Vegan Mom- Breastfeeding and Delaying Solids?

[MyName]

Hey, so I am newly vegan (about 1 month so far) and am exclusively breastfeeding my 7 1/2 month old son.  I focus on a whole foods diet and am taking a prenatal, Vitamin D supplement, and nutritional yeast to help with my Vitamin B-12 but I have recently seen some articles online that worry me that I may be depriving my son. He has not had any solids introduced yet- we were planning on introducing them when he had teeth and was able to feed himself, but at the same time his first tooth erupted he ended up with RSV which then turned into bronchiolitis and I am hesitant about starting him on any solids while he is sick ( he has had the cough about 3 weeks now). I am also planning on making his first solids fruits or vegs (maybe squash, pear or avocado) but now I am also worried about this since everybody keeps telling me he needs iron fortified cereal at 6 months and I haven't given him any- is he going to be iron deficient now? He is 7 1/2 months old and 18 lbs, crawling, standing, trying to walk, and very happy. This is the first time I have ever questioned my parenting and health choices but him ending up sick with bronchiolitis and on an inhaler after I was so sure he wasn't going to get sick because I am healthy and exclusively breastfeeding has really confused me and made me worry if I am doing the right thing. Any advice???

[dovey]

I have exclusively breastfed three as a vegan and haven't had any problems.  Sometimes babies get sick.  It doesn't sound like your diet is to blame at all.  I don't think your baby will become iron deficient if you don't feed him fortified cereal at 6 months.  There are lots of other iron-rich solids you can include in his diet when you do decide to introduce solids.  Before babies are one year old, I've read that solid food is more for experimentation and taste rather than nutrition. 

[ahimsamom]

I have a vegan 1 year old who only eats solids here and there...mostly still just milk. I give her spirullina in banana a few times a week just to make sure her iron levels are ok. It is a nature's multi-vitamin! We never do cereal, or any other processed foods for that matter, and our little one is healthy as a horse. I agree with the PP, some babies just get sick! Hope that helps ease your mind

[MrsSlocombe]

I can only add a little, but your B-12 levels won't have dropped much after just one month of being vegan;  it is one of the vitamins that stay in the system the longest, though vegans are cautioned not to become complacent and say, "Well, I had B-12 twenty years ago, so I'll be fine."  One month is nothing.  I am pregnant after being vegan for about ten years, and my B-12 levels were just starting to slip to the lower end of the normal range.  I started taking sub-lingual tablets a while before I became pregnant, and by the time I conceived, I was no longer vegan, but ovo-vegetarian.  I haven't decided whether, or when, I'm going back to veganism, though it is actually my preferred diet in terms of taste and ethics, by far;  I've only added eggs for health, primarily the baby's, but also mine.

Trying to walk at 7 1/2 months is outstanding.  He sounds like a basically healthy baby who just is sick at the moment.  Most of the babies I have known as a nanny have been eating solids for a short while by this point, but this is going to be my first baby of my own, so I have not done much independent research yet.  Sorry I can't provide an answer there.

[MyName]

Thank you all so much! I am feeling much better about this today. :)

[crunchy_mommy]

Glad you are feeling better about this!! I will also chime in to say that my almost 3yo DS has been vegan since birth and ate virtually no solids (just occasional tastes) until he was 14mos & very little until he turned 2. He did not develop any deficiencies & did just fine on my (vegan) breastmilk. We did supplement vitamin D (in the winter) & iron (from about 13mos-15mos, he wasn't deficient or remotely anemic but his stores were getting low so we supplemented for a short time to play it safe).

I am not exactly worried about his nutrition now, but since he is nursing only 1-2 times a day now, I do give him a multivitamin even though it kind of feels strange to me to do so, since he eats so well!

[Baby_Cakes]

Another vote to say you guys are fine!  He doesn't need rice cereal.  Your milk is much healthier for him, hands down.  Stick with your gut on this one.