Vitamin woes

[firelizard8367]

So my pediatrician had us get the liquid vitamins for LO (2.5 weeks old) since we are BF. We have been giving them for about 3 days now, and he HATES them. This morning turned into a crying/screaming match and we still didn't get them all in. Try to take it slow so he won't choke on them, but this whole process ends up taking ~half an hour. Any tips from S+TMS out there?

[somerandomchick]

We only gave vitamin D drops and we used the ones intended for BF babies... that are ONE drop, not a dropper. Since it's one drop, it's intended for you to just put the drop on your nipple before a nursing or on your finger to put in their mouth (or in their bottle if they're drinking formula or EBM, DD ate EBM while I worked)

smile.amazon.com/Carlson-Laboratories-Super-Daily-Supplement/dp/B006J23VO0

Unless there's a special medical need, vitamin D should be the only supplement your baby needs

[casey]

Agreed. Get the Carlson d one drop drops and don't look back. If you are giving enfamil ones, those things are wretched. Carlson's are also cheaper because $10-12 gets you almost a year (vs $5-6/month).

[firelizard8367]

Does this Carlson company have any product controls/guarantees? Dr specifically recommended the Enfamil ones and I am generally leery of vitamin company claims as there is little to no regulation on their content % claims.

[casey]

Feb 12, 2015 8:42:05 GMT -5 firelizard8367 said:

Does this Carlson company have any product controls/guarantees? Dr specifically recommended the Enfamil ones and I am generally leery of vitamin company claims as there is little to no regulation on their content % claims.

They are a legit, mainstream company and widely available. I suspect youll find the most recommended here. If you have questions, you can call to Ask them more specifically: 
www.carlsonlabs.com/p-295-super-daily-d3-for-baby.aspx

enfamil just does a great job getting around to pedi offices with oodles of samples. So many unnecessary additives in them. 

[noname]

Most pedis will recommend the Enfamil brand, probably because it's usually the only one available in stores. We started with the Enfamil vitamin D drops and DD hated them. I hated that I was giving my newborn who had only tasted BM something that was filled with artificial dyes and flavorings. As I did more research, I found a lot of complaints of increased gassiness associated with them, likely from the additives.

I agree with what you're saying about vitamin company claims in regards to no regulations. I'm a pharmacist and am very cautious about what I give my child. But from my personal research the company is reputable and I felt much more comfortable giving my NB one drop with no unnecessary additives compared to a dropperful filled with extra ingredients.

[pooky08]

Another vote for the Carlson drops here. Super easy, minimal ingredients. I just put some on my pinky and give it to him each morning before his first daytime feed.

[vvvvvfee]

yes, yet another vote for the carlson D drops. they have absolutely no taste and you only need 1 drop. the enfamil ones are horrible and have artificial flavors and other additives.

[Deleted]

Feb 12, 2015 8:42:05 GMT -5 firelizard8367 said:

Does this Carlson company have any product controls/guarantees? Dr specifically recommended the Enfamil ones and I am generally leery of vitamin company claims as there is little to no regulation on their content % claims.

Enfamil makes formula primarily not vitamins. Enfamil vitsmins are generally marketed to the dr offices when they give them free formula samples to gain market share. That doesn't make enfamil a great company as much of their marketing strategies are aimed at undermining breastfeeding. Like mailing free samples at a higher rate ato breastfeeding moms often aimed at arriving at moms doorstep on the day if common growth spurts three and six weeks. So I'm not a fan obviously.

There are other brands if one drop vitamin d supplements for babies if you aren't sure about carlsons products. I would start there.

[anotherdreamer]

Another vote for the Carlson drops. The enfamil ones smell awful, I wouldn't even take those. None if my kids would, and I don't blame them one bit. The Carlson drops are tasteless, easy to use, and just one drop. They are also significantly cheaper, another huge plus in my book.

[spacedew]

Our pediatrician never recommended vitamins, but we live in a very sunny place. We have always made it a point to take LO outside for her vitamin D. I completely understand needing the drops in most parts of the world.

[stormygrace]

My pedi recommended the Enfamil ones too. But I actually spoke to my Lactation Consultant who I feel is far more qualified to speak on this particular matter and she recommended I take a D supplement myself on top of continuing my prenatals. She said that should be fine and we haven't had any issues.

[anotherdreamer]

Feb 12, 2015 12:56:43 GMT -5 stormygrace said:

My pedi recommended the Enfamil ones too. But I actually spoke to my Lactation Consultant who I feel is far more qualified to speak on this particular matter and she recommended I take a D supplement myself on top of continuing my prenatals. She said that should be fine and we haven't had any issues.

I'm on high dose Vit D (2,000iu, plus what's in my prenatal) for deficiency, and have my levels re-checked every 6-12 months, but my pedi still recommended giving my twins the drops. I only give it to them a few times a week... I forget a lot... oops.

[jesster88]

Another vote for Carlson drops. They are easier and more cost effective. I found them at whole foods.

[taberbtb]

+1 for the D drops. Like PP's have mentioned it only one drop on your breast or finger so they are super easy to give and LO doesn't really even notice.

[liziz]

This is all good to know, we have not been given the instructions to give vitamin d drops to my EBF LO.

[emmyg65]

Yet another vote for the Carlson drops. We tried the Enfamil ones and my son hated them. I hated that they're loaded with sweetener, artificial coloring and other crap.

[jennlin]

yep. we use carlson.

enfamil vitamins have sugar, alcohol, artificial color, artificial flavor. no thank you.

[somerandomchick]

My pediatrician actually recommended the Carlson ones... probably doesn't hurt that she had an EBF baby only a few weeks before I did though, and so had recently given vitamins to a baby herself

[theresat858]

I agree with what all PP have said about the one drop vitamin D drops.

Evidence suggests that mom really can't take enough vitamin D (without approaching toxicity limits) for enough of it to pass through BM for baby.