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Premature birth

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Original poster

ack. gah... we've just realised that we've been forgetting to give dd her vits for MONTHS. [bad parents]

17 replies

AitchTwoOh · 16/07/2009 18:40

and even before then lord knows how much she was getting cos she HATES the syringe (i'd say it's the only legacy of her being prem, funnily enough).

anyway, tell me why i should start giving them again. they stink and all her (and my) clothes were getting ruined. i can't give them to her in the bath cos i don't give her a bath every day.

AND ANYWAY SHE JUST SPITS THEM OUT.

gah.

OP posts:

claireybee · 16/07/2009 18:44

Hmm my HV told me I had to give ds vitamins because he was bf past 6 months and I only remembered for about a week...no ill effects here (but he wasn't prem)

Original poster

AitchTwoOh · 16/07/2009 18:57

i think it's the prem thing that's the kicker, cos they've missed out on those last weeks of vit storage... but we just haven't done it tbh, what with one thing and another.

we got signed off from the hospital, dd is lovely and chubby and active, but the doc did ask me about the vits and i told her the truth more or less and she gave me a row.

today i got two scripts through the post from my gp for the vits and folic acid and a note to tell me to make sure i was giving them to her until 14mos. but she haaaaaates them and i haaaaaate giving her them.

dh was prem, lower birth weight more prem, he doesn't seem to have been damaged by no vits.

please can someone come and justify my laziness? or a doc explain why she must deffo be vit deficient right now?

OP posts:

ihavenosecrets · 16/07/2009 19:03

claireybee, why would bf past 6 months mean that you have to offer vitamins? That would suggest that bf is inferior to ff would it not?

Northernlurker · 16/07/2009 19:14

No idea about the science but - does she eat a good diet now? Sounds like it - if so I would be inclined not to push it - you could try hiding them in some food she likes but otherwise if she doesn't want to co-operate then does the benefit outweight the strain on you all? If she is well - and sounds like she is, then I would say probably not.

Northernlurker · 16/07/2009 19:16

Oh and with dd1 I was told to give vitamins if continuing to breastfeed - I tried, she didn't like them and that was that. With the others it wasn't mentioned - different health visitor - and yes I do think it (wrongly) implies breastfeeding is inferior.

claireybee · 17/07/2009 12:52

Yes it would, and I didn't really think there was any reason to give him them (he was eating well and so was I) which is probably why I forgot so easily! When I asked her why he needed them she said that iron and vits supply decreases after 6 mo but then the vits she gave me didn't contain iron anyway!

jellibob · 17/07/2009 20:27

Hmmm, I have prem twins, 9 months old, one has been prescribed vitamins and folic acid, and one hasn't...

Have an appointment with the dietician next week, so will ask about it then and report back.

Bobo23 · 17/07/2009 20:49

Oh GOD the BLOODY SYTRON and the BLOODY DALIVIT GAHHHHH! My prem DS is now 6 months and we have basically had to give up on them because he will not take them - not through the syringe, not in EBM no siree no. I'm including a bit of meat and apricots in his diet to make up for that...

jellibob · 17/07/2009 21:13

I trick the twin that has the vitamins (Abidec) by giving it to him in a syringe half way through his bottle. He seems to quite like the folic acid.

I make them beef casserole to try to give them more iron, and tried lentils today, but only one ate them (luckily the one not having the vitamins!)

Only the one on vitamins has been referred to the dietician - no idea why - so I'll take them both and see if what light they shed on vitamins.

Damn I sound like a mean mummy!

Original poster

AitchTwoOh · 17/07/2009 23:12

i would love it if you would, jellibob, i just cannot get her to take the vits and i'd love to make an app with the gp to go through it but with swine flu on the go now is not the time i feel. i just cannot be arsed with the arsing dalivit, it's mostly that. i mean, that stoopid formula she drinks is packed full of vits surely? i thought that was the whole point, that they were pissing more out than they could keep in?

OP posts:

GeorgeTheSlitheen · 20/07/2009 14:18

Ds started refusing them at about 6 months so we've stopped too. I think that was when he realised he wasnt obliged to swallow them so he'd spit them all over me and my cream sofa !

I try and make sure he has plently of green veg in his purees to make up.

I seem to remember DD decided about the same time that she'd had enough too and she's 5 now and mahoosive so clerly never been deficient of anything in her life !

jellibob · 21/07/2009 21:47

Went to see the dietician today, and asked her about non-vitamin twin, and whether she should be having them, as she was as prem as vitamin twin. (They are 9 months actual age).

Dietician said that she didn't need them, as vitamins were only necessary if BF or mixed feeding, or prem baby on term formula. Vitamin twin was on Pregestamil, a term formula because he had liver problems.

Non-vitamin twin was on Nutriprem 2 until about 7 months, and now on normal formula, feeds well and is gorgeously chubby. Vitamin twin is catching up.

Jenbot · 28/07/2009 15:54

I was told to stop the folic acid and dalivit at 6 months, but forgot and carried on til 11 months, and was told to stop the iron at one, but stopped at the same time as the other stuff

I'm sure they spit most of it out anyway to be honest.

Upwind · 09/08/2009 12:25

My tiny IUGR DD was eventually born seven months ago at 37+0. She has been exclusively given breastmilk since she was able to feed without her NG tube at 5 days old.

Nobody ever said anything to us about vitamins. I am gutted now to realise that she should have been having them.

Upwind · 09/08/2009 12:28

Sorry - my point was meant to be that these cut offs are arbitrary. My DD was deprived of nutrients in utero and prem by my dates but no vitamins advised by paed.

If formula fed, I don't think it would be so much of a worry as they are still getting plenty of vitamin D, A, iron etc...

helsbels2007 · 09/08/2009 16:49

hi, don't know if it helps, but we give our prem baby his vits by squeezing the syringe into a teat - he gulps it down. but I'm based in malta, and they have not prescribed folic acid. anyone know why you have to have it?

mrspnut · 09/08/2009 16:59

My now 12 year old was 5 weeks prem and also had IUGR. She only weighed 4lb7oz and we had to give her extra build up powder for the first year but no extra vitamins.

She's now very tall, very healthy and there is no lasting effect of her slow start so I really wouldn't worry about something so small. A balanced varied diet is much more important than stressing about a syringeful of vitamins.

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