eating paleo with an infant.
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deanna198888
Posts: 64
Does anyone have an infant/toddler? I have a 9 month old who likes to eat what we eat. This is a bit more difficult now that we are eating paleo. I don't know if he can have the fat that I cook everything in now or meats like bacon and pork. Does any one have any experience with this?
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Replies
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Take to your family doctor, they'll have all the answers. Koodos to you for raising him paleo btw!0
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My experience with family doctors is that they know little to nothing about nutrition besides CW, unless you have a progressive doc who reads up and and is on top of new scientific research.
I read the GAPS diet book by Dr. Campbell-McBride and she has a whole protocol for intorducing solids and what infants should eat to ensure a good balance of gut flora and no leaky gut/allergies. Yes, the baby should eat meat and fat, but you should Google her recommendations. If you can't find it, I can post a synopsis from her book on this thread since I own it. Let me know and good luck.0 -
It really depends on what he can chew at this point. It might be difficult for him to eat bacon at such a young age. My little guy choked on it until he was almost 3, and he could only eat it at that age if it was fried really crispy....but he would also shove an entire piece into his mouth at once that didn't help lol. Our kids hated pureed foods and were eating whatever we were having for dinner by 9 months old, just little pieces of everything.
I don't know anything about infants and fats, too much might upset his tummy? But if it doesn't bother his digestive tract, I can't imagine that it would be an issue for him to eat. You'll know pretty quickly if something is bothering him.
Just out of curiosity, what are you doing (or going to do) about milk? Will he go onto whole milk, or something else?0 -
Check out paleoparents.com and www.thepaleomom.com they are both great resources.
Paleo Parents wrote a great paleo book on kid friendly recipes; http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936608871/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bellaonlinepr-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=19366088710 -
My son just turned three and he still eats grains (as does my husband), but no dairy because he's allergic. In addition, however, I also give him everything that I eat and he has had no problems. He doesn't seem to like straight coconut oil like I do LOL, but he loves when I make fat bombs with it.
ETA: He also has ADHD and I want to switch him to a gluten-free diet to help with that after his next Dr. appointment so I can tell my husband she said it would help. He's skeptical about the whole thing and I have no prblem lying to him about it. Oh well.0 -
It really depends on what he can chew at this point. It might be difficult for him to eat bacon at such a young age. My little guy choked on it until he was almost 3, and he could only eat it at that age if it was fried really crispy....but he would also shove an entire piece into his mouth at once that didn't help lol. Our kids hated pureed foods and were eating whatever we were having for dinner by 9 months old, just little pieces of everything.
I don't know anything about infants and fats, too much might upset his tummy? But if it doesn't bother his digestive tract, I can't imagine that it would be an issue for him to eat. You'll know pretty quickly if something is bothering him.
Just out of curiosity, what are you doing (or going to do) about milk? Will he go onto whole milk, or something else?
I actually haven't thought about that yet. He refused to bf so he is on formula, I will keep him on formula until a year. I will research it and look into the book babyfat1234 recommended. My husband is concerned about not giving him grains so I will definitely have to do my research.0 -
Most family doctors are not able to advise on nutrition. At least not HEALTHY nutrition. They are still telling women to stop breast feeding too soon and encouraging unhealthy processed cereals. Most nutritionists are not much better.
Of course watch for choking hazards etc... but other than that, what negative effects do you expect your child to have from a Paleo lifestyle? Children NEED a high fat diet, based on healthy fats. Most children in the US and Canada are NOT getting adequate nutrition even though they are eating loads of "food".... from packages. I live with Inuit people. They start giving meat and fat (mother pre-chews it-no it's not "gross") to babies as soon as they show interest in it.
I changed my lifestyle last summer and my child came along for the ride. My health improvements have been miraculous and her health has improved immensely. The only thing that holds her back is that she gets fed at a daycare. I cannot pack her a lunch, or the kids "fight". So, once she starts grade one and is out of the daycare, I expect her health will get even better.
Her health improvements since last August, even with "cheats", have been:
-better behaviour, attention span, mental function
-better physical ability/coordination
-no distended abdomen or stomach aches
-improved dental health (she has cavities from before but they are no longer getting worse)
-no ear infections (they were chronic before)
-colds, flus less often and she recovers much sooner
-while she wasn't technically over-weight before, her body has become more muscular and less fat.
I think that's an argument FOR a Paleo or Primal lifestyle for children. Remember, nutrients are in much higher quantities and more bioavailable in animal products (preferably wild or grass fed) than grains.
My child loves the recipe book "Eat Like a Dinosaur". Her first very own cookbook.
Edit: please rethink that formula. No man made foods are superior to natural, whole foods. Your baby is old enough to eat the foods that our body is perfectly designed for, of course being careful with choking. If a Paleo diet is healthy for adults, as you have already determined, how does it reason that formula (what kind of fat is used in it?) and grains are necessary or at all healthy for your child? Their brain is rapidly developing right now; babies NEED healthy, high fat foods to support that.0 -
Most family doctors are not able to advise on nutrition. At least not HEALTHY nutrition. They are still telling women to stop breast feeding too soon and encouraging unhealthy processed cereals. Most nutritionists are not much better.
Of course watch for choking hazards etc... but other than that, what negative effects do you expect your child to have from a Paleo lifestyle? Children NEED a high fat diet, based on healthy fats. Most children in the US and Canada are NOT getting adequate nutrition even though they are eating loads of "food".... from packages. I live with Inuit people. They start giving meat and fat (mother pre-chews it-no it's not "gross") to babies as soon as they show interest in it.
I changed my lifestyle last summer and my child came along for the ride. My health improvements have been miraculous and her health has improved immensely. The only thing that holds her back is that she gets fed at a daycare. I cannot pack her a lunch, or the kids "fight". So, once she starts grade one and is out of the daycare, I expect her health will get even better.
Her health improvements since last August, even with "cheats", have been:
-better behaviour, attention span, mental function
-better physical ability/coordination
-no distended abdomen or stomach aches
-improved dental health (she has cavities from before but they are no longer getting worse)
-no ear infections (they were chronic before)
-colds, flus less often and she recovers much sooner
-while she wasn't technically over-weight before, her body has become more muscular and less fat.
I think that's an argument FOR a Paleo or Primal lifestyle for children. Remember, nutrients are in much higher quantities and more bioavailable in animal products (preferably wild or grass fed) than grains.
My child loves the recipe book "Eat Like a Dinosaur". Her first very own cookbook.
Edit: please rethink that formula. No man made foods are superior to natural, whole foods. Your baby is old enough to eat the foods that our body is perfectly designed for, of course being careful with choking. If a Paleo diet is healthy for adults, as you have already determined, how does it reason that formula (what kind of fat is used in it?) and grains are necessary or at all healthy for your child? Their brain is rapidly developing right now; babies NEED healthy, high fat foods to support that.
I thought he would need to stay on formula for now. I hadn't really thought about it being bad, I know its man made but I thought he needed it for the dha and all that they add for eye/brain development. I don't know how well he would handle going off formula, he gets constipated if he eats a lot of solids. I have read that whole milk can cause issues because its hard for babies under a year to digest. We include dairy in our diets, so I am going to give him cheese and probably whole milk. I wish he had breast fed, it would make this easier. I do give him rice cereal but that is the only grain he has had and can easily be removed from his diet. I am going to start feeding him off our plates, he just had some brussel sprouts with butter and chicken for lunch with me but as far as the formula issue, I don't know what to do now.0 -
I don't know anything about infants and fats, too much might upset his tummy? But if it doesn't bother his digestive tract, I can't imagine that it would be an issue for him to eat. You'll know pretty quickly if something is bothering him.
Breastmilk is 54% fat, 39% carbs (lactose, primarily), and 7% protein. Fat is not an issue for infants (generally speaking). In fact, CW recommends essentially "weaning" young children off of higher fat milks as they get older (you start with Whole, go to 2% at 2, then 1% at 3, if you follow CW).
New foods are new to an infant's body and often require a little bit of work to process properly (including chewing). This is especially the case with more "complex" foods. That, and the risk of allergies, are why foods are introduced gradually, and you start off with "simple" things and "one food at a time per meal", until the baby is old enough to navigate complex foods with multiple textures and no allergies are found (or you avoid the foods that trigger allergies).0 -
I thought he would need to stay on formula for now. I hadn't really thought about it being bad, I know its man made but I thought he needed it for the dha and all that they add for eye/brain development. I don't know how well he would handle going off formula, he gets constipated if he eats a lot of solids. I have read that whole milk can cause issues because its hard for babies under a year to digest. We include dairy in our diets, so I am going to give him cheese and probably whole milk. I wish he had breast fed, it would make this easier. I do give him rice cereal but that is the only grain he has had and can easily be removed from his diet. I am going to start feeding him off our plates, he just had some brussel sprouts with butter and chicken for lunch with me but as far as the formula issue, I don't know what to do now.
You can get most vitamins and minerals from whole foods, as well. Avocados make great baby food, as does squash. If you're still producing milk, you can pump and mix it into his food, which can supplement the DHA. Alternatively, if you can get him to eat it, salmon is a great source of DHA.
The constipation may be due, in part, to what you're feeding him. Things like the chicken may still be a little too much, yet (meat is generally one of the last things introduced into a baby's diet, because the protein takes a lot of work to break down, especially tough sources like chicken). Lean more toward fruits, veggies, and yogurt for now, and phase in meat stuff, starting with the more tender meats that are easier to chew, or puree them and mix with things like squash and avocados.0 -
You can get most vitamins and minerals from whole foods, as well. Avocados make great baby food, as does squash. If you're still producing milk, you can pump and mix it into his food, which can supplement the DHA. Alternatively, if you can get him to eat it, salmon is a great source of DHA.
My son has been eating avocado and salmon since he started solids and, at 3, still loves them.0 -
Most family doctors are not able to advise on nutrition. At least not HEALTHY nutrition. They are still telling women to stop breast feeding too soon and encouraging unhealthy processed cereals. Most nutritionists are not much better.
Of course watch for choking hazards etc... but other than that, what negative effects do you expect your child to have from a Paleo lifestyle? Children NEED a high fat diet, based on healthy fats. Most children in the US and Canada are NOT getting adequate nutrition even though they are eating loads of "food".... from packages. I live with Inuit people. They start giving meat and fat (mother pre-chews it-no it's not "gross") to babies as soon as they show interest in it.
I changed my lifestyle last summer and my child came along for the ride. My health improvements have been miraculous and her health has improved immensely. The only thing that holds her back is that she gets fed at a daycare. I cannot pack her a lunch, or the kids "fight". So, once she starts grade one and is out of the daycare, I expect her health will get even better.
Her health improvements since last August, even with "cheats", have been:
-better behaviour, attention span, mental function
-better physical ability/coordination
-no distended abdomen or stomach aches
-improved dental health (she has cavities from before but they are no longer getting worse)
-no ear infections (they were chronic before)
-colds, flus less often and she recovers much sooner
-while she wasn't technically over-weight before, her body has become more muscular and less fat.
I think that's an argument FOR a Paleo or Primal lifestyle for children. Remember, nutrients are in much higher quantities and more bioavailable in animal products (preferably wild or grass fed) than grains.
My child loves the recipe book "Eat Like a Dinosaur". Her first very own cookbook.
Edit: please rethink that formula. No man made foods are superior to natural, whole foods. Your baby is old enough to eat the foods that our body is perfectly designed for, of course being careful with choking. If a Paleo diet is healthy for adults, as you have already determined, how does it reason that formula (what kind of fat is used in it?) and grains are necessary or at all healthy for your child? Their brain is rapidly developing right now; babies NEED healthy, high fat foods to support that.
I thought he would need to stay on formula for now. I hadn't really thought about it being bad, I know its man made but I thought he needed it for the dha and all that they add for eye/brain development. I don't know how well he would handle going off formula, he gets constipated if he eats a lot of solids. I have read that whole milk can cause issues because its hard for babies under a year to digest. We include dairy in our diets, so I am going to give him cheese and probably whole milk. I wish he had breast fed, it would make this easier. I do give him rice cereal but that is the only grain he has had and can easily be removed from his diet. I am going to start feeding him off our plates, he just had some brussel sprouts with butter and chicken for lunch with me but as far as the formula issue, I don't know what to do now.
Milk and rice cereal are not healthy, or Paleo, so I wouldn't suggest them at all. It's a fallacy that anyone needs milk from cows (it certainly is too bad about the breast-feeding-I had a similar problem, but I did pump for 10 months-that was hard). Unless you could get raw and unpasteurized milk (of any kind) then I would not recommend it at all. Yup, even for a baby-but you would need to focus on finding adequate nutrients in other foods. (I found that becoming a mom involved thousands of hours of research; it's become my unpaid second job.) BUT, if you insist on feeding him grains and processed foods, then calcium deficiency may become an issue. The reality is that very little calcium in pasteurized, commercial milk is even bio-available.
Yes, what you eat will be good for him too, IF you are following Paleo guidelines and eating enough healthy fats (including natural saturated fats). Eye and brain development are supported by healthy natural fats in whole foods (animals). The formula is not better than food. I know the labels look convincing but it's a sham. (Who makes the formula you use? Research the company's business practices; you might be surprised by what you find.)0 -
A ran across this formula recipe you might be interested in if you can't get breastmilk (by the way, there are "milk banks" around, it might be worth seeing if there are any near you) - http://www.humansarenotbroken.com/amazon-store/ (check out the homemade baby formula tab)0
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This may help direct you:)
http://cavegirlplusone.com/blog/2013/5/27/reader-question-first-paleo-friendly-baby-solids0 -
My daughter's first food at 6 months was mashed avocado. She loved it!
I've only recently started trying to go more paleo in our foods at home. We haven't completely made the switch. I'm still learning new recipes to try out and trying to figure out how to make this work since it is a HUGE difference to how we had been eating (think lots of processed foods like hamburger helper or frozen convenience meals). My daughter is now 17 months old and my son is almost 4 yrs old. They've been very willing to try the new foods and other than fish its been a success. My son still asks for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all the time though. They go to daycare though and the food at daycare is free and much of that is NOT paleo but I'm not really sweating it to much. I figure even just changing the foods they eat at home will still help even if they are still getting bread and other non paleo foods away from home.0 -
My daughter's first food at 6 months was mashed avocado. She loved it!
I've only recently started trying to go more paleo in our foods at home. We haven't completely made the switch. I'm still learning new recipes to try out and trying to figure out how to make this work since it is a HUGE difference to how we had been eating (think lots of processed foods like hamburger helper or frozen convenience meals). My daughter is now 17 months old and my son is almost 4 yrs old. They've been very willing to try the new foods and other than fish its been a success. My son still asks for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all the time though. They go to daycare though and the food at daycare is free and much of that is NOT paleo but I'm not really sweating it to much. I figure even just changing the foods they eat at home will still help even if they are still getting bread and other non paleo foods away from home.
My son has been eating avocado for a couple months. He has had a lot of foods, just nothing cooked in fat or anything like that so I never had fed him from my plate before. He eats a variety of fruit and vegetables and some meat, I just wasn't sure if he could eat the fat that I cook with. So far since letting him eat food with me he is doing fine and no reaction to the oils/grease.0 -
FYI, rice cereal is notorious for causing constipation. Rice is one of the 4 foods in the BRAT (bananas, rice, apples, toast) diet for helping to stop diarrhea; if you DON'T have diarrhea they can stop you up. I didn't know that when my oldest daughter was just starting solids and caused her ALL sorts of problems (the 3 foods I started her on were...bananas, applesauce & rice cereal).
For my 2nd & 3rd, their first foods were egg yolks and various fruits and veggies, followed closely by chicken.
My last baby had issues nursing too and was formula fed from 5 weeks until 1 year...I was 100% primal for almost the whole time and it killed me to do it, but other options weren't feasible for us at the time. At 1 year, we transitioned him to raw dairy (goat milk), but he developed a full-body rash from it. Since then, he will occasionally drink almond milk but otherwise drinks water and tea.0 -
I think many formulas have lots of soy in them correct? Honestly these days I worry more about soy than grains (although grains are quite bad
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My baby is 6 months old and I am trying to go back to the primal lifestyle I was doing prior getting pregnant. I also have a 4 yrs old who I like to keep on gluten free diet, but he and my husban eats other nongluten grains like corn .
I have decided that I am going to do primal with my baby girl. Primal is less strict than paleo though . It allows full fat dairy, limited quantity potato and rice.
Actually the new infant recommendation is quite helping in the paleo/ primal lifestyle. While 4 yrs ago with my son th recommendation was start with infant cereal, the current recommendation is to start solids around 6 months with infant cereal OR MEAT.
I just started the baby on solids 10 days ago and so far she got apple, pear, mango, plum, beef , and egg yolk, and today she is going to eat chicken the first time she is a bit constipated so next step will be more fat/ oil , so avocado and coconut oil will come next.
I am Breastfeeding so the milk is not an issue for us. However if your baby is on formula, I do not see the problem with milk . Since the formula itself derived from cow's milk or soy, which is a way bigger problem.
I do not see the problem with the actual fat content in the food. Just make sure that the baby and kids eat lots of carb in fruits and veggies. We eat lots of root vegetables , and I m not hard core paleo, just avoiding grains , bad fat and legumes.
Also I share that opinion that paleo/ primal lifestyle is NOT neccessearly has to mean low carb. I really like this website http://www.thepaleomom.com/paleo-for-kids . It has a part where she talks about the carb amount for kids. They growing brain needs the carb, so plenty of fruits and veggies for them is a must.
Also I wanted to add that processed meat like bacon may not be a best choose for an infant. I only buy nitrate free hardwood smiked type because e otherwise the bacon is no better than any other processed food out there. Still generally processed meat / deli is usually not recommended for kids under 2 yrs old. They have very high sodium content that infant kidneys may not tolerate tht well plus if they are not completly cooked just smoked , they can get sick too.0 -
Also I wanted to add that processed meat like bacon may not be a best choose for an infant. I only buy nitrate free hardwood smiked type because e otherwise the bacon is no better than any other processed food out there. Still generally processed meat / deli is usually not recommended for kids under 2 yrs old. They have very high sodium content that infant kidneys may not tolerate tht well plus if they are not completly cooked just smoked , they can get sick too.
Regarding the sodium - do note that it is possible to have too little sodium in a baby's diet. My son has always been a big fruit and veggie fan and largely rejected the baby cereals. We didn't introduce meats until later (he's 3 now, so like you, meat wasn't recommended until later). As a result, he actually had so little sodium in his diet that he started having issues sleeping. As soon as we added a little salt, he immediately went back to normal.
That's not to say give the baby deli meats, of course. But just like anything else, see how the diet is affecting him/her and adjust if necessary, and don't be afraid of a little salt. 0
