Vegetarian Mums and Babies!

[PeanutBean]

No good suggestions really. Mostly we still give Byron mixed veg. It's so good for him and we don't have to worry about salt or sugar or vitamins. We like to eat together but practically it rarely works out what with DH working late half the time or our meals not really being suitable for him.

 

[kirsten1985]

Yeah I just roast loooads of different vegetables cut into sticks. Me and OH have them with cheese on and salad and Freya has them on their own.

 

[Kitten]

Cheers girls, he keeps swiping at everything and pulling plates off tables etc. so I'm being careful not to have anything in that he shouldn't eat. I was eating a slice of bread with peanut butter on whilst feeding him the other day and he just stopped feeding and watched me and kept grabbing at it so I'm not buying anymore pb cos I know it's inevitable he'll steal some somehow one day. It's a nuisance that I can't eat when bf'ing anymore though as that was the only time I could get away with eating but now he just stops and watches me!

 

[abster]

Hi Kitten, we BLW'd #1, who's 28 months now. It wont be long before Theakston's able to eat quorn mince, cut-up veggie burger strips etc. It'll be very useful for protein. When we had bolognese we used pasta shapes rather than spg because they're easy to pick up. #1 used to pick up some mince and be spoon-fed some. Pasta bake will be fun to pick through and give him plenty to pick up. Baked potatoes are great -just cut his up into sticks he can pick up. I also gave her home-made baked chips with veg and cheese etc.
To begin with we gave her separate things from our meals, like you're suggesting, but you might be surprised at how quickly you're happy to move on. Or he might spend months just chucking it around and wanting breastfeeds at mealtimes. That's totally normal too - probably standard to be honest. #1 took to it v quickly but would still sometimes want me to feed her rather than eating her meal for a couple of months or so.

Stuff like roasted veg is great, or pasta shapes with pesto (Zest foods do a great veggie and vegan ones if you have a health food shop nearby).
Hope this helps.
aBI X

 

[Kitten]

Thanks abster! I thought quorn was a no-no cos of the salt? Or is it OK in moderation?

 

[PeanutBean]

Babies can have 1g of salt a day (and arguably need to have it) so you can always look at the salt content of the quorn and portion out accordingly. I recently discovered that 1 year olds get to have 2g salt so that's good. We will probably start giving Byron more by way of meat substitutes now he is one.

 

[abster]

I gave it to #1 from early on with no probs, I wasn't aware of any salt warnings for quorn to be honest. I don't add salt to anything I cook. Didn't give her marmite or salted butter til she was 1. Still don't give her junk food - no sugary stuff ever and crisps only at parties. People look at me like I'm some kind of freak, but she's fine with it - she has lots of stuff sweetened with fruit juice - check out the Organix baby snacks range. Awesome. Sainsbury's often do 1/3 off the range.
Glad to be helpful!
Abi x

 

[Kitten]

Cheers. I have some Organix fruit pots I got free so he's going to get some purees at some point lol. I've got so many free samples of baby rice and porridge and purees that I don't want but I'm sure I'll find a use for them

 

[kelly342000]

i went for a routine MW appointment last week and was scared silly by MW saying baby was measuring small and then sending me for a growth scan.
baby is on the very bottom of their growth chart things for my height and weight (almost below the 10th centile) and they want me to go for 2 weekly scans to monitor growth. if baby drops below this 10th centile they are talking of planned early c section delivery. this would be my worst nightmare as i want a home birth. am worried i may not be eating correctly which is why baby is small. anyone get any ideas on what i can include in diet that would help baby growth/weight gain???

 

[kirsten1985]

I don't know if you eating more would make baby grow?

Freya was on the 9th centile for my whole pregnancy, was born on 0.4th centile and is now on 9th again. No-one ever suggested they should get her out early, they were all for keeping her in as long as possible?!

I would just make sure you're eating properly, three balanced meals a day, I don't think I would eat more than that, as it will make you put on weight not baby surely?

Hm, maybe someone else knows.

 

[toffee87]

Protein I would have thought? If you can't have quorn, then https://www.vegsoc.org/info/protein.html

 

[abster]

How tall / big are you and your partner? Some people just make small babies - small people in particular! It's quite common for mums-to-be to have the crap scared out of them by this scenario (even when they've had small ones the first time round and this is their second). In part I think the NHS is worried about being sued by people and are protecting themselves. Not great for you though!
Just eat as much as you need to to feel satisfied - baby takes everything it needs before you get a look-in. Eat healthy stuff, not empty calories.
Try not to worry. If the baby is healthy there is no reason to whip it out early. That seems stupid!
Maybe you can try to talk to somebody at the National Childbirth Trust. Check out their website, see if there's a number you can ring for advice.
Abi x

 

[jen1604]

As long as you're eating an ok balanced diet I wouldn't panic that baby is small because of your diet.Its quite normal for the NHS to be a couple of lbs out on their measurements,I had growth scans with my little girl because they thought she was going to be overly small and she ended up being 7lbs 14!Has your midwife/consultant said to you that you need to be eating more?If not I wouldn't panic too much that that's why your baby is small

oh I'm sure there was something else I wanted to reply to...need to go back and read again xxx

 

[jen1604]

Hi Kitten, we BLW'd #1, who's 28 months now. It wont be long before Theakston's able to eat quorn mince, cut-up veggie burger strips etc. It'll be very useful for protein. When we had bolognese we used pasta shapes rather than spg because they're easy to pick up. #1 used to pick up some mince and be spoon-fed some. Pasta bake will be fun to pick through and give him plenty to pick up. Baked potatoes are great -just cut his up into sticks he can pick up. I also gave her home-made baked chips with veg and cheese etc.
To begin with we gave her separate things from our meals, like you're suggesting, but you might be surprised at how quickly you're happy to move on. Or he might spend months just chucking it around and wanting breastfeeds at mealtimes. That's totally normal too - probably standard to be honest. #1 took to it v quickly but would still sometimes want me to feed her rather than eating her meal for a couple of months or so.

Stuff like roasted veg is great, or pasta shapes with pesto (Zest foods do a great veggie and vegan ones if you have a health food shop nearby).
Hope this helps.
aBI X

Kitten,I agree with all of this!You will probably find sooner than you're expecting that you're happily to give Theakston just small portions of what you're eating.
As for Quorn,I remember we would give Ophelia little portions of bolognese with Quorn mince from quite early on,mixed with lots of veggies etc and she'd pick bits up and I'd spoon feed it at the same time to make sure she was getting lots in and it wasnt just smeared everywhere The only Quorn I kind of waited until she was a bit older to give was the things like sausages,burgers,etc.Mostly because with the mince/pieces its normally mixed into something with other things IYKWIM so they're getting less salt than if they're just munchin' on a burger
xxxxxxx

 

[kelly342000]

thansk for all your replies folks!
is hard not to worry and your replies do help calm me down!
i am 5ft 9" and weighed approx 140 lbs before pg. partner is 6ft 1" and is also slim, not sure of his weight though.
i have been eating whenever i am hungry but have only put on about 10lbs, but as someone mentioned, i don't want to be eating for the sake of it when am not hungry cos then that will just result in bigger me.
am trying to eat healthy, and trying to include protein in form of cheese and eggs and quorn daily and have not overdone on rubbish sugary chocolate stuff, but have not excluded it either, if i want it will have some. just wanted reassurance am doing the right thing.
no one has said i should be eating more or putting on more weight, i just thought perhaps i should be or have put on more weight? as i say is first and don't know how big i should be at 28 weeks, but still have barely noticeable bump.
baby certainly seems active enough and no other problems have been detected that i am aware of, just she is small. the cord and placenta appears to be working ok, so hopefully she will just be petite but perfectly formed!

 

[kirsten1985]

kelly, if it helps I had practically no bump 'til I was over 30 weeks, then it all started getting massive at the end! When I was 34 weeks someone asked if I was having twins, lol, when at 29 weeks you still couldn't tell I was preg. Maybe you will get bigger at the end?

 

[Kitten]

Try not to worry, I ate like a horse and Theakston measured 50-75th centile on all scans and was born on the 9th!! I went over to 41+2 and my bump was massive at the end and the midwives said to expect 8lbs+ and he was 6lb 14oz. They can't predict what's going to happen and measurements aren't all accurate. Unless bubs is in danger just leave it be, they sort themselves out

 

[Kitten]

Oh and I had no bump until 18weeks and didn't look pregnant until 25weeks and some people who came into work didn't even know I was pregnant! But then by the end people's eyes were out on stalks when they saw me, lol. I gained no weight until 20weeks then piled on 3 stone by the time I gave birth.

 

[Kitten]

Hi Kitten, we BLW'd #1, who's 28 months now. It wont be long before Theakston's able to eat quorn mince, cut-up veggie burger strips etc. It'll be very useful for protein. When we had bolognese we used pasta shapes rather than spg because they're easy to pick up. #1 used to pick up some mince and be spoon-fed some. Pasta bake will be fun to pick through and give him plenty to pick up. Baked potatoes are great -just cut his up into sticks he can pick up. I also gave her home-made baked chips with veg and cheese etc.
To begin with we gave her separate things from our meals, like you're suggesting, but you might be surprised at how quickly you're happy to move on. Or he might spend months just chucking it around and wanting breastfeeds at mealtimes. That's totally normal too - probably standard to be honest. #1 took to it v quickly but would still sometimes want me to feed her rather than eating her meal for a couple of months or so.

Stuff like roasted veg is great, or pasta shapes with pesto (Zest foods do a great veggie and vegan ones if you have a health food shop nearby).
Hope this helps.
aBI X

Kitten,I agree with all of this!You will probably find sooner than you're expecting that you're happily to give Theakston just small portions of what you're eating.
As for Quorn,I remember we would give Ophelia little portions of bolognese with Quorn mince from quite early on,mixed with lots of veggies etc and she'd pick bits up and I'd spoon feed it at the same time to make sure she was getting lots in and it wasnt just smeared everywhere The only Quorn I kind of waited until she was a bit older to give was the things like sausages,burgers,etc.Mostly because with the mince/pieces its normally mixed into something with other things IYKWIM so they're getting less salt than if they're just munchin' on a burger
xxxxxxx

Ace, cheers. I'll make sure I load him up on cheese and carbs too as I read one of the problems with quorn is that it's just protein so not to let them fill up on it. I need to stop reading things I think

 

[kelly342000]

have just had called from doc re blood test done at same time as growth scan and my vit b12 and folate levels are now border line low! will restart supplement tmrw, would low levels of this impact on baby's growth????