I'm a terrible mother....
I just got back from WIC and they informed me that Lincoln is slightly iron deficient (not all that uncommon for his age apparently) and that he is now no longer on the higher end of the length range but is higher on weight. So apparently I have a short, fat baby who hasn't been getting enough iron! I was told to stop giving him bottles and start making him eat more meat and other things high in iron. I was told to give him eggs, but I've been told NOT to give him eggs until he is two by other sources, so I'm now completely confused!!! (Plus after witnessing Brandon get eggs at 1 year old then being rushed to the ER because he couldn't breathe... I'm a little hesitant to give him those!!)
So, I need your help, people!! What do I feed my baby now that he's 1? What's safe? What's healthy? What's he supposed to be eating?? How many times a day? How much milk is he supposed to be drinking?? (And apparently it all has to come from a sippy cup, not a bottle!) Should he be drinking juice more than milk? How about water? Someone tell me what to do, because he didn't come with an instruction manual and I don't wanna ruin him!!! UGH!!!!
9 comments:
Shan, don't worry about it. They always have to find something "wrong" for you to work on. That way they are doing their job....and I'm being serious!! Those papers we sign??? Tells them we're working on feeding them better!! They told me I give Nehemiah too much milk...and not enough veggies. I say, if that's what he wants...give it to him!
Shan~ You are not a terrible mother! I don't really think there is one fool proof thing to follow. I try to give Adaliah a little of this and that and see what she likes. Someone once told me something that has meant a lot to me....everyone will be trying to give you helpful advice, but God made YOU Lincoln's mother so in the end YOU know best. I am sure you are doing an amazing job!
P.S. I did not mean that we can not ask for or give advice...I just meant that if you ask 10 mothers they may all tell you 10 different things...so try them if you think it will work for Lincoln but in the end....You will know whats best for him. Just wanted to make sure my earlier comment was not misunderstood, because I am VERY new at this mother thing as well and appreciate any helpful advice I can get!
I`m sure you will figure it all out! I told you the few things I could think of over the phone...I try to follow the doctor's guidelines, but Maria and Stephanie are right, you will figure out the best way to go for your own child.
Mostly, the way I have been since Brandon had hat terrible reaction, I keep the Benadryl handy and make sure I have a car when I make them try new foods.
Linky seems fine with everything you have given him so far so he most likely won't be allergic to anything! So try not to worry too much about that! :o)
Hey Shan, when riley was little his iron was really low and he puked up the supplement every time. so i gave him the yo-baby fruit and cereal mix yogurt. its got like 45% of thier dailey iron. his was better at his next check up.
Shan,
Man, they sure know how to make you feel like you don't know what you are doing! As the others have said, I wouldn't let it bother me! I am sure you are a wonderful Mother! And yes,too much advice can become contradictory and confussing.....
That said, it can be kind of hard to know what to feed a baby when they are one! I sometimes scratch my head trying to think of different things to feed Elaina and she's my third kid! ha! I guess mostly because she likes to feed herself and so I tend to pick finger foods she can eat without making too much of a mess!
I don't know if Linky is eating finger foods yet or a mix of both, but there are many different iron foods you can incorporate into his diet. Just look up iron rich foods in a google search for a list of them. Oatmeal, cream of wheat and grits are good sources. Of course, you already know my take on the bottle thing! ha!
From what I have read about the eggs, babies can be allergic to a protin in the egg white so egg whites should be avoided for the first year and if there is a history of this allergy in your family, than up it to 2 years. Usually kids are not allergic to the protin in the yoke and this is where the iron is. The best way to keep the yoke and egg white separated is to boil the egg and then mash up the yoke for your baby. You could try doing that or just skip the egg if it makes you nervouse and what till his 2 to try it.
Also, I have read that even though we may eat enough foods with iron in it, our bodies don't always absorbe it like it should. Vitamin C helps our bodies to absorb iron more efficently. So I would give him some OJ during the day and also feed him kiwi, which has twice as much C in than oranges do! That might help! Some juice is fine, but it is a lot of suger...so water it down quite a bit! Though I don't usually water down OJ.
The bottom line is don't fret it, keep trying different foods, see if he likes to eat more if he can feed himself (finger foods), and keep working with him on the food verses milk issue. He'll be fine! =)
-Laura-
Thanks for the tips, everyone! It IS hard to figure out what they can eat at this age because he doesn't want me to feed him anymore.... he's very independent and that makes it alot harder. (He gets alot of cheese because he likes it and its something I don't have to worry about him choking on!)
Since the appointment I have been giving him lots of broccoli cause that's what they made me eat when I was iron deficient while I was pregnant!! He loves it! (I cook it well and cut it pretty small.)
Put whiskey in his cheerios. It might not do anything for his iron, but it'll cheer him up.
He's already a very happy little guy... I don't think I need to give him alcohol to cheer him up! Nice thought, though.... it explains so much... ;)
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