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I recently spoke with my mom on the phone and in the middle of talking about phlegm and the weather she asks, "So does the baby's doctor think it's okay that he's not eating meat?"
I said I give him tofu, peas, lentils and he's perfectly healthy. Does anyone else get grief from their friends/family about their children being vegan/vegetarian?
Send her over to my blog, my kids have always been vegan and are huge, smart, and healthy! It can be hard though if your child isn't big because people assume it is because you are starving them and not because of something like genetics! Anyway, even some MD on the Dr. Phil show (OMG I can't believe I'm admitting having watched) said that the child being raised vegan was definitely eating healthier than the majority of American kids! You know what is best for your child, and while most meddling family members really do care but just don't get it, sometimes they just bring it up a lot because they feel insecure about the way they are eating.
I don't have any kids (and I'm a long way off from having them!) but I would like to raise them vegan when I do pop out a couple of sprogs. I'm glad that you asked this question because I wasn't really sure if it was possible for babies to be completely vegan. The only parents I know who're vegan had to end up giving their kid dairy because he wasn't gaining enough weight. That made me concerned, as they live in NYC where are LOADS of places to get nutritious, vegan baby food.
Can ALL babies be vegan, or are there just some who need dairy?
We're vegan, myself & DH (for a good few years) & littlepixie. She's only a year old and breastfed so it hasn't been a huge issue yet. My doc know nothing about veganism, and when I asked the phn about vitamins her response was "when you put her on formula, she'll get all she needs". Do we have a banging-your-head-against-a-wall icon here? So we're on our own, well not really, we have all you lovely folks spread around the world to get info from. Tofu, peas, lentils and beans are much healthier than turkey twizzlers in my book :) I must say, the internet makes all this a whole lot easier, I'd be lost without it :)
I am raising my baby daughter vegan and my doctor has been very supportive. She is simply concerned that I watch her B12 intake (which I intend to). Some nutritional professionals that I respect recommend giving babies a small amount of dairy until they can chew their food properly. Apparently chewing releases a lot of the nutrients, and until they are able to do this properly they can benefit from a small amount of dairy.
Quite possibly extended breastfeeding would also give exactly the same benefits.
