Iron supplements

amichelle723

At DD's 9 month appointment we were told that her hemoglobin was a little low and instructed to start iron drops for 1 month, then recheck her blood. The pedi recommended the Enfamil brand, Poly-Vi-Sol with iron. We had briefly used the Enfamil vitamin D drops before switching to Carlson's, and I did not like all the added ingredients. I'm having trouble finding any alternatives to the Enfamil iron drops, any suggestions?

vvvvvfee

my DS was also anemic at 9 months. our ped recommended iron supplementation and more red meat. i wasn't too crazy about all the additives in the poly-vi-sol, either, but that's what i ended up using. amazon has an alternative one with less junk, but i haven't tried it. reviewers say it's better-tasting. (the poly-vi-sol is HORRIBLE, it's like licking a rusty pipe, and NOTHING masks the taste-- it was really difficult to get DS to take it.)

even if you are giving drops, try to focus on iron-rich foods as well. you can google lists of them- but at the top are clams and other shellfish, and liver. other good sources are red meat, dark meat chicken, raisins, iron-fortified hot cereal, and blackstrap molasses. calcium blocks iron absorption, so try not to give any dairy products with those foods. you can cook food in a cast-iron skillet to add additional. vitamin C is also helpful to aid in iron absorption.

i think DS ultimately spit out 90% of the poly-vi-sol we gave him, but between what he did get and our focus on giving him iron-rich foods, he was no longer anemic when re-tested.

Salemkitty13

DS was anemic at his 6 month appointment. The dr gave us a prescription for iron drops.

[Deleted User]

MyKidz brand is an alt for iron drops. If her hemoglobin is just a little low (and she's not actually anemic) you could try focusing on iron rich foods instead of going right to the drops.

amichelle723

rocknrollfriend said:

MyKidz brand is an alt for iron drops. If her hemoglobin is just a little low (and she's not actually anemic) you could try focusing on iron rich foods instead of going right to the drops.

The pedi wanted her to take the drops for 1 month then recheck to see if she needed to continue on the supplements. I did a little more research and put in an order today for the MyKidz brand. Thanks for the tip! I'm also trying to really push iron rich foods, although most of what she already eats is considered iron rich so I'm not sure how much that will help.