Rice cereal/iron supplements for BFing 10mo?

[BabCNesbitt]

DD is nearly 10 months old and is around the 40th centile for weight. She was EBF until 6mo when we started with baby-led weaning. She's still BFing, but eating lots of fruit and a fair amount of veg, and taking more interest in bread, beans, tofu etc. (We're vegan, but open to offering eggs to her if it becomes an issue. She's got a nut and lentil allergy, but that's another thread!)

Anyway, the pediatrician here (we've recently moved to the US) is insistent that she needs to be eating rice cereal - at least 8 tbsp a day - to stop her becoming anaemic, because "breast milk doesn't have enough iron now". However, I've read that not only is this not necessary, but that iron supplementing could even make it harder for her to absorb the iron from my milk.

So, who's right? (Quite apart from the fact that there's no way I could persuade DD to eat rice cereal from a spoon anyway... )

Babies aged 10 mths do need iron in their diet but I would have thought rice cereal was a poor source of it - unless it is fortified with added iron. Maybe the brand he suggests is.

There are other sources of iron and other cereal foods with iron - maybe ask him for suggestions on other foods, unless you are able to do this research yourself (I bet you are - vegans are usually pretty clued up about diet).

Well iron stores do start to reduce around six months, but ideally she should get the extra iron from iron rich foods. These would included meat normally but, there are alternatives I'd do a bit of research too make sure you are offering her enough iron in her diet. Epically if you are vegetarian.

Another note I do believe a vegain diet isn't totally suitable for very young children. They are not a good at digesting some of the things a can as adults. So I'd look into that as well.

Iron stores do decrease around 6 months however, the iron that is in breast milk is absorbed more by the baby than formula milk (formula companies advertise "added iron" but actually a very small percentage is absorbed by the baby).

I have found leafy vegetables, broccoli and in particular mushrooms are a good source of iron. Apparently, taken alongside calcium such as cheese, yoghurt, helps absorption of iron.

As long as your baby is having a varied diet, I don't see the need to add cereal to their diet unless it is part of it already.

You have followed the same route as me (ebf to 6 months and blw). Dd is now 12 months and eats a bit of everything. I've never supplemented certain foods; just offered her a balanced diet, which is normally whatever we are eating unless we have a yummy takeaway, and she has a quick and easy egg mushroom omelette!
If I were you, I wouldn't change anything.

I'm vegetarian, so iron is something I've focussed on. A lot of baby rice cereals in the UK are fortified with iron amongst other things. You don't have to present them to your baby as goo on a spoon (I have never had much success with goo on a spoon with my babies.). I used to mix baby cereals in with dried fruit and oats and bake into sort of flapjacks. I also used to mix baby rice / cereals with vegetables (i had loads of puree i had made in a fit of enthusiasm pre-weening) that no-one wanted to eat£ and egg (you said you would consider that) and make it into frittata which I cut into finger food slices. Chick peas are a useful source of iron too. Make or but hummus and they can dip steamed broccoli and other veg in (bizarrely my babies have loved broccoli - and then grown out of it again). Eventually my eldest had become a raging carnivore and I'm pretty relaxed as she seems to thrive on her meat heavy diet. I just have no how to cook the stuff.

Yeah, I know about the potential pitfalls of a vegan diet if it's not properly researched, but the American Academy of Pediatrics is OK with a "well-planned" vegan diet, and we're trying to read as much about it to make sure she isn't deprived of any nutrients. Was just wondering about some conflicting information, because the Kellymom site seems to suggest that the doctor's advice wasn't strictly accurate.

Hit reply before I saw last two replies. Thanks for the advice and suggestions! Flapjacks sound like something she'd definitely like, and we often make a kind of frittata with chickpea flour, so we can try adding mushrooms etc to that.

Every time I've been to the pediatrician here, he keeps pressing the point about rice cereal (even when she was only 5 months), to the extent that I'm worried I'll get kicked off his register or reported to social services if I keep telling him I haven't given her the bloody stuff!

Just nod and lie if you think she's getting a good varied diet of the right things, then I'd default my response: "oh yes, that a good idea, I'll try that"