What do raw vegans feed babies if they can't breastfeed?

[qfmother]

I'm just wondering - I've always been a long-time breastfeeder with all of my babies. But with my last baby, which is #6 for me, I had a really hard time with low milk supply. I tried everything (believe me - I really tried everything) but had to put her on formula starting at 3 months old. She breastfed partially until she was 9 months old, and then she quit. She is now 11 months old and still drinking formula. I've been feeling bad that out of my whole family - she is the one who gets the least amount of raw foods. I know I can start giving her more and more raw foods as she gets older - she loves green smoothies for example. But I was just wondering what other raw foodists give their babies if they can't totally breastfeed.

[EZ rider]

I wonder if she would like fresh young coconut milk using a Vitamix to blend the juice and pulp together long enough to make it warm.

[rawbabymama]

Coconut milk by itself doesn't contain sufficient nutrients for an infant, but I bet the baby would enjoy it. It is difficult for a baby to be vegan without breastmilk. I know my Tia Gilda drank fresh goats milk as a baby - it was raw and milked daily, so it worked out very well for her, though I have read goat's milk is too low in something for people...was it B12? Not sure.

In Udo Erasmus' book, Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, he mentions mare milk as being very healthy for people because horses make the long chain omega 3s humans need.

Most of don't have access to horses. I bet gorilla or bonobo milk would be even better, .

As for staying vegan... One could try doing a nutritional analysis of formula and concocting a raw version with an identical macro nutrient and micro nutrient content. The supplements one would have to add would probably include ones which don't pass "raw" criteria, but it would still be healthier than formula without the soy/dairy component & refined oils & sugars. I say analyze the formula because the nutrients in breastmilk are perfect only because they are readily assimilated... breastmilk is alive and dynamic, and simply mimicking the nutrient content might not produce favorable results. The formula story is long and complicated; it took them many tries to get it right, hence the name formula. I figure they learned how much of the different nutrients they needed to add to ensure the baby survived the first year.

I don't know any raw people who have done this, but I spoke to some Weston Price folks who made a formula based on raw cow or goats milk plus supplements, and their children did well. I believe a vegan version would be possible, but one would have to get it right, maybe consult a raw friendly dietitian.

Best Wishes,

Michele

[Conscious Midwife]

Most vegan folks I know who stopped nursing before 1 were already feeding there kiddos food of some sort anyway

so maybe assorted smoothies with raw nut milk as the base

purees from sprouted beans (baby hummus)

pureed fruit

very ripe bananas and avocados

[sbaker]

a few months ago on a plane from ireland she had twins and could not produce for them, she made her own formula..it was hemp based and raw. her babies were 11 months and very chunky and healthy young ladies. i know she just moved to cali and wants to market it..this is her husbands website, it might help....

http://adamkleinberg.com/

[Myca]

Don't feel bad. I also have 6. My third and my sixth were not fed as the others. My third, I dried up when she was three months. I gave her Enfamil until she was able to eat. Very healthy kid.
My sixth was never breastfed at all. She was born with PPHN and lifeflighted 3 hours away before she was 24 hours old for ECMO. She took up an ECMO bed for 7 days, a regular vent for 3 weeks and went home 3 weeks after that, total of 6 weeks from Hell. She ended up on Enfamil.
Today she is a very beautiful healthy 6 y/o. Her residual issue was Asthma, for about 2 years[vent lung damage]. She now has no issues with it.
As for bonding, we are as bonded as two can be and I did not live in the NICU, 24/7. I visited everyday, went to the apartment everynight and trusted the staff to due their job, which they did very well.
Thank God for Shands Hospital in Florida!!
Go Gators!!
Myca

[Azaria]

Have you looked into getting donated breastmilk? In most communities there are militant breastfeeding mamas who often answer the call of someone who wants to maintain the gold standard of breastmilk but may be facing difficulty. I have seen *amazing* teamwork to make it happen.

[qfmother]

Thanks for all the suggestions! My baby will be 1 year on May 16th, so I am thinking about a lot of raw foods to give her as I wean her off of the formula. I read that banana milk or coconut milk would be good too.

[Anais]

My daughter weaned herself when she was 18 months. I gave her raw almond milk with dates and apples blended in, and it became one of her staple foods.

[Pizza]

i would look for a lactation consultant and invest in a few sessions with her. IBCLC is the industry gold standard, in terms of accreditation (others may know just as much or more, though)

as a fallback, i would look for a milk bank or ask a friend (or friends) to pump extra. you will have to pay.

if all that fails, then i would consider almond milk, and other mylks. combinations, probably, to give baby as much nutrition as possible, and go gently on her system.