Low iron?

Question

My sons iron test came back as low after his 12 month appointment. Did anyone else’s baby have this? They put him on iron supplements but I think they are messing with his stomach wondering if this is common.

Answer

Iron causes constipation!! I have iron deficiency anemia and I have to take Colace because of the constipation that iron supplements cause. Try high fiber foods or ask his pedi if there’s a stool softener that babies can have.

Answer

we don’t even have such test here in Italy 🤦‍♀️

Answer

My sons belly has been messed up since we started the iron. Very messy #2s 4-5x a day. Up the back and down his legs 🤦‍♀️ I’m so ready to stop the supplements and just try to get him to eat more iron.

Answer

Yes! My son did. I have had very low ferritin all my life  and have been anemic in the past so it may be somewhat genetic. At the time he was still drinking around 24 ounces a day and now we are down to 16 so that may help. They did prescribe a vitamin that I have been putting into applesauce. He won’t drink juice for some reason. Also trying to get more red meat in his diet. Hoping they improve by his 15 month appointment. He was only slightly anemic.

Answer

Yes.  I had a preemie and it’s common for preemies to have low iron.  We had already tried iron fortified foods and it just wasn’t enough so he started supplements.  
It upset his tummy so we did every other day (single-day full dose, not double dose) instead of every day and that seemed to help.  We had a CBC done after 14 days and his HGB went up a full point which was really great and close to normal levels. 
The doctor wanted us to continue supplements for another 8 weeks. Unfortunately, at this same time he started vomiting after every dose no matter what we did.  So, now we give him a sippy of orange juice every morning with his iron in it.  He usually drinks almost all of it.  I know it’s probably not a full dose, but it’s still about double daily recommended amount so he should still be able to build up his iron stores.  We avoid milk, cheese, yogurt, etc within two hours of his orange juice, but I do still nurse him on-demand.

Answer

My son’s was slightly low at his 9 month. I didn’t give him the supplements because I heard it could be hard on their tummies. I just started feeding him more iron rich foods more often and his levels were fine at his 12 month appointment.

Low iron?

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