vegetarians.. and non-red meat eaters.

[LaDY]

I am a vegetarian and have been since the age of 9...(out of choice)...and i give my son meat. My parents gave it me as i grew up so i would get all the essential protein/vitamins etc and also so i get a chance to taste it (mum is vegetarian and dads a met eater)...however i made my own decision not to eat it, where as a few of my family members decided to continue eating meat. I always knew i would give my son meat as i think the amount of vitamin/protein and iron in it is essential and also i like my son to try a variety of things, if he decides to become a vegetarian when he is older then that will be out of his own choice...if he decides to eat meat then thats fine also
I also don't have a clue how to cook chicken...i am currently in the process of learning...(as iv asked in the weaning section) x

oh, lol that's why you asked haha makes more sense!!!

Yeah hun...iv never made it ever! x

 

[reallytinyamy]

thanks i will look at those. I'm worried as I am iron and B12 deficient (not diet related) but I want to do all I can to make sure Chloe doesnt go down the same road

Snap! However like you say - that is not diet related. In my case, my consultant said that my body has an inability / is inefficient at converting iron to haemoglobin. So no matter how much iron or "red meat" I consumed it would make no difference - heck, drinking liquid iron suspension and taking the max amount of iron medication made NO difference (I had to have blood transfusions to top me up and we are hoping that from now on my body will be more ifficient at converting the iron into haemoglob, which so far it is doing a good job)! So do not think that you should be giving your child red meat to prevent this - as it would not work anyway - if Chloe is going to develop this genetic / physical deficiency then this would not be because of her diet lacking iron but because of her body failing to make use of that iron. Sadly there is nothing you can really do about that - it is just a case of giving her iron-rich foods and hoping for the best. Regardless, red meat is no more rich in iron than many vegetarian alternatives. So in no way would you have to give her meat to prevent iron deficiency in your daughter. Wait and see how things go, if she seems to have symptoms of anaemia then take her to your doctor just to be sure all is okay. Best of luck - I hope that she has her Daddy's red blood cells instead of mummy's (no offence!) lol x

I'm the same, eating extra stuff and taking meds makes no difference as my body just wont absorb it. I have quarterly B12 injections

 

[kayjor04]

i have to say this statement really shocked me. Because you seen ONE baby grow up "not as healthy" that doesnt mean EVERY baby will be the same. as long as the parent is making sure the baby has EVERYTHING he or she needs this will not happen. I AM from Canada, And my doctor has never told me ONCE that doctors do that... Maybe its parents who dont feed their children the necessary fillers to make up for the lack of protein from meat. Its certainly NOT neglect to choose to not feed your baby a certain food. like tasha has made very clear. there are PLENTY of other sources to get all the nutrients a baby needs. Now i'm choosing to NOT feed Jordyn red meat, because it makes me ill. Its never been in my house, and i dont see why it should be when theres other opitions. I know you didnt mean to offend anyone, but you cant say that people who dont feed their children meat are neglecting them. because that is offensive.

 

[kayjor04]

thanks i will look at those. I'm worried as I am iron and B12 deficient (not diet related) but I want to do all I can to make sure Chloe doesnt go down the same road

I'm iron deficient... and its also ot diet related i could eat red meat till it comes out of my ears and my counts would still be horribly low... and after the pregnancy they dropped to an all time low... it was awful, so now i have to go for 5 rounds of iron IV drip infusions.. i go once every two weeks, for 5 weeks, every year. i hate them... they hurt my hands and give me headaches...

 

[TashaAndBump]

thanks i will look at those. I'm worried as I am iron and B12 deficient (not diet related) but I want to do all I can to make sure Chloe doesnt go down the same road

I'm iron deficient... and its also ot diet related i could eat red meat till it comes out of my ears and my counts would still be horribly low... and after the pregnancy they dropped to an all time low... it was awful, so now i have to go for 5 rounds of iron IV drip infusions.. i go once every two weeks, for 5 weeks, every year. i hate them... they hurt my hands and give me headaches...

Poor you! They were threatening iron IV toward the end of my pregnancy, but fortunately she came before they got to that. I needed two blood transfusions following Anna's birth, though because my hb levels dropped dangerously low (blood loss). Thankfully though they have stayed up since then (still low because my body can't convert well but not dangerously low). My average HB level hovers around the 7-8 mark. I hope that your hb picks up soon! x

 

[kayjor04]

Omy be thankful you didnt get the iron.. its awful...
whichever hand or arm the put it in was prettymuch usless for 2 days
im happy no more till later in the year!