vegan diet choice

[gg1981]

im vegetarian, leaning toward being vegan, my husband is vegan and we would like to raise our 7 month old son, theo, as vegan. hes weaning at the moment and still having cows milk formula but were looking for alternatives. any suggestions? been told that almond milk is good but can he have it as cant have nuts til 12 months.
has anyone bought up their children as vegan from birth or weaning.
we are very happy and confident with our decision but feel we need to argue our case to some family and friends. need some support on this one.

many many thanks
gina

I suggest you relactate or boost your existing milk supply by bf more often and pumping with electric breast pump.

Your friends and family are right to be worried: a vegan baby died in the States this year and the parents convicted of manslaughter.

i was a vegan for couple of years, years and years ago now but do think it would be difficult diet give to growing child

i didnt dedicate enough time and effort to it (student at time)

elasticwoman i didnt know that

what do vegan society say?

Your friends and family are not right to be worried, unless you have no idea what you are doing and make no attempt to find out about vegan nutrition.

I agree that formula for vegan babies is a tricky issue and like Elasticwoman, I would strongly advise vegan mothers to breastfeed, for as long as they can. If this is not possible I think you need to take expert advice on what milk substitute to give, not ask random people on a website.

if you are breastfeeding then carry on as long as possible.
you can get soya milks that are fortified with vitamins and minerals (ie calcium)

Oh ds had vegan diet until he was a year

I breastfed, he was absolutely fine

we eat cheese and eggs for convenience but a vegan diet is a good healthy way to eat and it is not hard to get all your nutrients on a vegan diet if you know what you are doing

was told that soya not good for babies/children it effects hormone balances. also watched panarama last week and one family had no choice but give their child soya milk and he contracted scurvy!
i finished breastfeeding 2 months ago.
thank you elasticwoman for your harsh comment, i said i need support on this one.

my cousin has 3 lovely children, all of them vegan from the start

gg I would contact the Vegan Society by telephone and get as much information as you can about milks. Are you positive your milk has dried up completely? I thought Elasticwoman's advice about attempting relactation made great sense in this situation.

To be honest, if you post on a forum saying you are going to do something that other posters genuinely feel is wrong, they are not going to support you. They may choose to withdraw from the discussion, but they may not, and I don't think someone reminding you that a child died is a direct critisism anyway.

I think you will find it extremely diffecult to ensure your baby gets a half adequate diet without breastmilk to support the veganism. Small babies need milk, preferably breastmilk, but some sort of milk substitute if you can't give breast milk. You can't just stop all nutrition on what is basically a whim.

As F&Z says, you really need to know what you are doing with this, and you need expert advice - and I really cannot see any expert advising you to give a baby under one a vegan diet.

I think the fact that a child has died while on a vegan diet is probably neither here nor there. To be so ignorant about nutrition that your child dies is a shocking thing, but is not limited to parents giving their children vegan diets, sadly.

gg1981 I have made no comment, harsh or otherwise. I made a recommendation (give that baby breastmilk) and relayed a matter of fact. No comments given or intended.