Baby & Toddler Vitamins | Hellobee

I?ve never been the type of person to take vitamins and supplements, especially since I have a hard time swallowing pills. The only time I?ve really been good about taking vitamins was when I was took prenatals during pregnancy. But now that I have kids, vitamins and supplements have become a daily way of life for our family.

Both Charlie and Olive take several different types of vitamins and supplements each day:

Vitamin D?- The American Academy of Pediatrics?recommends that breastfed babies receive a daily vitamin D supplement (exclusively formula-fed babies do not need one), and both Charlie and Olive received Carlson?s Vitamin D Drops (our favorite brand) shortly after they came home from the hospital. As they got older, I got lazy about administering it, and Charlie hasn?t taken vitamin D for a while. But both Mr. Bee and I recently got a physical and found out that we were both very vitamin D deficient. It was probably contributing to our fatigue, and wasn?t just related to chasing around two little ones! In fact most people who live in colder climates are vitamin D deficient. So I started?re-administering daily vitamin D ? the baby version for Olive and the kid version for Charlie ? because it boosts your immune system, and may reduce the severity of respiratory viruses (which both Charlie and Olive have suffered in the past). I add one drop to a piece of food like a raisin every evening and give it to them during bathtime. Mr. Bee and I also take a daily vitamin D supplement now too. Cold season is long here in New York, so we want to take as many preventative measures as we can!

Multivitamin ? Once Charlie turned 2, we started giving him 2 Lil Critters multivitamins a day. He views them as a treat because they?re gummi bears after all. Mrs Wagon wrote a great post about how she uses these gummis to make lollipops for her son. Charlie was a really picky eater when we started giving him these multivitamins, and although it would be ideal for him to get all the necessary vitamins and minerals from his diet, I felt better knowing that he was filling some of the gaps in his diet with a daily multivitamin. We haven?t started giving Olive a multivitamin yet because she?s still nursing, but I want to start since she is far pickier and thinner than Charlie ever was.

Probiotics ? We started giving Charlie powdered probiotics mixed into his milk when he had issues with constipation. I also gave some to Olive when I was taking antibiotics for mastitis so that we wouldn?t develop thrush. Metagenics is the brand we?ve always used because it?s what was recommended to me by multiple nutritionists. It is a little pricey and can be a little difficult to find since they need to be refrigerated, but there are online stores that carry them. I mix some powdered Metagenics Ultraflora Advanced probiotic into Olive?s water because she also battles constipation issues (I try to take it too but don?t always remember), and I give Charlie a Metagenics Ultraflora Children?s chewable probiotic. I also try to sneak in probiotics into their diets anywhere I can. The kids get pickles every day because they love them (they should be brined in salt water and not vinegar for the probiotic benefits), I give them washed kimchi and put it into soups, and I give them kefir, which has 3 times the probiotics of yogurt.

Fish Oil ? The nutritional philosophy that we most identify with is?Weston A. Price, and they suggest daily cod liver oil for everyone.?Fish oil has a long history as a nutritional supplement because it has high levels of EPA, DHA, vitamin A, and vitamin D. The Green Pasture brand is supposed to be the best because it?s made with fermented fish oil, but it is also has a very fishy taste and I knew that wouldn?t fly with my kids. So I picked up some Carlson for Kids fish oil, and Charlie gobbles it up. Olive is not a fan (of most things), but I just put the fish oil in a syringe that comes with children?s ibuprofen or acetaminophen, and she doesn?t mind eating it. I found that giving fish oil daily gave the kids a fishy smell! But a surprising side effect has been that both Charlie and Olive have had less problems with constipation since starting the fish oil. We?ve tried everything from being gluten-free, dairy-free, probiotics, Miralax, etc. to combat constipation, so I?m glad that something natural is having a positive effect.

I?m certainly not a medical health professional, so please talk to your own doctor before making any decisions about vitamins and supplements for your family.

Do you give your little ones any vitamins and supplements?

ed note: The information on this site is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and is for education purposes only. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Source: http://www.hellobee.com/2013/04/02/baby-toddler-vitamins/

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