breastfed baby and iron

[desertpenguin]

ds2 is 8.5 mo and doesn't seem ready for solids. he's definitely interested but seems to gag and choke easily. i'm a little worried about iron deficiency though, and he seems to often end up with bruises on his lil shins from crawling around. should i just try to give him some meat/liver anyways and see how it goes? should i see about giving him some type of iron supplement? i'm confused!

[vanessa1073]

I've been taking the same iron supplements since I was pregnant.The doctor said to keep taking them it won't hurt the baby.I'm also still taking prenatal vitamins with no problems

[desertpenguin]

but from what i've read the mother's iron intake doesn't increase the amount of iron available in the bm, it stays at a fairly steady level....

[Shami]

I asked my ped (very natural and into nutrition, too) about my dd's bruises and if she is missing something in her diet. The doc said it is totally normal. I still bf on demand and she eats lots of solids. The doc rec. a multi with iron for the baby, but she was around 1 year old at the time. I don't know about an 8 month old. I thought iron should be ok for a breast fed babe until about 9-12 months old. I bet kelleymom.com has info on it. We did do a simple finger prick to get an iron test in the doc's office. I also did a blood draw and her iron was normal. According to my ped the finger prick isn't as accurate so she sent me for the blood draw as well. HTH!

[Shami]

Originally Posted by desertpenguin

but from what i've read the mother's iron intake doesn't increase the amount of iron available in the bm, it stays at a fairly steady level....

Yes I read this too.

[mwherbs]

now I was thinking that it is vitamin K and vitamin C that you need to increase- more green veggies in your diet- like several servings a day and fruits or berries. because both these vitamins have to do with brusing

[Koalamom]

We increased our herbal infusions for more iron. My little one loves nettles and peppermint together.

[desertpenguin]

Originally Posted by mwherbs

now I was thinking that it is vitamin K and vitamin C that you need to increase- more green veggies in your diet- like several servings a day and fruits or berries. because both these vitamins have to do with brusing

yeah i've been trying to get in my diet more fresh veggies. it's hard though given that i can't get anyone else around here to really eat any veggies. : i wonder if increasing the amount of vit C thru diet and supplementation would increase the absorption of iron in my bm. i think i've read that somewhere before. i know i have had issues with anemia in the past, we have leaky guts so that makes things even worse.

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1

We increased our herbal infusions for more iron. My little one loves nettles and peppermint together.

would it be oK to give this to an 8 mo on a regular basis? how much, how often? anyone know?

[Koalamom]

Originally Posted by desertpenguin

would it be oK to give this to an 8 mo on a regular basis? how much, how often? anyone know?

I wouldn't hesitate to give some to my child at 8 months. I will check on the site susunweed.com. She might have something on the specifics for infants.

[Koalamom]

newcastle mama posted this quote:

There is a WAPF article too that talks about how nettles can help heal the gut.

post #9
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ht=nettles+gut

I would love to read the article myself, but hopefully it sparks some more interest in nettles for you.

[TzippityDoulah]

would it wokr to give him liquid cholorphyl suppelements? that what I do to increase my iron when food alone isn't cutting it. you might want to double check on it, but I can't think of a reason this wouldn't work. and no need to chew it! (it has iron and vit K)

[roostery]

What about bone broth or bone marrow on your finger? Not a lot of choking potential there.

I would test first if you're worried, just to see where your lo is, and then if you need to, offer meat broths. LLL recommends meat as a first food. My lo started on chicken and bone broth.

[desertpenguin]

re: nettles - i looked at the WAPF article and it just kinda mentions it in passing, with no reference. i tried doing an internet search on it and couldn't come up with too much, except a few more mentions of it...and a Susun Weed article saying that it's good for supporting adrenals. (yay!) i keep meaning to start drinking my herbal teas but always forget (and i think they taste kinda blah so that doesn't help, heh). i guess i need to find a good combination with something else that i find pleasant tasting. what ratio of nettles : peppermint are you using, bluebirdmama?

re: liquid chlorophyll supplements. chlorophyll is kinda expensive, and the stuff i've been able to find here all has yucko preservatives in it. i think it's made out of alfalfa though so i suppose i could see about making alfalfa and nettles infusion (since i should be doing this already anyways!)

re: bone broth or marrow...i thought bone broth was more for calcium? does it have iron in it too? i don't know how to go about doing the marrow though. : the supply of bones i can get here is kinda cruddy i think. i should contact the local suppliers but i haven't so far cuz i'm not really sure what to ask for.

[desertpenguin]

oy, just realized that an ounce of herbs is about one cup. i guess i'm going to have to see if i can scrounge so i can purchase some bulk herbs online!

[Koalamom]

Originally Posted by desertpenguin

what ratio of nettles : peppermint are you using, bluebirdmama?

How I make my infusion, I use a heaping tablespoon of herb per cup or boiling water. I make a canning jar at a time. I add a tablespoon of peppermint for flavor. I let it steep a minimum of 3 hours, but up to overnight. After I strain it, I put it in the fridge. It is really yummy cold. My 2 year old drinks this tea all the time. She prefers it unsweetened.

Some herbalists use 1 oz herb per quart or boiling water. And then says to drink 2 cups per day. I use a little less herb, but drink up to 4 cups a day. Others will recommend different ratios. If you want more input on herbs, you could start a thread on nettles.

I am pregnant, and I have so much energy. I rarely offer my 2 yr old water, but "green water" (nettles infusion). She has great teeth and has quite the head of hair. (nettles is great for hair growth) She leaky gut, but doing really well now.

I don't know how we lived without our nettles!

Also about the iron in actual foods, I likes to make a big pot of beef broth, and then simmer for hours. I would throw in greens like kale which is high in iron too. The beef would be really tender and so would the greens. I would puree the beef with the kale with loads of broth for a great baby food. And the beef broth is so nourishing.