage permenant teeth instead of helping them (one of the reasons kids shouldn't swallow toothpaste!). I mixed cereal with breastmilk until I felt the baby was used to the texture (a week or so) and then I changed to water. My kids never missed a beat! The main reason I used water was to make sure they were getting some flouride in their diet so I could avoid giving unncessary vitamin drops. And, hey!, using water has the added bonus of avoiding that pesky expressing or pumping! LOL! :-)

[nitaghei]

According to our ped, it is true that breastmilk has less iron than cereal. BUT - the iron in breastmilk is absorbed more readily, and a BF'd baby really doesn't need additional iron. In any case, the cereal is fortified with iron, so Lauren's more than likely getting enough iron.

What I've been doing is mixing DS's cereal with formula made up with tap water. That way he gets floride and any additional iron he needs.

Because Lauren has allergies, you may not want to go this route. If you're not using tap water, then Lauren will likely need a floride supplement.

HTH


Nita