I took my 10 mnth son to the WIC office the other day and he was weighed and had his iron checked. The nutrionist commented that his iron is low and even though his weight is not low enough to cause to much concern he is on the thin side. I dont understand either of these things. My son is formula fed and eats between 1/2 cup and 1 cup of infant cereal a day (which is four to eight servings!) so I don't know how his iron ls low. The nurtionist said to feed him more baby meats but if I do this he drinks less formula(which she also says he needs more of. he gets about 20-22ounces a day and she said he need at least 24) she also said to let him decide when he is full, but I do and she still wants him to eat more...I am really confused. plus i dont understand her saying he is thin. He has chunky little baby arms and legs and a pudgy little belly (we call it his kitty cat belly). He weighs 18 and a half pds which maybe a little small for his age but he is only 28inches long (my husband and I are both short) I have suffered from an eating disorder for 6 yrs so maybe I am just being oversensitive about someone calling my son to thin, but I am confused on this iron thingg.
maybe I should have clarified some things...ok my baby does get fruits and veggies we started him on them at about 5mnths. He does eat baby meats (he hates fish) and eats the 3rd stage meals. he can't eat a whole lot of table food (through he does well with cheerios and very soft veggies) because he only has one tooth. he is in the 9th percentile on the growth chart. the reason that freaked me out is he gained a pound in the past month so I don't understand how he could have gone from the 15% percentile to the 9th. is iron is borderline. It is 10 and its suppose to be 11. The reason this concerns me even though its not real low is that he eats so many iron rich foods that I would expect his iron to be on the high side and not the low. our next appiontment with his pediatrition is in 2mnths and i do plan on asking her if there could be a problem of him not absorbing iron. anemia or any other low iron problems doesn't really run in our family. I had it before my pregnancy but that was because I was a vegitarian and bulimic. I don't think I would be concerned if I didnt know that he is getting plenty of iron...i'm just concerned he is not absorbing it
S.
Look in to GOOD supplementation. He just may not be absorbing what is in the food you're giving him. I have more info on children nutrition if you're interested please let me know...S.
Ask to see the growth chart next time you're there. If he is higher than the 5th percentile, and if he continues to gain weight and length, he's probably fine. Sometimes the nutritionists say things a little lax just to not freak parents out. Ask specifically which percentile your child is in and ask for the length and iron to be remeasured. It takes a lot of skill and a very cooperative baby to get an accurate length. Just a half inch could make a big difference in a baby's weight-for-length.
Other considerations: How low was his iron? Borderline or very low? Does anemia run in the family? Do your parents remember if you were a smaller baby? Finally, take the nutritionist's comment into perspective: "being on the thin side" does not make him underweight (unless he is under the 5th percentile).
unless your doctor is concerned i wouldn't worry too much about what the wic office told you...they go strictly by the book and don't take into account that every child is different. I have a 10 month old baby girl and she is 18.2 lbs. and 28 inches long and her doctor said she was doing great! she does eat about 6-8 oz. of fruits/veggies for lunch and dinner along with cereal in the morning....but only takes about 20 oz. of formula a day....talk to your doctor if you are still concerned, but you really have nothing to worry about...
Might be best to just get a second opinion from your doctor or another doctor. That way if she is right you have to accept it and either way really it will benefit your child
All I can say is listen to your pediatrician. If he/she is not worried about your baby's weight then you should not be either. As far as what he is eating, I am surprised that you are not offering him fruits and veggies at this point. By 10 months, my little ones had started to refuse baby food and were eating table food. Also, any given day at 10 months, my last one was drinking between 18 - 26 ounces of formula. Just listen to your pediatrician. This nutritionist should have given you a plan of action if she was that concerned and not just some suggestions without ideas on how to accomplish this task. Also, the iron thing...I would look into that with your pediatrician. Hang in there!
my daughter was anemic at that age through 18 months and in the 65 percentile in weight...i'm anemic which may have been part of it, not enough iron in my milk. we gave her a liquid multivitamin with iron we got at whole foods.i could not give it to her more than 2 times a week it really constipated her. i also gave her alot of spinach and iron rich veggies(she does not like meat except fish and thank goodness liver!) i made alot of food with chicken broth instead of water. she is fine now with perfect iron levels(she's 26months) and she is in the 75th percentile across the board. good luck!
My 10 month old has low iron as well and is chunky. We now give him a liquid multivitamin with iron and he is doing much better.
Iron isn't readily absorbed by the body. Giving fruits or juice with an iron rich meal can help the absorption of it. So mix the cereal with fruit juice or fruit and milk instead of just milk. Also, if you are really concerned, you can give him a multi-vit with iron that can be mixed in his cereal or formula that will give him extra iron. It is not unusual for babies his age to be anemic, which is why it is checked. As for his weight, is he very active? If he has learned to walk, he will be leaner because of the calories he is burning. Just continue to feed your baby when he is hungry, and tell the WIC nutritionist, yes, I'll do that, then continue as you are doing. Again, only if your baby's doc is concerned would I be concerned. Sounds like he is doing fine. You don't want to force feed your baby, you want him to be used to his hunger cues,and know how to respond to them. He should however be eating at least 5 times a day, meals and snacks.
Enjoy the little guy!
R.
My understanding is that it doesn't matter what percentile your child is in, just that they want to see him consistent, and that they get concerned if the baby's percentile changes a lot. So, if your little guy has been in the 30% for weight and 50% for height since he was a month or 2 old, but he's now in 20% for weight, that will get them concerns.
We had a similar issue with our son. What we did was get more diligent about giving him snacks (he's 19m) 2 or 3 times per day, that were more like "mini meals" and then his regular 3 meals a day. Perhaps you can tailor your son's eating schedule to something like that, with more snacks of 1 or two ounces of formula and some yogurt or whole wheat cereal or fruit.
You can check out a list of good, iron rich foods at http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml
Here is a link to the growth charts for babies that are fed formula:
http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/growthcharts2/l/bl_growthc...
Edited to add: Hm, I read your update. I would suggest taking him to the pediatrician. If he's eating plenty of iron rich foods and is not gaining weight as he should be and has low iron, I think a thorough check up is a good idea.
