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Feeding 8.5 month baby

My daughter is 8.5months old. I myself eat lots of raw food and I of course want to give her the healthiest of food. She has been a purely breast milk fed baby up until a few months ago when I started steaming and blending organic yams, squash, zuchinni, and carrots and also feeding her bananas and avocados. In baby books, I have read about iron-fortified cereal, and I am wondering how I can provide this need for iron intake without buying a box of processed baby cereal.

I am also wondering what else to feed her. I was thinking maybe some oatmeal might be next.

I have also heard mixed things about giving her only raw food, as I have been told that its too harsh on their little digestive systems.

What advice do you have on providing her food for her iron requirements, also what else is good to feed her, and what is your opinion on raw food and little babies?

Comments

  • zinfandelzinfandel Raw Newbie

    I would personally definitely just give her raw foods. It isn't harsh on the digestive system at all. Its what humans are designed to eat... I also would not give her too much fat at once. Fats are harder to digest. Thats just my personal preference. you could look at www.fruitgod.com she raised her kids entirely on FRUITS ONLY! one of her kids is like 14-15 and has no bone problems at all and her kids are the perfect picture of health and happiness.

  • I have a 9 1/2 mo old and am also trying to keep him vegan, dairy-free, wheat-free and mostly raw.

    Dark, leafy greens are a good source of iron. An easy way to incorporate those would be to sprinkle some dulse flakes into the food you are already preparing. It is also high in B12! Kinda like a green smoothie for your little one. I'm not sure how much would be appropriate for their little tummys, but I think a little couldn't hurt.

    Also, I would hold off on the oatmeal, as it can be hard to digest. I started giving mine the oatmeal cereal for babies, and I think it made him more constipated.

    I got a good recipe for a sunflower seed "oatmeal"-like cereal that is really yummy and simple! It's just soaked sunflower seeds, coconut milk, cinnamon. Blend it all together until it is an oatmeal consistency. You could add some fruit like banana to it for extra flavor.

    Also, I found a coconut milk yogurt at our local grocery. It's called So Delicious. here's the site:

    http://www.purelydecadent.com/products/coconut_yogurt.html

    I was thinking of making my own coconut yogurt eventually with probiotics, but this is easy for now! And it really helps with his digestion.

    Hope this helps!

  • I know several people who have tried low fat fruitarian diets on growing children, and their children have suffered a myriad of problems, including epilepsy. I would be very very hesitent to limit fat intake for a child; it is medically proven that children need fat more than adults, to the point where some courts of law have considered it child abuse to restrict the fat intake of children. The people I know whose children have suffered on these diets is anectodal, but so is the fruitgod.com person's story. Please do whatever you end up doing under the guidance of a nutrition or medical professional whose ideas are in alignment with yours, with the education to back them and make the execution of said ideas safe as possible.

  • spiritedmamaspiritedmama Raw Newbie

    Our neurons are mileanated with fats/cholesterol, so I too believe that our children need lots of good fats for neural development. Limiting fats is o.k. for adults, but from birth to about 7 years old is when our bodies are building our nervous systems and brains. With my 5 year old daughter, I let her eat what her body tells her too, since she is 95% raw. What I have observed from her is that she gravitates to lots of nuts and seeds and fruit. She has done this since she was a little over a year old. Since babies and nuts don't really go together, I would recommend using avocado, coconut-derived foods, and nut mylks instead. This is what I do with my baby now. Also, she has about a shot-glass worth of green smoothie everyday. Our green smoothies are very simple: spinach and one other green (we rotate these on weekly basis), 1 banana, and 1 other "baby friendly" fruit of choice. I would love to hear an update on how things are going!

  • zinfandelzinfandel Raw Newbie

    Your right, I'm wrong. Fats are apparently great for little ones under ten or something like that. Shazzie has some info on her site about babies.

  • rawmamanibblesrawmamanibbles Raw Newbie

    I would recomend grabbing a copy of Shazzies new bood "raising an estatic child" it's all about raising a raw baby/child and how to get iron and such important nutrients into them with raw foods so u dont have to resort to conventional methods.

    Great Book!

  • I personally would not put a young child on an 100% raw diet. I believe the risks outway the benefit. I would DEFINATELY go high raw and whole food with a small child though. I don't mean to be a nay sayers. Just my opinion. If your child "fails to thrive", by the time you can tell, the damage may be permanent. But high raw, and lots of homemade babyfoods- YES.

  • I have a 9 month old soon to be 10 months on the 10th of April. I give her plenty of raw veggies and roots but I give her cooked foods too like homemade bean or pea soup. She was stricktly breastfeeding until my breasts went on strike! Now I have to give her formula (which I hate). Since being given formula, her skin is splotchy and a little bit rough on her cheeks. Since I have been given her more raw fruits and good oils, it has gotten better. As far as her iron content. When I make her homemade apple or pear sauce, I will throw a couple of spinich leaves or a half a kale leaf in the mixture.

  • vegan2rawvegan2raw Raw Newbie

    HiRawmen what you are describing whith your child are signs of a dairy allergy or an allergy to something in the formula do you have access to any Goats milk formula or donated breastmilk from a local facility? Just a suggestion my daughter is also allergic to dairy with similiar symptoms and they can get worse the longer you eat the food you are allergic to.

    Peace

  • susan121susan121 Raw Newbie

    For iron, I was advised to soak pumpkin seeds and dried plums overnight, then blend them together. It's supposed to be the best combo for iron absorption. Hope that helps!

  • Hi, I'm new here. My son is 18 weeks old, full-term breastfed.

    I'm thinking what to do when the time for his first meals comes, all raw, a little bit cooked... ? So I'm very interested in your experiences...

  • Blessings Rosa,

    I originally posted the post, now my daughter is 10 months old.

    She is still breastfed, but pretty much just at night.

    I make her fresh juices in the juicer and dilute it 50% with water.

    I started feeding her solids by steaming organic veggies such as zuchini, carrot, yam, squash, etc.

    Then we worked our way to oatmeal, that i would grind, then soak overnight and then cook.

    Bananas and avocado were popular with her for awhile.

    I made her all different types of mushes in the food processor, also incoportating raw greens in applesauce, etc.

    She loves steamed greens and steamed cauliflower.

    Now she's going thru a fase where she only wants to feed herself, so mushes (which i fed her with a spoon) are out, and i give her chunks of fruit, apricot, strawberry, pear, melon, and i sord of grind it with my teeth first, and then spit it out on her table so she can feed herself.

    she has also been having some humus type bean dips lately that i've made for myself (not raw)

    once i sprouted mung beans, then steamed them, and then made a dip from them, she loved it

    It was a hard choice, but a few weeks ago, I un-veganized her, and gave her raw unpasturized goat's milk that i get from my neighbor's goats, she's growing and i really felt that she needed something extra.

    Welcome to motherhood!

  • spiritedmamaspiritedmama Raw Newbie

    I know I have posted this before on other threads, but wanted to repost here...Gabriel Cousens has some great info. on feeding raw babies/toddlers/kids in his bood Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine, as well as Conscious Eating. We are following it with our 8 month old daughter, and I feel it is working very well....

  • Hi spirited mama, another question for you (also one on another post): Which one would you advice more for info about raw nursing, babies and more, conscious eating of rainbow green life food cuisine?

  • spiritedmamaspiritedmama Raw Newbie

    Concious Eating has more info. on nursing, etc. I think.

  • Thanx again... (-:

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