Milk for babies? Vegan advice...?

Question

Here's the skinny: was physically unable to breastfeed when I gave birth, I researched some formula options quickly (assumed I would be able to breastfeed and the boy was hungry!) and have stuck with it.

He's now one year old, and eats a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, mashed up beans, etc, with small amounts of meat and dairy. I barely eat meat and don't tolerate dairy well myself. I'm considering a vegan diet for us, and I have loads of dietary information available for adults.

My big question is this: what to give the boy to drink? Now would be the "traditional" time to get off the formula and switch to whole cow's milk. The idea sickens me. I couldn't give him milk, formula was bad enough but I had no time for choices, I don't want to give the honor of milk to some cow.

I know babies need lots of healthy fats and calcium - supposedly provided by a big fat cup of milk. I don't want to do it. Do babies really NEED milk? Any advice/sources appreciated.

First, none of the pediatricians I have seen have much knowledge of nutrition. Beyond "breastmilk is best" and "there's nothing wrong with Gerber". I agree with the first and wholeheartedly disagree with the second. Sugar is not good for a six month old baby, and is included in Stage 1 & 2 foods.

Second, I am this boy's MOTHER. My sole responsibility in life right now is to make choices for him. To simply ride the wave of obese conventional American "wisdom" until he is old enough to choose for himself would be the most irresponsible thing I could do as a human being at this point in my life.

Answer 1

So far I completely agree with your position, your arguments, and your feeling like you need to find answers to this puzzle.

First of all I ofer my condolences about not being able to create breast milk. Not like this next bit matters any more, because your child has grown out of breast feeding, but did you consider feeding him human breast milk from an alternative source? Could be something to consider if you have another child ...

anyway back to the point. What are the things that milk offers to the human body, particularly to children? Calcium is reputed to be the big name benefit of milk, apperently offering massive volumes nutritionally compared to all it's other attributes. What the popular press don't tell people is that higher levels of calcium can be found in many different vegetable based foods, compared to the levels found in milk, so by doing research into which foods contain lots of calcium, and managing your child's diet carefully, you can not only completely eliminate milk from your child's diet, and all the foods that contain milk, but with the kind of considerations you have expressed in your additional information, I am confident that you will remain patient enough in your research to calculate exactly how much of what foods to give your child to actually EXCEED your child's recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) of calcium.

Allow me to give you a hint, before I go. Look into the levels of calcium in leafy green vegetables, and compare GE and inorganic, with GE-free and inorganic, with GE-free and organic, of the same thing, relative to prices. And also it's good to go global when searching for a wide variety of leafy greens, because I know of a lot that are classified as "chinese greens", and theres a wide variety that are exclusive to Africa, the Islands of South East Asia, and so on.

Good luck and happy hunting, and then gathering (of information).

Oh, one more thing, check out differences between cooked and raw.

Peace be with you.

Answer 2

I did breastfeed my son and when it was time to get him to drink milk, he didn't like cow's milk. So, after doing some research, I started giving him Silk Very Vanilla that is fortifed for kids. It has all the same nutrients that milk has. My son still drinks it and he's 3 years old. Has had no problems w/ his health since I did not give him cows milk. But he does eat a lot of cheese. Good Luck : )

Answer 3

yes babies still need much of healthy fats -- different from trans fats. so I agree with not having a baby going full blown vegan yet.

Try SOY milk, alot easier on the digestive system and healthy. No worries about hormones, additives / preservatives.

As he gets older try incorporating a lot of fruits to make smoothies. bananas, berries, strawberry, papayas, pineapples, etc.


hope this helps

Answer 4

soy milk. eden soy is good. rice milk will work as well. there are so many more choices now. i would recoment soy milk for you and your baby. the brand silk is good too but mostly comes flavored (vanilla.) as long as your baby gets enough protein hell be fine. make sure to read the labels since most baby food contains egg or dairy.

Answer 5

Cow's milk is designed for calves-human children do NOT need it. I don't know where you got the idea that the fat in milk is healthy-it's butterfat.
As for calcium, many other foods are good sources-broccoli,kale,okra,almonds,beans,sesame seeds,oranges,collard greens an most soy milk is fortified with it.
A varied vegan diet would probably be healthier for your child than the traditional diet for kids in the US.

Answer 6

Actually, if he's old enough to drink cow's milk but you prefer not to - let him drink whatever beverage you find suitable and give him calcium supplements everyday. They have the chocolate flavor ones now and they're yummy. My son loves 'em but he hates milk.

Answer 7

Someone on vegfamily.com asked a similar question (baby is 1 year old mother is one year old, wants to avoid dairy) , you can read the response by visiting the link.


http://www.vegfamily.com/dietician/0604b.htm

You may also want to look around the vegfamily site after you read the article.

Answer 8

soy or rice milk. rice dream is excellent for babies. they are probably already adjusted to a grain diet with cereal and such. so to go to rice milk is an easy transition. good luck!

Answer 9

If you want and need to give milk, goat's milk is best. Cow's milk is meant to feed the young of a 2000-pound animal. Goats are more of a size with humans and so the nutrient balance makes much more sense.

Answer 10

you should let your child make his own choice when he gets older for now he need the milk any doctor will tell you its the best