Vegan babies/infants nutrition

[Bea1985]

Hi all,

I'm 32 weeks pregnant and have been vegan for c. 15 years. Ive been very stringent during pregnancy to ensure optimal protein, calcium, b12, omegas (algae supplements) and my iron levels are fine. I take pregnacare daily also. Baby growing well and very active.

Hubby has been vegan 35 years and we both know that a vegan diet is perfectly healthy if done right.

Neither of us were even vegetarian in childhood though, and babies / young children have different needs.

I'm looking for advice from nutritionally aware vegan/vegetarian mothers, links to any (non-biased) information would be helpful too. I believe wholeheartedly in veganism for adults and abhors the meat and dairy industries, but I cannot take any risks with the health of my child. I read so often that "it's fiiiiiinnnnnne" to bring up a vegan child, but sometimes the attitude seems a bit blaze.

I intend to breastfeed for a year minimum, after that I'll be going back to work so it will reduce but will try to keep going. I'm assuming that if I am well nourished and have plenty of calories and fat (plus watching vit. and mineral intake as described above) my breast milk will in turn provide everything needed for my baby.

However, My key concerns (post weaning) are-

Vegan diet so high in fibre that not enough calories/fats can be consumed by a young child
DHA
EPA
Complete Proteins
Calcium
Vitamin d
B12
Having a fussy child that will limit their diet even more
Worrying about my child's nutrition taking over my life!

How have other vegan mums proceeded? Have any of you introduced the most ethical dairy possible (I know that's an oxymoron) for a bit of piece of mind? I'm considering relaxing slightly and buying some as-ethical-as-possible-even-if-expensive cheese etc, as small amounts might make everything sooooooo much easier.

Thoughts appreciated, really don't want to start a bun fight though!

Thanks.

Thanks womenempire.... Yes I'm one of those people that tries to plan to the n'th degree / decide everything in advance . And I guess children don't work like that lol

Amber...a colleague of mine also asked that question recently, so I'm guessing it's a genuine question....breast milk is not really a choice for most animals, it's either that or they don't survive (luckily many humans have an alternative) even herbivore babies drink their mother's milk..if the mother is vegan, her breast milk will be technically vegan...just as is what the baby consumes before they are born.

I'm really just marking my place as I know someone me vegans who aren't doing the greatest job of feeding their DC, but you sound pretty switched on, OP.

I found that I ended up having to be flexible with veganism and children. I ended up eating free range eggs for a bit whilst breastfeeding as I was so thin I looked like a drug addict, and getting food especially if out, with babies to look after was too complicated. TBH they say soy formula should be avoided if possible, based on medical knowledge so we went for normal stuff. HV said soya milk was fine at the age when cows milk was allowed as main drink though (despite it saying 2 on the packet). I think soya formula is highly processed so maybe that's the difference?

This is just personal opinion, but I felt feeding a child purely vegan was too risky. Mainly vegan with some vegetarian foods too seemed less risky.

I don't have any particularly useful advice I'm afraid but I did want to highlight the B12 which you said you are supplementing yourself. I have autoimmune B12 deficiency so have looked into it a fair bit (and know how awful it is as an illness!) and I know B12 deficiency is something that vegans can suffer from as most of it in humans is obtained from meat and dairy intake. Would you plan to give your baby supplements from birth? Have you looked into it as a particular area?

If you do manage to breastfeed, once you get to a year and want to use other milk, the Oatly Barista version is good as it has higher fat and protein than the other plant milks. Alpro also do a junior soya milk but you did say you'd prefer not too much soy. Oatly also do a range of creme fraiche, custard, cream etc alternatives which are brilliant for increasing fat content.

There are some quite good vegan cheeses now based on coconut milk rather than millions of random things and loads of added salt-Tesco own ones for example.

I used the creamiest, thickest bits of tins of coconut milk in things like mild curries, porridge etc.

The actual protein requirements are quite low, so I think as long as you're adding lentils/chickpeas/peas/beans in you should have plenty. Most kids seem to like houmous. I made sure with meals like baked potatoes that they eat the skin as well-small amounts but still adds up.

Aramanth is a random grain that happens to contain the essential amino acids, even more randomly it's in one of the Ella's kitchen instant porridge things. Helpfully i can't remember which one (it's def not one with milk powder in tho which most are!).

I'm vegetarian, but have had two children with dairy (and soy) intolerance, one of whom also has an egg allergy which is why I know about all this by the way!

Oh, and all children under 5 are supposed to take a multivitamin supplement including vitamin d. Wellbaby do a liquid one that doesn't have gelatine in that does have iron in. Most vitamins don't include iron (I know it's a mineral not a vitamin but to me would make sense to add it!).

We use marmite despite the saltiness for the b12, folate etc. And I add milled flaxseed to porridge to increase protein. Ah, nearly forgot the best one (which my younger son can't have)- smooth peanut butter-add it to anything or give in a pot with a spoon! And avocados are great sources of fats etc.

A doctor friend said that as most toddlers/preschoolers will mainly only eat pasta, apples and cheese, they're probably all a bit iron deficient and low on protein, but overall they get enough to manage! Cereals and breads are well fortified as well (and for calcium, all the plant milks, bread, dairy free options tend to be fortified as well).

Definitely make sure you take calcium supplements when breastfeeding-you need 1250mcg a day, 50mcg more than is in a whole litre of almond milk for example. It's a lot! I was taking three calcium tablets a day as well as a multivitamin (I'm sure pregnacare breastfeeding one would do all this).

Sorry for the essay!! Good luck :-)

Not very helpful to you but we are vegan/vegetarian parents and we decided to give our child the choice when they were old enough. They are 8 now and still choose to have meat and dairy in their diet. I am careful about where I source animal products from though.

OP I can't help on the vegan diet questions but on breastfeeding there are a few things you can do now to help prepare. Firstly get yourself a good book like The food of love or Bestfeeding and familiarise yourself with what's normal. Secondly watch videos on positioning and attachment. See if you can get to an antenatal class with a qualified Breastfeeding Counsellor or IBCLC (midwives are sometimes great and sometimes not so great with breastfeeding). Finally find out where in your local area you can access face to face support. Most places have a group or two where qualified people can help you out with any issues.

On the formula, first steps nutrition trust do a detailed guide to ingredients firststepsnutrition.org/newpages/Infant_Milks/infant_milks.html

Turns out they also do info on vegan diets for children firststepsnutrition.org/newpages/Early_Years/eating_well-early_years_vegans.html

Seems really hard work

It took me a month to get to grips with breast feeding. Was told my positioning was correct when it wasn’t. Lots of pain and blood initially. Managed 18 months in the end. And it was a piece of cake once things got going. Although there was occasionally some non breast feeder spouting crap about me having low supply when really my body was just catching up with a short lived baby growth spurt.

Sainsburys do a reduced salt own brand version of marmite, in case you've not come across it.

My friend bought her children up strict vegetarian until she came home and found them frying bacon

Can you ensure baby has a really good multivitamin with iron in etc? That's a good start.

I'm not vegan but have been mostly vegetarian through two pregnancies and breastfeeding (not for ethical reasons obviously). My husband is vegetarian for moral reasons. We had a long standing debate about whether we should feed DS1 meat (but he had lots of milk products from six months onwards). In the end I managed to convience my husband that we would've forcibg beliefs on our DS which was wrong, putting him off meat forever etc. I don't even remember anymore but the point is that I didn't give him meat until we were both on board. But this was at around 10 months when we started feeding him meat. He didn't really like it and only started eating it around age 1 1/2 in meaningful quantities. The late start doesn't seem to have affected his development. He is big and strong for his age. One thing worth mentioning is that he has always hated legumes so if it weren't for animal proteins he wouldn't get any protein at all. Our second DS is nearly two. He doesn't eat too much meat and doesn't really like dairy products although I do still breastfeed but he loves lentils (although he doesn't seem to be able to digest them-they come out the other end mostly whole so there is that to think about as well). I think that ultimately you need to be realistic, asides from the (very informed) concerns you have raised above you also need to be prepared for the possibility that you won't be able to force your child to eat vegan sources of protein if they don't like them and also the possibility that you may be unable to breast feed. I would strongly advise looking up vegan formulas so you know what your options are and approaching weaning with a very open mindset. Try a vegan diet but if it doesn't work be prepared to introduce animal products, go into it expecting to need to give dairy products at least until your child has learned to eat lentils, tofu, white beans etc. I would also reccomend breastfeeding for as long as possible to help up protein intake. Generally speaking raising children is very much a case of keeping an open mind and doing whatever works. It's great that you are thinking ahead and making plans but make sure that you stay flexible either by making multiple option plans or by expecting to have to adapt expectations to suit your baby. I know it sounds patronising but hormones (and a lack of sleep) make it really easy to get very stressed and upset about little things. You seem very informed and well prepared about dietary needs (I would assume that you are about a lot of things). I am very impressed and I am sure that you will make a great mother no matter what you do in the end. Good luck!

Most formula isn't even vegetarian as it contains fish oil. I ordered some special vegetarian formula (can't remember name of it - 7yrs ago) from Germany as a back up, though thankfully was able to BF and didn't need to use it.

Oh, also, you can get vegan DHA Onega three capsules from most shops, planet organic definitely do them. You can just burst the capsule and add it into baby food/bottle/sippy cup.

Make sure you're having plenty of B12 yourself if breastfeeding; that way baby will get enough. I like your flexible attitude :) if you do have to give formula, maybe just give it for the shortest period needed (i.e. 1 year) and then move onto vegan options instead (oatly is indeed nice).

Good luck!

"There are some quite good vegan cheeses now based on coconut milk rather than millions of random things and loads of added salt-Tesco own ones for example. "

I find the coconut based vegan cheeses have a nasty vanillary/coconutty aftertaste. The best vegan cheese I have come across is made by the Tyne Chease company. It is £££, but far, far superior to any other vegan cheese that I have tasted.

What about nutrimigen for formula if needed?

Not vegan myself or vegetarian but my little one is cmpa and can't have soya either. She has oat milk now she's over 12 months. What about the violife cheese and coconut yoghurts etc? That's what we use.

Going out on a limb I'm not convinced any baby should have cows milk products, I think that's why so many get reflux/cmpa but that's probably another thread altogether and I'd be very unpopular. In my situation of course I used fish and meat so I'm not very helpful, just wanted to mention about the cheese and formula.

"I'm not convinced any baby should have cows milk products, I think that's why so many get reflux"

The vast majority of reflux cases happen [[http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/reflux-babies/Pages/Introduction.aspx#causes because a baby's food pipe (oesophagus) is still developing.
It normally stops by the time a baby is a year old, when the ring of muscle at the bottom of their oesophagus fully develops and stops stomach contents leaking out.]]

Parents notice that their babies have reflux from very early days, usually while the baby is still being exclusively breastfed. It is impossible to say that reflux is caused by cow's milk in all or even most babies who have it.

Thanks LynetteScavo, my sister is a vegan and is getting married in January, they have not decided whether to have kids yet so curious. About a ye
Thanks LynetteScavo it was a genuine question, my sister is getting married in January and is a vegan, they have not decided whether to have kids yet so interested.

Sorry on my phone with dog on lap

Hello and well done (sorry if that sounds patronising!) for being so well prepared. I’m not vegan but DS won’t touch meat, and rarely cheese. We’ve found pine nuts good and broken up other nuts. When he was younger and less fussy we tried him with different nut butters. There’s a brand you can get that has no palm oil etc in

Hi guys, so many helpful responses and level headed pointers. I'll def. do a bit more groundwork re. breastfeeding and some of the products mentioned I was not aware of (particular thanks to SwallowsinSpring for listing all those products and tips - never considered amaranth).

Most of you have been very supportive and yet pointed out the need to be flexible which is exactly where I am coming from. I'll have to make sure I have as much knowledge as possible then play it by ear I guess!

Thanks xx

I think playing it by ear is definitely a good option! Things never work out quite as predicted, and no 2 children are the same!

Would you be in a position to keep your own hens for the purposes of using the eggs? Just a thought.

Anyway fair play to you for doing all the right research. And good luck with the new arrival :)