Vitamin D Deficiency is Common Amongst Breast-fed Infants

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, babies that are exclusively breast-fed need to supplement with Vitamin D. Although most agree that “breast is best”, breast-milk only contains very trace amounts of Vitamin D. For grown-ups, its much easier to reach the recommended allowance just by spending a little time in the sunshine. Breast-fed babies, however, need a little help getting 400 IUs daily.

Vitamin D is added to formulas. If you formula feed 27-32 ounces of formula per day, that is sufficient. Younger/smaller babies who are formula fed and not yet consuming at least 27 ounces per day should receive a supplement as well.

There are a number of supplements on the market, especially designed in a liquid form for infants. You can use a dropper, to drop the supplement directly into your baby’s mouth, can add it to a bottle or, my favorite: Dr. Carlson’s Baby Ddrops.

This product is a bit of a revolution in the breast-feeding world. One dose is just a tiny drop, not a whole dropper-full. You can put a drop on your nipple just before a feeding and thats it!