Multivitamins???

[Bethkm]

I am new to this forum and have really enjoyed the discussion. It is so nice to find a community of supportive AP mommies. I am a SAHM to an 8 month old breastfeeding, co-sleeping DS.

At my son's last (6 month) well baby visit, the Dr prescribed a multivitamin for him based on the fact that we use bottled water (I never give him water to drink anyway) and I keep him out of the sun. She is most concerned about vit D and flouride. Since this visit I've made a point to get him some sun everyday and have done some reading on vit D. I have no idea about the flouride issue though. I really want to avoid giving him the multivitamin just because I hate the idea of giving him anything extra. He still nurses mostly and takes a few solids at 8 months. His biggest issue with the solids is constipation and so I'm seriously worried about the iron in a mutivit.

Am I doing him a disservice by not giving him the vitamin? I don't want to ruin his teeth. Has anyone else dealt with this? I have not filled the script and I'm not planning to at this point.

Beth

[Piglet68]

Hello, Beth! Let me first say...





As for your questions: I think you are right to be concerned about giving your ds a multivitamin, and good for you for questioning the doctor!! Iron is a concern in multivitamins - it is constipating and hard on a baby's system, especially one who is BF'd and just starting on the solids.

The vitamin D issue can be resolved by regularly getting your baby out and exposed to sunlight - even just a few minutes a day is fine. There are a few websites that discuss this issue, and I believe www.drjaygordon.com is one of them.

As for flouride, I'm confused there. I thought babies weren't supposd to have any flouride until they were at least a year old. My baby's toothpaste specifically says "flouride free".

Now, as moderator of this forum I'm going to move your thread to our "Life with a Babe" forum. You should get lots of answers there from mamas who have been there or who are going through this, too.

[applejuice]

YOu may want to continue to do more research on flouride since it is still debateable whether it is really necessary as a supplement.

Although I cannot get any dentists to agree with me, including my own sister, a DDS diplomate, I feel that diet and hygiene play a bigger role in dental decay than flouride supplements.

I never had any cavities until age 25 without flouride and my own children are cary-free ... without flouride toothpaste and supplements (pills and water), but they did receive flouride treatments from the DDS once a year since, as I said, no one listens to me. No dentist would treat them without them.

Sunlight is a fine alternative to vitamin D pills.