With both my ds and dd, I waited until they were reaching for food themselves. Ds wanted food at 9 mos and dd waited until 13 months. If you are worried about the iron, you can always take iron supplements or increase your iron and it will get to your baby. Also, you won't have to worry about baby getting constipated from the iron fortified foods. My dd and ds are now almost 7 yrs old, and are both healthy and intelligent. I think the 'books' advice on giving your baby food is just the companies trying to make more money, kwim? Your child knows when they are ready to handle food and will let you know, if you give them the space to do so. My kids liked the rice cereal mixed with ebm and were soon into table foods. Oatmeal never was good on their tummy's and still isn't (i think it's the gluten? or something).

 

I just wanted to let you know that if you let the cord pulse until it turned white after she was born she will have enough iron for the first year of life.

 

Well, I breastfeed on demand (always have) and didn't even give him cereals until about 8 months. Then, I rarely gave him any until he was comfortable with regular oatmeal. He didn't eat regular meals until later in his first year (Finally was eating three times a day around 10 months??). He had his iron levels checked at 9 months and they were well within the normal range. HTH!!

 

Here is the scoop. A baby lays down iron stores while in utero. They run out by around 6 months. BUT, your milk contains just the right amt of iron, in a very absorbable form, to continue to maintain his hemoglobin at healthy levels.

If you are not anemic and not menstruating, taking iron supplements yourself would be unneccessary. I have heard taking iron when you don't need it can cause liver damage.

I did have one child who had her hemoglobin levels checked at 9 mos and she was anemic. I had lost some blood during the birth and turned out to be anemic too. We could not find an iron supplement that agreed with our tummies. Even when I took one (Floradix, but I hear they have improved it by now) and she got some thru my milk, she would scream like a fire engine when it would hit her system.

She was born 3 weeks early. I had very persistant bronchitis during my middle trimester and I think it affected my placenta, making it break down to cause her to be born early as it was no longer sustaining her.

Premies and multiples are more prone to anemia, as they don't lay down the usual amt of placental iron.

Cereals are no longer recced for babies younger than about 8 months as new studies are showing babies lack digestive enzymes to utilize the nutrition from these foods. Use of artificial iron can interfere with her ability to absorb the natural iron in your milk.

Continue to breastfeed and offer solids when baby seems to want them. Use small amts at first. Table foods, such as yams and avocadoes are a good first food. Some babies do well with bananas, while some babies get constipated. Wait til baby can sit up unassisted.

Oh, and our anemia? Both our levels came up with continued bfing and a whole foods diet. Some people do well with Floradix as a supplement. Have a blood test to rule out anemia, for either of you, if you want.

 

Hi Christa,
My dd is 13 mos. old, and just in the last month has she become interested in eating solids. I never gave them to her before she started reaching for them on her own. Because of this, her ped. checked her iron at her 9 month appt. It was perfect. She got it checked again at one year and it was still just fine. If you don't want to give her solids yet, but are concerned about her iron, get it checked. That may help put your mind at ease.

 

DaryLLL- thank you for reminding us about the iron supplements. I totally forgot that when my dd's iron was low and I took supplements, it was because I was anemic. I have always struggled with anemia and tend to forget that not all mom's are anemic LOL! In fact, I think it was one of your earlier posts that helped me realize that the supplements were just a temporary solution and that I needed to change my diet. No anemia this time!

 

I just wanted to say a general thank you to all the moms on these boards for the useful information. I was just about to post a question about iron for my dd, and here's all the info I needed already! (She had her six-month check-up today and the dr said that breastmilk doesn't have enough iron anymore, so I should think about giving her a supplement. He said the iron-fortified cereal might be enough, though, since I just started trying it a few days ago. I declined the supplement and he said he'd check her iron levels at nine months and make sure she was still getting enough.) Anyway, thanks for the answer to the question I didn't even have to ask!

 

Smittenmom, my dd is only 5 days older than your son! How much does he weight by now, is he heavier or lighter than his ff friends?

Christa and dd (9/10/02)

 

Thanks for the thank you! Just to make this really clear, breastmilk iron levels do not change. That was incorrect info from the dr. The babys' own iron stores run out at around 6 mos, is what it is.

Breastmilk continues to provide perfect nutrition until well into the 2nd yr. As your baby starts to eat table foods when he is ready, the food will complement and then supplement his diet.

For the new moms out there, if you have q's, go to the top of the page and click on search. You may find the answer to it without having to start a new thread.

 

Kavay2001--Her weight at this check-up was 18 pounds, 15 ounces. She's in the 90th percentile! I don't know any ff babies who are close to her age, so I can't compare with them, but she's two weeks older than a friend's baby (also bf), and MUCH heavier than her. How about yours?

DaryLLL--I guess I misquoted the doctor a little bit. What he said was that bm doesn't have enough iron--period. I guess he just brought it up at this visit because the baby's stores begin to run out now (which I already knew, btw). Anyway, he's not terribly AP friendly (he advised against co-sleeping, which I promptly disregarded), but I don't want to put words in his mouth.

 

:LOL Well, he is still wrong! Breastmilk has a smaller amt of iron, but it is 49% absorbed. ABM has more iron, but it is 4% absorbed.

Breastmilk has all your baby needs. New hysteria is saying well, it has no vit D. that is b/c nature assumes you go outside, and your baby's body makes Vit D itself. It only takes a few mins in daylight several times a week.

The benefits of bfing FAR outweigh the added Vit D in artificial milk. As Mothering Magazine recently explained.

 

It all depends. What is your gut telling you? If your gut says your baby is just fine there is no harm, and potential advantages of waiting.

Do people in your family tend to have respiratory problems, exzema, food allergies, digestive problems, reflux, etc? Then I would think about waiting.

Mine refused solids for 9 months and did just fine. My reading tells me waiting 9 to 12 months is perfectly normal and some babies may refuse even longer if from allergic/sensitive families.

Or if your family has iron stomachs and never has any kind of allergies 6 months may be fine to start solids.

I agree grains are the hardest to digest.