Guest guest Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Hello everyone. My name is Susan and I am mom to Max, who was born at 27.5 weeks, weighing in at 1 lb 9 oz. We stayed in the NICU for 80 days...he was the first Vegan in the NICU! However, there were a couple of things that could not be avoided, but boy did I ever educate that place! Max is now 15 months old, 23lbs and a very happy vegan baby. I've been vegan for 13 years now and Max's dad has been veggie the same. I'm curious to know how vegan/veggie mixes work in your house? I was also looking at the archives and seeing some discussion about soy (evil or not) and I'd like an example of how much soy your kids are eating in a day...is there too much? I spoke with the VRG ask a nutrionist, and he gave me some idea...but Max drinks Silk Enhanced....about 28 ounces a day and he loves soy yogurt....now if I add in tofu or tempeh or any analog...is it too much? I look forward to your responses. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Lisa, Thanks for the response. We are a fine veggie/vegan couple. Robert eats whatever I make, which is always vegan. On nights when I don't cook, he eats whatever he wants...ususally an omelete. Often he puts cheese on whatever I make, after the fact. It works okay...I won't touch it, or buy it for him. He also drinks a tremendous amount of milk. I'm a little concerned how we will get Max, our 15 month old, to understand/distinguish the difference. He loves to eat whatever we are eating and sometimes gets really mad if you don't spoon it over! I guess Robert will just have to go Vegan! Darn. Susan , Lisa Veg*n <vegetariankids wrote: > > Hi Susan! Welcome! What are they feeding those babies in the NICU that they aren't vegan??? Hamburgers??? Ha! I guess they were pushing the milk- rather than soy-based formula. I breastfed and used formula, and I know everyone wanted to push the milk-based formula, which I didn't use. > > I'm vegan; hubby, son (2 1/2), and mom are lacto-ova. How it works with my hubby...I'm a harpy! Haaaaa! Honestly I think my hubby is on the brink of cracking, but not really bc of me. He's just been reading some books that pretty much support everything I've been telling him about egg and dairy consumption. The books talk not only about the ethical issues, but the health and environmental issues. He's currently reading The Omnivore's Dilema. And I'm reading The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter. They're actually much more interesting than they might sound. For my hubby, in the house, his weaknesses are half-and-half, ice cream, and cheese. I can't remember the last time he made eggs, although he said he reserves the right to eat them. Haaa! I avoid feeding my son dairy and eggs (which he doesn't like anyway), but he does eat cheese in the house. My mom doesn't do eggs either (except in some baked goods). She loves cheese, too, though, and refuses to let me tell > her about its production. I take it easy on her. All in all I feel lucky to have a vegetarian hubby, although it took six years to get him there. He's a softy though, so education about the animals really did it. How are things for you as a vegan/veggie couple? > > > Lisa > Northern VA/DC/Maryland Veg*n Playgroup > vegetarianchildren/ > > > > How low will we go? Check out Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Laura, Thank you for your insight. Max is probably getting a bit much on the soy front, so I'm working in some Rice Milk and Almond Milk. He is fanatical about having soy yogurt in the morning right now, so I will still with that. I, too, try to rotate foods, especially for Max. He is a pretty good eater, except when teething, but still prefers a pretty smooth texture, unless it's finger food he can eat by himself. Do you make your milks, or buy them? I feel a certain amount of pressure from my ped and, to some extent, my family, to defend his diet...in that " is he getting enough...(fill in the blank). Mind you, he was a preemie, has NEVER been sick and weighs 23lbs at 15 months, which puts him on the regular growth chart. He just had bloodwork done and everything came back great. Two meat eating kids in our neighborhood, around the same age, were anemic...what does that tell you? Susan , VAP79 wrote: > > > Dear Susan, > Welcome! > Congrats on your wonderful new son. I teach natural childbirth and am a > doula. I don't have many clients with babies in the NICU. But, when it happens, > everyone gets a lesson in patience and listening skills. > It's wonderful that the staff got the opportunity to see a vegan baby thrive! > My son is 10 yrs old now and vegan since birth. I am a big believer in > rotating foods. That goes for my son and husband as well as myself. So, since we > have a fair amount of soy in our diet, I limit the soy milk. I did nurse my son > a few months past 2 yrs old. For that period of time. Water was the only > drink he got. I introduced rice milk first a little at a time. We rotate, rice, > almond and hazelnut milk. I can't deal with oat milk! We eat tofu a few times > a week. He likes soy cheese, so a couple times a week. Soy hot dogs, burgers > and fake meats a couple times a week. I use miso and tempeh as well. Soy > yogurt once or twice a week. > We sometimes eat soy twice a day, but never every meal. I do my best to have > other legumes through the day and week. > Sometimes I make smoothies, I use hemp protein, rice protein or the veggie > protein rather than soy. > Hope that helps. > Laura > > I was also looking at the archives and seeing some discussion about soy > (evil or not) and I'd like an example of how much soy your kids are eating in a > day...is there too much? I spoke with the VRG ask a nutrionist, and he gave > me some idea...but Max drinks Silk Enhanced....about 28 ounces a day and he > loves soy yogurt....now if I add in tofu or tempeh or any analog...is it too > much? > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 As long as Max is growing at an appropriate rate and healthy, you have nothing to defend. You really need to consider dropping your pediatrician. My daughter has never seen one; she sees the same family practioner that her parents, aunt, uncle, cousin and many friends see. earthgrlss <earthgrl wrote: Laura, Thank you for your insight. Max is probably getting a bit much on the soy front, so I'm working in some Rice Milk and Almond Milk. He is fanatical about having soy yogurt in the morning right now, so I will still with that. I, too, try to rotate foods, especially for Max. He is a pretty good eater, except when teething, but still prefers a pretty smooth texture, unless it's finger food he can eat by himself. Do you make your milks, or buy them? I feel a certain amount of pressure from my ped and, to some extent, my family, to defend his diet...in that " is he getting enough...(fill in the blank). Mind you, he was a preemie, has NEVER been sick and weighs 23lbs at 15 months, which puts him on the regular growth chart. He just had bloodwork done and everything came back great. Two meat eating kids in our neighborhood, around the same age, were anemic...what does that tell you? Susan , VAP79 wrote: > > > Dear Susan, > Welcome! > Congrats on your wonderful new son. I teach natural childbirth and am a > doula. I don't have many clients with babies in the NICU. But, when it happens, > everyone gets a lesson in patience and listening skills. > It's wonderful that the staff got the opportunity to see a vegan baby thrive! > My son is 10 yrs old now and vegan since birth. I am a big believer in > rotating foods. That goes for my son and husband as well as myself. So, since we > have a fair amount of soy in our diet, I limit the soy milk. I did nurse my son > a few months past 2 yrs old. For that period of time. Water was the only > drink he got. I introduced rice milk first a little at a time. We rotate, rice, > almond and hazelnut milk. I can't deal with oat milk! We eat tofu a few times > a week. He likes soy cheese, so a couple times a week. Soy hot dogs, burgers > and fake meats a couple times a week. I use miso and tempeh as well. Soy > yogurt once or twice a week. > We sometimes eat soy twice a day, but never every meal. I do my best to have > other legumes through the day and week. > Sometimes I make smoothies, I use hemp protein, rice protein or the veggie > protein rather than soy. > Hope that helps. > Laura > > I was also looking at the archives and seeing some discussion about soy > (evil or not) and I'd like an example of how much soy your kids are eating in a > day...is there too much? I spoke with the VRG ask a nutrionist, and he gave > me some idea...but Max drinks Silk Enhanced....about 28 ounces a day and he > loves soy yogurt....now if I add in tofu or tempeh or any analog...is it too > much? > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Hi Susan, When you wrote that your husband drinks a tremendous amount of milk, that sent up a red flag for me. He could be putting himself at risk for prostate cancer when he's older. There have been many studies linking the two. As a start, you should have him read the section " Discovering Dairy Alternatives " in the Survivor's Handbook from the Cancer Project. It may do the trick to have him switch to an alternative, at least for fluid milk. Remind him that he needs to give 3 weeks for his palette to change. Another thing you might mention is a recent presentation I saw by Edward Giovannucci, M.D. of the Harvard School of Public Health (and other places) which gave an overview of studies " Dairy and Calcium Intake and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Review of Epidemiologic Evidence " . The conclusions: - Ecological, case-control and cohort studies suggest that high intake of milk products increases the risk of advance, high-grade and fatal prostate cancer. - Findings for milk tend to be stronger for low-fat milk, suggesting fat intake is not the major factor. - Some studies suggest calcium supplementation increases risk. - Although more study is needed, risk is most clearly increased at intakes > 1500 mg/day (in U.S.) Here is the link from the Survivor's Handbook: http://www.cancerproject.org/resources/handbook/section3.pdf There are also studies linking milk drinking and breast cancer. It really doesn't make sense for human adults to drink large amounts of milk. All you need to do is pause for a moment and think about it. Good luck! Tracy On Aug 8, 2006, at 12:44 PM, earthgrlss wrote: > Lisa, > > Thanks for the response. We are a fine veggie/vegan couple. Robert > eats whatever I make, which is always vegan. On nights when I don't > cook, he eats whatever he wants...ususally an omelete. Often he > puts cheese on whatever I make, after the fact. It works okay...I > won't touch it, or buy it for him. He also drinks a tremendous > amount of milk. I'm a little concerned how we will get Max, our 15 > month old, to understand/distinguish the difference. He loves to > eat whatever we are eating and sometimes gets really mad if you > don't spoon it over! I guess Robert will just have to go Vegan! > Darn. > > Susan > > , Lisa Veg*n <vegetariankids > wrote: > > > > Hi Susan! Welcome! What are they feeding those babies in the NICU > that they aren't vegan??? Hamburgers??? Ha! I guess they were > pushing the milk- rather than soy-based formula. I breastfed and > used formula, and I know everyone wanted to push the milk-based > formula, which I didn't use. > > > > I'm vegan; hubby, son (2 1/2), and mom are lacto-ova. How it > works with my hubby...I'm a harpy! Haaaaa! Honestly I think my hubby > is on the brink of cracking, but not really bc of me. He's just been > reading some books that pretty much support everything I've been > telling him about egg and dairy consumption. The books talk not only > about the ethical issues, but the health and environmental issues. > He's currently reading The Omnivore's Dilema. And I'm reading The > Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter. They're actually much more > interesting than they might sound. For my hubby, in the house, > his weaknesses are half-and-half, ice cream, and cheese. I can't > remember the last time he made eggs, although he said he reserves > the right to eat them. Haaa! I avoid feeding my son dairy and eggs > (which he doesn't like anyway), but he does eat cheese in the house. > My mom doesn't do eggs either (except in some baked goods). She > loves cheese, too, though, and refuses to let me tell > > her about its production. I take it easy on her. All in all I > feel lucky to have a vegetarian hubby, although it took six years to > get him there. He's a softy though, so education about the animals > really did it. How are things for you as a vegan/veggie couple? > > > > > > Lisa > > Northern VA/DC/Maryland Veg*n Playgroup > > vegetarianchildren/ > > > > > > > > How low will we go? Check out Messenger's low PC-to-Phone > call rates. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 i feel so sad about my milk drinking in the past. i grew up drinking milk and pretty much nothing else, the occasional soda, almost no water or juice. milk at every meal and between meals. during my first pregnancy, i drank so much milk i'm surprised my son didn't have two milks. i drank 3-4 gallons of conventional skim milk a week all on my own. i went vegan 3 weeks after he was born and i guess i caught it early in myself, but i do worry what kinds of effects my early diet will have on me later in life -- it's believed that so much of health is decided in the first 20 years. at least i know my son will grow up better. chandelle' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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