My son is 10 months old now and is still breastfed. We were giving him TriViSol on the advice of our doctor, but now he's older and drinking less breastmilk and eating more food. We are mostly vegetarian and make all his food. My husband is worried that he (my son) isn't getting enough iron (I've been known to be anemic at times but take vitamins with iron in them). Anyway, my son eats a pretty healthy diet of fruits, veggies, beans, grains, and yogurt, but he doesn't eat much commercial baby cereal, which is the only thing that has an iron supplement. We've tried giving him the TriViSol with iron and he HATES it.
The question is, does he need a supplement? What are some foods that we can give him that might help boost his iron, assuming he needs a bit more? He can only eat so much spinach and kale....
Thanks everyone, for the great alternative suggestions. I think we'll look into either the Shaklee powder or will just crush up a kid's vitamin. Anything's got to taste better than that nasty Enfamil stuff!
You may want to test his blood to see if he is getting enough iron on his own. If he is eating green vegetables, he may be just fine.
Hi,
My kids are vegetarian as well and my pediatrician put them on TriViSol and then TriViSol with iron after they were 6 mos or so. My son hated it too... just persist or mix it into his juice or food to mask the taste. Ask your pediatrician what he/she thinks about giving an iron supplement. My kids eat a lot of fruits, veges, pulses etc. but their doctor thinks they should still take it.
HTH.
Aarti.
We've raised two vegan girls in Geneva, with no iron problems. We did use TriViSol, and also the all-iron one (forgot what it was) and they didn't hate it as much. If your child can take any fruit juice (usually apple at this age) you can sneak half a dropper into the juice without affecting the taste. It blends even better into apple sauce.
If you're up to finger food yet, also consider Cheerios - they're iron-fortified, and it gives them good manipulation practice. If he's not up to Cheerios (hard), they can be softened with juice or water. Don't soften too much; then they go to mush.
Our pediatrician recommended at 6 months, because my daughter was solely breastfed (i.e. no formula), that we crush up 1/2 a Flintstone vitamin in her cereal, vegetables, fruit, what have you. He said it'd give her the iron she needed without having to give her those terrible tasting infant drops.
Hi K.,
Because your son is still breastfed, and you are taking supplements I'll bet his levels are fine as well as the other foods you are giving him. Once you stop nursing him, then you may want to monitor him more closely. I'd have his pedetrician check his iron levels, if he is fine then don't change what you are doing. I give my daughter a vitamin called Citriboost by Shaklee in her orange juice. I started doing that after she hit a year old and I got the suggestion from my friend who is a nurse. Tastes fine and is better than the Poly Vi Sol and has helped her immune system tremendously. No ear infections since December. But check with your doctor first on any vitamin definciens you may be concerned with. Good luck and Best wishes. Jennifer
HI K.,
You can give your son an Infant Powder made by Shaklee. Its almost tasteless and its a powder.
Do your research about supplements the poly/tri-vi sol vitamins are made of sythetic ingredients and dyes. Shaklee has been in business for over 50 years and have a research dept that is 2nd to NONE!
I too have an exclusively breastfed baby and make his own food - I have anemia issues at times as well. I take a Shaklee multivitamin as well.
Let me know if you'd like more info.
B.
Vitamin C increases iron absorption, so you might make sure he's getting some C with his iron-rich foods. Studies have shown that vegetarians and non-vegetarians have about the same rate of iron-deficiency anemia, and even that vegetarians have an overall higher iron consumption rate than non-vegetarians. Your son may be just fine w/ out the supplement. Maybe ask for a test?
K.,
Vegetarian or otherwise, unless your baby was significantly premature he should not need iron supplementation. You might want to have his levels checked, but including iron rich foods in his diet along with vitamin c (help absorption) is much better than supplementaion. There is some great info at Kelly Mom: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html
Hope this helps!
A.
My kids still take the drops. Our 9 month appt is coming up. I would check with your doctor about other options too and to double check if he/she feels she needs the iron supplement. Maybe try and get him to eat more commercial cereal. I know they make it organic now. Good luck!
Taste the Trivisol yourself and you'llknow why he hates it.
I have a powdered supplement for children that you can mix in their yogurt, and some moms put it in their juice. The iron source is from plants. It's simple and it gives him an overall protection with vitamins and minerals.
BTW: Anemia is not necessarily iron deficiency, it can be a B vitamin deficiency.
D. V
Hi, K..
I have read in a book that a breast fed baby should have adequate iron for the first year of life, as long as the mother was not anemic during pregnancy. In other words, if you tend to be anemic, your son might need some iron supply. Beans are good source of iron as well as protein and fiber but hard to digest for babies. We are vegetarians too, and we use cast iron cookware to gain some iron content of the food we eat. Add some acidic food (such as tomatoes) to cast iron skillet and you get more iron from it.
I also read that spinach contains a kind of acid (I forgot the name) that could be potentially toxic to young babies, so it is not recommended until 12 months or older.
Again I highly recommend using cast iron cookware as it really tastes better and is safer than Teflon!
Good luck,
--M.
K.:
the only way to know for use is to ask his physician to test him.
iron from foods are more bioavailable to the system than those in supplements. you could look for some iron rich foods for him.
P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com
