My daughter is iron defecient anemic and they want her on a high dose of iron. I have tried two times to give it and the first time she gagged but kept it down for 30 minutes before vomiting it up...The other time was today and she gagged and vomited immediately and it was mixed with juice when we did this...The ped. recommended to mix it with juice/applesauce...but I did it with juice today and that did not work. Apples irritate her acid reflux so I was avoiding it if possible, but now I do not know what to do, she needs the iron and I am at a loss as to how to get it down her....any ideas appreciated. She is not a good eater either because of her acid reflux. She also does not eat well either and is breastfed. She will not take a bottle at all. She has the start of some food aversions so a good meal is just 2oz of solids and 15 or so cheerios. So there are multiple issues here...
if she likes carrots, she might like beets. And beets are iron-rich, I believe. You can steam them and put them into the blender with some water. Or cut them up into little cubes, if she's at that diced food stage. Good luck!
You might try giving it to her in small amounts through out the day. Don't try to give it all at one time. Hope it helps.
One thing you can try is giving it with a meal, rather than on an empty or partially empty stomach. Another idea, is there any way you can divide it up into smaller doses? Such as, instead of one large dose, give it in three or four smaller doses. Or, try it at bedtime, and maybe she can sleep through the icky stomach part.
My daughter was given those drops and was never able to stomach it!
I would try giving her some natural sources instead of suppliments. Molasses has iron, so does spinach. Try to puree the spinach or get the baby food kind. Give her rice or oatmeal cereal fortified with iron. She should still be on formula since she isn't a year old yet, so maybe transition to a higher-iron formula. After trying these natural ways, have the doc check her iron. Also ask your doc about crushing up flintstones vitamins with iron (they have a gummy version but they are chewier than fruit snacks and she may choke).
I don't know how true it is, but I found this statement from a Doctor: "It's a good idea to eat food containing lots of vitamin C at the same time as you eat food containing iron from non-meat sources, because this helps the body absorb the iron." Anyway, good luck!
I'm assuming the iron is in liquid form? My daughter refused to take her vitamins too, the taste really bothered her and well, I can imagine that iron supplements suck even worse lol. Poor baby. I know that baby cereal has a great deal of iron, maybe giving her three servings of that per day would help. You can also give her steamed broccoli if she likes it, it's nice and soft and has LOTS of iron. My daughter loves her broccoli. There are so many foods that you can cook for her that will give her plenty of iron, so you may not have to do the supplements after all.
Because my daughter refuses her liquid multivitamin I have to mush up a tablet vitamin and put it in yogurt. I put her on the "My First Flinstones" tablets. I mush them up with a spoon and stir it into her yogurt. The taste of the yogurt covers up the taste of the tablets so she eats it fine. Maybe you can try something like that? A suggestion would be to get flavored peach yogurt or strawberry yogurt (they have those baby yogurts now), blend up the tablets or liquid into it and then add on top of that extra blended up strawberries/peaches to cover the taste.
Also, as a last resort..she's 11 months right? I know she is breastfed, mine was too till a month ago (14 months now) and it's hard to give a bottle. Will she try a cup of whole milk? The only other thing I can think of that will cover that taste is chocolate milk. Ovaltine even (lots of vitamins). Perhaps if she drank just a tiny bit of ovaltine from a cup with the iron mixed in she would like that. Good luck!
I put it in milk/formula. This worked for me.
N.,
Iron is a tough thing to take for a lot of people. Try going to a health food specialist ~ Betsy's Health Food on 1960 is one I highly recommend. Take all your daughters health concerns and discuss them. They will be able to find something more agreeable with her and also can help with the acid reflux. They can also give you a pamphlet on foods that are high in iron so that maybe she won't need the supplements as much.
Best of luck ~ I hope you can figure this out for her.
Deborah
Hi there. My 11 month old is on iron and also another vitamin supplement. We live abroad and it's just something they put all infants on at this age. At first, I had the same problem you did, so I would mix it with her cereal and that worked, but she didn't always eat all the cereal, so then I started putting the entire dose or half the dose on her first spoonful of cereal or her first and second spoonfuls since I knew she would eat those. It's been a month and I don't even have to do that anymore. Now she takes it straight from the doser. Hope this helps.
When you make her food, use a cast iron pan. It is a great way to get her iron without having to give her a pill! Good luck!
One thing I give my daughter, which she loves, is pediasure. I buy the vanilla flavor which has extra fiber/iron in it. You may have to wait till your little one can have regular milk, typically at 1 year but may be it is another option besides giving a pill. Just a thought but ask your doctor. Maybe there are other options since she is struggling with keeping the pill down. Maybe a liquid form to mix with milk or juice? Good luck!
My daughter has been on iron since she was born (a premie). It constipates so we give it with prune juice, which she prefers over apple and seems to have a more laxative effect. Good luck!
my daughter hates the iron, and is on reflux med also. i started hiding it in her food. the thing that works the best for us is buying the "yo baby" yougurt with fruit and ceral (more iron than just regular yougurt) and mixing the dropperfull of iron in the yougurt. when i can't find the one with cereal i'll mix the cereal in myself and add 1/4 - 1/2 jar of babyfood fruit also. its the only way she doesn't refuse the iron. also as a side note... 1 cup of cheerios has 100% dv of iron. i do both and shes sure to get at least some iron in her each day. good luck!
Just wondering if your child has Thallesemia type of anemia.
I have it and was diagnosed as a kid with it. Was told to take iron and after seeing a specialist who actually knew something about it, I discovered taking iron supplements was BAD for me. Body doesn't have the capability to absorb it and like other vitamins, can be toxic in high doses.
Just checking to make sure that is NOT the type of anemia your daughter has. Good luck.
try mixing it with orange juice, it will still have a bit of the metal taste but not nearly as bad. Besides the iron will not absorb into the system with out vitamin C. The doctors never tell you that part. good luck, don't give up, Iron is vital in brain development!
My son had this same problem. You need to give it with food. If your baby likes cereal then mix it into the cereal and use apple juice to mix instead of water to help with the taste. My baby never threw up the iron when I did it this way.
We made our baby food and my kids ate spinach from the start which is high in iron. If she doesn't like it, try throwing a sweet potato in when you mix it up and that should do it. Foods high in vit C maximize the iron so mix them that way, good luck!
Try floradix (available at places like Hole Foods0. It is very tasty and an easier on the tummy version of iron. I am certain that she will drink it alone or mixed with juice. I use this for my daughter.
http://www.florahealth.com/flora/home/usa/products/r64771...
One Dr. told my daughter that if she cooks in an iron skillet that some of the iron cooks into the foods. This might work for you it can not hurt to try. Iron pans etc cook hotter so be careful.They will last a life time our great grandparents used them and they are most likely still in use somewhere if not with the family. Also try to find foods that are high in iron and give them to her if possible. Good luck
Hi N.. I had the same problem with my youngest son. At first I could get him to eat babyfood liver, and spinich. I tried foods that are high in iron , because I felt that way was better than the meds. Maybe talk to your ped and see if that would be a good alternative . Also mashed raisens are high in iron. Not whole raisens as they will not digest well and could cause a problem. but Ask your ped first and check it out with them. Good luck Take care
I would also try using a different juice, like white grape juice. It doesn't seem to bother my little ones tummies as much as the apple juice.
my son also had low iron about the same age as your daughter and i used to give him the packaged instant oatmeal. They have lots of different flavors and the extra iron in them really helped. At his next check up his iron level was fine. I gave him one package every morning for breakfast. Also try spinach.. it has a lot of iron. Hope this helps.
