DS is anemic, doc wants full time FF, HELP!

[BeantownBaby9]

We have been doing Elecare during the day, and BF-ing at night (nurse to sleep and while we cosleep). Chase was doing GREAT! I mean, GREAT! Different Baby Great! Then we saw the nutritionist and she pressed on the need to return to solids, so I tried avocado. Big failure. We are 6 days out from the avocado and he's much better. We saw the GI (same office as the nutritionist) yesterday, and he had wanted us to continue adding solids back and staying with the Ele/BF combo. He drew blood yesterday to see if DS was anemic....

well, I get a call today that yes, DS is anemic, not horribly but he is (I guess 31 was a # he quoted). In addition to getting on an iron supplement for 4 weeks, he's changed his mind and he wants me to stop ALL SOLIDS again, even though I gave him NT chicken broth and meat this morning and it seems to be passing, but more importantly to me, he wants me to stop BFing all together for 2 weeks, and P&D if I want to keep my supply up.

Doc's rationale was to heal the colon and give it the best chance of full healing before reintroducing BM, but he did say any sign of blood after healing and my BF days would be over for real. Needless to say, I just spend 20min crying like a baby myself. : I DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP BFING! And I know neither does the baby. And he refuses FF when I am home alone with him. I am sad, mad, worried and totally confused. Does the doc's advice sound right? What would you do in our shoes?

and if anyone has a suggestion on a very bioavailable, safe, maybe organic infant iron supplement, I am all ears

[RomanCarmelMom]

If you don't want to stop BF, then don't. Just add in the iron supplements and see if that raises his iron levels. My son had food allergies and preemie issues, so we went through this same thing. I would add in the iron supplements and if that does the job, then just don't tell him you're still BFing. I eventually dropped the GI all together.

Have you tried consulting a BFing friendly pediatric allergist? They seemed to be more rational about elimination diets, in my experience.

[kjbrown92]

Read www.dogtorj.net if you haven't already. He explains food intolerances and anemia. VERY INFORMATIVE. Don't give up yet!!

[crunchy_mama]

Many hugs!!!! Remember you are the momma, do what you want and what you feel best, whatever that is!!! I likely wouldn't go back to him and if pressed say you were seeing a different dr- but I wouldn't volunteer info. Remember you are in charge here! You are doing the best you can by your baby, don't let anyone make you think otherwise, use your mommy intuition!

[FireWithin]

Are you going to Children's? If you are, don't listen. My experiences with them were awful. The nutritionist was terrible.

I don't agree with the idea of stopping BF.

[dannic]

Hugs!!! I also would keep trying! (Remember, you are consulting him--he ought not be able to boss you around). I cannot imagine how stressful this must be for you! How are you? Hang in there!

[prescottchels]

If your DS was doing great w/the BF/elecare combo and it worked for you too then I'd keep doing that and not focus on solids at all. Unless your ds shows an interest in something you're eating then you could offer a taste and no more. He will let you know when he's ready for more substantial solids.
I would definitely keep BFing if I were you. Your LO needs that above all else.
I haven't used this supp, but it looks good-highest bioavailability, no allergens in the ingreds... http://www.koshervitamins.com/shop/s...zmap=MXS-17608

Have you tried upping your own iron intake so you'd pass it along thru your breastmilk-leafy greens, chlorophyll, molasses.

I just discovered that 1 cup of warm rice milk w/a tbsp of molasses is actually really yummy! You could offer this to ds too, use breast milk though.

Good Luck!! and Lots of hugs!
Chelsie

[mamafish9]

Your baby is doing great. He could use a little more iron, but that's a small problem, requiring a small solution. Stopping bf is, to quote WhoMe, "using dynamite instead of a hammer".

I agree with the PP about upping your iron intake - do you know if you are anemic? If you are at all, that would be a very easy fix.

And if small amounts of solids are passing, then I don't see why to stop those too, but that's a smaller issue for me.

I figure that anyone who wants a mama to stop breastfeeding needs a life threatening reason, not a little missing iron. Stopping for even a couple of weeks could be awful for your supply and your nursing bond.

And "he did say any sign of blood after healing and my BF days would be over for real" :::. That isn't his choice. Period. He can advise you. He can strongly recommend. He can even thump and threaten and act very doctorly. But it is still your choice, even if he doesn't think so. The reality is that as you trial foods, you will probably run into some that fail, and blood is a pretty common "fail" sign. That would be true if you are bf or totally on Elecare. Two weeks just doesn't heal a gut that completely!!! OK, I'll stop now .

ETA: OK, not quite done. I also want to say that avocado isn't the harmless, non-allergenic food your nutritionist said it was. I know it's a common first food for babies, but it is also high salicylates, and there are several people on this board who don't tolerate avocado. I took a quick look at your blog, and a lot of other things that failed for your DS are also high sals. In case that's helpful .

[dannic]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

And "he did say any sign of blood after healing and my BF days would be over for real" :::. That isn't his choice. Period. He can advise you. He can strongly recommend. He can even thump and threaten and act very doctorly. But it is still your choice, even if he doesn't think so. The reality is that as you trial foods, you will probably run into some that fail, and blood is a pretty common "fail" sign. That would be true if you are bf or totally on Elecare. Two weeks just doesn't heal a gut that completely!!! OK, I'll stop now .
.

THAT is what I was trying to say (over my adrenal fatigue, lol).