raw foods for baby?

No!! They stomachs are sooo much smaller and sensitive. They also need a large amount of callories and fat which they cannot get on high fibre diets (which a raw diet would be to a child). They need cooked foods and lots of healthy fats.

I would agree with Krista. I think raw foods are hard to digest. And the bulk would make it hard to get enough in. If I can put in a separate vote, do veggies BEFORE fruits. If you do that, they will love the taste of veggies and fruits when they get them later will be a treat. Otherwise they get all used to the sweet taste of fruit and spit peas all over you

Yes, vegetables FIRST. Oh dear god, for your own sanity, feed them veggies first

There's lots of healthy fat in raw avocado...



And raw almond or walnut butters...

Or raw hummus made w/ extra-virgin olive oil and sprouted chickpeas...



Honestly, I think you could feed your baby a lot of raw foods and it would be just fine.

children under 2 should not have nuts.

heh! i was gonna say that.

I've been told that it was under one year for tree nuts, and under two years for peanuts, due to allergy risks...but no whole nuts because of choking hazard.

Most suggest 2 years actually; three years for peanuts. edited: many people with no history of allergies start peanut butter at 2, but if there are any allergies in your family (doesn't have to be nut ones), then it is best to wait until three.



You do not want to fill your child up on high fibre foods. Beans, raw vegetables, excessive amounts of juice, etc will increase your child's risk of definencies, especially B12, zinc and iron.



Introduce cooked fortified grains slowly (mix with formula or breastmilk), the veggies, the fruits, etc. Some people do veggies then grains, but whatever works. Until your child has teeth, you will have to feed well-cooked veggies anyways.



Try making your own baby food. It's pretty easy to do (cook a batch, freeze in ice cube trays, wrap tightly) and saves you a lot of money. You can also mix and match flavours that way (ie use a little banana with a hated vegetable).

I was eating peanut butter practically out of the womb, and what did I develop allergies to? Wheat and dairy I wish I knew how all that stuff worked...

If you cubed your apples small enough, as they cooked, they should have just turned into apple sauce. There shouldn't be any blending necessary.



I made cranberry sauce a few months ago and couldn't believe those berries turned into the sauce they did. It was cool to watch.

Hey Sheri,

I made all my own babyfood. Started with veggies, too (sensitive bowels, severe colic for the first few months !). Cereal and fruit came after the veggies. I used mostly organic stuff. I blended after cooking (in a small steamer/blender with a lid, especially designed for babyfood, but you can steam and then blend in a big blender of course, just remember to put the lid on !).

I agree with all the comments on raw food, fiber, nuts, etc...

You would want to follow the British baby instructions : they start off with veggies and they publish lists of what to give at which age. Just omit the dairy/meat/fish part (be creative on these categories) and yes, avocado is a very good all-round food. I liked the British lists because they seemed very sensible to me (much more so than American lists).

I breastfed my kid for 26 months, 4 months exclusively, then in addition to the other food, and she got protein/fat from the breastmilk as well of course so I didn't worry too much. After she weaned herself, I started giving her enriched soy milk for toddlers.

I have a few books from Dr. Miriam Stoppard (British, probably available through Amazon for you guys), which are not vegetarian but very useful for the basic info. I also got some folders from the State "baby welfare" services with lists of foods and when to start them. Just as a guideline.

Good luck, and do ask us anything. My daughter is now almost 3 years old and growing well (although she is a picky eater)... I have developed quite a few tricks to get her to eat certain nutrients... LOL !



Kim

I am going to recommed a book here, it's called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. I got it right at Waldenbooks and have seen it in Media Play, it runs about $20, but I am still using the recipes and will for a long time. Logan ate everything from beets, beet green, okra, all tropical fruits, pumpkin, etc. There is a glossary in the back that lists alphabetically every fruit and veggie you could want to use, tells you how to prepare it, what age is appropriate, and recipe suggestions. The recipe section is excellent, there is a section that gives an overview on each necessary vitamin/mineral, gives the value of the food item with most to least of that element. There is also wonderful ideas of how to make your own wipes (did it for a loooong time, going back to it as we have diaper rash from my laziness), and a million other tricks. The book is obviously geared to natural parenting and vegetarian/vegan parenting, it was a lifesaver. I swear, everything you need to make your own food and more is in that book, go get it!!!!

i would strongly reccommend breastfeeding exclusively and on demand for at least the first six months post partum; many babies are exclusively breastfed for up to a year after birth. follow your baby's cues. i encourage you to check out the la leche league website at www.lalecheleague.org for answers to many of your baby feeding questions.



i strongly discourage giving your baby juice of any sort. it is high sugar and low fibre (even the fresh, homemade stuff) and will teach your baby to love very sweet things. before the age of six months they really don't need any other liquids (or solids) besides your breastmilk. after that if you really want to give your baby something to drink other than breastmilk SMALL amounts of water would probably be okay. just don't let your baby fill up on it...you want your baby to continue getting all her hydration and nutrients from your breastmilk for as long as possible.

Yes, follow your baby's cues. My oldest was practically stealing food off our plates by 6 months old and our youngest didn't have any interest in babyfood until she was 9 months old. Both were breastfed for over a year.



I had to pump because I went back to work but neither had formula. They never had anything in a bottle other than expressed breastmilk. I wouldn't recommend giving them juice in a bottle...it's too sweet and sugary. By the time your baby is old enough to take sips out of a cup, offer water and maybe a little watered down juice. Breastmilk will definitely be the primary food/beverage for the first year. Before that time, they didn't take much from a cup...it was just for practice!

Amen to that Kreeli. Children need lots of water after they are done with breastmilk. But while they're on breastmilk, they really don't need any other liquids.I

She's trying to be like you



pickle is right on w/ the queues - my sister's eldest son, for example, was starving on breastmilk at ~2 months and ended up on Pablum and veggies that month. My bf's eldest only had formula for 8+ months b/c he didn't want anything else. I guess that's why they don't come with manuals.



I think juice is a bad idea for anything beyond a treat. Some cooked veggies would be better.

I am just getting into raw and I am not sure about giving a baby raw foods exclusively. Check in with thegardendiet.com. They are raising their children raw. My children eat alot of raw foods but also cooked vegan for the most part. My second daughter, from the time she was about 4 monthes old would sit at the table with us and point and reach for food. You can give them raw mashed banana and avacado. From a very young age my children ate lentil soup and curried veggie stew pureed thru a baby food grinder. They also loved fresh veggie juice at a very young age. I would let them taste it from my cup or thru a straw. When they were a little older they drank it from their sippy cups, you can water it down a little for them.

Good luck and follow your instinct, fresh fruits and veggies are great for them!!

Lisa

hey krista, you seem to know a lot about this, how did we keep our babies alive before we cooked everything? im not saying you are wrong i am honestly interested to see if anyone knows