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Our doctor wants us to get more calories into our baby; there is no concern about her nutrition, just the quantity that she seems to (not) take in. We are a vegan family who breast feeds our 7-month-old, and we give our baby solid foods, though she takes an insubstantial amount of solid food. The doctor is recommending mixing human breast milk fortifier in, but as far as I can tell, such fortifiers are mainly cow's milk derived. Are there any vegan options? Thanks.
I don't have a direct answer, but at seven month maybe it's time to start thinking about introducing solid food? My Grandson , who is six months old, started on the 'baby led weaning' mularkey this week and is loving it.
Sadly neither he, or his mother is vegan (Lacto Ovo) but that's another story.
I'm not an expert on the subject, but Alfalfa is one of many foods said to increase breast milk production. Maybe this might help?
Thanks for the comments. Our baby has been taking solid foods for some time now. She has never fussed and seems to enjoy solids (avocado, squash mixed with coconut oil for fat, lentils and rice, banana mixed with coconut oil, sweet potato and coconut oil, ...), but all that she takes is anywhere from a half teaspoon to a few tablespoons maybe 4 times a day. She's always been very small, not yet 10 pounds, but we're also small - my wife is 5'4"! My wife generates plenty of breast milk, but the issue is that baby is somehow self-limiting and not taking as many calories as the doctors would wish.
Human milk fortifier is typically used for premature babies. It is generally not vegan although there is one type made from donated human milk. I think it would be difficult to find and probably extremely expensive if not covered by insurance (human milk is generally about $3 per ounce.) Using it would require pumping milk and doing bottle-feedings. I would not take this type of advice without getting the opinion of an IBCLC first.
Here is some strategies you might try to increase her weight gain:
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns..._increase.html
In particular, massage has been clinically shown to improve growth in babies. If my infant was suspected to be gaining too slowly I'd encourage more frequent nursing and also keep close contact with massage, co-sleeping, baby-wearing, etc.
Has she been diagnosed as FTT? Is she meeting developmental milestones and is she otherwise healthy? Has your wife tried to get her to nurse more often, or tried waking her up in the night for a feeding (if she sleeps through at this point.)
It's actually good that she's not eating too many solids. They are less nutritious and usually lower in calories than breastmilk. My 7 month old son is on the opposite end of the spectrum (20 pounds) and eats a few bites of solids every few days or so.
Mammal has given some great advice/questions.
After 3 big baby boys, I now have a tiny girl. She is just not a big eater. At 13 months I still offer to nurse her whenever she wishes, but otherwise I include foods like avocado, coconut yogurt, baked sweet potato fries w/olive oil, smoothies made with coconut milk & almond milk, etc. But what is actually more successful in increasing weight gain as far as solids go is carbohydrates, so I also offer her rice, oatmeal w/almond milk or blackstrap molasses, toast (before 12mo I use rice toast), pasta (before 12mo I choose lentil or rice pasta), beans, rice/corn cakes with homemade hummus, potatoes. In addition of course to lots of fresh fruits & veggies.
There are of course genetic conditions and growth hormone deficiencies to consider. But she may just be small. If she is meeting all her milestone and her own personal growth curve has been steady, then I wouldn't worry.
I personally would not choose a human milk fortifier. I would first try to get her to nurse more. And even pump in between feeding, let your milk settle, and skim the fat off the top and mix that with some oatmeal or other food. If anything else, I would consider getting donor milk if you're not producing enough after trying various galactalogues.
Also, don't overdo on the coconut. It's a wonderful source of fat, but it's very saturated, and it's also a natural laxative! I'd try to add more carbs.
Thanks for all the good advise. We ended up, on consultation with a nutritionist, our pediatrician, a specialist pediatrician, and our world-famous lactation consultant, adding in a little soy formula to her bottle breast milk feedings. On their advise, we add 1/2 teaspoon of the soy formula mix (which doesn't smelll great!) to 55ml of breast milk. That increases the caloric density while remaining (essentially - with the exception of the D vitamin) vegan. Were we to add much more, it could tax the kidneys.
Our baby continues to enjoy just about any food we offer her - hummus, lentils and rice, avocado (her first food), kale or chard mixed with coconut oil, beans, and more - but just doesn't eat much. I am thinking of offering her tofu. But at 9 months, she's just over 11 pounds and far off the chart. We have a target of 95ml of breast milk every 3 hours just to maintain and grow a bit, but she just doesn't always meet that. She seems very healthy and social, but is a little behind on some milestones.
... oh, and we are using donor breast milk as Mommy seems to be a little low on supply ...
Glad you are being helped by some professionals!! I hope your little girl starts gaining well soon on the new plan. You're doing an excellent job of getting this sorted out. Please keep us posted on your daughter's progress.
Hopefully the lactation consultant is helping with the supply issues-- if you have any questions about that I'd be happy to provide some links and information. :)
Yes, please do keep us posted. At 9 months what milestones is she behind on?