How do you give your DS/DD iron?

[ericajosh]

Just wondering what method you guys use to get enough iron into your child's diet.

DS (6 1/2 months) has been EBF until a week ago, and has been given iron supplemented vitamins (as per doc's advice). I would love to give him iron in another way and avoid the vitamins. Everything I have read tells me how important iron is for DS after 6 months.

Some of you seem to use formula in the rice cereal. I haven't used formula with DS yet, but would be willing to try this method...what formula do you suggest? I would love to know what you all do...thanks in advance for the advice. (I love getting advice from you all!) :)
-Erica

[stillplayswithbarbies]

>Just wondering what method you guys use to get enough iron
>into your child's diet.
>

Breastmilk.

That's all. Breastmilk has all the iron that babies need, even after 6 months.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[Rachels]

Karen is right. Here's more info:

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[ericajosh]

I know that there is enough iron for the first 6 months if baby is EBF, but from many things I have read, it seems that after 6 months the iron stores become depleated.

I found this info on the AAP's website:

"Most breastfeeding babies do not need any water, vitamins, or iron in addition to breast milk for at least the first 6 months. Human milk provides all the fluids and nutrients a baby needs to be healthy. By about 6 months of age, however, you should start to introduce your infant to baby foods that contain iron."

This makes me think that iron is something I should begin to introduce through solids since DS is 6 1/2 mo.

[Momof3Labs]

Infant cereal has lots of iron - check the label to make sure that yours does.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

ironically the foods interfere with the absor[tion of the iron in the breastmilk. I read an article on kellymom about a study that showed babies who had nothing but breastmilk through 7 months had adequate levels of iron, as opposed to those who got solid foods before 7 months.

It's one of the reasons I waited until after 7 months to start any solid foods. Logan tested fine for iron at 9 months and I had not given her any cereal or anything with iron up to that point.

The iron in breastmilk is more easily absorbed than the iron that is added to foods.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[zen_bliss]

steamed leafy greens -- spinach, kale, beet greens -- are regulars on our menu (run through the baby grinder)

[sadie427]

Although I had also read that they need more iron after 6 months, my ped didn't seem worried and said specifically not to give the vitamins. What she does is check a hemoglobin (iron) level at 9 months and suggest supplementation at that time if it's low. In the mean time, she said to give one serving of iron-fortified infant cereal a day, unless I wanted to give more because it's a convenient food, but that was all the iron supplementation she recommended for now.

[Karenn]

I just noticed the other day that Rice Chex have a lot of iron in them. You're baby may be a little young for them just yet but it's something you can keep in your mind for later. :)

[ppshah]

I agree infant rice cereal is a great place to start. As far as if EBF babies need extra iron after 6 months- well just like everything else not all the "experts" agree.

However, checking a hemoglobin for anemia is not adequate- your baby could be iron defienct but not be anemic. Anemia is a late sign of iron deficiency. And there are other side effects of iron deficiency besides anemia.

But the way I look at it- At 6 months your baby is developmentally ready to try solids. Rice cereal is perfect b/c it's easy to digest and a great source of iron.

HTH

[wagner36]

At his nine month appointment a few weeks ago, DS tested really low for iron. It's serious enough that it has led to a heart murmur becuase of the low hemoglobin. It's a totally functioning murmur, and pretty common, I guess, and he's in no danger, but we're now supplementing with iron. The normal range for hemoglobin is 11-13 and DS's was in the low 9's.

I'm still breastfeeding, and we started solids just after 6 months. We've been going pretty slow with solids - he still just gets one meal a day (although a couple of snacks of Veggie Booty, which is all he wants to eat). He was eating food high in iron every day (spinach, broccoli, tofu and chicken, among others), but we did not give cereal consistently at that meal. He probably only had cereal 3-5 times a week.

We're not going to use the Ferinsol supplement (it can cause teeth stains), so we've just upped his cereal intake and started the TriViSol with iron. If this keeps up and his hemoglobin doesn't improve, I'll probably start mixing formula with his cereal instead of breastmilk.

I'm so close to a year and have put so much effort into pumping that I had hoped to avoid any formula whatsoever, but I'm not going to beat myself up about adding formula to his cereal if it comes to that. I'd rather do that than let DS walk around with a heart murmur...

ETA: I've avoided all Gerber stuff until now, and for the most part (Veggie Booty being the big exception) stayed away from all non-organic processed foods, but the Gerber Graduates Vanilla Squares are a good source for iron and DS loves them. So, he's also having those in additional to his regular iron-rich foods, the TriViSol, breastmilk and 2 servings of cereal a day. I hope this helps, otherwise I've just introduced him to cookies for no reason!

[houseof3boys]

Does she eat the kale plain? I was going to buy some at the Farmers Market since SBF says it is the "best" veggie. I was just at a loss on how to serve.

TIA

[Momof3Labs]

Cheerios and Kix are good sources of iron, too - good thing because Colin loves them!!

[mommab]

I, too, am really interested in nutrition for my baby as I EBF (out of one breast, mind you) and started dd on cereal about three weeks ago (I tried to hold out for 6 months, but she had been bfing 8-9 times a day for a couple of months and then suddenly started waking in the middle of the night to eat...plus I consider her 2 weeks older than she technically is because she was 15 days late...the due date was very reliable!)...anyway...

Dr. Sears "The Baby Book" (2003) mentions on page 246 that "Some foods help and others hinder iron absorption. Feeding solids just before or right after bfing can diminish absorption of the valuable iron in breast milk. For this reason, if your baby is iron deficient, space the feeding of solid foods and bfing by at least twenty minutes." It goes on to talk about iron helpers like vitamin-C foods are enhancers and then ends on "Another good combination is fruit and iron-fortified cereal."

HTH

[sntm]

Everyone gave great answers. I never gave iron supplements or additional vitamins after my own research and discussing with my ped (she didn't use them either). Jack was exclusively breast fed until a little older than 6 months and then started on cereal. He gets cereal once or twice a day on most days, and gets good green veggies. Formula is unnecessary -- better to mix iron fortified cereal with breastmilk or a fruit that has Vitamin C.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[jd11365]

I learned that Beechnut Naturals cereal has 45% iron and Earth's Best has 25%...so we switched in that department. We also use the vitamins a few times a week...they can be constipating, so we don't use them everyday. She also gets a few jars of the organic spinach souffle by Tender Harvest in her weekly diet to add some iron that way because she didn't like the spinach I made for her myself. Honestly BM has all your baby needs, but in my personal case, Kayla tested low for iron at her 9 month check up, so we needed to supplement a bit.

HTH!

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
May '03

[mommab]

I posted below with info I had read about iron absorbtion, but am now faced with the iron deficiency problem for my 6-month old dd.

The Ped prescribed 0.6ml of Fer-Gen-Sol iron supplement drops TWICE a day after the hemoglobin test came back at 10. I had started dd on Earth's Best organic rice cereal about a month ago (was mixing with filtered tap water or organic apple juice because ebm is limited due to nursing out of one breast only). The pharmacist's instructions on the drops' bottle say to dilute before administration...so I put it in her cereal (tried mixing cereal with apple juice, apple sauce, or formula) with no success...the stuff tastes AWFUL!!! DD gets a bottle of ebm maybe once every other week, so diluting in a feeding in not an option. I'm hesitant to start her on juice just to get the drops down.

I'm also wondering since I don't eat meat (do eat fish/shellfish) if maybe my bm just doesn't produce enough iron for her, although I do take my prenatal vitamins regularly.

What exactly is TriViSol and how do you administer it?

I'd really prefer not to give the drops, but don't want dd to get anemic or worse...any suggestions anyone??

ETA: I have exclusively bf since birth with NO supplementing (now at least 8 times a day at 6+ months), so I'm at a loss of how to respond to those who say that bm is ALL the baby needs to get the iron.

[COElizabeth]

TriViSol drops taste and smell awful, too, so if you have difficulty with the Fer-Gen-Sol drops you may with the TriViSol ones as well.

I recently discovered a multivitamin supplement called Schiff at Whole Foods Market. It has iron in it, is peach flavored, and DS likes it much more than the ViSol drops. In fact, he begs for more. I believe it has 100% of the recommended amount of iron for toddlers, but I am not sure it will have enough for your needs (you wouldn't want to give two full doses since it might lead to an overdose of some of the other vitamins). It might be worth checking out, though. I would also have another conversation with your doctor and explain the difficulty you are having. My son's iron tested low at 9 months (and like you, I was nursing a lot and was a little upset when people kept saying he'd get all he needed from BM since that didn't seem to be the case in his situation), and I started the PolyViSol drops, but it was hard to get him to take them.

At DS's 12-month appointment, I expressed concern, and the ped said that first he would re-check the iron levels, and if they were high, he would order a more accurate test because the finger prick in the office sometimes gives false alarms. He said if that were still high, he would talk about options for increasing iron (and gave me the impression that the ViSol drops weren't the only option). We didn't end up needing to supplement because his level was fine then (I started the Schiff drops later as a little insurance against deficiencies of iron and other vitamins and minerals since DS is an erratic eater), but I was grateful that the ped seemed willing to work with us to find something that DS would take. Good luck!

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02

[wagner36]

DS actually LOVES his TriViSol. I tried it, and it actually isn't too bad. We just stick the dropper in his mouth, and he sucks it out of the end. We bought the FerInSol supplements that our ped recommended, and he simply wouldn't tolerate them. Plus, I was worried about the teeth staining.

We're supposed to go back into the ped in a couple of weeks to have his iron retested, so we'll see if they've been working.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

>ETA: I have exclusively bf since birth with NO supplementing
>(now at least 8 times a day at 6+ months), so I'm at a loss of
>how to respond to those who say that bm is ALL the baby needs
>to get the iron.

Solids interfere with the absorption of iron from the breastmilk. The article I read did studies on babies who got nothing but breastmilk for the first 7 months and then were tested. Those who got formula or solids before 7 months did have lower iron than those who got only breastmilk.


...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[sntm]

interestingly, child magazine recently had a blurb about iron supplements, so i did a search for the articles that they appreared to be referencing, and one (randomized controlled trial of iron drops versus placebo in BF babies) showed no difference in the iron levels, hemtocrit, or visual development (their functional outcome) regarding supplements AFTER 6 months, but did show a very mild increase in those outcomes when supplements were given BEFORE 6 months (though they were completely within normal range). the study was woefully underpowered and very confusing as to how they took into account babies who started getting formula, so who knows whether it is at all reflective of real life...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[wagner36]

Beth,
I just wanted to say that I am also at a loss on how to respond to those comments. I also did all of the research and didn't think that DS would need iron supplementation, but the fact is, he did. We didn't start solids until after 6 months (and he only had solids about 2 times a week until 7.5 months or so), and he's never had a drop of formula.

I know it is kind of silly, but it actually makes me feel really bad when people say that breastfed babies don't need iron supplementation. Because, for us, that just isn't true. I tried to do everything right, and it just didn't work. I'm certainly not going to let DS walk (or crawl, LOL) around with a heart murmur from his blood being too sloshy just because, in most cases, apparently, bf babies don't need iron supplementation.

I've taken a bit of flack from my friends who also breastfeed, but we have to go with what our ped (and the second opinion) think is best for DS. The whole experience has actually made me more sensitive to how formula-feeding moms feel when they hear rants on breastfeeding, so if nothing else, it has taught me to be more sensitive.

I'm probably a little too oversensitive about this, and I'm not sure why, but that's how I feel about it....

[Torey]

From SBF book - tear it up into small pieces, put in microwave safe bowl with a little water, cook for a few minutes and then run through a food processor. I then mix it with mashed banana per SBF suggestion. DD loves it - apparently anything that tastes like banana is edible. So you could mix with banana or another fave fruit and it would probably mask the flavor. HTH.