First solids and Iron

[roxemama]

DD2 just started solids with avocado and bananas this week. She is almost 7 months. The ped said she needs iron fortified cereal but I prefer not to. Is iron intake a big concern? I didn't worry about it with DD1. What kinds of vegetarian foods can I give her?

[pek64]

Pediatricians tend to be concerned about iron intake because formula generally causes iron deficiency. Breastmilk is different. I never worried about iron with my son, since he was exclusively breastfed. When he started solids, I still didn't worry, because he still was getting breastmilk as his only milk. If you are getting enough iron, and breastfeeding, your child should also be getting enough iron.

[meemee]

ditto pek.

i have a tendency to be anemic. so i upped my iron intake when bfeeding and dd was never anemic.

not all formula fed babies are deficient either. however i will say this is the first time i heard a ped. talk about this at 7 months without checking iron levels.