Vitamin Question

[DebbieF]

I have a call into the pediatrician, but in the meantime I will ask you ladies.

I am still taking my prenatal vitamin and the pediatrician recommended that we start her on a liquid vitamin (poly-vi-sol + iron) So my question is.... Will this cause her an overdose on the vitamins? I'm not sure how many vitamins pass through my breastmilk to her. This may be a dumb question so I apologize in advance.

 

[Brieanna]

Before you give your baby that vitamin I really recommend you do some research on it (and other infant vitamins). It is full of artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and other nasty things which is completely opposite from what most breastfeedeers want their babies to have.

As long as you eat healthily and take your vitamins, your baby is getting what she needs.

My pediatrician said that vitamins are not necessary in breastfed babies until after 6 months because the baby gets everything she needs from you. Kellymom.com has lot of information too https://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/vitamins/

If you live in a more northern state then you may want to give vitamin d, which you can get by itself called "d drops". You put a drop on your nipples and it is tasteless and doesn't have anything artificial. https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Ddrops%C2%AE-400-IU-drops/dp/B003CT36NE/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I am not saying to disregard your doctor and everyone has differing opinions but I know I felt better researching myself about everything that I put in my baby.

 

[summer rain]

What she said. Also please don't give iron to an EBF baby unless they were prem as it can actually be harmful. It replaces the iron stores and the iron in breastmilk which is a type of iron that cannot be utilised by harmful bacteria whereas with artificial iron it can be utilised by harmful bacteria. This is one reason why most governments and advisory bodies don't routinely advise iron supplements for BF babies like they used to in the past. Prem babies are a different matter as they are born without any iron stores xx

ETA: in the UK unless a baby is prem or has a medical condition, vitamin drops for babies are not advised before 6 months and we are more 'northern' than most of the US

 

[DebbieF]

Thank you for your responses. I live in Pennsylvania and it is SOO cold right now so she is getting very little sunlight. Will she get sufficient vitamin D with sunlight coming in through a window? This pediatrician is totally pro breast-feeding so I am kind of stumped right now as to why he is recommending the vitamins. She is totally healthy and was not premature..

 

[FAB mama]

As for the prenatal vitamins, it's my understanding that they are recommended for breastfeeding mothers so I wouldn't worry about that.

Our pediatrician put LO on vitamins at 6 months (A, C, D and fluoride). It's a prescription, not over the counter. I didn't research preservatives, etc, but I guess I should. At 9 months he checked his iron levels and it was low so he added iron to the vitamins. He checked again at 12 months and it's still a little low so he's still on the ones with iron. I hope that helps. 1 month does seem early from what I've read. I don't think they are recommended until 6 months.

Also, my DH is very cautious about overusing vitamins so I don't give them every day. LO hates the drops anyway. I still take prenatals when I remember to.

 

[DebbieF]

After doing some of my own research I have decided to stop giving her the multivitamins and just give her the vitamin D drops. Thank you for opening my eyes ladies.

 

[summer rain]

No worries. Something to be aware of with vitamin d is it is stored in the liver for up to three years, so if you're getting adequate d intake during the summer months, especially if it's from sunshine this should be plenty for the winter months too. Another thing is, just like iron babies are born with stores of vitamin D unless their mother is severely deficient. Again the exception to this would be babies born before 32 weeks as vit D stores are built up in the last two months of pregnancy xx