Vegetarian Two-Year-Old'S Diet

[2long]

Our 2nd daughter eats almost no meat, but loves her carbs. She still has bottles of powder (formula) milk a few times during the day, interspersed with cow's milk. My wofe thinks she's slim and also uses PediaSure additive. In my opinion, we should dump the bottles, give her cups of cow's milk and see how her appetite does. The bottle is a habit for the kid and an easy option for her mum.

My wife believes that she needs this protein to help her grow and not be thin.

Please vote above or add comments, opinions and advice.

[gregb]

My take on this is that the protein quality of fresh milk is very high, but it is hard to get enough quantity from milk alone. If it were me, I would table this decision for now and demand more solid foods in the diet. The high water content of milk tends to trigger feelings of being full much too early.

All liquid diets are wonderful weight loss regimens for a reason.

Can you be a bit more specific about what she eats in terms of solid foods? Our 10 month old twins eat a mashed mixture of pumpkin, sweet potatoes, bananas and tofu. They get water after finishing the solid food (sometimes during the feeding as well, depending on how they eat), and then the formula bottle comes in only after that.

The primary nutrition for your child at this point should be the solid foods. Milk should simply be a supplement by now. If you're wife wants to add PediaSure, she can still add it to the solid food mixture. My wife does that sometimes.

Whether you use a bottle or a cup and whether you give fresh milk or powdered milk seems a small thing compared to the details of the diet. If you or your wife are truly worried about your daughter not gaining enough weight, have you talked to a doctor about her diet? Often times a doctor can convince your wife to do things that all the logic in the world from you will never do. Apparently for many Thais, a stethoscope and a white coat trumps any critical thinking skills.

[skybluestu]

My 10mnth old daughter is on solids now, as well as breast milk of course, but she's now taken a liking to feeding herself so a lot of it ends up on the floor (happy dog!).

She has Brocolli, Pumpkin, Carrot, Chicken, Rice, Wholewheat bread/toast, eggs, noodles and a few other things I can't remember. No teeth yet though!

[kannon99]

Cow milk is harder to digest. Goat milk would be a better option. And yes at 2 yr old, they don't need milk at all but it's hard to get the required caloric intake. All of my kids are vegetarian, but they eat tons of beans, lentils, etc. NO tofu, as it has estrogens and is highly processed.

[skybluestu]

Cow milk is harder to digest. Goat milk would be a better option. And yes at 2 yr old, they don't need milk at all but it's hard to get the required caloric intake. All of my kids are vegetarian, but they eat tons of beans, lentils, etc. NO tofu, as it has estrogens and is highly processed.

NO tofu?! Not what I read recently, here is just one link http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/tofu.htm

Edited April 18, 2011 by skybluestu

[kannon99]

Yep, NO soy. Only in fermented form is it helpful. Here's a good link that breaks down the dangers of soy. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/12/04/soy-dangers-summarized.aspx