Vegan mom, couldnt breastfeed, advice!

[Rhean]

Hi everyone! I've got a beautiful baby girl 3 months old, I'm vegan and fully intended on breastfeeding,however due to various reasons (and I REALLY couldn't have tried harder) I have had to formula feed her, I've found the best organic formula I can find and she's doing great, however I'm still heartbroken about It and as soon as she can eat she will have a vegan diet, but my question is, when can I incorporate/wean her into plant milk?
They say to wean baby's onto proper cow milk as opposed to formula once they are 1, I'm wondering if it's OK to switch her to plant milk (and which one?!) At 1 or would she need to continue cows milk!
I just want the best for my baby, thanks for any help

 

[winter.frost]

The closest-to-vegan (vegetarian) formula I could find is this one (it is suitable from birth and soy-based):
https://www.smamums.co.uk/formula-milk/wysoy-infant-formula
You can read about why it's not vegan here.

The Vegan Society say that solids should not be introduced before a baby is 4 months old. Vegan milks can generally be introduced sooner than animal milks because plant-based proteins are far more gentle to the human system. At 6 months coconut milk, oats (or oat milk), buckwheat (buckwheat milk) and other cereals may be introduced, at 10 months rice (or rice milk), quinoa (quinoa milk) and nut milk may be introduced (later is recommended if there is a family history of nut allergies), at 12 months an infant can eat a mostly 'normal' diet including seeds (hemp milk). The trick is to check the ingredients of shop-bought vegan milks for added unfriendly stabilisers that your baby would not appreciate (for instance, oils should not be introduced before 12 months), therefore I recommend making the milks at home. The second concern is making sure that you are meeting your baby's nutritional needs - you may need to supplement the milks with nutritional powders and these, again, will need to be checked.

http://www.vegansociety.com/sites/default/files/Dietary_Guide_Vegan_Babies+Children.pdf

Hope that helps!

 

[LauraC]

Your baby is the priority.... remember 'possible and practicable' - you have to do what you have to do.... there is time to wean her onto non dairy just as you would wean her off breast milk

Laura x

 

[katherinep]

Hi everyone! I've got a beautiful baby girl 3 months old, I'm vegan and fully intended on breastfeeding,however due to various reasons (and I REALLY couldn't have tried harder) I have had to formula feed her, I've found the best organic formula I can find and she's doing great, however I'm still heartbroken about It and as soon as she can eat she will have a vegan diet, but my question is, when can I incorporate/wean her into plant milk?
They say to wean baby's onto proper cow milk as opposed to formula once they are 1, I'm wondering if it's OK to switch her to plant milk (and which one?!) At 1 or would she need to continue cows milk!
I just want the best for my baby, thanks for any help

I would say maybe continue with cow's milk for a while longer. It's good for babies upto age of 12 months.

 

[David3]

The original post is from 2016, so this baby is already eating solid foods

Because infancy and young childhood are developmentally so important, it's not a good idea to depend on public forums for infant/toddler nutrition advice. Reliable advice should be sought from a Registered Dietitian (abbreviated RD or RDN) who specializes in pediatric nutrition and in vegetarian/vegan nutrition.

The Vegetarian Resource Group has published a detailed webpage about vegan nutrition for infants: https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/kids.php. It's written by Reed Mangels, a registered dietitian and co-author of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Position Paper on Vegetarian Diets (the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world's largest association of registered dietitians).

Feeding Vegan Kids -- The Vegetarian Resource Group

Vegetarian nutrition information, recipes, books, and publishers of Vegetarian Journal. The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on vegetarianism and the interrelated issues of health, nutrition, ecology, ethics, and world hunger. In...

www.vrg.org

In the United States, you can find a local Registered Dietitian through the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: http://www.eatright.org . Just click on the "Find an Expert" button, located in the upper-right-hand portion of the webpage.

In the U.K., you can find a local Registered Dietitian on the Freelance Dietitians website: http://www.freelancedietitians.org/

In New Zealand, you can find a local Registered Dietitian through the Dietitians New Zealand website: http://dietitians.org.nz/find-a-dietitian/

In Australia, you can find a local Accredited Practising Dietitian through the Dietitians Association of Australia: https://daa.asn.au/find-an-apd/

In Canada, you can find a local Registered Dietitian at the Dietitians of Canada website: http://www.dietitians.ca/Find-a-Dietitian.aspx .

In the Nederlands, you can find a local Registered Dietitian at http://www.nvdietist.nl/ .

.

 

[David3]

Important note regarding infant nutrition (vegan and otherwise): Mainstream vegan nutrition organizations, and mainstream omnivore nutrition organizations, both emphasize that young children require diets that are higher in dietary fat. Low-fat diets are not appropriate for children under 2 years of age.

Bear in mind that human breast milk contains 55% of its calories from fat:

Calories in Human Breast Milk | CalorieKing

There are 171 calories in 1 cup (8 fl. oz) of Human Breast Milk. You'd need to walk 47 minutes to burn 171 calories. Visit CalorieKing to see calorie count and nutrient data for all portion sizes.

www.calorieking.com

Milk, human, mature, fluid Nutrition Facts & Calories

nutritiondata.self.com

Here is the Vegetarian Resource Group's statement regarding dietary fat and young children's nutrition:

"Some parents wish to reduce their children's risk of developing heart disease later in life and markedly restrict the fat in their children's diets (10 to 15 percent of calories from fat). In some cases, a very low fat diet can compromise a child's growth because the child is not getting enough calories. There is no evidence that a very low fat diet is any healthier for a vegan child than a diet that has somewhat more fat (25 to 35 percent of calories from fat). Fat should not be limited for infants less than 2 years. It should be between 30 and 40% of calories for 1 to 3 year olds, and between 25 and 35% of calories for 2 to 3 year olds, and between 25 and 35% of calories for children and teens (7). If you are using a lower fat diet than this, check that the child's growth is normal and that the child is eating enough food to meet nutrient needs. For more information see Nutrition Hotline: www.vrg.org/journal/vj2016issue1/2016_issue1_nutrition_hotline.php. "
Link: https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/kids.php


Here is the American Academy of Pediatrics' statement regarding dietary fat and young children's nutrition:

"Childhood is the best time to start heart-healthy eating habits. But eating healthy for most children doesn't mean following adult goals for cutting back on total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol, particularly for children younger than 2 years. Fat is an essential nutrient that supplies the energy, or calories, children need for growth and active play and should not be severely restricted."
Link: https://www.healthychildren.org/Eng...ion/Pages/What-About-Fat-And-Cholesterol.aspx


Per the recommendations of these reputable organizations, young children should not be fed low-fat style diets (such as the McDougall diet, the Esselstyn diet, the Ornish diet, or fruit-centered raw diets).