Exclusively Breastfeeding 6 Month Old, Enough Iron?

There are vitiamns for infant. I use one called TRI-VI-SOl and there is POLY-VI-SOL depending on the age. You can get theses at any drug store or grocrey store but I would ask Ped. first.

The cereals that babies typically begin eating when starting solids are fortified with iron. Also he should be on a multi-vitamin as prescribed by his dr. Good luck!

Get in touch with La Leche league and remember for millions of years babies did grow and thrive on breast milk

I would check with a local la leche league leader--they're great about answering such questions. My ped was pushing iron supplements, but I know they are now considered controversial for a couple reasons. It is possible to OD on iron; also, I have heard that giving your breastfed child iron supplements blocks any natural iron he or she is getting, from your breastmilk and natural food sources. So I would really look into this before giving supplements, if I were you. If your baby is taking solids, there are many foods that naturally have high iron levels...

If you check out this article, it tells you all about iron, how much is needed, how to tell if your child is deficient, and also excellent natural sources for iron, like beans, vegetables, etc...

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T043100.asp#T043107

Amy gave you great advice! And remember to talk to your doc about any concerns you have. He/she should give you lots of info about solids, and answer any nutrition questions you have.

But those cereals have a TON of iron! That will definitely be enough, when added to your breast milk.

You should start feeding baby cereal, which has iron in it. I would recommend the Happy Baby Organic rice cereal or the Earth's Best Organic rice cereal, both of which are whole grain so you are actually giving your son some nutrition. The regular ones like Gerber, etc, are just made of plain white rice- there is no nutrition in it and it's like glue and tastes like cardboard. I would also recommend pumping some breast milk to mix in with the cereal rather than using formula or water. It will taste more familiar and will be healthier. Sweet potatoes are another good source and a great first food.
I would also recommend buying the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. (http://www.superbabyfood.com) This tells you what to feed your child and when and also shows you how to make the baby foods yourself. It's much easier than you would think- just steam, puree, and freeze in ice cube trays. Then put the frozen cubes in labeled freezer bags. You can make and freeze enough for a month in one afternoon.

My pediatrician recommended starting on PolyViSol with Iron in it, but they tasted so terrible that he spit them out and he would start refusing to eat baby food. So we stopped them and I figure if I am doing my job right and feeding him healthy foods and still breastfeeding him, he will be fine. http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html
Now that he is 1 and not breastfeeding as much, I started giving him the polyvisol without iron (he gets enough iron from cereal and meat and green veggies). It tastes better than the other vitamin supplements with iron and this way he is getting his vitamin D too (another thing that you have to worry about with exclusive breastfeeding). But that too he can get enough of from feeding a balanced diet, so you don't have to worry so much.

If you give him iron enriched cereal he should be fine. Your breast milk still has iron and most breastfed babies will be fine. My breastfed daughter wasn't interested in solids until she was almost 1 year old, she would occasionally eat a spoonful of cereal and that would be it. We checked her iron at 1 year and she was fine. If he likes solids, concentrate on the iron-rich ones like peas.

while nursing, our ped. recommends giving the baby tri-vi-sol. Check with your ped..
best wishes,
J.

Breastmilk has enough iron. however, you ped. will probably prescribe infant vitamins at this point. My ped gave us a prescription, but i never filled it... At 10 mos check up they did an iron level test, and said my daughter was a little on the low side, but that that is totally NORMAL for breast fed babies, especially if the mom has low iron levels.
so no worries, keep breastfeeding!

The baby loses the iron stores they had built up while in utero by 6 months. This doesnt necessarily mean he doesnt have enough iron. The iron in breastmilk is 100% absorbable, while the iron in iron fortified cereals is processed and 10% absorbable. It is also very constipating. My ped never recommended iron supplements. If there was a true concern, we could do a blood test, but I never gave my kids iron or any other multivitamin and they are healthy and thriving. Breastmilk does contain everything it needs. If it doesnt, it takes it from you. If you are concerend, you can up the iron in your own diet. Thats what I would do instead of pumping synthetic vitamins into my babe. But then I'm kind of a freak about that kind of stuff! Good luck!

HI R.,

My pediatrician had me give my daughter an iron supplement. Can't remember the name, but I'm sure if you ask your ped they can give you a recommendation.

HOpe that helps!

B.

If you've already started baby on solids, and he's eating iron fortified cereal/baby foods, you should be fine. If you're concerned, there is a blood test your ped can do to make absolutely certain. Personally, I don't introduce solids until closer to a year, but iron has never been an issues for my EBF babies (on #3 right now)

Hi R.,

The doctor should have given you vitamins. (Vita Drops with Iron) This is what I still give my 19 month old son. I also breastfeed him. Its over the counter. Vita Drops, it has ducks on the front of the box ask the pharmacist for help if you cant find them. :)

Hi R.,
I'm breastfeeding my son as well and his pediatrician told me to start giving him a vitamin supplement called Trivisol with Iron. Its from Enfamil and you get it at the pharmacy. If you'd rather not do a vitamin, then rice cereal does provide iron.

at 6 months your child's pediatrician should've or whould prescribe a vitamin drop for those lacks of vitamins. Thats all that's needed

R.,
Congratulations on breastfeeding your son! Awesome! I hope you can keep it up as long as you both want to.

He will likely (but not guaranteed) get a little deficient with Iron, but if he is tolerating the cereal, that should be fine.

My son didn't start regular meals until 8.5 months, and I made sure that he had cereal with breastmilk (a little tedious if you didn't pump before but so worth it) at every meal. He was a few points off on his iron when he turned a year. We didn't have to go supplement (would rather feed him iron naturally) because by that point, he ADORED (and still does) spinach. He is now a great fan of beef,(and I'm so glad I didn't force it on him.)

Good luck!
M.

He'll get enough iron from the solid foods. Esp if he is having the iron fortified cereals.

Make sure you're taking a pre natal vitamin and eating iron rich foods. When I was exclusively breast feeding, my pediatrician recommended I give the baby a supplement called Tri Vi Sol. It has some of the vitamins that your baby may be lacking. Hope this helps.

You would know by getting his blood taken and hemoglobin measured. I always felt more comfortable giving polyvisol, I just would drop one dropper in their mouth and they took it, then when they drank milk from a sippy or bottle I would put it in there. Here is a good article for you.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html