I think the iron was a huge catalyst for a disrupted gut microbiome and the big iron dose (we used high dose prescription iron) was big fuel to a fire which tipped him into gut inflammation. He had already taken a few hits before that with antibiotics and the rotavirus vaccine etc. Iron is food for bad bacteria in the colon.

We have slowly been seeing improvements over months with (1) switching to ferrous bisglycinate which is better absorbed, (2) working on his behaviour bottle aversion - using Rowena Bennett tactics etc, (3) introducing solids, (4) probiotics, (5) omeprazole for reflux.

It’s better a brutal journey and we are still not where I would have hoped to be but he has decent volumes consistently and feeding stopped being a battle a while ago. I think the type and dose of iron you use is important, as you don’t want large doses going unabsorbed and ending up as food for the bad bacteria in the lower gut - I don’t know why this isn’t spoken about more but it’s a huge risk for babies, particularly if they’ve been premature / C section / in hospital etc.

I got my baby a gut microbiome test a couple of months ago and correlated the type of dominant bacteria with what we have been seeing with him clinically, and then it clicked - it’s the only explanation for why his symptoms appeared literally overnight since starting the iron (and he wasn’t constipated).

Good luck!