my son had his 4 month check up yesterday and the doc said to start giving him vitamins and flouride...?

Question

where do i find flouride and what form is it in (powder or liquid). is nursery water with flouride okay to use?

as far as the vitamins go... are they in liquid or powder form and how much did you give your baby? how long did your bottle of vitamins last and when do you stop giving your baby vitamins?

sorry i had to ask, but when my son got his first shots they told us to give him some infant tylenol beforhand but the bottle didn't say how much i should give to a newborn. my doc's office wasn't open yet so i came on yahoo answers to see if you all knew. i called the doc on the drive to his office and your info was the same the doc said.

Answer 1

They shouldnt be telling you to give him vitamins unless they tell you what kind and how much and where to get them.

Iron over doses are the number one poison killer in children under three years of age. And those over doses are caused by vitamin drops and chewables. In fact, MOST doctors, unless after blood work, will NOT have you give them to your child, and will usually tell you to stop if you are.

Floride poisoning is also a concern, and its fallen out of practice in the past 5 years after extensive studies have shown it does more harm and good, especially in infants.

I would HIGHLY suggest you get a new doctor. If theyre not telling you when and how much and what kind, thats a serious issue. But the fact alone that they told you to use vitamins and floride tells me they are not current in their studies and practices, which means your child is not getting good care.

Answer 2

I never did baby vitamins... my doctor never mentioned them, and when I asked once on my mother's prompting, my ped said they were only needed if there was a sign of some sort of deficiency... that most full term, healthy, breastfed OR formula fed babies do not need it. After the first birthday some kids do because they're not nursing or having formula and their diets can be limited, but at 4 months either your milk or your formula brand should have everything your baby needs. Ask your doctor why he said your baby needs vitamins? If there is a reason, please do give them... but if it's just for kicks, then evaluate yourself if you think your baby need them.

And we used tap water w/ a filter... so there's enough flouride in it to not need any extra. I'd do that baby water if you don't trust your local city water (or have a well), or one of the baby toothpaste w/ a little flouride in it -, I would not just give her some.

Answer 3

If you live in an area where your water comes from a well it will not have flouride in it like water in cities does. Your doctor should have prescribed flouride for you. Your doctor should also have been very clear on the type and amounts of any kind of medicine or vitamins for your baby. I agree you might want to find a better doctor.

Answer 4

Your doc should have given you info on the best ways to give your son the flouride and the vitamins. One good to check in on the flouride, is to figure out what kind of water you use in your home. Where I'm from, the county adds flouride to our drinking water, so it's already in there.

Answer 5

Go to your pharmacy and ask the pharmacist ... they make liquid vitamins with flouride for infants, but may not keep it 'out' where people can reach it, because most of it needs to be refrigerated or kept cooler than 'on the shelf' ...
But WHY didn't your doctor give you a prescription for your son? My kid's doctor ALWAYS gave me prescriptions for everything my child needed until the kid turned 4. Maybe it was because we were in a university clinic, but I would think it would be 'normal' for any pediatrician to 'care' about the babies they take care of to provide a prescription and also to give you 'dosage directions' that are easily understood.

Answer 6

These are questions you should ask your childs dr before leaving the office. My youngest child is 9 now so I am a little out of the loop but most vitamins are in a dropper vial. And if you look close enough Tylenlol does have newborn directions on it. Im looking at one now....unless you didnt have the baby drops Tylenlol.

Answer 7

at 4 months your baby can have 8mm of the infant drops ( up to the #8 on the syringe)

Infant nursing water (the one with the pink top) is perfect for flouride. you can give it to him alone or mix it in his formula or cereal.

i've never personally had a pediatrician tell me to give my baby vitamins at this age....maybe when he got older with the flinstones, but i was never told to give it to a baby this young.

if you want, your baby can eat the first stage baby foods now. he can get his vitamins naturally from carrots/ applesauce/ peas and other first stage baby foods (give him nursing water in bottle when he's eating)

remember to start him off with his first stage foods one week at a time on each new foods to look for any allergic reactions :-)

Answer 8

Giving vitamens and supplements to infants is an old and outdated practice. Most formula will have the vitamins he needs and as long as you are eating healthy if you are breastfeeding he will get all the vitamins he needs from that.

Answer 9

I dont believe fouride is naturally in water america adds it to the city water supply if you drink from well or buy bottled you get NONE!SO,becareful on the one girls statement.You can buy bottled water with it in it.In little bottles for kids Ive seen that.But my hubbys dentist and too much is not good.But with soo many kids not really drinking too much flouride water i dont think its problem.You can also when he gets little older buy the flouride rinse.

Answer 10

Artificial flouride is extremely bad for you. It weakens your teeth and bones. It can also cause cancer. Natural flouride is what is good for you. It naturally is in water.