Help me increase my 8mo's calories and iron

[FillingMyQuiver]

We took my 8mo DS2 to the family practitioner on Friday b/c he's stopped gaining weight, becoming lethargic, and very cranky and clingy. We know he's cutting 3 teeth and that explains some of the crankiness and clinginess.

He's breastfed, but I'm 18.5wks pg and I think my supply is slowly diminishing. 2mo ago, he was happy and chubby. He smiled a lot and had ROLLS of fat. They're all but pretty much gone now and he's this very serious little boy and it takes a lot to get a smile from him.

They did a finger prick and his hemoglobin is 9.8. Not terribly low, but I know that my hemoglobin count was similar at my last appt. and I was fatigued. So I'm thinking his iron might account for some of the lethargy.

He's only starting to be intro'd to solids now. He's had some hamburger (chewed and played with in his mouth, didn't swallow much), yogurt (hated), peaches, and grilled zucchini w/ olive oil (seemed to really like). The dr. is pushing for us to add 4oz formula to his diet, start him on Floradix, and push more solids while encouraging as much BFing as possible. DS2 HATED the formula attempt, had to *really* encourage him to drink an oz.

So, what can I do to up his caloric intake? DH wants me to start him on the Floradix every other day to help w/ the iron stores, I guess I'm okay with that. I was thinking of giving him HVCLO daily, a tsp or so of coconut oil daily, meat when he'll take it, and whatever other solids I can get into him except for milk, grains (holding off til 1yr at least), and the higher allergen foods. Your thoughts??

[Rainbow2911]

Sounds like a good plan. My kids adore flurodix! They think it is a total treat - hope your little one feels the same way.
You could try a liver pate too get some iron into him. Some babies adore it - my ds2 does now at 16 months, but didn't when he was smaller. I use egg to make it milder but that is a common allergen, so perhaps you could puree it with courgette or chicken?
How about trying avocado? That is high in calories and easy for small babies too eat too.
Hope your little one is feeling better soon.

[Attached Mama]

You may want to have him tested for Lyme disease too. Lethargy can be one of the first signs of that. If it's caught right away, it's no big deal, but letting it go longer can be dangerous. We check dd every day for ticks and have found about 5 on her in the last year. Sometimes they are so, so small - like an itty bitty freckle and you can only tell it's a tick with a magnifying glass. Unfortunately, lyme is often not something doctors think to test for.

If I were in your shoes, I'd keep nursing as often as possible, and maybe use a SNS with a homemade formula in it. Maybe if it's mixed with your milk, he won't mind it so much. He doesn't sound like he's ready for the amount of solids he will need if your supply is low, so this might be a good way to get some formula in him, while also keeping your supply up.

I'm curious also, how often you have been breastfeeding? Breastfeeding on demand - like every hour or so throughout the day and every few hours at night, with no pacifier use, will increase supply and often will delay the return of ovulation so that the baby can have at least a good year of uninterrupted breast milk and so mama's body can have a chance to recover between pregnancies. I know that can be hard to do tho... my dd wouldn't latch on for a few months, had an intense sucking need, slept 4 hrs per night from day one and my period was back at 4 months!

[tboroson]

Um... well, how much weight *has* he gained, and in how much time? Weight loss always seems to slow down dramatically after they start crawling and pulling up into a standing position, so a single appointment of low weight gain wouldn't worry me. Of course, maybe this has been an ongoing problem for a while now, but you made it sound like this came as a new surprise; if it was a new surprise, I'd be seeking a second opinion.

As for the iron, I'd keep trying natural, whole sources - perhaps a duck or goose liver pate, or chicken livers. Sesame seeds and chickpeas are also a good sources, so maybe some hummus with tahini. Molasses is classically recommended for iron, but I'm kind of dubious on that one - you're looking at less than a gram per tablespoon. You'd have to eat like a quarter cup before you're getting a significant amount of iron, and it's fairly high sugar. Much more iron is absorbed from animal sources than from vegetable sources, so I would emphasize the meats; but things like hummus can't hurt if he prefers them, and because they're more readily transportable.

[tboroson]

Oh, I just caught this. You're nursing *three* and you're pregnant? Now, I've never been one to criticize nursing through pregnancy (did it myself) or tandem nurse (ditto). But, nursing three (and one of them is still an almost-exclusively bf baby, not even a toddler yet) and being pregnant seems to me like a little too much toll on your body. There's just not enough iron to go 'round!

[FillingMyQuiver]

Originally Posted by Attached Mama

If I were in your shoes, I'd keep nursing as often as possible, and maybe use a SNS with a homemade formula in it. Maybe if it's mixed with your milk, he won't mind it so much. He doesn't sound like he's ready for the amount of solids he will need if your supply is low, so this might be a good way to get some formula in him, while also keeping your supply up.

Homemade formula is just not an option. While we have a local source for raw milk, it's crazy expensive and just not in the budget, unfortunately. I have thought of getting a SNS, though for supplementing.

I'm curious also, how often you have been breastfeeding? Breastfeeding on demand - like every hour or so throughout the day and every few hours at night, with no pacifier use, will increase supply and often will delay the return of ovulation so that the baby can have at least a good year of uninterrupted breast milk and so mama's body can have a chance to recover between pregnancies. I know that can be hard to do tho... my dd wouldn't latch on for a few months, had an intense sucking need, slept 4 hrs per night from day one and my period was back at 4 months!

I've been bfing for the past 4yrs straight. I've tandemed through 2 other pregnancies, and up until 3wks ago, was triandem nursing (4yo DS1 and 2.5yo DD nursed 1x/ day at bedtime. They've both weaned since then. When I got pg this time, DS2 was nursing every 2 hours throughout the day and night. Lactation amenorrhea method is just not something I can count on. I got PPAF at 4mo w/ DS1 and DS2 even though I was following all the "rules". I'm just part of that 2% in effectiveness

[FillingMyQuiver]

Originally Posted by tboroson

Um... well, how much weight *has* he gained, and in how much time? Weight loss always seems to slow down dramatically after they start crawling and pulling up into a standing position, so a single appointment of low weight gain wouldn't worry me. Of course, maybe this has been an ongoing problem for a while now, but you made it sound like this came as a new surprise; if it was a new surprise, I'd be seeking a second opinion.

Well, we generally don't do WBV, so the #s I have are based on our home scale. He's actually lost .5lb over the past 2mo. He is "army crawling", but not pulling up yet. The weight wasn't a *big* concern for me until coupled w/ the drop in activity level and the increased crankiness.

Originally Posted by tboroson

Oh, I just caught this. You're nursing *three* and you're pregnant? Now, I've never been one to criticize nursing through pregnancy (did it myself) or tandem nurse (ditto). But, nursing three (and one of them is still an almost-exclusively bf baby, not even a toddler yet) and being pregnant seems to me like a little too much toll on your body. There's just not enough iron to go 'round!

Need to change the siggie. The older 2 have since weaned about 3wks ago.

[Attached Mama]

Originally Posted by FillingMyQuiver

Homemade formula is just not an option. While we have a local source for raw milk, it's crazy expensive and just not in the budget, unfortunately. I have thought of getting a SNS, though for supplementing.



I've been bfing for the past 4yrs straight. I've tandemed through 2 other pregnancies, and up until 3wks ago, was triandem nursing (4yo DS1 and 2.5yo DD nursed 1x/ day at bedtime. They've both weaned since then. When I got pg this time, DS2 was nursing every 2 hours throughout the day and night. Lactation amenorrhea method is just not something I can count on. I got PPAF at 4mo w/ DS1 and DS2 even though I was following all the "rules". I'm just part of that 2% in effectiveness

Wow! That's a lot of nursing!!

Again, please just check for lyme to be safe....
Good luck chubbing him up again.

[Bensmommy]

I'd definitely try the SNS and maybe speak to the farmer about your situation. Maybe they will have mercy on you and allow you to buy the raw milk cheaper so that you could make your own formula. If not, then the SNS is definitley a good idea since the babe would be still be at the breast and may not balk at the idea.

HTH!

BTW- Are YOU eating a lot of rich iron sources? Don't just treat the babe, treat yourself!

[mom2bubnsophie]

When I struggled with iron deficiency anemia in my pregnancy, I was told by our nutritionalist to buy an iron skillet, that a significant amount of it will be transferred via the food. Also, for the little ones, dried fruit is a good source as well. And, for a pregnant mom, we always recommend (if you like it - I love it but some do not) a glass of milk with a few tablespoons of mollasses stirred in. It's very yummy and very high in iron. As for the kcal - I wouldn't recommend it to most people, but I have a few pictures of my son as a 1 year old eating right off the stick of butter while I was cooking. It is high in kcal. And remember, with tandem nursing, particularly while pregnant, your kcal requirements increase by at least 300 x 3= 900 or so!

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by Bensmommy

I'd definitely try the SNS and maybe speak to the farmer about your situation. Maybe they will have mercy on you and allow you to buy the raw milk cheaper so that you could make your own formula.

: This would be my first avenue of attack!