Vitamin D

Estherlovesbaby · October 2014

I just tried to do I search on this and didn't find anything, hopefully I didn't miss a thread. I just recently found out that it is suggested for breastfed babies to be given vitamin d as a daily supplement. The info came from the CDC so this makes me think it is really important and I can't believe I have not heard about it before. STM's that breastfed, did you do this? At what point did you start and stop giving it to your baby? If so, what brand did you buy that worked well for you?

bowlwoman · October 2014

Yes, I did it and wasn't thrilled. But, my pediatrician very strongly recommended it, and since I have a history of low VitD myself, it was worth it IMO.

I did it consistently for the first 6 months or so with both girls, then once we started introducing solids we supplemented a bit here and there with some formula.

I used this one, but I will look at other options this time as well:

LaxMOM44 · October 2014

Still do it and DD is 16months. Talk to your Pediatrician. Children in the northern hemisphere don't get as much vitamin d.

Amelia4 · October 2014

I did for a year with my first. I used the Enfamil ones at first but quickly switched to something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Ddrops®-400-IU-drops/dp/B003CT36NE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412875909&sr=8-1&keywords=vitamin+d+supplement+baby. With the second you only use a drop instead of a full mL of filler and who-knows-what with the Enfamil. These don't stain, too, and are just easier.

bowlwoman · October 2014

PugLife5869 said:

Your pedi would have recommended it to you, hopefully. We were terrible at giving M the vitamin d drops and she probably only got them a couple of times a week. She was on reflux meds and probiotics so I felt like I was constantly giving her something.

Just recently I saw this article posted by kellymom on facebook. It talks about how new research shows that mom can actually take enough vitamin D that her milk will contain enough for baby. I have taken a supplement since I was told I had a deficiency a few years back so I hope that this helped my daughter. I will definitely be doing it this time because not only are the drops kind of a pain but they are also kind of pricey. It's much cheaper to buy a big bottle of pills and pop a few everyday. Just something to think about!

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140606184845.htm

ETA: it also addresses why these supplements weren't necessary in the past but are now.

@PugLife5869 Thanks for that article. I routinely take 5000 UIs a day of Vitamin D3 because of my own deficiency, so I wonder if I'll need to do the drops this time. I hate the drops; they're messy, smell bad, and wind up causing funky spit up. If I could just supplement myself and get sufficient levels for LO, I would so much prefer to do that.

Definitely going to bring it up with the kids' pediatrician at our next appointment.

kboyet · October 2014

Thanks for the heads up- I didn't know about this.

abcmom12 · October 2014

My ped didn't mention this at all but we did BF and formula, plus live in the south so maybe it wasn't an issue. Both my multivitamin and the forumla had D so perhaps that was good enough

Estherlovesbaby · October 2014

Thanks ladies lots of great info.

RayRay007 · October 2014

We gave DD D-drops for the first few months, slacked off over summer and have tried to be consistent with it over winters at least since. The d drops are just one clear drop and easier to administer than a squirter full of filler and colour.

Cheekers2010 · October 2014

bowlwoman said:

Yes, I did it and wasn't thrilled. But, my pediatrician very strongly recommended it, and since I have a history of low VitD myself, it was worth it IMO.

I did it consistently for the first 6 months or so with both girls, then once we started introducing solids we supplemented a bit here and there with some formula.

I used this one, but I will look at other options this time as well:

Yes, we did and this is what we used as well.

ETA: Per my LC, I just put the drop on my nipple before bf'ing and DS got it when he latched on. Much easier than trying to get him to swallow them himself.

AllTheTeaInChina · October 2014

DD was born in June. I asked her pedi about it, he recommended we take her outside for a couple minutes a few days per week. In the fall/winter we could give her drops. I bought the drops but rarely remembered to give them to her. Now with a dec baby, I will prob have to look into drops again.

leoandethansmom · October 2014

Just curious, have any of you STMs actually tried the D-Vi-Sol drops? They taste freaking terrible. We gave them to DS but it was a fight every time because they were so nasty. I'll be trying the ones suggested above that are only one drop this time.

soulcupcake · October 2014

I take about 6000 IU of vit D a day, so I won't need to supplement as enough will transfer to her through breast milk. I'll likely up it some after delivery to make sure there's an adequate amount for both of us.

MaineMama · October 2014

I take high potency fermented cod liver oil (yum, lol!) and I give it to my kids. When I am nursing I just take double the amount to pass it

I am chronically low on vit D, among pretty much all others because of damage to my intestine, so I also get most of my levels checked in my third tri.

MrsNash37212 · October 2014

Ditto on the Carlsons D drops. It's just vitamin D suspended in oil and it just takes one drop on your nipple before a feeding. So easy and no extra crap in there.

BayCamp · October 2014

My midwife suggested drops for me since my bloodwork showed I was low. I've noticed an improvement in my energy levels since I started supplementing. I'll probably do the same as @aeonlux‌ and just increase my dosage while breastfeeding.

Meether · October 2014

Pedi gave it to us on our 48 hr check up. She took it with no problems but it smelled awful, like iron. Anyway, as a skincare scientist, I think it's very important for them to get vitamin d, so I sucked it up and gave it to her. We stopped when she turned one because she was eating foods containing vitamin d. Eta: they do a blood test at 1 to check iron levels and vitamin d for bf babies.

RayRay007 · October 2014

Meether said:

Eta: they do a blood test at 1 to check iron levels and vitamin d for bf babies.

FYI in case this worries some people (if they've never heard of it before), it is not routine in Canada.

chetrick · October 2014

Yes to Vit. D drops from the start. I have a friend who did not and her DS's bones did not develop well enough to support him walking well. He was still doing the lock knee walk until he was almost 2.5 years old.

leoandethansmom · October 2014

RayRay007 said:

Meether said:

Eta: they do a blood test at 1 to check iron levels and vitamin d for bf babies.
FYI in case this worries some people (if they've never heard of it before), it is not routine in Canada.

I don't think it's routine here in the states either, they didn't do this for my son and he was BF.

perfectlove09 · October 2014

I'm glad others mentioned that Carlson drops. Out ped told us to get those. They are pricey but there's like 400 drops...it's one drop a day lol. So not that expensive. No extra junk and no taste. I don't remember when he said to start giving it to her but I used to do a drop on my nipple too. Now, at 22 months, I just say, "ok, drop" and she opens her mouth. Once a night at bedtime.

Sun exposure only does so good if you don't wear sun screen...and that's not good for you.

Those of you talking about doubling your supplement. You might want to verify with a nutritionist or someone of the like but I know with most vitamins, your body absorbs them MUCH better when it comes from your daily diet, throughout the day. Not sure if Vit d works this way but with calcium, if you are taking a pill, you have to take part of the dose in the morning and the other part later bc your body can't absorb much at a time. So it's excreted in your urine. If your planning on not giving baby the drops, and just want to up your intake, it might be a better idea to increase the foods you eat throughout the day to best take it in.

MaineMama · October 2014

leosmom25 said:

Eta: they do a blood test at 1 to check iron levels and vitamin d for bf babies.
FYI in case this worries some people (if they've never heard of it before), it is not routine in Canada.
I don't think it's routine here in the states either, they didn't do this for my son and he was BF.

Where I'm from we don't test for vit d in children unless there is an obvious failure to thrive. We do, however, test their Hemoglobin/Hematocrit and lead level at one year old and at two years old, routinely.

And I know if your child is on Medicare they require H&H and lead testing at those ages, but not vit d.

bowlwoman · October 2014

amw0914 said:

bowlwoman said:

PugLife5869 said:

Your pedi would have recommended it to you, hopefully. We were terrible at giving M the vitamin d drops and she
probably only got them a couple of times a week. She was on reflux meds and probiotics so I felt like I was constantly giving her something.

Just recently I saw this article posted by kellymom on facebook. It talks about how new research shows that mom can actually take enough vitamin D that her milk will contain enough for baby. I have taken a supplement since I was told I
had a deficiency a few years back so I hope that this helped my daughter. I will definitely be doing it this time because not only are the drops kind of a pain but they are also kind of pricey. It's much cheaper to buy a big bottle of pills and pop a few everyday. Just something to think about!

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140606184845.htm

ETA: it also addresses why these supplements weren't necessary in the past but are now.

@PugLife5869 Thanks for that article. I routinely take 5000 UIs a day of Vitamin D3 because of my own deficiency, so I wonder if I'll need to do the drops this time. I hate the drops; they're messy, smell bad, and wind up causing funky spit up. If I could just supplement myself and get sufficient levels for LO, I would so much prefer to do that.

Definitely going to bring it up with the kids' pediatrician at our next appointment.

@bowlwoman‌ I have vit d issues and that's my ridiculous dose, too. Did you get a lot of symptoms from your deficiency?

-----QBF-----

@amw0914 Really just general tiredness and malaise, but I do get rhabdomyolysis symptoms from certain medications (statins, mainly) when it's low.

I was on 10,000 UI for a while and it just brought my level up into the 40s (my doctor thought at that dosage it would be at least in the 60s), so I'm not sure that 5000 UI would even be enough.

ColoradoBoat · October 2014

@PugLife5869--thank you for this article. I am planning to get a Vitamin D test at my next OB appt now.

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