Anemia? Really?

We had the little guy's 12 month doctors appointment the day after he turned 13 months old.

Things went well until the needles came out.

Sadly he had to have a kazillion shots and blood work done. A long morning for my little trooper.

This week I got a form letter from the pediatrician saying my son has iron deficiency anemia. WHAT? My kid has a pretty solid diet and I didn't quite understand how he could be anemic. He doesn't act or look anemic. Hmmmm.

I called the doctor's office and asked to speak with someone about the test results. I wanted to understand the severity of the problem. A nurse looked into it for me and called back.

Turns out the "normal" range is 3.95 to 4.96. The little guy's results were 3.94. I was told that if he had eaten banana or drank orange juice that day, it could have thrown his results off. Why yes, in fact, my son had consumed a WHOLE banana the morning of his blood work.

I was told I did NOT have to put him on the "Polyvisol with iron" medication that had been recommended in the form letter.

I don't know, but that seems like pretty slack analysis of his blood work. Not much thought could have been put into it when they automatically threw a form letter in the mail and recommended I put my kid on daily iron medicine for the next 3-6 months.

I was not impressed with the allergist's office last week (blood work indicating my son is not allergic to dairy when he CLEARLY IS), and I am not impressed with the pediatrician's office this week. Any other medical professionals feel like messing around with us?

The experience serves as a reminder that I have to be a constant health advocate for my family. No one else is going to ask the important questions but me. No pressure, right?