Iron intake

[Skadiver13]

My LO is 8 months old tomorrow should I be worried he doen't eat a lot of iron fortified foods? I've read that after 6 months the store of iron they had at birth is depleted so they should be eating foods with iron in it? Also the pediatrician perscribed a daily vitamin (liquid) but he vomits from it so I stopped, should I ask for something else?

[~inbalance~]

I've read that after 6 months the store of iron they had at birth is depleted so they should be eating foods with iron in it?

Iron doesn't all of a sudden disappear after 6 months, rather is starts depleting at that point but usually lasts between 6-12 mos, which is the same timeframe for introducing a solids diet that includes iron-rich foods like meats.  I wouldn't rely too much on iron fortified foods, rather search for foods that are naturally high in iron.  Have you introduced meats yet?

[Mama2boys]

beetroot is a great veggie

[Skadiver13]

He is very very picky, and intolerant to a lot of things. So we are still on basic purees.

[ENMS]

There is added iron to his formula, that should meet his basic needs.

I was stressed out about this too but they tested his iron many times - although the iron in his blood was low, our GI did not want to give him supplements because his stores were fine (despite him not eating any solids really until 10 months old)

Try not to worry, but they can always test him for various nutrients / vitamins to be sure he doesn't have a deficiency but I was told so long as he was taking in reasonable amounts of formula it should be fine for now. M was tested for around 8 and 10 months and both times showed that he had no deficiency despite the fact that he has a malabsorption disorder.

[cnaz]

Iron stores do start to deplete at 6 mths of age whether they are breastfed, or formula fed. No there is not enough iron in formula to give them their requirements so it is best to start them on infant cereal. There isn't as much concern until they are 7 mths old. At 6 mths of age they need 0.27mg of iron per day. At 7mths of age they need 11mg of iron a day. Huge jump there! Iron fortified cereal is the best for them for the iron they need. 3 tbs of iron fortified cereal will have approx 6mg of iron in it, so if they eat this amount twice a day, you are good Meats can be started for iron as well, but have much lower iron content. For example chicken, salmon, etc only has about 1.3-1.4mg of iron per 1 ounce serving. All of this information is from the dieticians of canada. I am a community nurse and I share an office with two dieticians, which is where I got this information from. It is accurate! Hope this helps!

[Skadiver13]

Issue is he wont eat cereal or meat.

[cnaz]

Have you tried to mix some in little bits at a time with his fruit and veggies? There are also different kinds of blended cereals that already have fruit with them. Start slow and let him adjust to the difference in texture You may have to make it more runny at first. My daughter was the same way but I just consistently tried everyday and now she loves her cereal, but I had to try numerous times a day. Took a couple weeks.

[Skadiver13]

I guess I could keep trying, it just really affects his reflux. I'll try making it runnier.

[cnaz]

Sorry, I am not much help with dealing with reflux. It has been a little while since I posted last and was just wondering how it is going with your LO eating cereal? It is so frustrating when they won't eat what they need! My DD had began eating her cereal really well and now she refuses it. She may have a couple bites and that is it. The only veggies she will eat are sweet potatoes, carrots, and beans (if I puree the food myself, she will not eat the store bought stuff!) She also has not been wanting to eat any veggies lately either! So now I am worry about her Iron intake soon. Hoping that if I just keep offering it to her like I did before she will start to eat it again? All she will do right now is breastfeed, and I know that is not enough for her, so we are also dealing with alot of NW's! Trying to sort those out too with some schedule changes. Thought by the third DD I would have this all figured out!

[Skadiver13]

Hey, he still wont eat more than 1.5oz at a clip so we're still on 4 day bottles and 1 night bottle totally about 27oz.  He eats the organic puree's from Plum and Happy Tots, we've branched out past the level 1 to level 2 that have a mix.. i found he got board with the single vegetables and refused to eat them. So we've moved to mixes like for breafast he had blueberry/pear/purple carrot puree, and for lunch spinach/pear/pea puree. I've found I found out that formula has the amount of iron he needs so I'm not that worried about it, but I can see how you are with just BF.  You can always talk to your doctor about an iron supplement if you are that worried. But first thing I would do is have the doc do an iron test, just a quick blood work test, may tell you she's just fine. You never know.

[*Kara*]

Hey Siobhan - his formula will be enough for now given his intake... so long as he is above 24 ozs a day, don't worry at all.

What country do you live in hun?  Might be able to help you out with some ideas in terms of baby items... have you tried pureeing chicken in with his veggies??  I found DD didn't like it on it's own, but was fine with it mixed with carrots or broccoli... Just oven baked a bit of dark meat chicken (tastier as far as baby is concerned - good fats, more iron too) and then shredded it, then added steamed veggies and pureed the works until smooth.

[Skadiver13]

Hei Kara, thanks so much I live in the US. New york area. . I was thinking of cooking up some chicken and offering some shredded pieces but pureeing it might be the way to go. Its funny he wont pick up food and put in his mouth (except rice cakes) but if i offer him a cheerio for example he'll open his mouth. I worry about choking though if i were to put it in his mouth for him. He'll put non food items in his mouth just fine. He's geeting tired of purees i think or maybhe just me feeding him as he still wont eat more than 3tabelespoons twice a day. I offered mashed banana and he just played with it.

[*Kara*]

This was about the age I started offering small pieces of steamed veggies and fruits to DD... bite sized bits of bread, rotini pasta is a good one too!  Just put a bit of olive oil and cheese (or MSPI friendly "cheese")... If he struggles to pick up the steamed veggies/fruits, you can coat them in crushed Cheerios to give them a bit of grip!  For sure, you can give him some shredded chicken!  I would just use a higher fat piece like a thigh so it's easier for him to gum up and swallow.  Ground meats are good options too - just pan fry with a bit of olive oil and some spices (i used oregano/basil all the time for DD).  Easy to pick up... you can make baby meatballs as well!

Anabel Karmel books are fantastic for ideas - I had a baby one of hers that was good and I just found this one and LOVE IT!  Great ideas from weaning up to school age: http://www.amazon.com/First-Meals-Revised-healthy-toddlers/dp/075660365X

[Skadiver13]

Thanks so much. I think he's veyr bored with purees. It's just hard knowing the right thing to do.