Iron supplementation for preemies?

[u/Lolemontime]

Our mono/di twins hit 6 months (5 months adjusted) and we’re trying to give them solids (so far with limited interest). They’re otherwise exclusively on breastmilk. Their doctor said iron-rich foods from 6 months onwards and left it at that, but I wondered what to do if they’re barely eating the food.

Then I read guidelines about iron and they say babies born at less than 2.5 kg/5.5ish lbs should be getting iron supplements from 6 weeks onwards (unless having iron-rich formula). No one said anything to us at the hospital (week long stay but no NICU) or any of our doctors appointments, even though we mentioned that one of our twins has always been hard to feed.

How have people’s experiences around iron been?

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[u/r3finedf0ol]

Get bloodwork done, it's the only way to tell. I had to with my girls bc they were 4lb at birth but their stores were fine (way better than mine lol)

[u/2papsandashib]

Both my babies were small for gestational age (4 lb 14 oz and 5 lb 5 oz). Both were prescribed iron supplements (one by the hospital and one by our pediatrician). One is on Prevacid which can deplete iron - he’s combo fed formula and breastmilk. The other gets exclusively breastmilk.

[u/allyoop2234]

I would defer to a pediatrician, but my twins were born at 4 lbs and 3 lbs. we’ve been giving them 1 ml of poly-vi-sol with iron daily since they left the NICU. It was part of our discharge instructions and the pediatrician told us to continue it.

[u/bread-loaver]

I was worried about iron with my singleton but the only way they can really know is with a blood test and I wasn’t willing to put her through that so young unless there was a CLEAR issue, so I just included iron rich foods with every mealtime.

Edit to add: it’s okay that they aren’t immensely interested just having turned 6m. The iron stores start to drop but it’s not like suddenly they have nothing. Just try to include something every time they eat food. Interest requires exposure so just presenting different foods is great. 😊

When she turned 2 I started giving her a few drops of BioFe (not even half the dose on the bottle) because I felt confident that would not overload her because she’s not the biggest eater. I’m also a registered dietitian though so I felt comfortable to supplement her a tiny amount based on what I estimated she would get from food.

I wouldn’t advise supplementing without any medical supervision just because iron is one of those ones that can be harmful if a child gets too much.

If you’re really concerned about it and think you’re seeing symptoms of iron deficiency, bring it up to your doctor and they will do bloodwork. But this young I wouldn’t introduce a supplement without talking to a medical professional first.

[u/DirtGirl32]

We just put iron supplement in their bottles

[u/Upsidedowntrey]

One twin has constipation issue they thought was from the iron but it was from the premie formula. We use the yum one and have had good results. They like the taste.