Breastfeed beyond 6months and needs iron supplements

[Kaizmama]

I've exclusively breastfed my DD for almost 10 months now. However, I've restrained from feeding her other solids after she turned 6 months which I now regret. She has recently been hospitalized late Sept. for bad UTI and when they took her blood sample they found that her red blood cell count was significantly low. Since, she has been discharged Ive been giving her the enfamil brand infant iron supplements and have been feeding her the recommended amount of infant cereal that is high in iron. Since then her stools have been black mixed with dark green. I assume it is from all the iron. However in the past 2 weeks she has not been eating much of the cereal but I do feed her fresh beef, chicken, and eggs with rice with the iron supplements. She eats until she does not want any more but I just wish she ate as much as she did when she first started eating the cereal. I still continue to breastfeed her. She is good at letting me know when she wants BM so there is no problem there (I know I BF her more than 8 times during a 24 hour time period). I'm just concerned about her red blood cell count if the iron supplement really meets her daily iron intake? I want so much to go get her blood checked but the last time I was there during her UTI hospitalization the doctor was giving me a bad look when they asked me of why I was not up to date with her shots and I told them that it was my personal decision to postpone them. I live in the Northern Mariana Islands. We are a trust territory of the United Sates. We abide by the United States Constitution, but like most US state govts, we have the right to mandate certain vaccines for infants and children. The NMI does not grant any religious exemption forms for vaccinations. The only way to be granted a vaccine exemption is if I receive a certification from a doctor that receiving vaccinations for my child will hinder my child's health conditions (ex. If my child has cancer, the doc will definitely write up a certification for me)...that being said if I go into any clinic and they find out that my daughter is purposely not up to date with her shots, they will call the child protection services and I will be charged with child neglect by law. I am considering moving to Guam which is a near by island and the US governs over them as well. Fortunately Guam grants religious exemptions for vaccinations! =D......I just want to know if anyone has a child that had an iron deficiency and if the iron supplements helped meet their iron daily requirements?

[pokeyAC]

Does anyone have some advice/experience?

[lilikoi]

I did a quick google search and found this:

http://www.hemoglobinhometest.com/the-starter-kit/

I hope you can move to Guam. You should be able to live without the fear of being reported by a health care provider. It would be hard for me to live in a place that I have to think twice of getting help for my child, but sometimes we don't have a choice.

[flyrabbitfly]

What type of cookware do you use? Cooking her food in cast iron will add iron to most foods. Also try not to worry too much! If she is growing and energetic, she may already be doing better in the rbc dept. too much iron is possibly a greater problem in children than too little (as they are very susceptible to iron poisoning)

[stacyann21]

I would skip the cereal. It's so processed and artificial. You should probably continue the iron supplements as long as she's clinically anemic. Is there a reason why you haven't started meats? At 10 months, I think that would be the perfect iron source.

[MichelleZB]

If she was 10 months and not eating any solids at all, that probably explains the iron deficiency. If she is now eating some foods, including meats, along with her breastmilk, then there's no reason why you can't reasonably assume her iron levels are on their way up. Does she seem pale and exhausted, or happy and playful?

[BabySmurf]

I agree with the previous poster.  Especially if she was eating a lot of iron before and is tapering off, her body is probably signalling that she can slow down on the intake.