Vitamins for Baby While Breastfeeding

Personally I do not give my BF babies vitamins until they wean, well after a year. Google Dr Jack Newman. He has great advise in this area!

My little guy is 8 months next week and is EBF. I've been wondering the same thing. I am pretty nuerotic about making sure that I eat a nutrient rich diet along with supplements, and can't help but think that that is sufficient (I often question the incessesant intervening between mom, baby and nature). I have gotten different answers from different pediatricians, but they all seem to be in support of giving the baby a vitamin supplement - especially D3. I'm still on the fence, however.

I have asked several pediatricians (some are family!) and I EBF my daughter, she still nurses at 13 months at least 3 times a day, and she has never been on vitamins. She is very healthy and no one has said to put her on anything. I take prenatals and eat a very healthy diet. Until she was a year I made all her food - no store bought here either.
Ask you pediatrician to see if your child needs it.

I just want to stress that your baby will get whatever vitamins and nutrients that you get. Continue to take your prenatal vitamins and eat a healthy diet and your baby should have everything they need. I also chose to continue to take probiotics and Expecta while I was pregnant and nursing.

You should ask your pediatrician for their advice on what kind of supplement you may need to provide.

While we, other moms, have good intentions, we all have different children and parenting experiences. Not all breastmilk is the same. Mine was like cream - I had a friend who had to stop because hers had almost no nutritional value. I nursed my first child for a year and never had to supplement my own vitamins for his benefit.

My best advice is to call the pediatrician's office and ask their thoughts: Do you even need a supplement? If so, which one and in what quantity? We had to supplement our son for a little while, we had a prescription (couldn't tell you the name, but it looked like liquid Vegemite).

Here's what the American Academy of Pediatrics has to say on your child's nutrition:
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/f...

The old standard was to tell moms to supplement with iron because breastmilk on its own did not contain the quantity of iron that baby needs. More current research into the real science of breastmilk shows that, while the "quantity" of iron in breastmilk is less than that in iron-fortified formula, the form of the iron is such that it is much more efficiently absorbed by baby's digestive tract. The benefit that baby gets from the "smaller" amount of iron in the breastmilk is typically equal to or greater than that of iron-fortified formula. If you are taking your prenatal vitamins, you are getting plenty of iron. If you aren't taking them, baby is probably better off in the iron department than you are! The only way I would recommend iron supplementation beyond breastmilk is if your pediatrician tells you, not that you should supplement as a blanket statement, but that your baby, based on an actual blood test, is anemic.

I breastfed my son for 18 months, started him on solids at 6 months. I gave him Tri-Vi-Flor with iron after 6 months.

Yes, he will get it! You should still be taking prenatal vitamins since your exclusively breastfeeding (i am too). I buy mine from a wellness company, I Love them because me and my baby benefit so much from them since they have a higher absorption rate than those at GNC or off the shelves!

Both of my kids were/are on Trivisol while bf exclusively. My older was switched to Polivisol at 12 months and still, at over two, takes it three times a week. My three-month-old takes the Tri every day.

When your baby starts having finger foods you can give them Kix cereal, Cheerios and Multigrain Cheerios. They all have added iron. You can also get this information at any WIC clinic. Your milk should be all the baby needs, it is made especially for that baby but you can start giving them soft foods now.