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February 2012 Moms
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Vitamin D and Supplementing

MeganSonyMeganSony member
in February 2012 Moms
Obviously I'll need to ask the doctor. However since it's Friday and I'm curious I'd love to hear what you ladies are doing. I am BFing 1/2 the time and supplementing the other half. Should I still give him his vitamin D drop or is he getting enough from the formula and the bit of sunlight he takes in?
Lilypie First Birthday tickers BFP # 1 - June 2nd, 2011 - EDD Feb 5, 2012 Birthday Feb 10, 2012 BFP # 2 - Jan 19, 2012 - EDD Sept 24, 2013 - CP Jan 24, 2012
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Re: Vitamin D and Supplementing

  • fredpumafredpuma member
    I never supplemented vitamin D. My pedi wanted me to, but LO gets sunlight often and I always forgot to do it, so I eventually stopped worrying about it.
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  • sooner1981sooner1981 member
    I would definitely supplement. Your LO needs to drink about 25 ounces of formula to get sufficient vitamin D from formula. Being outsideespeically in the northern parts of the hemisphere and especially since we now try to guard our babies from excessive sun exposure does not allow our LOs to create sufficient vitamin D.

    In addition to being absolutely necessary to prevent rickets a bone weakness disease, low Vitamin D levels are being studied for links to a wide range of immune system issues and GI disorders. The 400 IU reccomended dose in America is actually quite low, when compared to European countries. And in Canada, they actually recommend an 800 IU dose for babies in the winter, due to relative lack of high intensity sun exposure.

    Vitamin D is necessary to your babies health, and it is super easy to give them the right dose. Carlson's D drops on Amazon are the best. Just one drop gives a full day's dose, and one bottle lasts an entire year. No artifical flavors or sweeteners or anything except Vitamin D suspended in coconut oil.
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  • megahofmegahof member
    We're still supplementing with vitamin D. We asked the pediatrician at the last visit, since at that point we had just switched to all formula. He said it was up to us. If we wanted to, a dose a day wouldn't hurt her. If we wanted to stop, that would be fine, since she was getting the recommended dosage in the formula. We decided to keep giving it to her, since it's part of our bedtime routine, and she loves it.
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  • fraseyfrasey member
    imagesooner1981:
    I would definitely supplement. Your LO needs to drink about 25 ounces of formula to get sufficient vitamin D from formula. Being outsideespeically in the northern parts of the hemisphere and especially since we now try to guard our babies from excessive sun exposure does not allow our LOs to create sufficient vitamin D. In addition to being absolutely necessary to prevent rickets a bone weakness disease, low Vitamin D levels are being studied for links to a wide range of immune system issues and GI disorders. The 400 IU reccomended dose in America is actually quite low, when compared to European countries. And in Canada, they actually recommend an 800 IU dose for babies in the winter, due to relative lack of high intensity sun exposure. Vitamin D is necessary to your babies health, and it is super easy to give them the right dose. Carlson's D drops on Amazon are the best. Just one drop gives a full day's dose, and one bottle lasts an entire year. No artifical flavors or sweeteners or anything except Vitamin D suspended in coconut oil.
    this. we give DD the 1000 UI drops.
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  • NatesLady1309NatesLady1309 member

    I BF and have never supplemented. I don't give DD any vitamins other than what she gets in the BM. She's fine. My friends do this too and for some reason NONE of them had even heard of giving a vitamin supplement to a BF baby from their pedi... and yes they go to totally "normal" pedis. Flame away, but unless I am shown with bloodwork that DD truly needs vitamins that she's not getting from BM then I won't be adding them in. It's just not necessary. 

     

    ETA- I have given them to her 2 times total, many months ago. Once by mouth- bad experience since I don't have the 1 drop kind, and once in a bottle of BM (looked NASTY). Maybe if I had the 1 drop kind it wouldn't be so bad, but I still don't think they are necessary.

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  • sooner1981sooner1981 member
    NatesLady, so your pediatrician recommended you supplelement with vitamin D, but in your immense medical knowledge, you have decided that your LO will be fine without it? And you are even more comfortable with your decision because you see other babies who seem fine without vitamin D?

    Have you done a bone scan on your daughter to assess her bone strength? Can you see her tooth buds under her gums to see if her teeth are developing at the maximum possible density? Do you know kiddos that have developed the horrible disease rickets because their moms naively thought that their BM was enough? My husband treats those kids, whose bones and teeth will suffer permanent damage from their parents' uneducated decisions.

    But, hey, if it is too much trouble for you to give your daughter one drop of vitamin a day, I guess that is just tough luck for your LO...

    Sorry so harsh, but why are we so hyperconcerned about the exact ounces our LOs drink, the types of food they eat, and try to give them every development edge possible, but people are so super comfortable completely disregarding their physician's recommendation to give their LOs a necessary vitamin?

    Society has changed. We now now not to leave our babies out in the sun all day because sunburns are bad and lead to cancer later in life. But the trade off to not as much sun exposure, and we are talking hours, not minutes of being in the sun, is that we need to supplement vitamin D. There are literally zero drawbacks to supplementing, and so many advantages. Please bear the inconvenience of supplementing for your baby's sake.
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  • fredpumafredpuma member
    If you live in the lower half of the united states, two hours of sunlight a week [about fifteen minutes a day] if baby is clothed provides enough vitamin d. If mom is breastfeeding and supplements her own vitamin d intake with fortified milk, fatty fish, etc, the need for sunlight is even less. Dark skinned babies are at a higher risk for rickets, and vitamin supplementation is highly advised for those babies, as well as babies in areas without adequate strong sunlight. https://www.lalecheleague.org/nb/nbjulaug04p124.html


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  • Lena122Lena122 member
    WHO says an average of 20 minutes of sunlight a day is enough. This can vary depending on your location and your baby's skin tone. The darker the skin the more sunlight is needed. Babies also store vitamin D so if LO gets extra sunlight one day and no sunlight the next day than it will even out.

    I wouldn't be too concerned if I were you unless your baby is never in the sun. However extra vitamin D won't hurt so if you're at all concerned you may as well give the supplement.
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