Lost My Vitamin!

Is it pill or liquid?

The only way I knew my son got his liquid vitamins was to squirt it in a nipple of a bottle with a little formula and let him suck it down. This way it didn't taste gross to him and I knew he had the correct dosage for the day.

It is hard to say. I think the answer is no bc you dont really know how much she did take in, and giving her more might result in overdose of what she needs. if it is w/ tynol. or other meds. I have been told that you have to wait till second dose to give it bc yoou can over medicate her. i assume it is liquid vitamin? i dont know her age but some moms i know say that if you give it w/ OJ they like it and take it better. I never did that bc my DD likes her vitamins lol

My daughter always spit up her liquid vitamins and her pediatrician said not to give another dose as there was no way to tell how much she ingested. At 18 months or so we switched to chewables and that worked a lot better for her.

My daughter threw up every time I gave her a liquid vitamin...and we went through several brands. My pedi said not to give double doses, since we can't be sure that she didn't still have some of it in her stomach. Eventually, the pedi just told me not to give it to her since she wasn't handling the vitamins well.

Not necessarily. I'd ask the pharmacist.

Most medications (perhaps vitamins included) have an enteric coating. It's a special coating that protects it from the stomach acids long enough to get into the blood stream.

Depending on what's on the outside of the vitamin, it could be perfectly OK to give them to her or it may compromise the vitamin enough. Unless any of us are pharmacists, it's best not to take our advice and make a quick call to double check (or call the 1-800 number for the company who makes the vitamin).

Since you don't know how much she's actually ingesting, it's probably not safe to redose. Check with your pediatrician. When my daughter was spitting up everything after every feeding (or so it seemed), I never gave her another dose. She clearly wasn't spitting it all up since she was gaining weight and I had the assurance that I wasn't giving her a toxic load of anything (iron especially).

I don't know what vitamins you are giving your child but be careful. The FDA did a test on almost 400 vitamins and all but one had lead in it. Lead causes degenerative cognitive function (brain function). Makes sure you check with a company that does testing throughout the manufacturing process for contaminants (such as lead) and also find a company that makes sure that the raw materials also don't have any contaminants in them. You can e-mail or write each company. If you don't get an answer don't bother buying the vitamins. Your family's health should count.

I know of only one company that does this and I have checked out a lot of companies. That company is Shaklee.

N.

How old is she? Are these chewables or liquid? Talk with your pediatrician to see if it's necessary to give her vitamin supplements first. Most baby/toddler diets are sufficient in their daily requirements and extra vitamins could be a waste of your money or worse yet, harmful, especially if they contain iron. Too much iron is toxic.

If your pediatrician recommends vitamins, look for a liquid that you can mix in her cereal or squirt in her mouth, towards the side, her cheek. When you do it that way you won't trigger the gag reflex and get an upchuck. This works for when you need to give them any liquid medications as well.

I wish you well.

Go find another brand of vitamin for her. Her stomach is rejectng the ones you are using as an irritant. Don't buy the ones you get in the supermarkets since these are not usually organic. Frequently they have a coating over them that makes them taste good but does not break down in the body.
See if you can get a few samples and try those on different days. If she continues to spit it up stop until she is older.
Is she still nursing? If so you can take vitamins yourself she will get them from the mother's milk.

Hi A.,

Is there a specific nutritional deficiency your baby has that requires additional vitamins? Because if there isn't, she probably doesn't need a supplement. If you are breastfeeding her, you can/should continue taking good quality prenatals yourself, and you will then be passing on all the nutrition your dear little girl needs through your perfect milk. If you are artificially feeding, baby formulas are all fortified with vitamins, so she is also probably getting all she needs of the standard nutrients promoted by the FDA and the American Pediatric Association.

However, if you have any concerns about her nutrition, and she is spitting up her vitamins, I wouldn't give them again, just because you don't know how much exactly she IS keeping inside of her. You might instead try adding them to some other food--you didn't say how old she is and whether she takes anything but breastmilk or formula. If she does, perhaps you can blend in the vitamins that way.

How old is your baby girl? Can she chew gummies?

Cheryle :-)