Preemie vegetarian

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

If I've already asked about this, please forgive me as I have a 'new mother

brain.'

I was wondering if anyone has experience raising a premature baby as a

vegetarian?

My little boy, Kyle is quite small for his age (3rd percentile for adjusted age)

and his pediatrician wants me to give him meat/fish but I really don't want to.

I know some of you will think I need to change pediatricians but I'm not asking

for advice on that. I'm asking if you could tell me that your preemie child/ren

were/are being raised on a vegetarian diet and are thriving. I'm worried about

his weight and want whats best for him but I really don't think that involves

giving him meat/fish. I just want to know if anyone else has experience with

this and hopefully some positive stories.

Thanks and all the best,

Amy :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

How old is your son now? And what was his birth weight? My daughter was 6

pounds and had lost down to 5 pounds and 9 ounces. I struggled for what felt

like forever to get weight up to 7 lbs. At that mark we could stop taking her

to the doctor's office every other day. It was a huge milestone. Even then, it

wasn't until I started giving her formula on a partial basis that she gained up

to what was considered 'normal' for her age. Once we got there it was like she

jumped from she's so tiny to she's in the 95+ percentile. It took a few years

(and a lot of vegetables) to get her down into the 75% which is where she is

now. My daughter was only about a month early - which isn't the same thing as

my cousin's sons who were 2 lb 7 oz. and 1 lb 13 oz respectively. So I'm not

sure what you are dealling with weight wise.

Renee

 

 

Amy Merwin <amymerwin wrote:

Hi All,

If I've already asked about this, please forgive me as I have a 'new mother

brain.'

I was wondering if anyone has experience raising a premature baby as a

vegetarian?

My little boy, Kyle is quite small for his age (3rd percentile for adjusted age)

and his pediatrician wants me to give him meat/fish but I really don't want to.

I know some of you will think I need to change pediatricians but I'm not asking

for advice on that. I'm asking if you could tell me that your preemie child/ren

were/are being raised on a vegetarian diet and are thriving. I'm worried about

his weight and want whats best for him but I really don't think that involves

giving him meat/fish. I just want to know if anyone else has experience with

this and hopefully some positive stories.

Thanks and all the best,

Amy :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy,

 

You should consider tapping into your local network and finding a health care

provider who is supportive of vegetarianism (perhaps a local veg society?).

Short of that, family practioners are much more open and flexible than

pediatricians (or any specialist); try to find one who is a mother.

 

What is the doctor's reason for feeding your son animal protein (iron?

protein?)? If you know the answer to this, you will be able to have an

intelligent discussion about what to substitute.

 

Amy Merwin <amymerwin wrote:

Hi All,

If I've already asked about this, please forgive me as I have a 'new mother

brain.'

I was wondering if anyone has experience raising a premature baby as a

vegetarian?

My little boy, Kyle is quite small for his age (3rd percentile for adjusted age)

and his pediatrician wants me to give him meat/fish but I really don't want to.

I know some of you will think I need to change pediatricians but I'm not asking

for advice on that. I'm asking if you could tell me that your preemie child/ren

were/are being raised on a vegetarian diet and are thriving. I'm worried about

his weight and want whats best for him but I really don't think that involves

giving him meat/fish. I just want to know if anyone else has experience with

this and hopefully some positive stories.

Thanks and all the best,

Amy :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Amy,

 

I don't know if you will find this helpful or not, but when my son's

pediatrician began grumbling about his diet contributing to his small size, I

asked for a referral to a nutritionist to reassure both of us. Nutritionists are

much more likely to up on the current research pointing to the best way to feed

preemies a vegetarian diet than pediatricians. I found the consult reassuring

and informative and I no longer hear diet concerns from the pediatrician. And my

son is absolutely thriving. He's a little short (his father is only 5'4 and I'm

5'6--it's to be expected) but he is extremely healthy and his blood levels never

indicate any nutrition problems or deficiencies.

 

Amy Merwin <amymerwin wrote: Hi All,

If I've already asked about this, please forgive me as I have a 'new mother

brain.'

I was wondering if anyone has experience raising a premature baby as a

vegetarian?

My little boy, Kyle is quite small for his age (3rd percentile for adjusted

age) and his pediatrician wants me to give him meat/fish but I really don't want

to. I know some of you will think I need to change pediatricians but I'm not

asking for advice on that. I'm asking if you could tell me that your preemie

child/ren were/are being raised on a vegetarian diet and are thriving. I'm

worried about his weight and want whats best for him but I really don't think

that involves giving him meat/fish. I just want to know if anyone else has

experience with this and hopefully some positive stories.

Thanks and all the best,

Amy :-)

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi, Amy,

My identical twin daughters were born 8 weeks early and weighed 4lbs 8oz and

3lbs 6oz.

While I was not vegetarian at the time, I did breast feed them for half their

meals (which is

all the more I could pump for them) and supplemented with a preemie Soy formuula

when

they were just one and two months old and then switched to a regular Soy formula

when

the pediatrician said they were gaining weight right on target. When they were

old enough

to eat solids, they did not eat meat because they did not like it. They had

tried meat a few

times until they were 3 years old and we all became vegetarians. And even then

they only

had meat once a week, if that. Their meals were mainly the jarred Gerber baby

foods and

then fruits and grains when they got older. So, they have basically been

vegetarian since

birth. They are now 4 1/2 years old and my tiniest twin is in the 75th

percentile for weight

and 95th for height and the previously bigger twin is in the 50th percentile for

weight and

75th for height, even though she is only 2 pounds lighter and one inch shorter.

They are

as healthy as any kids can be. Our pediatrician never worried about their weight

or growth

and never encouraged feeding them meat, just to give them a well-balanced diet

and let

them eat when they were hungry when they were little. Unless there is a medical

problem

with your child, premature children require no extra help as far as food goes,

in my

experience. I hope that helped.

 

Laura in St. Clair, MO

 

 

 

, Karen Coblentz <karenacoblentz wrote:

>

> Amy Merwin <amymerwin wrote:

> I was wondering if anyone has experience raising a premature baby as a

vegetarian?

> > Amy :-)

>

[Guest guest]

Amy,

I have 10 year old quintuplets who were born at 6 months and 1 day. They

weighed between 1 pound and 2.15 pounds at birth (decent weights for premmie

quints). They were vegan from conception and to this day have still never been

anything but vegan. Fed a properly planned veg*n diet, premmies do not need

animal products any more than full-term babies do. Three of my children are

near or at 80 pounds now and near or at 4'9 " . One is approx. 70 pounds,

muscular, with more energy than any one person ever has a right to have (LOL).

My smallest is 46 pounds. She has consistently been at the 3rd percentile and

her doctor is not in the least bit worried about her. She continues to grow on

her own growth curve. That's really more the key than being at any certain

percentile on the common growth chart. My kids' pediatrician is getting a copy

of the World Health Organizations growth chart for me which is much different

than the one commonly used by pediatricians in the U.S. You might want to ask

your child's pediatrician about that. BTW, research shows that premmie kids

often do not " catch-up " until between the ages of 8 - 12 and sometimes onto 16.

My kids' first pediatrician said they should catch up by 2 years old which used

to be the thought. It has been shown, however that this is not the case.

 

You might want to consult with a registered dietician to help you with foods for

your child. I did (still do from time-to-time - thanx Reed!) and for me, that

made all the difference in giving me security that I was feeding my children the

proper nutrition. You can also go to the numerous veg*n sites on the Internet

that will help you with that. My favorite is www.vrg.org where I find much

written by Dr. Reed Mangels, R.D., Ph.D. and www.pcrm.org both of which have

helped me much. I also read a lot (both books and on the Internet) and find out

all I can about veg*n nutrition and the sources of the different nutrients so

that I can make sure my children get what they need. Fortunately, I had a

pediatrician who worked with me on our vegan diet and when we changed (we moved)

our new one did also. They were/are both very supportive.

 

Remember, if your child is healthy, why does it matter if he is small? Arielle

(my peanut) is small - no doubt, but she is incredibly healthy and also

incredibly energetic, imaginative and intelligent. I would venture to bet that

there are just as many, maybe more omnivorous children who are small as well.

Meat and fish are not the keys - proper nutrition with enough calories is.

 

God's Peace,

Gayle

 

 

[Guest guest]

Amy,

 

My son was a 27.5 weeker and weighed 1lb 9 oz. He is a vegan and has

been ever since we left the NICU. I did a tremendous amount of

educating in the NICU as he was the first vegan preemie there. Some

of the initial lipids had some sort of egg product, but we could not

find a suitable substitute. After that, however, we were able to be

vegan. Max just turned 2. He weighs 27 lbs and is 34-1/2 " tall. He

is almost at the 50th percentile for his actual age. There is

absolutely no reason your child would not thrive on a vegetarian diet.

If you like your doctor, pacify him/her and say you will do it, and

then don't. Feed your little one a super diet and let the proof be in

the pudding as you continue to see their growth.

 

Feel free to contact me if you would like to talk more.

 

Susan Scott