Should I use follow on milk for a vegetarian baby?

[doireallyneedaname]

Just that really. He’s 7 months on First Infant. I’d read follow on milk is a bit of a con so didn’t intend to, but as we are raising him vegetarian I’m starting to wonder if the extra iron in follow on milk wouldn’t hurt. He has plenty of lentils, beans & greens but apparently the iron from those isn’t absorbed as well as meats.

Anyone been in this situation?

[June628]

If it’s that hard I’m surprised it’s not recommended to give them an iron supplement 🤔 I have found some for babies but wouldn’t feel happy giving it without speaking to someone I think

[AlreadyGone44]

The presence of calcium makes iron harder to absorb, so you're probably better off with a age appropriate iron vitamin if you're worried about iron intake. Serving a source of vitamin C with your vegetable sources of iron will help absorption.

[AlreadyGone44]

But as per PP I'd seek medical advice on giving iron at this age.

[doireallyneedaname]

Well is normal for breastfed babies to be given an iron supplements starting at 6 months.

I’m considering speaking to a baby nutritionist/dietician to see what they say about it - I’ll report back if I do!

[Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel]

@Thesuzle office

[polkadotpixie]

My son is also vegetarian from birth except for the fish oil in formula (we did try him on Kendamil but it was too rich and aggravated his reflux)

We stayed on first milk and gave him these Wellbaby vitamins from 6 months. He takes it straight from the syringe and it contains iron

[Rubyroost]

@doireallyneedaname there's a Facebook group-thechildrensnutritionist, she's there to sell her services, but she also answers any queries and is quite in depth. You could join up there, I think you'd get a reasonable and quick answer

[June628]

@doireallyneedaname ohh fantastic, please report back if you find something out.
For lunch we had kidney beans with spinach with sprinkled sesame seeds on top 😂 It’s like I was chanting “iron iron iron” in my head haha!

[doireallyneedaname]

Haha! Not much different to us then! Yesterday I made a ridiculous concoction including kidney beans, spinach AND lentils. He loved it!

[doireallyneedaname]

Thank you!

[doireallyneedaname]

I’ll have a look, thank you

[TigerQuoll]

For those reading the thread that aren't veggie and wondering about how to get their baby to eat meat when most won't like the texture - when my sister was weaning my niece she used to have t-bone steaks for dinner a lot, and eat most of it but leave a cm or so of meat around the bone. Niece could hold the bone and wave it around, and suck on it. She would mostly just suck on the juices but managed to gnaw off a surprising amount of meat with just a tooth or two.

[June628]

@doireallyneedaname

Haha! Not much different to us then! Yesterday I made a ridiculous concoction including kidney beans, spinach AND lentils. He loved it!

Haha good job!
Have you seen the Little Veggie Eats weaning book? It’s got some good stuff
in there & most of it quite quick & easy to make.

[doireallyneedaname]

I have, I was recently recommended it :) I started Ready Brek this morning and stuffed extra spinach into his dinner too. He’s teething and has a cold so is refusing quite a few of his bottles, adding to the vitamin + iron worry! Bloody babies, but I should probably get used to this as I’ll be worrying about him for the rest of my life

[doireallyneedaname]

Right, so by some luck a children’s dietician I follow was doing a Q&A on Instagram so I asked the question. Answers attached. I also looked up the iron requirement for babies again and it seems although some websites say 11mg, that appears to be incorrect which makes much more sense - see here

www.srnutrition.co.uk/2018/10/mum-and-baby-how-much-iron-should-we-have

[doireallyneedaname]

Now I don’t know if I should be giving him fortified Ready Brek 😳

[ToxicTracey]

Missing the point of the thread entirely but how is follow on milk a con? I know they're 99.9% the same as first formula but they're cheaper/can go on offer/can get boots points on them.

[June628]

Thank you very much for updating! I’ve definitely seen 11mg somewhere too so it’s not just you. Really doesn’t help when everything says something different does it? I give mine ready brek for breakfast but she’s bf so not getting the addition from formula. I think a tablespoon only gives you 1.8mg iron anyway so I don’t think you can go too wrong giving it!

[Melassa]

My teen is veggie from birth, never had a problem with iron. You can add bits throughout the day, don’t think you need to get your daily dose from one food/meal. Like you, I was concerned about iron at the time, but really it seems more daunting than it is.

What worked for us at weaning stage:
Ground up nuts and/or seeds stirred through porridge or in cakes/breads. These also boost consumption of healthy fats which are needed for brain development.
Molasses for sweetening (we had a no added sugar rule when tiny, but a small spoonful of molasses stirred in porridge or used in place of sugar in cakes didn’t make things excessively sweet). I used to make a banana bread and carrot cake using molasses and ground nuts and seeds and it was lovely and moist.
Lump iron rich foods together in meals as much as possible, eg. omelette with parsley, lentil Dahl with leafy greens, broccoli risotto with broad beans.
Where possible keep your dairy meals separate as it inhibits absorption of iron. It’s not the calcium per se - many iron rich foods are also rich in calcium, eg. Leafy greens, cauliflower etc., the problem is dairy. This may not always be possible but for eg. give water to drink and not milk with meals, give cheese in separate meals.
Ensure fresh vitamin C rich foods are consumed with your iron rich meals, so fresh fruit with breakfast, tomatoes or salad or lightly steamed veg with main meals, or fresh fruit for dessert.
In general, wholemeal is more iron rich than white, so go for wholemeal as much as possible.

I hope this helps. As they get older and can eat more you can relax the rules a bit, but when they’re tiny every spoonful counts so it does help to concentrate as many nutrient dense foods as possible.

[Rubyroost]

@doireallyneedaname that sounds more doable certainly. I don't think it's just veggies though as babies and toddlers generally don't like the texture of meat. I need to start giving my toddler raisins and dried apricots tho.

[Rubyroost]

Oh and why wouldn't you give reddy brek. Deffo do and serve with a mango puree as its non haem and not so well absorbed. The vit c will help absorption

[Letsallscreamatthesistene]

Kendamil is made with whole milk 🙂