Vitamin d drops?

megaloo27 · February 2012

Are you doing them? I just thought it was weird to have to supplement breast milk. Shouldn't it have everything baby needs? I'm giving them to DD, but it still strikes me as odd. Plus they never mentioned it at the hospital, but my Pedi. really pushed for it.

SuperTreesa · February 2012

Nope.

Vit D can be supplemented by sunshine. Even in a Michigan winter I can make sure my dd gets enough sun that she shouldn't need extra vitamins. The only reason I would supplement is if my daughter was tested and proven to be lacking. Even then I would first try the sun.

I also don't give iron drops. Babies have natural stores of vitamins to get them well into the age of eating solids. Then iron can easily be proved through food sources.

lp0 · February 2012

My pediatrician was pushing for them too. I tried giving them to ds but he doesn't like it and drools most of it out.

BabyTime01032012 · February 2012

Yes. My DH has a vitamin D deficiency on his side; i.e. they can't absorb it correctly. So we are taking precautions early. I don't want her to get osteoporosis.

SoonToBeMsP · February 2012

Yeah. Ped recommended them so we are giving it now.

bigbear · February 2012

We are doing it. Our pedi said that is one vitamin the breastmilk does not have a lot of...

JWSchwarz · February 2012

We do but I have to admit I usually forget.

theladyjess · February 2012

Vit D supplementation is recommended because it's the one vitamin that you don't get from food and isn't passed readily in breast milk. It's produced in the body by exposure to sunlight, however, these days most people spend most of their time indoors so their exposure to sunlight is not what it used to be. People also tend to wear sunscreen when out in the sun which can inhibit the natural production of vitamin D.

Also, according to The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, "adequate vitamin D isn't made from sunlight above certian latitudes in the winter....Vitamin D helps us absorb and use calcium properly and keep our immune system strong, which may be why so many folks in colder climates are susceptible to colds and flu during winter, when the sun is low. And, we're learning that too little vitamin D may put us at higher risk of such problems as diabetes and cancer before we see such obvious problems such as rickets."

I just picked up some vitamin D drops for LO yesterday. I just read the label and saw that it's sourced from fish so I'm waiting to give any to LO until after I talk with her ped on Tuesday since I'm allergic to fish and I don't want to expose her to anything I'm allergic to in case she's allergic or has a sensitivity as well.