Breastmilk for Dinner Again!

My breastfeeding toddler still isn’t terribly interested in my cooking. She likes all things plain and I like all things anything-BUT-plain. She eats: Rice. Crackers. Apples. Oranges. Cheese. Yogurt. Beans. Tofu. Cucumbers. Celery. Spaghetti. And all things on everyone else’s plate but her own. Even though she doesn’t eat very much (Her meal portions couldn’t get much smaller!) I like that she is eating a few things from each food group. She’s not *just* a carbs kid or *just* a fruit-eating kid. And when I combine the foods in the right ways I know she’s absorbing what she needs. But the girl just can’t get enough of the good stuff. Before and after dinner, and often instead of, she wants her dessert: her Mommy milk.

I’m trying not to get get too concerned. About the lack of foods she eats, that is. She isn’t starving by any means. She’s in the 95th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height. The amazing thing to me is that I’m pretty sure 75% of all that growing must have come from my breastmilk! Okay, genes play a role too. We’re a tall family, but I am sure she breastfeeds more than many children her age, so I know my breastmilk is responsible for a lot of her growth.

My oldest daughter wasn’t too interested in food for quite a while either. I went to a nutritionist more than once to make sure all her nutritional needs were being met. She told me my daughter needed more iron because after six months breastmilk no longer meets a baby’s iron needs. We are vegetarian so she strongly urged me to feed her that iron-fortified baby cereal. I had tried it before with disastrous results, but I bought it again and tried to nicely force it on my daughter. She hated it. It made me wonder, a hundred years ago they didn’t have iron-fortified baby cereal and babies were fine. Weren’t they? I would assume the extended breastfeeding babies were even more fine than their counterparts. Why such a push for it now? We eat mostly whole organic foods in our household so why push a processed food on us? Aren’t all families and babies unique in their nutritional supplement needs?

Here is the “latest” research information on iron in breastmilk as found on Kellymom:

• Healthy, full-term babies have enough iron stores in their bodies to last for at least the first six months. The current research indicates that a baby’s iron stores should last between six and twelve months, depending upon the baby.
• The iron in breastmilk is better absorbed than that from other sources. The vitamin C and high lactose levels in breastmilk aid in iron absorption.
  

  Iron Source	Percentage of Iron Absorbed
  breastmilk	~50 – 70%
  iron-fortified cow milk formula	~3 – 12%
  iron-fortified soy formula	less than 1% – 7%
  iron-fortified cereals	4 – 10%
  cow’s milk	~10%
  Note: The amount of iron absorbed from any food depends greatly upon the milk source of iron (eg, human vs cow), type of iron compound in the food, the body’s need for iron, and the other foods eaten at the same meal.

• Breastfed babies don’t lose iron through their bowels; cow’s milk can irritate the intestinal lining (resulting in a tiny amount of bleeding and the loss of iron).

Despite my vegetarianism I have never been anemic, not even throughout my pregnancy. My first daughter was tested for anemia when she was two and her levels were good too. I chose not to introduce cow’s milk as a substitute for my breastmilk because I didn’t mind nursing her and believe that human milk is much better for our children than another animal’s milk.

So what did I do about my first daughter’s picky diet? I was patient. I tossed out the iron-fortified baby cereal and focused on foods that were natually iron rich. I focused on the fact that her favorite food was beans (still is!) and that she enjoyed some fruits and vegetables and grains, and I mellowed out about the foods she didn’t like and her small portions. I also continued to introduce new foods on a regular basis and coupled iron-rich foods with foods rich in vitamin C for better absorption. I am happy to report my picky eater isn’t too picky anymore. Sure there are a handful of foods she detests, but I was a picky eater as a kid too. And I think most kids outgrow it.

Here is some more information about iron-rich foods that I found particularly helpful being a vegetarian. For more great info on this, again see Kellymom. Oh yeah, and for a nice naturally iron-containing breakfast, try my recipe for Maria’s Secret Oatmeal.

La Leche League recommends that babies be offered foods that are naturally rich in iron, rather than iron-fortified foods. Read more about when to start solids here: Solid Foods and the Breastfed Baby

Foods that are high in iron include:

• breastmilk
• winter squash
• sweet potatoes
• prune juice
• meat & poultry (beef, beef & chicken liver, turkey, chicken)
• mushrooms
• sea vegetables (arame, dulse), algaes (spirulina), kelp
• greens (spinach, chard, dandelion, beet, nettle, parsley, watercress)
• yellow dock root
• grains (millet, brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, breads with these grains)
• blackstrap molasses (try adding a little to cereal or rice)
• brewer’s yeast

High-iron foods to save until the end of the first year or later:

• dried beans (lima, lentils, kidney)
• chili con carne with beans
• tofu
• egg yolks
• grains (cooked cracked wheat, cornmeal, grits, farina, bran, breads with these grains)
• tomato
• dried fruit (figs, apricots, prunes, raisins)
• meat (pork)
• shellfish (clams, oysters, shrimp)
• tuna, sardines

Warning: Some of the foods listed above are not suitable for babies. Dried fruits should not be given to babies under a year old, due to the choking hazard. Also, pork, fish, shellfish, wheat, citrus fruits and eggs are highly allergenic and may not be suitable for babies under a year or who have a family history of allergies. See Suggested ages for introducing allergenic foods for more information.

Iron in the Vegan Diet by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D. also has some great info on iron-rich foods.

See also Iron Content of Common Foods from Dial-A-Dietician

You may wish to give baby foods high in vitamin C along with iron-rich foods, since vitamin C increases iron absorption. Cooking in a cast iron pan also increases iron content of foods. The absorption of iron is also increased by eating green leafy salads or citrus fruits, fruit juices and potatoes (including instant potatoes at meals when consuming iron rich foods).

Here’s a combination to try — Cook brown rice (put in the blender if baby needs a smoother texture) and mix it with stewed iron-containing fruits (apricots, prunes, etc). You can even add a touch of blackstrap molasses for extra flavor and extra iron. See this link for a few iron-rich recipes.

The caffeine/tannin in strong tea, coffee, chocolate and cola drinks interferes with the absorption of iron; avoid having these one hour before and one hour after iron rich foods (this note is for adults and children – none of these things are recommended for babies).

Do you have a picky eater, or were you ever worried about your baby not getting enough iron? Comment and share your story. I’d love to hear from you. And if you liked this post, consider subscribing to my RSS feed.

Related posts:

1. Six (Other) Uses for Breastmilk
2. Monday Musings: Cloned Breastmilk?
3. The Night My 7 Year Old Made Dinner
4. Breastfeeding Moms Don’t Have To Introduce Cow’s Milk

Tags: breast milk, Kellymom, La Leche League, picky eater