Low iron

boymamaco · April 2014

We had our 9 month appt yesterday and LO's iron came back low. It was 7.9 and they want a min value of 11.

We think it's b/c he's still mostly on breast milk. I try to feed him but he would prefer to feed himself - and isn't very accomplished at it. We do a combo of finger foods and purees.

I have a month to get his iron up before LO is put on supplementation (which ped says is pretty nasty). I'm trying to start with food first and then offer the boob. We still didn't accomplish much actual eating. Also switching to poly-vi-sol.

Any suggestions or others in this boat? We're on the early side of this group so most of you may not have had the routine test at your 9 mo appt.

BelhurstBride · April 2014

My pedi doesn't even test it until a year.

I remember DD1 being on the low end of normal. My pedi's opinion of supplements, specifically for iron, is that they're useless and recommended pushing iron rich foods and to continue BFing (instead of pushing cow's milk). So I did.

MitsB707 · April 2014

Would it help if you upped your iron intake? I'm not sure how iron goes through BM, but maybe it's an option since you bf. Sorry I'm not much help.

shivers7 · April 2014

Will he eat the baby oatmeal? It's iron enriched. There are different flavours too... We have also started giving LO things like stew with beef in it or chicken nuggets which he likes because he can pick them up and feed himself.

ludali · April 2014

We tested at 9 months as well - DD had to have a supplement since birth as she was a preemie - I didn't do it the whole time. You'll need to do the Poly-Vi-Sol with Iron if they want you to go the supplement route - its AWFUL. :-( I'd be lucky to get a full dose into DD every few days. I finally gave up and just kept her on Vitamin D. Thankfully her results were normal (she's BF'ed too).

I'd go with iron enriched oatmeal (as PP said) as well as sweet potatoes...DD eats lots of sweet potatoes and I hope they have helped. Good luck!

Revez · April 2014

Our pedi hasn't tested this yet, but I'm sure we'd be in the same boat. LO HATES being fed, like full on melt down if I try to put a spoon her mouth. Yet she isn't very accomplished at feeding herself either.

I try to give her meats, but it isn't really her favourite. I'll probably be picking up some spinach and trying that. Sorry I don't have any advice

carrotcake06 · April 2014

The babies are 10mo and tested low at their 9mo well check. Our dr said to supplement w the drops, but honestly we haven't. We upped their intake of iron-rich foods instead - meats, sweet potato, beans.

I'm fairly certain the only reason she wanted us to supplement is bc I told her we don't do cereal and they don't get any formula. Their numbers were marginal - around 9 or 10.

boymamaco · April 2014

Thank you everyone! I am way overreacting to this and making it into a huge deal. I feel like I've been a bad mom b/c I haven't focused enough on eating solids. The ped told me at our 6 month to start with solids and then nurse but I didnt b/c frankly its easier to nurse and we both enjoy it. I also haven't really been giving cereal b/c of some studies I've read that correlate early intake of cereals with the rise of gluten sensitivity. I myself am sensitive to it but dont have full on celiacs, but I'd like to minimize the risk for LO. Still we are now adding in cereals b/c they're fortified, and he's just not that great at eating.

@shivers7 - I like the idea of chicken nuggets and will try my hand at stewed meats. He definitely didnt like the broiled steak that I then pureed. lol

@ludall - Is it the Poly-vi-sol that is so terrible? Or the other supplementation that we'll start if needed after they test next month? The ped wants us doing the Poly-Vi-Sol now so hoping its not too nasty.

@Revez - our households sound much the same!

Moosesoar · April 2014

Apricots are high in iron too.

Emeraldeyed315 · April 2014

lucyspeople said:

Thank you everyone! I am way overreacting to this and making it into a huge deal. I feel like I've been a bad mom b/c I haven't focused enough on eating solids. The ped told me at our 6 month to start with solids and then nurse but I didnt b/c frankly its easier to nurse and we both enjoy it. I also haven't really been giving cereal b/c of some studies I've read that correlate early intake of cereals with the rise of gluten sensitivity. I myself am sensitive to it but dont have full on celiacs, but I'd like to minimize the risk for LO. Still we are now adding in cereals b/c they're fortified, and he's just not that great at eating.

@shivers7 - I like the idea of chicken nuggets and will try my hand at stewed meats. He definitely didnt like the broiled steak that I then pureed. lol

@ludall - Is it the Poly-vi-sol that is so terrible? Or the other supplementation that we'll start if needed after they test next month? The ped wants us doing the Poly-Vi-Sol now so hoping its not too nasty.

@Revez - our households sound much the same!

Its funny how doctors are different. I was told to nurse FIRST then offer solids. Any solid food is for "play" and not nutrient at this point. Hang in there mama! Follow your gut.

vulpini · April 2014

LO has been on Fer-in-sol and Poly-vi-sol since birth. I pump, so we just mix it into the milk or formula and he's never had a problem drinking it.

Edit to add: this isn't the best method, since calcium makes it harder for the body to absorb iron, but it's what the NICU nurses all did, since the babies wouldn't take it straight and we just kept going with it, figuring it was better this way than him not drinking it at all. We'll find out when his levels get tested. You can try mixing it into non-calcium containing foods.

boymamaco · April 2014

@jrtmom - thank you. Great article! I see many risk factors that apply to us so I guess its not all due to the lack of solids (ie delivered three weeks early, low birth rate, gestational diabetes that arguably was not very well controlled.)

@vulpini - great idea! He loves to drink water and would drink other juice if I'd let him. I just havent yet. But I think maybe I'll pick something up with a high Vit C content and use that as our delivery mechanism. Thanks for the tips!

ludali · April 2014

@lucyspeople Regular Poly-Vi-Sol doesn't have iron in it...you have ot get the one labeled "with Iron". And we think its bad...may your LO won't. I would have to pin DD down to give it to her. Awful Mom.

ludali · April 2014

@vulpini we used to put it into her daycare bottles too...then she got too smart and refused to drink them

vulpini · April 2014

Also, when I was looking into upping my iron during my pregnancy (I was a little anemic), I read that cooking on a cast iron skillet or in a cast iron dutch oven leaches a little extra iron into the food.

Low iron

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