DX low iron in 1 yr old.

[KatieJ]

My DIL told me today that a WIC nurse has DX her 12 month old as low in iron. She (DIL) is just pregnant again and nursing only twice a day, so baby is now on some whole milk a couple of times a day.

 

I don't hold a ton of stock in WIC diagnosis, but thought I would ask here if anyone has suggestions for upping the iron in a 12 month old diet. She is eating table food as well as commercially prepared baby food.

Nurse said to increase red meat. (Organic grass fed beef is what their red meat is, plus some ham probably).

 

 

Any thoughts?

[In The Great White North]

Did nurse do a blood test?

[Runningmom80]

My DD was low at 12 months. We had to do drops, and increase iron if possible. Your DIL can get iron fortified cereal for her to munch on.

[Erica in OR]

We got told the same thing for one our 12 month old twins at our WIC appointment this month. They do a finger prick on them at that age; I think it was the first time they tested their iron.

 

If she's doing baby cereal, that has iron in it. I agree with a previous poster—look for iron-fortified cereal for snacking. Maybe do a search for "iron rich foods" and see what could be integrated into baby's diet a little more. We cook in cast iron and that's supposed to help contribute some. The WIC staff person said not to worry about it too much at this point—although it wasn't drastically low.

 

Erica in OR

[happypamama]

I think that's not necessarily uncommon in babies who have decreased their consumption of breastmilk but who may or may not be eating a lot of solid foods (especially meats -- lots of iron, but often hard for 1yo's to chew) yet. I probably wouldn't worry too much at this point, but I'd probably try to increase iron-rich foods (and vitamin C-rich foods as well, which helps with iron absorption).

[KatieJ]

Yes, a finger poke blood test was done. They did up her cereal allowance and she is going to incorporate that more. Nurse did tell her to get her some iron drops, however, since she has had issues with constipation in the past, that is not something she wants to do.

Nurse said if you can figure out how to get her to eat spinach , that would be great.

 

I was really wondering if that was kind of normal for this age because they have a wonder Ped Dr. and he would certainly be testing for it if he thought it was necessary. They have an appointment with him in a few weeks and will check in with him and see what he has to say.

Thanks.

[Runningmom80]

Yes, a finger poke blood test was done. They did up her cereal allowance and she is going to incorporate that more. Nurse did tell her to get her some iron drops, however, since she has had issues with constipation in the past, that is not something she wants to do.

Nurse said if you can figure out how to get her to eat spinach , that would be great.

 

I was really wondering if that was kind of normal for this age because they have a wonder Ped Dr. and he would certainly be testing for it if he thought it was necessary. They have an appointment with him in a few weeks and will check in with him and see what he has to say.

Thanks.

 

 

 

Actually, spinach isn't the greatest. There is debate about this, but some believe there is a chemical in spinach that actually prohibits the abosrption of iron. (I am recently anemic too, so I've been researching this a lot lately.) That being said, it's probably a mute point because most 1 year olds aren't the biggest fans of spinach. :)

 

Iron fortified cereals, red meat, brocoli, edamame actually has a lot of iron, cooking in cast iron, etc. I think it is relatively normal at this age. My DD was fine by 18 months.

[Tammyla]

Cream of wheat has a lot of iron, and lots of little ones will eat it.

[prairiewindmomma]

My preemie was born before my body could transfer mineral stores for her.....her neonatologist recommends poly-vi-sol with iron liquid drops. The taste is awful...we mix it with a bit of breast milk to make it palatable, but it was very effective in bringing up her iron levels.

[twoxcell]

They do a finger prick at WIC and my younger two have had low iron with those a couple of times. It really did not concern me at all but my kids weren't super low. If she is worried about it I think it would be best to address it with her Doctor. The WIC counselors are not Medical Doctors and can not DX anything. I have no idea how accurate a finger prick could be anyways. I was told to give my ds something high in iron at the same time as something high in vitamin C. Also not to give dairy close to iron because it reduces the iron absorption.

[happypamama]

Also, at least with lead draws, I believe that the finger prick is not as accurate as a venous draw. I would ask your doctor if the same is true for iron.

[Annie]

As it gets to be warmer, watermelon is a fairly good source of iron, and my one year old loved it when I cut it into fingers for him to munch on. If she finds some high iron fruits and veggies, she could try blending them into a smoothie or making smoothie popsicles.

[Arcadia]

I was really wondering if that was kind of normal for this age because they have a wonder Ped Dr. and he would certainly be testing for it if he thought it was necessary. They have an appointment with him in a few weeks and will check in with him and see what he has to say.

Thanks.

 

 

My failure to thrive (FTT) boy had venous draw to test a multitude of things at 9 months. He was put on prescription iron drops and vitamin drops. The pediatrician ordered venous draw for him for 10 months and 12 months until he was out of the low iron zone.

Pediatricians won't normally order a blood draw for a well baby checkup unless baby is FTT or have other issues. Insurance would not pick up the tab unless there is a "valid" reason. Insurance paid for all my boy's blood draws since he went off the charts in weight.

[Samiam]

Stop the milk! Calcium in the milk blocks iron absorption. I'd cut back on that if possible. Also keep in mind , iron drops are thought to cause teeth yellowing, even if the teeth have not erupted, so be careful of that .

[boscopup]

My oldest was a 29 weeker and didn't get all my iron stores at birth (and I had plenty - the nurse and the doctor both commented day after the birth that my iron levels were really good for someone who HADN'T just given birth! Thank you, alfalfa! I used to tend toward borderline anemic). He was diagnosed anemic at 9 months, and the doctor was surprised that he didn't LOOK as anemic as he was. She prescribed the Fer-In-Sol drops, but that stuff bound DS up so bad. He couldn't even do baby rice cereal with synthetic iron in it. It would constipate him.

 

So... I asked my midwives (who unfortunately didn't get to deliver him, since he had other ideas ;) ), and one owns an herb shop. She recommended Tri-Iron by Tri-light Herbs. She called the company to get a dosage recommendation for DS. It ended up being 2 drops per day, IIRC. I tried that, and lo and behold. His iron was up to borderline at the next check, and when I told the doctor what I was using (and why), she said, "Well, it's definitely working, so keep using it!" :D The stuff also didn't taste bad. I could stick it on a spoon of anything mushy, and he didn't seem to notice it.

[Chris in VA]

I would watch his milk consumption, too (not breast milk--that's fine), along with the other posters' recommendations. It's common to see low iron in kids that drink a lot of cow's milk, tho I don't know the real stats on that and just how much is "a lot" probably varies from kid to kid.