Low Hemoglobin at 9 Months

[Famatigia]

We just went in for our WIC recert, and they do the height, weight, and heel prick. Jocelyn's hemoglobin was 8.8 and the WIC lady was frustrating. She gave me a referral to our doctor, blah blah.

Jocelyn is breastfed, and loves finger foods.

Should I worry? Feed her steak? (kidding..)

Opinions?

[guitarmama]

are you veg? if not, why not some ground beef/lamb/bird?

[2boyzmama]

I'd be a little concerned about an 8.8 in a 9 month old. Maybe the referral is a good thing, they can do a real blood test (not just a prick) and see if her hemoglobin really is low. They can do a serum ferritin at the same time, which is a better indicator of anemia. If she is low, I wouldn't do artificial supplements right away, I'd focus on naturally iron-rich foods first, give it a month or two, and see if her numbers come up. If they don't, then consider supplementing.

But it might be worth looking into an underlying cause, because that is kind of low for a breastfed baby that eats finger foods. Does she have any GI issues? Maybe you should cut dairy out of both of your diets for a while to see if that helps too. Has she been sick recently? Any reason why her iron levels would be lower?

[Just1More]

I am willing to be corrected, but my understanding is that breastmilk contains little or no iron. So, what the baby has at birth is their store until they begin eating solid foods. You can give her raisins, blackstrap molasses, etc. I would begin iron rich foods immediately, and then if you decide to take her in, the next test should be more accurate.

Also, if she has recently had a cold, fever, or some other type of stress, her iron is likely to be low. When your body is stressed, it uses iron rapidly. A few weeks should allow her to stabilize again if that was the cause. And, again, iron rich foods are always a good idea...low iron or not.

[Norasmomma]

I'd go get a real count from a dr, not WIC, they screw up numbers all.the.time. They put my DD's weight at 25 lbs when she was 10 months, it was actually 20.5.

I do give my 8 mo old steak, he loves it.

I just got a lecture at WIC about my son's average, his was 11 and he just was sick, so I wasn't concerned, but a number as low as an 8.8, I'd go in and get that checked out.

[firewoman]

Floradix is safe for babies if given in the correct doses. It is essentially an "iron rich food" and is easily absorbed. You could start him at 1 teaspoon twice a day for a couple of weeks and then back down to 1 teaspoon a day. That combined with beefing up his diet with some iron rich foods would likely bring it up quickly.

IMO, if breastmilk has little to no iron content, there is good reason for that. Who decides what the the hemoglobin of a nine month old should be anyway? Most babies are fed formula which contains iron so if the norm is based off those babies, we have no idea what is normal for a healthy breastfed baby. Does that make sense?

[Famatigia]

Thanks mamas.

I'd love some iron rich food suggestions for my little lady.

Have never run into this before!

[2boyzmama]

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vi...ml#ironsources

Here's a good list

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

i've no idea what that number means tbh but if there is a worry giving foods that contain more iron such as broccoli, spinach and other green leafy vegetables would be a good thing and red meat contains iron as far as i know so spaghetti bolegnase would be a good thing.

prob a daft question, do 9mth olds normally get a heal prick test? and whats WIC?

[Norasmomma]

WIC is an income based program in the US that offers nutrtional assistance for women, infants and children, so it's acronym is WIC. Every state has a program, and you get help in the form of checks that offer certain foods on them(milk, eggs, cheese, pb, etc).

It's known for being helpful and annoying.

[tzs]

the kellymom list for ironrich foods is great.
i also "cheat" a little and add the earth's best oatmeal which is iron fortified to liquidy things like soup, chili, sauces, yogurt, etc.... actually with the yogurt it's really helpful since i try to do the plain unsweetened stuff and it takes out some of that tang.