Iron drops

First, let me say "hi." My b/g twins just turned 1 last Thursday; I'm still in denial. I have a 29 month old also running around the house to keep my life crazy, yet fun.

Last week at their one year appointment, the doctor said that the babies have low iron and to go ahead and give them the drops once a day.
1. Is there any one else who has had to do the same?
2. I bought them at BRU and they were $9 for a small bottle, are they cheaper any where else?
3. Any other things I need to look for concerning low iron?

I'm mostly concerned about my son, he has eczema, and just got back on the growth chart for weight at the 10th percentile.

TIA!

 

:birthday: to your LOs, and :welcome: to you!!!

Congrats on getting your DS on the chart!! My guys are skinny-minnies too; 1 is like 5% and the other not even on, but they're tall and healthy. I understand your concerns, though.

I didn't have to do iron drops, but I'm wondering if you are giving them vitamin drops already. If so, can you just buy the ones that are fortified with iron and save some money? Or do they need extra-extra iron?

I'm lucky because I work for a pharmaceutical wholesaler and can buy vitamins, ibuprofen, and most OTCs at a huge discount. Maybe you could do some online searches and see if you can find multivitamin drops with iron, or the iron drops at cheaper prices than BRU. Watch out for shipping costs, though!

Good luck!

P.S. A woman at work has a 9 month old DS with TERRIBLE eczema and she swears by Cerave cream. She says the dermatologist recommended it and it has worked wonders.

 

My guys had TTTS and my donor twin was quite anemic when he was born so he had to be on iron for his first 6 months. The stuff we gave him was prescription so I don't really know about the cost as far as over the counter is concerned but if they're anything like the prescription ones, I did want to mention one thing in case no one told you yet - IRON DROPS STAIN LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS!
And the stains don't come out, even with bleach. So just a heads up, be careful with them. Also, the ones we had smelled and tasted so bad (not to mention they can cause stomach upset) we had to mix them in formula to get them down - maybe the otc aren't as noxious though.
Sorry, don't mean to sound like iron drops are the end of the world because they certainly aren't, they might just be a little challenging.
Good luck!

 

A couple of things...

I have heard that iron drops may permanently stain their teeth. You may want to check on that.

Give them the drops while they are in the bathtub to avoid any clothing or household objects getting stained. We don't do iron drops but I do keep the liquid vitamins next to the bath tub for when I bath them. Makes no mess that way!

Thirdly..lol When I was low on iron after giving birth a nutritionist came to meet with me about what I could do about the low iron. Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron better. So I don't know if your kids do juice but maybe give some cut up oranges/fruit or juice when you do the vitamins so they absorb better?

I bought their vitamins at Walmart which were cheaper. If you are giving the Enfamil Poly Vi Sol with iron Walmart has it for less and then open the box because inside is a coupon for more $$ off! Wouldn't hurt to check if whatever you are using is cheaper there too.

 

Oh and for the eczema try washing the spots off with head and shoulders shampoo or the generic of it. It cured my son.

 

I have to give my DD Enfamil Poly Vi Sol with Iron since 12 months because her iron is low. I have found it cheaper at Walmart & Target. I mix it in her food for breakfast (cereal, milk, or yogurt). So far I have not noticed her teeth becoming stained but the stuff does stink and if it gets on clothes, the stains are impossible to get out. Both my DS and DD have had mild eczema and we used baby soap & lotion w/out fragrance and covered the dry skin spots with either Aquaphor or petroleum jelly. Good luck.
PS: :welcome: to SY and :birthday: to your twins!

 

1st thank you for all the warm welcomes and all the information.

I didn't see just iron drops, so I did get the ones you all listed, and I will definitely be checking out Walmart and Target. The doctor suggested that we put it in juice (which we water down) because of taste, and we have and they are loving it.

I would try the OJ, but dd is still on reflux meds and ds just got off of them in the past couple of weeks.

Eczema - we do have dermasmooth from the doctor and any time he gets a spot here and there we'll put it on, and we use Aveeno wash and lotion. He just gets random little flair ups or spots, but when he was an infant he had much more.

 

i have my girls on the target brand of poly-visol, i think it was about $6, and they LOVE taking medicine so they open wide and i just squirt them in the back of their mouths with the dropper, to try to avoid teeth staining. i also give them something to drink right after and brush their teeth.