My DS is now 8 1/2 months old & has been tasting food since about 5 months & eating it for real since around 6 months.
I'm a lifelong vegetarian & want to bring him up the same way but am finding the weaning process a bit difficult.
I know quite a lot about adult nutrition & have applied this to my own diet with good results (I am very seldom sick & have no long-term health problems) but as far as feeding an infant is concerned am not very confident that what I prepare for him will meet all his needs (calories, vitamins, minerals & protein).
I was previously asthmatic but got rid of it using a combination of vegan foods & practicing yoga breathing techniques & also had bouts of eczema & psoriasis in my earlier years which have thankfully now disappeared. My father has severe hayfever & my sister & her daughter both have allergies too, added to which there is also a history of allergy in his father's family so with this in mind I have decided to play safe & not introduce any of the main allergy-provoking foods (particularly peanuts & other tree nuts, dairy products, wheat & soya) to my son's diet too soon.
This didn't cause any difficulty during the first stage of weaning as I was giving him mostly fruit & veg purees & brown baby rice porridge, but as the weeks go by I am becoming concerned that he is not getting adequate amounts of the essential dietary elements.
He has been fully BFed since birth & I plan to continue for as long as possible up to about 2 years, but I am aware that as time passes my milk has less & less nutritional value.
I've bought several books about raising vegetarian babies & toddlers but as far as I've been able to gather most advocate introducing milk & other dairy products &/or tofu at this stage to meet growing protein requirements. I have recently read a couple of articles about non-fermented soya products & the oestrogenic content of ordinary soya derived foods which have caused me to be extremely cautious about feeding it to Jahleel, especially at such a young age.
At present I usually give him some sort of porridge type meal for breakfast (rice, quinoa or millet so far) with different fruit purees (& sometimes the cooking water from sweet-tasting veggies I've boiled or steamed for him the day before).
Lunch isn't fully established yet but he snacks on rice cakes & spelt crackers with a piece of fruit to nibble on (he's teething so I think this is as much for the comfort as for the actual eating) around noon/early afternoon depending on what we're up to. I give him similar things during the day but it depends on his mood whether or not he accepts or rejects them!
In the evening he has veg puree (I'm trying to make these rougher mash type texture but sometimes he refuses them unless they're smooth). I'm also finding this hard as he hasn't shown much enthusiasm for more savoury tastes & I'm aware I should now be aiming to guide him towards eating things that I myself would normally eat. I've tried cooking non-wheat pasta for him with a tomato sauce but he hated it, ditto for mashed beans. He has taken a small amount of brown rice grains when I was eating a wholefood sushi ball but literally only 4 or 5 grains at a time & he soon decided he'd had enough.
I know that finger foods are important but he sometimes refuses to try them, instead either throwing or flicking them off his high chair tray before he's even tasted them. I understand that babies like exploring textures etc. with their hands so am not unduly concerned or upset when he squashes things between his fingers etc. but I've watched so much good food go to waste all the while wondering if he's going to end up with some kind of deficiency.
I'm still BFing on demand & the frequency & quantity of milk feeds varies a lot but since he won't often drink much water or weak herbal teas I'm happy to continue with that, especially with the warmer weather as I don't want him to be dehydrated. Think I'm going to start offering him diluted juice with his meals soon though so maybe that'll replace some of the BM he's currently taking.
The Health Visitors at the clinic I go to are very conventional & do not know much at all about veggie/vegan nutrition so I don't expect too much info or support from them.
What I'd really like is to hear from real people who have had & overcome similar issues or who know a bit more about the theory & practicalities of negotiating this important transition who can advise me what to do...
Sorry for the long post but I figured if I was going to ask for help I should give as much background as possible. I already put this up on the general food topic board so have had a few responses but the more the better!
Thanks in advance to anyone who replies!