help with iron please.

Well okay those of you that saw McKayla at the last Oh baby meet I want your honest opinion.

Do you think that she is pale to the extent of being anemic?

Reason I am asking last time at Plunket they did mention it and they asked if she eat lots of red meat. Which she dont btw. Both me and hubby was really pale complexion babies, plus I am really careful at all times when we go out into the sun.

I did start her on iron drops since Sat as I felt she wasnt eating that well this last two weeks. Now I see they can just do a pinprick test with her to confirm low iron. So why didnt they do it?

Plunket called today to make another appointment and I am just so not in a mood for a fight about the Breastfeeding again. I went and did a search on iron rich food and she basically eat lots of the other stuff that have iron in it except lamb and beef. So she must be getting it in naturally as well.

So what da heck? Insist on a test so we can see if it is normal or what now?

Its been suggested that Ella has low iron stores too, and she is a super picky eater so it is possible, but I have held off doing the test. She is, like McKayla, a very bright and busy energetic little girl and unless she were really obviously anaemic I'm reluctant to have her blood taken.

The main symptoms of low iron are

Lethargy,
Headaches,
Irratability,
Breathlessness when exercising,
Pale complexion

The pale complexion is the only one I can tick off as a constant symptom for Ella, so I'm happy to leave it.
If you can tick off more than 2 or 3 off those for your wee one maybe it is worth doing the test, otherwise I wouldn't worry too much.

Just go with your gut, you know McKayla better than any Plunket nurse does.

You can pull down her lower eyelid and see if it is reddish or paleish too. It's the first check a Doc does for anaemia. Use your colouring (I presume you are similar in skin tone to her) as a guideline.