Vitamin D supplements and other medicines

BeccaOC · October 2014

My pediatrician recommended Vitamin D drops for my EBF newborn. I wasn't too keen on it since I want to believe our breast milk provides everything they need! I picked up vitamin D for myself and also the drops for her in the brand recommended by the doc.

I was a bit surprised to see that the doc had recommend the one by Enfamil, a leading formula manufacturer. And on the box they really promote how breastfed babies need their product. Is this just another example of trying to sell BF'ing mamas something when we have all we need for free?

Anyways, I want to follow doctors orders, but this brand has artificial flavor and artificial carmel color which is a known carcinogenic in sodas the whanot! I realize it's a tiny amount and probably ok, but it's stuff like this I'm aiming to avoid by EBF'ing... Maybe I'd feel better about it after her little digestive system learned to handle solids and the like.

I also picked up some baby Tylenol just in case she ever gets sick, wanting to be prepared, and couldn't find much without artificial colors, flavors, high fructose corn syrup, sucralose and xanthm gum!

Anyways, does anyone know of other brands that have less artificial stuff added? And what are people's opinions on vitamins for EBF babies in the first place?

jht14 · October 2014

We were told to use poly-vi-sol without iron before leaving the hospital. We didn't actually use any because I didn't BF for very long.

nilvero · October 2014

Vitamin D doesn't transfer through breastmilk unless the mother is getting tons of it herself. I know you can find other kinds of Vitamin D drops online.

emmylu30 · October 2014

Another for BabyD drops same as @criscbish‌. I liked that coconut oil is the only other ingredient and can just put a drop on your nipple.

hizah05 · October 2014

My toddler was EBF for 13 months and vitamin D drops were never recommended or even mentioned. Is this something new? What's the reason they are suggested? My pedi has never mentioned them for new LO either. Now I'm just curious.

lbonga1 · October 2014

Vitamin D was recommended for my DD1, and I bought one bottle. FI spilled it almost immediately, and I never bought another bottle. DD1 was fine without it. Vitamin D also comes from sunlight, which we get plenty of here in Southern California.

As for the infant tylenol, Target has one that doesn't have artificial dyes. I'm not sure about the other stuff though.

amom2four · October 2014

My kids doc gave us an rx for vitamin d drops but he also told me that I could bypass giving baby the drops if I take over 3,000 units. I haven't filled the rx due to insurance taking forever getting him on the pharmacy section and that I need to take more vitamins myself because I have been very deficient in the past seeing as how we don't get much sun in oregon for most of the year.

rlyttle · October 2014

criscbish said:

I use Baby Ddrops. The only non-medicinal ingredient is fractionated coconut oil. Made by Ddrops Company in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada. Hopefully you can get these in the States. www.Ddrops.ca

We have these. Many of the other brands are filled with a lot of crap! Read the labels ladies! Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, so it's important. I used these same ones with DS 4 years ago.

Ahlome08 · October 2014

I don't get enough vitamin D, so my OB made me supplement, so LO gets it in my breast milk only because I take high amounts of it for myself. Vitamin D is crucial for bone development and it also helps your intestines absorb other vitamins like iron, calcium , etc. basically, if I wasn't taking as much vitamin D as I do, LO would need the drops.

RedBaramid · October 2014

I honestly use the ones that OP said she was nervous about (the enfamil ones) because I got a free bottle when I was sent home from the hospital. I got the advice to use it from a book on BFing and the pedi so I am just trusting it. Also my LO seems to like the taste so I save her dose for the day until she gets fussy and it makes her quiet for a few minutes at least. Worst case scenario she has a good day and I end up giving her daily dose at bed time.

LoveOBX917 · October 2014

Babies and adults need vitamin d. It's hard to get the amt we need bc it's not found abundantly in food and most ppl don't get regular exposure to sunlight. You need vit d to absorb calcium so yes it is important. Babies and adults who don't supplement with vit d may be "fine" sure but their bones and teeth may not be as strong as they could and should be. I'm a nurse FWIW.

bf43005 · October 2014

Just came from DS one month appointment with a prescription for poly-vi-sol. Doc said vitamin D is lacking in the breast milk and this is used to make sure he's getting enough. Haven't filled the prescription yet but I trust my doctor. I'm still taking prenatal vitamins as well and he knows that but said DS still needed extra vitamin d.

kami09 · October 2014

I just posted about this on the not happy thread (because clearly I didn't take the time to scroll down & see this)...but ever since I started giving my son the Enfamil drops, he has been so extremely fussy- not just fussy but he will all out scream -until he can finally fall asleep. Somehow I didn't seethe correlation until DH forgot to give him his drops 2 days in a row & I had a completely different child. Night and day. I will be going with the all natural drops from now on.

punnybunny · October 2014

I also get the ones on Amazon. They were recommended ("prescribed"... They wrote it down and everything, but because it's on Amazon, not sure ins pays for any bit of it. It was cheap so I'm not too worried about it.) by my pedi.

bainidhedub · November 2014

My pedi gave us a combo box of Similac (I think) and their D drops, back when we had to supplement for a few days. I haven't started using them yet but I guess I should. He said they are especially needed in the winter bc we aren't outside as much and keep skin covered up when we are, so it's even harder to make enough on our own.
As far as flavoring and sweetener goes, I won't avoid them. Liquid medicine was always pretty gross. Anything they do to make it taste a little better is welcome here.

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