kind cure: michelle's first vegan pregnancy
Kind Lifer Michelle Lacroix and her husband made being vegan a family affair, and they have never felt better. Check it out:
"First of all I want to say thank you so much for writing The Kind Diet. My husband and I read it over the May long weekend two years ago, and were inspired to go from omnivore to fully vegan overnight. Our girls were very small at the time (Eloise was 2 1/2 and Adele was 16 months old) so in addition to your book I also did a great deal of research into vegan health and nutrition to make sure that everyone was getting their nutritional needs met. Over two years later, I am glad to report that we are all thriving, and in all honesty, it is one of the best decisions we've ever made.
We recently welcomed a new addition to our family, Armand Gabriel arrived on May 12th, 2012. This was my first vegan pregnancy, but I was very lucky to find a group of doctors who supported our food choices wholeheartedly. I was wondering if I would have any meat cravings, but far from it - I craved apples and chocolate (as I had with the girls) but instead of the ground beef I couldn't get enough of in my last two pregnancies, I craved all of the kale, leafy greens, Brussels sprouts, lentils, broccoli and cauliflower I could get my hands on. And interestingly enough, I was not iron deficient with this pregnancy (although I had been in my last two pregnancies), and still managed to gain the requisite 25 pounds. Armand was a big, healthy baby (at 8 lbs 2.5 oz, he was almost two pounds bigger than either of the girls!) and at just under 6 weeks he is now 12 lbs 4.6 oz! I have been exclusively breastfeeding and am pretty excited that I grew (and continue to grow) such a healthy baby boy on a completely plant-based diet.
I believe our transition to a vegan lifestyle has allowed us to live our lives more consciously, and from a place of much deeper awareness. We were pleasantly surprised at how smooth the transition ended up being, and the abundance of vegan choices available at our local super markets. We have lots of energy, and have never felt better. We have managed to maintain our healthy pre-vegan weight, and our children continue to grow and thrive."
Congrats Lacroix family! Your story is inspiring!
If any of you kind lifers have a success story to share, private message me or upload your story to your profile and "like" it. I may feature you on the homepage of The Kind Life!
More kind cures:
kind cures: aby tells her parents she's a vegan
kind cure: harlot avoids hysterectomy by giving up dairy
kind cures: kathy finds what's missing in her life
kind cures: kate heals her digestive disorder
The health section is proudly sponsored by Kaeng Raeng natural cleanse. Make sure to check out their 3 or 6 day vegan detox programs here:
15 comments
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Wonderful.
Share a website with you ,
( http://www.likesurprise.com/ )
Believe you will love it. -
Michelle,
What prenatals or supplements did you take with your pregnancy? I'm new to being a vegan & would like to try to have my third pregnancy vegan,too! Any tips/advice? -
Michelle's story is so inspiring. I can hardly wait to have my own vegan pregnancies and raise a vegan family. Hearing success stories like Michelle's solidifies my belief that there is absolutely nothing dangerous or negative about living vegan or having vegan pregnancies. -
I read a fantastic book regarding babies/children and vegan nutrition by Dr Joel Fuhrman called "Disease Proof Your Child". Another good read for Vegan Pregnancy is "Skinny Bitch Bun in the Oven" by by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. "Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina is a fantastic guide to adopting a healthy vegan lifestyle - and it includes chapters on pregnancy, nursing and children's nutrition. My husband and I read it together when we first transitioned and found it really helpful.
Regarding recipes and cookbooks, "The Kind Diet" is one of our favourites (we make the ceasar salad all the time!) and I find the recipes are very kid friendly. Some of the other ones we really like are "Chloe's Kitchen" (by Chloe Coscarelli - the mac & cheese is killer!) and I just found Robin Robertson's "Quick Fix Vegan", which is also wonderful. What I like about all three of these books is that the recipes are quick to prepare but also delicious. We're big fans of VegNews Magazine, they posted an amazing marinated kale salad back in January that we eat all the time (you can find it if you google "marinated kale salad veg news").
I hope that helps! -
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I love hearing this! I've been vegan for almost 8 years and very much want to have a kids. My boyfriend, of six years, and I want to start family in the next few years, but he's concerned about my vegan diet. He knows that I take very good care of myself, and he enjoys eating vegan a lot, however when we talk about starting a family he expresses concern over my diet and how he's not sure it's the best thing for a growing child. I've explained to him all the reasons I believe it's the ideal environment for a baby, but I still have not convinced him. Do you have any suggestions for my to ease his concern? I don't want him to worry. -
Great story! I do hope to make the transformation someday soon. I've been a vegetarian, omitting everything but dairy (though I try my hardest to!!) and eggs. WHile I do not eat them, I do not keep others from cooking without it.
My issues is that I have a hard time finding vegan foods that my husband enjoys. He is a terrible eater and I am sad to say it rubs off on me.
We are hoping to have children within the next few years so my goal is that in this next year, I will be completely vegan and he will have to fend for himself! (kidding!) But I hope to be as happy and healthy with my upcoming family! Thanks for sharing. -
So awesome! Do you have any favorite recipes or staples that you always go back to when cooking for your family? I would love to know! -
That is very cool and congrats on the newest addition to your family. Keep up the good work.
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I love these stories - it is so important that women share their vegan pregnancies so that more veggie women will be comfortable pursuing a kind pregnancy. I just gave birth to my first child, a beautiful healthy vegan baby boy. My pregnancy went very smoothly and my midwives were very supportive of my choices and assisted me with choosing appropriate supplements and herbs. Rowan was 7 lbs 13 ounces and 22 inches long. He was birthed naturally and will continue to live a kind life in our meat-free home!
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