Protein and B12 for babies

[tipmart87]

Yesterday, we attended our baby shower and had a great time.

Towards the end of the evening after the eating and gift opening the subject matter turned to raising the baby and all the mothers exchanged information on what they do. I jumped in here and explained how i want to use the Plant strong diet for our son. I changed myself two years ago with no regrets. My wife still eats a little meat and fish but has cut back greatly. My wife is also reluctant to go the Plant strong way. A friend also said that one of her friends who works at Kaiser told of how a doctor is thinking about reporting some Vegan parents for neglect as their child is not putting on enough weight.

My questions is, what sources of protein are safe for a baby as soon as they can start to eat? What about getting enough B12? I don't want to use that many "soy" products! As an athlete and competitive cyclist and climber, i am hopeful that our son will also take a keen interest in sports and so naturally want him to have an excellent diet. We are meeting a paeditrician this coming week and it will be interesting to see what she thinks of my plans

[jamietwo]

Dr. McDougall has a really good article on raising kids this way: http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2012nl/sep/children.htm

I've raised my teenager on a plant-based diet since birth. My philosophy differs slightly from Dr. McDougall's as we breastfed longer than 2 years. The plant-based diet provides plenty of protein, so no need to worry. We supplement with B12 - they make B12 drops for young children too.

I wouldn't discuss diet with the doctor - most of them aren't educated in nutrition. A decade or so ago, our obese pediatrician (who knew about our plant-based diet) started fussing about our child's weight. He was still well within the "normal" weight range for his height and age, but he was lower on the curve after he quit breastfeeding, and his growth pattern was (and still is) to get taller before gaining weight. My solution? I quit taking him to the pediatrician! If he was sick, I took him to our family doctor who has never been concerned about his weight. Yes, he's slim, but he's also super active, bright, and healthy!

Congratulations on your baby! And good luck!