Do you use vitamin drops?

[crystal_buffaloe]

My doctor recommended vitamin drops at 6 months when I told her that we weren't going to start with iron-fortified cereal (and the AAP recommends them starting at 4 months, if I remember correctly).

That didn't exactly square with my belief that breastmilk is a perfect food source for babies, so I ignored/delayed the recommendation at first and just tried to offer iron-rich foods (my DD loves meat).

Anway, she'll be 8 months in one week and the amount of food she's consuming is negligible. I decided that vitamin drops probably wouldn't hurt because

• she's a little older now and I think her gut can handle it
• it may be that she is beginning to need more than breastmilk
• it's cooooold and she hasn't spent much time at all in sunlight (vit. D)
• she kind of looks a little pale/blue under the eyes (could this be possible anemia? she is definitely not lethargic and her weight gain has been normal and output is good)

So DH comes home with the drops today, and I'm really disappointed because

• the drops are made by Enfamil
• they contain artificial coloring (really? they felt the need to add this to a product for infants?)

I gave her a spoonful of applesauce mixed with the vitamin at supper and she promptly vomited it back up. I could tell that she was trying to make herself retch   (and this was about 1/4 of a full dose). Afterwards, she wouldn't touch the (uncontaminated) applesauce and didn't want any solids for supper.

I actually would not be concerned if she was EBF (no solids), but I'm afraid that the introduction of solids has changed some things and she might need more nutrients, but the fact that she eats almost nothing means that she's not getting the nutrients she needs.

So, after the novel, I guess my basic questions are: Do you/did you use vitamin drops with your breastfed babies? Why/What kind/How long? Were they resistant? How did it work out? Should I continue? Wait and try again? Throw them away and really push iron-rich foods and supplement myself like crazy for vitamin D? Call my doctor?

[PatioGardener]

There are actually risks of giving iron supplements if baby is not low iron.  If low iron is a worry, a blood test can tell you if it is an issue or not: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html

There are some great vitamin D drops NOT made by a formula company, that just go on mom's nipple and baby sucks it off when nursing.  I'm in Canada, so we use http://www.ddrops.ca/ddrops-baby.php  I'm sure the same type of product exists in the USA under a different name.  Carlson D Drops, perhaps?  I feel vit D is important for us northern folk, but I did wait until my DS started solids before given it.

HTH

[etsdtm99]

i would test for iron before worrying about it at all - its a very simple test and my pedi can do it in a few mins in office.. (does take a finger or heel prick)

I did not take iron during pregnancy with my first (or any of them actually) and i started solids at 4.5 months  - my DD hated solids, had all sorts of tummy issues any time we tried iron-fortified foods and then she stopped eating them til around 10 months, even then she didn't eat much and didn't eat iron fortified foods (her choice, not mine).. she never had any vitamin drops etc. her iron was FINE at her 12 mo appt. in the normal range  - same thing with my 2nd except he didn't start solids til 8 months ..  her normal iron probably even had something to do with the fact that anything iron fortified came back up or made her HORRIBLY constipated . .   If i try to take iron, even in a multi vitamin when i'm not anemic they make me sick.. not everyone has issues with iron..   vit D i would consider after baby starts solids, but i havent given it to my kids until they were 2+ yrs old .. 

[crystal_buffaloe]

Thank you very much for your replies!

I completely forgot about iron testing. I'm pretty sure my doctor does that at 12 months, but I bet I could ask for the test at our 9-month visit instead. I'm not going to mess with the drops again until then (and then see what the results are) -- it really was horrible watching her make herself puke. We've done BLW and so the horrible-tasting applesauce on a spoon must have come as quite a shock.

Are just the plain vitamin D drops as bad? I was under the impression that I could supplement myself and that would pass through breastmilk (unlike iron). I was really thankful to have a summer baby and just to be able to spend a few minutes outside with her each day, but this recent winter weather has changed our routine greatly.

[WindyCityMom]

If it brings any peace of mind, my daughter was tested at 9 months old and her iron was fine.  She was exclusively breastfed, no solids.  I wasn't taking any supplemental iron and I don't eat a TON of meat, though I do eat it a few times/wk.

Oddly enough, my older daughter, who was exclusively formula fed has always had low iron levels.  We did the whole rice-cereal thing too (I was pretty mainstream and uneducated...).  She's always slightly anemic.

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by crystal_buffaloe 
Are just the plain vitamin D drops as bad? I was under the impression that I could supplement myself and that would pass through breastmilk (unlike iron). I was really thankful to have a summer baby and just to be able to spend a few minutes outside with her each day, but this recent winter weather has changed our routine greatly.

My guy takes them no prob.  I tried them - they really are 1 drop and don't taste much of anything.  I supplement myself too, but I am still low, so I give him drops too.
ETA: this is for the baby D drops, not the D-visol kind.

Edited by PatioGardener - 1/16/11 at 4:00pm

[Bebe's Mom]

I gave DD the drops once, she made the most awful face, ick. I felt so bad for her, I never tried it again. She was EBF until around 9 months..She was tested at 11 months and was fine. Unless you have a family history of anemia, I wouldn't worry about it, or just have her tested for peace of mind.