How bad is it…..

amother

Bergamot

Tue, Dec 05 2023, 9:49 pm

Did your doctor specifically tell you to give your toddler iron?

Because I have never, not once in my entire mothering career, given my kids iron. My own mother had a short-lived affair with multivitamins that ended. So far so good...

Ema of 5

Tue, Dec 05 2023, 10:24 pm

amother Bergamot wrote:

Yes, he did, but I also know that’s it’s very common at this age to be deficient, and I’m not sure how big of an issue it really is.

Ema of 5

Tue, Dec 05 2023, 10:25 pm

GLUE wrote:

Does he like liver?
Total cereal?

No liver
I haven’t tried total, maybe I’ll try that. There’s a lot of iron in it?

smss

Tue, Dec 05 2023, 10:28 pm

You can cook with this:
Lucky Iron Fish Ⓡ A Natural Source of - The Original Cooking Tool to Add Liquid-Based Meals, Reduce Deficiency Risks an Supplement Alternative
https://a.co/d/jawfbR3

amother

Bergamot

Tue, Dec 05 2023, 10:29 pm

You can use Spatone water in some apple juice, easy to take and very absorbable. Or cook tomato sauce in a cast-iron pan, iron will get into the food.

salt

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 5:58 am

Why would one remember to put the lucky iron fish in the food when you're cooking more than one would remember to give iron drops to the baby?

Keep the iron drops in the bathroom by the bath and give it every time your baby has a bath.
Or keep it by his changing table and give it at night time changing, or somewhere like that where you will see it at the same time every day.
And it doesn't matter if you forget sometimes, but once you get into a routine you'll start remembering.

And why is adding Spatone water to apple juice different to adding the iron drops to the apple juice?

amother

Wheat

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 8:48 am

DOes your baby get formula? That has iron. Iron-fortified baby cereals also have iron, but may not be enough vs the drops.

Also, as far as I know, liver is not good for babies, as it has all the animal's toxins stored there (I'm not natural minded at all, this is the job of the liver).

Ema of 5

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 11:31 am

salt wrote:

He is supposed to get it twice a day. I keep it on the kitchen counter, where I keep all other medications, but somehow I’m still always forgetting.
Side note, he can’t have water or juice without thickener, which is a pain in the neck, so I rarely give him either. He has his shakes, and he has oat milk.

Ema of 5

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 11:33 am

amother Wheat wrote:

Good point! No he doesn’t get formula, but he does have supplemental shakes. I just looked, there’s 3.5mg iron in an 8.5oz shake. He has two a day, so that’s 7mg per day. How much should he be getting?

Ema of 5

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 1:03 pm

amother Candycane wrote:

Doesn’t iron make constipated? Is there a reason why u give it?

Too much can make you constipated, but not enough can also cause issues.

amother

Wheat

Thu, Dec 07 2023, 9:45 am

Ema of 5 wrote:

Per our pediatrician, 7.5 mg from 4-5 months, 15 mg from 6 months and up. If your baby was born very early, ask your Dr if this should be different (mine was born a bit early and the dr said more sooner might be warranted. Of course I kept forgetting too. So I made it my husband's job and even though he js super forgetful, he almost always remembers to give the baby vitamins!)

Ema of 5

Thu, Dec 07 2023, 9:24 pm

amother Wheat wrote:

Nope, he was born a week early. My husband isn’t reliable, although I wish he were.

amother

Currant

Thu, Dec 07 2023, 9:30 pm

Ema of 5 wrote:

Oat milk? How old is your baby.