Calling all veggie parents(and parents-to-be!)

[Eggplant]

Hi everyone, I am very late in joining this thread but wow so relieved to see so many other veggie/vegan parents to be.

I am a vegan of 2 years and been veggie on and off since around the age of 10 (now 32). My OH has recently gone vegan in the last 6 months or so - he was a fully committed meat-eater when we got together so people naturally think I have bullied him in to it! Grr that annoys me as if he hasn't got a brain in his head to make his own choices!!

I'm in Tri2, and I have had my doubts along the way about staying vegan. I would never eat meat or fish again but I have worried about staying vegan in pregnancy and raising a vegan child and wondered about raising them veggie instead, both nutritionally and socially it seemed like the easier thing to do, if that makes sense? I'd done loads of reading for the past year about vegan nutrition in pregnancy and soul searching about whether ethically I thought this was the right way to raise my child, ie feeling quite strict about what they can and can't eat/wear etc, then realised I would be compromising my personal beliefs to make others feel at ease, if that makes sense?

Anyway I have told the three midwives I have met and obstetric consultant and all my bloods have come back fine as usual with the exception of Vitamin D but this is due to a health condition I have which limits the amount of time I spend in sunshine. They were happy for me to look up my own vegan supplements as necessary. My in-laws have got used to me being vegan and started to buy vegan-friendly things, even going to the effort of finding vegan wool so family can knit stuff for baby! Others reactions haven't been as great though.

I just think me and my OH will take it one step at a time, and deal with things as they arise, and our LO will be able to make the choice to stay vegan or not when they are old enough to choose - after all I can't control them when they are old enough to make their own decisions. So that's me, sorry for the lengthy introduction!!! Waffling!!

 

[Button#]

I think the fish thing is because it isnt classed as meat although its still killing an animal so I dont see what the difference is

The fact it's not classed as meat is a religious differentiation, not a biological one! There is a lot of misinformation about this, and it boils down to when Catholics commonly did not eat any meat on Friday(A practice that has since mostly died out, and usually only happens during lent now). Because a large number of devote Catholics were also subsistence fishermen, who would not have food aside from fish to eat most days, fish was never included in the ban. Originally the text explaining the religious laws about fasts was written in Latin, and includes a word which translates loosely to meat, but actually means meat of mammals and birds, with the exclusion of fish, insects and amphibians. For some reason this distinction has just never "fallen out" of use as time goes on.

Whenever someone says fish is not meat, I kindly remind them that it is a religious not a biological distinction.

Yeah. I know weird facts. And now, so do you...LOL.

Can't wait until I have a little veggie around here! I'm sure people will love it when my three year old tells them "it is a religious not a biological distinction." as I'm sure they will have heard it only a few thousand times by then

(ETA: guys, love that there are some new veggies on board, but I want this thread to be more about the issues we have raising a veggie family, and really don't want to get into the vegan/vegetarian debate. I want everyone to feel welcome here, so please not to much talk about ethics of eating animal products, unless of course it directly relates to raising veggie kids! Love that you are here though, definitely don't want to make anyone feel badly!! I'm a lover not a fighter )

Thanks for that, my OH loves random facts like that!

 

[Feronia]

Hi everyone, I am very late in joining this thread but wow so relieved to see so many other veggie/vegan parents to be.

I am a vegan of 2 years and been veggie on and off since around the age of 10 (now 32). My OH has recently gone vegan in the last 6 months or so - he was a fully committed meat-eater when we got together so people naturally think I have bullied him in to it! Grr that annoys me as if he hasn't got a brain in his head to make his own choices!!

I'm in Tri2, and I have had my doubts along the way about staying vegan. I would never eat meat or fish again but I have worried about staying vegan in pregnancy and raising a vegan child and wondered about raising them veggie instead, both nutritionally and socially it seemed like the easier thing to do, if that makes sense? I'd done loads of reading for the past year about vegan nutrition in pregnancy and soul searching about whether ethically I thought this was the right way to raise my child, ie feeling quite strict about what they can and can't eat/wear etc, then realised I would be compromising my personal beliefs to make others feel at ease, if that makes sense?

Anyway I have told the three midwives I have met and obstetric consultant and all my bloods have come back fine as usual with the exception of Vitamin D but this is due to a health condition I have which limits the amount of time I spend in sunshine. They were happy for me to look up my own vegan supplements as necessary. My in-laws have got used to me being vegan and started to buy vegan-friendly things, even going to the effort of finding vegan wool so family can knit stuff for baby! Others reactions haven't been as great though.

I just think me and my OH will take it one step at a time, and deal with things as they arise, and our LO will be able to make the choice to stay vegan or not when they are old enough to choose - after all I can't control them when they are old enough to make their own decisions. So that's me, sorry for the lengthy introduction!!! Waffling!!

Welcome, Eggplant! With both you and your OH as vegans, it shouldn't be difficult to remain vegan throughout your pregnancy and beyond if you so desire. I'm remaining vegan, DH is vegan as well, and we will raise LO 100% vegan. So far, my midwives have only been impressed with my food logs and blood work (I'm in the second trimester as well), so I'm not worried about nutrition. What can you get nutritionally easier as a veggie that you can't also get easily as a vegan?

It's been tough with me and family as well, but they've had years to get used to us being vegan so hopefully it won't be too tricky once LO arrived. We do still receive the occasionally leather or wool item, and we just politely accept them since the damage has been done...

Anyway, It sounds like a good idea to take it one step at a time. Best of luck!

 

[counting]

Welcome all the new people! I'm so glad that there are so many other parents planning to raise their children veggie, and who are already raising the next generation of veggievores!

I think one of the most important things about being in a minority when it comes to anything, but especially something so controversial as raising children, it's good to find like minded people and form a little community where you don't have to worry about the outside worlds many opinions about doing things differently!

Just as a random thought, has anyone who maintained a veggie pregnancy not bothered with telling your doctor you are a vegetarian? The only reason is, my last family doctor who has since moved knew that I was vegetarian because it came up in conversation about something else. My new family family doctor who I've had for over a year now...I don't think I've ever mentioned it to her?? For some reason I think unless I'm asked or it's somehow relevant(In terms of something she is prescribing, etc) I probably won't even mention it. Since it's not really an issue for me, and I'm fairly knowledgeable about veggie nutrition is it really important for my doctor to know? Opinions ladies

 

[Rachel_C]

I think the fish thing is because it isnt classed as meat although its still killing an animal so I dont see what the difference is

The fact it's not classed as meat is a religious differentiation, not a biological one! There is a lot of misinformation about this, and it boils down to when Catholics commonly did not eat any meat on Friday(A practice that has since mostly died out, and usually only happens during lent now). Because a large number of devote Catholics were also subsistence fishermen, who would not have food aside from fish to eat most days, fish was never included in the ban. Originally the text explaining the religious laws about fasts was written in Latin, and includes a word which translates loosely to meat, but actually means meat of mammals and birds, with the exclusion of fish, insects and amphibians. For some reason this distinction has just never "fallen out" of use as time goes on.

Whenever someone says fish is not meat, I kindly remind them that it is a religious not a biological distinction.

Yeah. I know weird facts. And now, so do you...LOL.

Isn't otter classed as a fish in the Roman Catholic world?! I'm sure I read that somewhere!

Just as a random thought, has anyone who maintained a veggie pregnancy not bothered with telling your doctor you are a vegetarian? The only reason is, my last family doctor who has since moved knew that I was vegetarian because it came up in conversation about something else. My new family family doctor who I've had for over a year now...I don't think I've ever mentioned it to her?? For some reason I think unless I'm asked or it's somehow relevant(In terms of something she is prescribing, etc) I probably won't even mention it. Since it's not really an issue for me, and I'm fairly knowledgeable about veggie nutrition is it really important for my doctor to know? Opinions ladies

I can't remember whether I did actually tell the midwife in my second pregnancy. I remember telling a midwife at some point but thinking about it, I think it was first time round. I don't think it's important to tell them at all.

 

[counting]

I'm not positive Rachel_C, but I do know that most mammals that live primarily in water were/are considered "fish" for Catholics. ie. whales, dolphin and I think beaver were considered as fish. I don't know that the practice has continued though. It seems like otter might have been defined that way as well, since it primarily lives in water.

It's all religious, not scientific. LOL.

I don't know anyone who would try and insist to me that a beaver is a vegetable though!

 

[counting]

Why was this moved???

 

[BabyBean14]

.

 

[OmiOmen]

Well this thread was tough to find again.

Just as a random thought, has anyone who maintained a veggie pregnancy not bothered with telling your doctor you are a vegetarian?

I only told my midwife because I had borderline iron levels (not due to being a veggie but because I threw everything I ate up the first 4 months and the most I could keep down was a tiny amount of plane noodles) and some of the suggestions to add more in my diet was meat so I pointed out that I did not eat it.

 

[Eggplant]

Welcome, Eggplant! With both you and your OH as vegans, it shouldn't be difficult to remain vegan throughout your pregnancy and beyond if you so desire. I'm remaining vegan, DH is vegan as well, and we will raise LO 100% vegan. So far, my midwives have only been impressed with my food logs and blood work (I'm in the second trimester as well), so I'm not worried about nutrition. What can you get nutritionally easier as a veggie that you can't also get easily as a vegan?

It's been tough with me and family as well, but they've had years to get used to us being vegan so hopefully it won't be too tricky once LO arrived. We do still receive the occasionally leather or wool item, and we just politely accept them since the damage has been done...

Anyway, It sounds like a good idea to take it one step at a time. Best of luck!

Thank you for the very warm welcome to the thread. Its very nice to chat to other vegan parents-to-be. The first midwife I saw was impressed by my food diaries too (I took them as I expected to meet with a bit of criticism or eyebrow-raising) but she was impressed and said I had a better diet than her. She had no concerns at all. The midwife/consultant at the hospital were a little more disconcerted but still by and large ok with it, and the consultant said she was happy for me to get my own calcium and Omega 3 supplements (our local NHS Trust prescribes them routinely in Tri2 and 3, think its a clinical trial in this area).

I've finally met my named midwife and she was generally supportive too. Good luck to you too

Welcome all the new people! I'm so glad that there are so many other parents planning to raise their children veggie, and who are already raising the next generation of veggievores!

I think one of the most important things about being in a minority when it comes to anything, but especially something so controversial as raising children, it's good to find like minded people and form a little community where you don't have to worry about the outside worlds many opinions about doing things differently!

Just as a random thought, has anyone who maintained a veggie pregnancy not bothered with telling your doctor you are a vegetarian? The only reason is, my last family doctor who has since moved knew that I was vegetarian because it came up in conversation about something else. My new family family doctor who I've had for over a year now...I don't think I've ever mentioned it to her?? For some reason I think unless I'm asked or it's somehow relevant(In terms of something she is prescribing, etc) I probably won't even mention it. Since it's not really an issue for me, and I'm fairly knowledgeable about veggie nutrition is it really important for my doctor to know? Opinions ladies

Thank you for the welcome. Yes I definitely agree, it really helps to have others to talk to about it, particularly as friends and family can't really understand the rationale/principles for being and staying vegan, even though they accept it, if that makes sense. There have been few well-meaning but poorly thought through comments.

I only told my midwife I was vegan as I just wanted to be upfront about, get reassurance, and to know its not something I would need to broach with them later when I already have a rapport with them, if you see what I mean. Thats just me though, and I agree, you have no real reason to tell them if you don't want to.

 

[T-Bex]

Argh, we went to Cyprus for SIL's wedding, and I have never been so hungry in my life! The concept of 'no meat' just didn't register; the veggie option was, predictably, fish. Bethan ended up eating more meat in the last week than she ever has in her life before...

I have never appeciated tofu with such passion before, until I got home..