Help with well-meaning in-laws

[Guest guest]

Help! My husband's family is convinced (aka " brainwashed " ) into believing

that meat and dairy are the only good sources for protein and calcium. My

mother-in-law is also convinced that our baby will not grow properly without

sufficient protein in her diet. ARGH! So, I did research and found that at

her age (9 months) she should be having 14 grams of protein a day. I then did

a diary of her meals and found she is eating 14 - 15.75 grams per day! I then

sent articles to my m-in-law re: protein in plant products and she said

something along the lines of " if you look hard enough you will find anything

to support whatever it is you are doing. " My point was, knowing that, how can

she also rely on the support of meat-based diet that she found?

 

My questions/requests are this:

1.) I am looking for reliable sources of info regarding plant-based diets and

calcium/protein. Specifically, Medical journals, etc.

2.) Kari (my baby) is getting about 600-650 calories a day which is about 200

less than the RDA for her age. She is also very tiny, but healthy. Should I

be concerned about her caloric intake even though her fat and protein intake

are sufficient?

3.) Any good sources out there for vegan baby food? I found stuff at the

grocery store, but the choices are limited and I'm looking for more options.

4.) Suggestions on " shutting well-meaning people up? " :-)

5.) Kari is adopted and I chose not to try breast-feeding. All books about

raising veg kids say that breast feeding is essential. So, now what? She is

on Prosobee formula. Is it okay that she is a veg that was/is not breast fed?

- Sonia

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/26/2002 5:16:19 AM Pacific Standard Time,

iucsonia writes:

 

 

> Any good sources out there for vegan baby food? I found stuff at the

> grocery store, but the choices are limited and I'm looking for more

> options.

>

 

I made my son's baby food. It is much easier than it sounds. If you are

worried about her getting more calories or fat, then avocadoes are a great

way for to get it. They are the easiest to feed to them also. We just

peeled it and mashed it with a fork, they also travel pretty well. We did

the same thing with bananas.

 

Sara

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/26/2002 8:16:20 AM Eastern Standard Time,

iucsonia writes:

 

 

> My questions/requests are this:

> 1.) I am looking for reliable sources of info regarding plant-based diets

> and

> calcium/protein. Specifically, Medical journals, etc.

> 2.) Kari (my baby) is getting about 600-650 calories a day which is about

> 200

> less than the RDA for her age. She is also very tiny, but healthy. Should I

>

> be concerned about her caloric intake even though her fat and protein

> intake

> are sufficient?

 

You might want to contact Dr. Michael Klapper, and PCRM.

They are great resources for journals etc.

Peace,

Laura

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I answered your questions below. My youngest is 11mos so we are in a

similar place in our parenting. I also have a 9yo and a 6 yo.

My questions/requests are this:

1.) I am looking for reliable sources of info regarding plant-based diets and

calcium/protein. Specifically, Medical journals, etc.

Try http://www.pcrm.org/health/Info_on_Veg_Diets/veg_diets_for_children.html

You can also do a search on their site with children as the keyword and find

more info. This is an organization of doctors. That should help with the MIL.

 

2.) Kari (my baby) is getting about 600-650 calories a day which is about 200

less than the RDA for her age. She is also very tiny, but healthy. Should I be

concerned about her caloric intake even though her fat and protein intake are

sufficient?

 

You might want to talk to a vegetarian friendly dietician just to make sure.

My daughter (now 9) was very tiny as a baby and is now one of the tallest in her

class. I was the same way. Sometimes it is just how the baby was meant to

grow.

 

3.) Any good sources out there for vegan baby food? I found stuff at the

grocery store, but the choices are limited and I'm looking for more options.

 

I heard Gerber has organic, vegan babyfood (we can't get Gerber baby food in

Canada anymore). There is also Earth's Best and Healthy Harvest. In Canada

there is a President's Choice line of organic baby food as well. The best

option though is to just feed her a mashed up version of what you are eating.

If you eat spicy foods, cook the food before adding spicy sauces or cook a

little pot separately for her. At this stage most babies can handle foods that

are mashed by a fork and don't need them pureed. I keep a few bottles of baby

food around for the odd time when we go out to eat or whatever but mainly Jay

eats what we do.

 

4.) Suggestions on " shutting well-meaning people up? " :-)

 

Don't bother trying. Just smile and nod your head and then do what you think

is right.

 

5.) Kari is adopted and I chose not to try breast-feeding. All books about

raising veg kids say that breast feeding is essential. So, now what? She is on

Prosobee formula. Is it okay that she is a veg that was/is not breast fed?

 

Don't worry too much about the breastfeeding thing. I am a huge advocate for

breastfeeding but most (to my knowledge all) adoptive mothers that have not

given birth themselves have to supplement their babies even if they are

breastfeeding. Your baby will grow fine. Breastfeeding is best but obviously

your baby is better off with you as a mother and the breastmilk issue is second

to that.

 

Please feel free to email me directly. I love being in contact with other

vegetarian moms as I don't know any in my area.

 

Jacqueline

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

On Mon, 25 Mar 2002 iucsonia wrote:

 

> My questions/requests are this:

> 1.) I am looking for reliable sources of info regarding plant-based diets and

> calcium/protein. Specifically, Medical journals, etc.

 

You should take a look at the position paper of the American Dietetic

Association on vegetarian diets, which says, " Well-planned vegan and

lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life

cycle, including during pregnancy and lactation. Appropriately planned

vegan and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets satisfy nutrient needs of infants,

children, and adolescents and promote normal growth (37). " The paper is

available online at <http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/adapaper.htm> and

includes many references to other studies and research papers.

 

> 2.) Kari (my baby) is getting about 600-650 calories a day which is about 200

> less than the RDA for her age. She is also very tiny, but healthy. Should I

> be concerned about her caloric intake even though her fat and protein intake

> are sufficient?

 

If your doctor is aware of what she is eating and isn't worried, you

should feel confident that she is doing well. She may be eating fewer

calories because she is naturally small and doesn't need as much fuel to

keep herself going. If you're worried, talk to your child's doctor to

make sure she's doing well. If the doctor is happy with her nutrition,

then your mother-in-law doesn't really have much reason to complain.

(Might not stop her, but at least you'll know she's wrong.)

 

It's also possible that you added up the nutrient content of your

daughter's food inaccurately and she's actually taking in more than you

think. That's particularly likely is you had to estimate quantities. I

know I've had trouble figuring out how much I eat every time I've tried to

analyze my diet, because in the real world I don't eat " 1 cup " of cereal,

I eat " a bowl " of cereal. My son, similarly, doesn't always eat exactly

the quatity of food I prepare for him; measuring how much he *does* eat

would be very challenging.

 

 

> 3.) Any good sources out there for vegan baby food? I found stuff at the

> grocery store, but the choices are limited and I'm looking for more options.

 

We use a food grinder to make food for our son, like this one:

<http://store.babycenter.com/product/feeding/solid_feeding/feeding_accessories/8\

023>.

Often, his dinner consists of a ground-up version of what we're eating.

It's also really easy to nuke frozen veggies in the microwave for a couple

minutes and grind them up.

 

 

> 4.) Suggestions on " shutting well-meaning people up? " :-)

 

It's not always possible, but if your doctor thinks your daughter is doing

well just keep telling your in-laws, " Her doctor says she's in excellent

health and eating just fine. " Repeat this as many times as necessary.

Remember, time will prove your mother-in-law wrong in the end, so you

don't need to convince her she's wrong right now, as long as you can

co-exist relatively peacefully in the meantime. It might also help to

point out all the positive things concerning your daughter's development,

like making sure they hear about all her milestones, so they can see she's

growing and thriving, not wasting away.

 

 

> 5.) Kari is adopted and I chose not to try breast-feeding. All books about

> raising veg kids say that breast feeding is essential. So, now what? She is

> on Prosobee formula. Is it okay that she is a veg that was/is not breast fed?

 

It's true that breastfeeding is preferable to formula feeding when there's

an easy choice between the two, but modern formulas are nutritionally

adequate and don't require any special supplementation with meat or dairy

to keep a baby healthy. Also, the sample meal plans published by the

Vegetarian Resource Group <http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/pregnancy.htm>

don't distinguish between breastfed and formula-fed infants and don't

suggest vegetarian and vegan formula-fed babies need any additional

supplementation. I don't think you need to feel at all guilty about

feeding your adopted daughter formula. You're providing her with

high-quality food, the best you have available, and that's all any parent

can ever be expected to do.

 

 

----

Patricia Bullington-McGuire <patricia

 

The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered

three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the

purely hypothetical. They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each

nonexisted in an entirely different way ...

-- Stanislaw Lem, " Cyberiad "

[Guest guest]

I highly recommend Brenda Davis' book Becoming Vegan - my baby is 12 months

old, and it answers all my questions. It's very scientific, and geared for

the scientifically educated. It's not just about babies, but in my opinion

it's the most accurate and detailed and up to date book on vegan baby

nutrition. It's definitely worth your money - my baby doesn't let me type

for long, or I'd answer all your questions myself, but since I'd largely be

quoting the book, you can find it there. I highly recommend it. The only

way I know to keep people at bay is to sound as though you're aware of their

concerns, and have the knowledge to raise your baby properly. My baby is

also smaller (15th percentile) but my husband and I are both small people,

so the doc doesn't care, only people who think our vegan diet is to blame

care. Also, she's 12 mos, but not walking yet. My mother was concerned

that perhaps this was due to too little calcium in her diet. Then I

reminded my mom that I as a baby did not walk until my FIFTEENTH month, and

I was raised on the standard American diet from the get-go. Even though she

admitted this was true, she was still insecure. That's when I had to just

let it go. My doc admitted she looks great, her 12 month iron level was

great, she eats fine, she's just petite. I'm only 5'2 " - what do I expect -

the warrior princess for a baby? Anyway, there are other great nutrition

resources online :www.vrg.org, www.vegetarianbaby.com, www.vegfamily.com are

some good places to start. AS for baby food, I made all my own - not really

very difficult - if you want to know more about this, there are some books

available for that, but I can tell you what I did in more detail - just

email me back if you'd like that. I didn't use any books, just pureed and

chunked stuff. My petite baby is screaming now, so I have to go!

 

 

iucsonia [iucsonia]

Monday, March 25, 2002 10:51 AM

 

Help with well-meaning in-laws

 

 

Help! My husband's family is convinced (aka " brainwashed " ) into believing

that meat and dairy are the only good sources for protein and calcium. My

mother-in-law is also convinced that our baby will not grow properly without

sufficient protein in her diet. ARGH! So, I did research and found that at

her age (9 months) she should be having 14 grams of protein a day. I then

did

a diary of her meals and found she is eating 14 - 15.75 grams per day! I

then

sent articles to my m-in-law re: protein in plant products and she said

something along the lines of " if you look hard enough you will find anything

to support whatever it is you are doing. " My point was, knowing that, how

can

she also rely on the support of meat-based diet that she found?

 

My questions/requests are this:

1.) I am looking for reliable sources of info regarding plant-based diets

and

calcium/protein. Specifically, Medical journals, etc.

2.) Kari (my baby) is getting about 600-650 calories a day which is about

200

less than the RDA for her age. She is also very tiny, but healthy. Should I

be concerned about her caloric intake even though her fat and protein intake

are sufficient?

3.) Any good sources out there for vegan baby food? I found stuff at the

grocery store, but the choices are limited and I'm looking for more options.

4.) Suggestions on " shutting well-meaning people up? " :-)

5.) Kari is adopted and I chose not to try breast-feeding. All books about

raising veg kids say that breast feeding is essential. So, now what? She is

on Prosobee formula. Is it okay that she is a veg that was/is not breast

fed?

- Sonia

 

 

 

For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at

http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to

http://www.vrg.org/family.