fatim's superhero baby!
Recently, I shared parts one and two of my interview about natural pregnancy and childbirth with my friend Fatim. Here is her take on raising her son Adam as a superhero baby!
How do you feed Adam? What's a typical meal for him?
Warren and I often get a question like "does Adam eat macrobiotic food?" Of course, he does! He eats what we eat. Some adjustments need to be made for babies and little ones, but overall, he eats grains, beans, vegetables, seaweed, fruits, nut butters.
A typical meal would be : rice patties, wrapped in nori, pan-fried tofu, sauteed broccoli. It usually includes a type of grain (pasta, rice, brown or white, quinoa, couscous), a vegetable dish, and a protein dish, most of the time.
What are his favorite foods?
Nori is a favorite, he calls it "nama" - so cute!! He loves tofu, and mochi!!! He loves broccoli too, and baby bok choy.
When he is around other little ones, how do you deal with food? You said it's not an issue yet..like you made cupcakes and he wasn't really interested?
Adam goes to daycare for a few days a week, and I cook for him in the morning so he has some nice quality food. Right now, there isn't any issue; he eats what I make all the time. He just loves the food - he finds it delicious!! For his birthday, I made your Favorite Cupcake recipe from your book (it is my favorite now too!), and he was the only one not eating it. The thing is, he doesn't see cupcakes on a regular basis, so he was fine without them. I am sure it will change soon. But Warren and I will make some nice, good quality treats, naturally sweetened and homemade. I have made him some cookies, or muffins, but he's just not into them, so I end up eating them and sharing them with my friends, and their little ones too.
Ok, cloth diapers versus eco diapers?
So, this is the funny thing: while 8 months pregnant, I went to a class on cloth diapers, and was so determined to use them. And then, I just felt it was too much for me to handle, with taking care of our baby and myself too, so we did and still do chlorine free diapers.
Did he sleep with you? And if so, for how long? If not why? What were your thoughts on that?
He did for the first 3 months, and after that, we put him in his crib, in his own bedroom. I think it is very important to have the baby with you at the beginning, I believe that babies are not meant to sleep alone for the first few months. In all the traditional societies, babies were sleeping with their parents. For how long? I think it is a personal choice. But I believe parents know better for their babies, so whatever you choose to do is fine, as long as you feel confident about it, and have no after-thoughts or guilt.
Fatim has these final thoughts to share:
Pregnancy is the most important time in a woman's life to eat well. It is very important to eat a wide variety of foods. The baby needs a broad selection of ingredients and nutrients to choose from. Eating in a balanced manner will improve your health and the health of your baby.
No doubt cravings come up during pregnancy and the best way to satisfy them is to choose the best quality of what you are craving. If you crave a food like ice cream, try to satisfy it first with a healthy alternative. If you cannot satisfy it there, have a small amount and really enjoy it.
Please, no guilt around food choices. Simply try to choose the best options and make yourself satisfied. Your baby's taste for food comes from your taste during this time.
Thank you, Fatim! Are any of you kind lifers raising a superhero baby or young child? How is it going?
24 comments
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awesome interview. I love hearing this, because I'd love for my baby to eat so healthy when she starts eating more. She sleeps with me...I love it and so does she. I think she feels more secure. Of course now that she's five months, I would like to put her in the co sleeper more, but she wakes up when I put her in it.
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About co-sleeping and breastfeeding: My daughter Gabi slept in our bed until she was 1 year and 5 months old. The transition to her crib/room went well. Nowadays that she is almost 3.5 years old, when waking up at night, sometimes, she'll come visit us in our room. That's OK with us. Our little one, Natalia, is still sleeping with us (she is now 1 year and 4 months old) still. Both of them were breastfed, even while eating solid foods and our food later on. Natalia still breastfeeds several times a day and night and Gabriella has her "before bed-time" Mommy & Gabi" breastfeed time, for about 5 minutes. She doesn't wanna part from it.
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wow that is so impressive Lynn, 8 kids. that is like the superhero job of the world, you must be a great mum & have lots of tolerance/love :)
ive often wondered what it would have been like to be in a big family, id give anything for that experience, espesically if i was being raised by 2 loving caring parents, unlike mine, who we so materialistic & non loving, never evey had time for me, but at least i learnt from that experience & i love my 2 girls, more than anyone or anything in life, they are my superhero's :)
ok not sure about changing diapers for 8 kids lol :) id be the type of person, when ever a diaper needed replacing, id visit my neighbours, ask them to check & change the diaper, while i got distracted by something ha ha ha. sigh!
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Those KIWI diaper system is awesome for that want to go the cloth diaper route. I have 8 kiddos, and tell everyone about these. The diaper covers are really fun and easy to use, and the liners, nothing leaks...cleaning them is super easy...sometimes I have even dried them in the dryer instead of sun drying and that has been great also..
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yeah its really cool having other people' s insights, after all thats how most religions & political groups start, someone has an idea & then draws in other like minded folks. Alicia has left us all with a wondeful Legacy, to pass on to future generations & i can visualise this site having millions of members one day :)
the human subconcious mind cant sleep forever, eventually the reality of whats better for us & our good Earth, will make a lot of common sense to simple minded folks, who can be a little ignorant of the truth.
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I am still far off from having a baby of my own, but this interview has really shed some light on it and I will really remember this when i start planning to have a family of my own.
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i love reading your interviews with Fatim, makes me wish i could go back to being born again, to parents like her & you. Adam is such a blessed child to have such a wonderful parent. makes me feel really good about our future on this good Earth, when i know that there are children out there like Adam, who will educate other children, as he grows up & makes friends. i believe one day we humans will find balance again & live in harmony with the Earth, as the healing process has already began, and is growing every day :)
hugs from John, Sydney Australia 3.26am
not usually up at this hour, but im nursing a cold, day 4, coughing & sneezing stage, sigh! i appologise to the universe for all the microscopic mucus im putting out, everytime i sneeze...
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by the way my boys are mostly vegetarians, I compromised with their dad who is a meat eater, they sometimes eat sea food, If they ever decided to eat meat, I would not buy it for them, I would not and could not cook it for them. I don't even think I would be able to sit at the same table if they were to eat a chicken or cow or pig. so far they are so against it, not sure why not fish though. Now I only give them soy, almond and coconut milk. Can't say the same for their once vegan dad though.. motherhooD!
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I live in a one bedroom home with my twin boys, my boys slept with me for a few years, they now have a bunk bed in our room, and I still miss them sleeping with me, they still do here and there, I don't know why OUR society is so weird on this, I may have once thought so too, before I had children. My boys were Ultra preemies, ( twin to twin transfusion) and I could not sleep for months when they came home. they were in a cradle together, they were so tiny, (1.8 & 3.2 lbs) maybe if we had two rooms it might change things. I am not sure. I love cuddling them still!
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Thanks sooo much for all these great interviews! My husband and I have been Vegan for 4 years and are trying to have a baby. I am very excited for my Vegan pregnancy but of course a little nervous. Alicia, I would LOVE if you could write a vegan pregnancy book or something similar:)
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Thank you ladies and gents! Sometimes I fel like a lone weirdo (my hubby and 3 kids still eat SAD n I'm full vegan since 12/10/10 and proud! Such strange feelings as I shopped @ Cosco today n bought lots of yummy convienience foods (jarred mushrooms, peppers, artichoke hearts, olives) then got the frozen popcorn chicken and artificially colore ice pops to save face w/ hubby : ( They are slowly coming around and eats lots of veggies and fruits but i do cringe while makin them pork chops and Elios pizza. I just keep telling myself "We're workn on it and compared to the average child diet of soda, chips, and fast food...it could be worse and will get better" Good luck to the rest of you and thank you Alicia for inspiring me w/ the 1st vegan book I have ever read â¤. I hope to meet you one day and hug you w/ gratitude!
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I agree with the philosophy of kids eating what their parents eat...I am not a fan of making more than one meal. That being said, my husband and son eat meat. I make meals that work for all of us...they can add the meat in if they so choose. My daughter is not a fan of meat and only eats it on occasion. Since I became vegan meat is really only even offered at the dinner table 2-3 times a week max. My plan is to have it eventually gone from the table completely!
Gretchen
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So wonderful! My son never ate baby food. He breastfed for just over two years and when he started eating "solids" at somewhere under a year we, like Fatim, simply fed him what we ate (mashed up, if need be). He has been in love with whole foods from day one. People used to think I was so mean for not giving him ice cream, candy, etc. when he was a toddler, but he didn't yet know what it was or why anyone would want to eat it and I figured he didn't need to until he chose to. Even though it's more challenging now, since he sees what his peers are eating and it tastes good, he still loves vegan versions of all those standard goodies--ice cream, pizza, etc. I have a hard time not freaking out when he comes home having eaten "junk" at someone's house or at school, but I have to remind myself that he had an amazing foundation and that he eats nourishing foods most of the time--that has to keep him strong and healthy! :-)
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I am raising a superhero baby and he is stong and full of energy! His first birthday cake was millet apple cake, I just couldn't imagine giving him sugar etc. I remember seeing pictures of my friends birthday parties for their kids and thinking Oh MY! Their little bodies on all that sugar, wheat and dairy, it felt instinctively wrong. The same way giving my baby ground up chicken from a jar that had been sitting around for gosh know's how long felt seriously wrong...I'm not sure how some don't get it when they just think about it logically...how can something like that be good or nourishing for you. Anyway sorry for the rant. He is now 2 1/2 , I make him good quality sweets and he loves them. It is hard sometimes with a little one because I want to feed him the best foods but I don't want too much drama around the foods that I prefer him not to eat. You know the saying what you resist persists...I just pray he will have a good foundation in wholesome foods that when he comes across crappy foods he will know the difference and crave the good stuff.
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Thanks for sharing. I was not a vegetarian yet when I had my first daughter, but plan to have more children, so I love learning about vegan pregnancy. I rarely ate meat even when I wasn't a veg-head, but did eat a lot of dairy. Since elimiating that from my diet, I no longer have seasonal allergies. My daughter is a vegetarian but eats like a vegan at home and she is extremely healthy. Yay!
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I'm so glad to have all these blogs on natural pregnancy! I am nowhere near preparing for pregnancy, but lately I've been obsessively curious about natural childbirth and everything that goes with it. Alicia has such good timing!
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I'm the only vegan in my family of 4. My husband eats meat, but also eats all the vegan meals I prepare. My kids eat vegan most of the time. My 3-year-old is pretty picky, but my 12-year-old used to be picky too. I think they eventually grow out of it. So, I just keep offering the same healthy foods and having them try them. I know my kids are eating much healthier foods than a lot of other kids their age.
--Emily Sweet http://www.onesweetvegan.com/
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I think this interview is awesome because these people are realists, I totally agree with the "our kids eat what we eat" philosophy. I have friends at work who cook three different meals to cater for their kids, which I think is a joke. Our daughter Ruby simply doesn't like meat, my partner eats it occasionally and I am vegetarian. We cook a lot of vegan meals and Ruby loves them. Ruby loves tofu, tempeh and nori.
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I think I have a lot in common with Fatim! Our kids eat what we eat -there's no issue. They love healthy food and always have. Now that Noah is 4 he will sometimes come home from school and tell me about something they gave him (like candy) and I don't fuss over it. It's going to happen, but I know that 99% of the time he's eating really well. He usually feels sick after anyhow so I think the issue will resolve itself. I just don't think he's going to be that into garbage food. A few weeks ago at Easter Noah would go up to people and ask "are you eating an animal?" then he would run back to me, "Mommy, can you believe they are eating a real pig! That makes me sad".
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My little guy is all vegan at 21 months- I wouldn't say he is Macrobiotic, but he eats lots and lots of grains, beans, and veggies. He also loves avocadoes, nut/seed butters, and lots of raw foods like smoothies and cashew "cheese". He drinks almond, soy, coconut, rice, and hemp milk. He is in the 95% for height and weight- people cannot believe he is veg. Every once in awhile he has Earth Balance spread on toast, or Daiya cheese in a taco but I try to give him mostly whole foods. We are learning more and more about Macro eating and will probably start leaning that way. I mainly try to focus on healthy fats for him right now, because he is under 2.
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Cloth diapers ALL the way! i thought it would be hard, but i found them so easy. Such an easy routine, no prewash or hand washing at all, just throw them dirty and they come out perfectly clean AND they are so incredibly cute. I recomment fuzzi bunz... my daughter has been wearing them since she was 2 months old and she is now 17 months old...
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The problem I've run into is other people. While we eat healhy vegan foods at home, my kids have been introduced to animal products in their every day lives: the milk and cheese crackers at snack time at day care; the relatives that for the life of them can't figure out the difference between vegan and vegetarian (or worse, try to force animal products on them out of fear of malnourishment). I've never had the heart or have been the type of parent that would restrict or forbid them from eating what they want. Food is such a personal choice and I do not want to take that away from them (not that I could stop them if I tried). We just try to set a good example. So far, they have no interest in meat- the whole dead animal thing seems too barbaric for a little kid that's never had it. But I've never met a kid that had qualms about dairy (they've even went cow milking on a school field trip). I'm sure some people are surrounded by a very supportive circle of people where this is not an issue. But for most of us, we just do the best we can with the circumstances we've been given. At the end of the day, your kids make their own decisions.
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Wow, Fatim is awesome! How amazing that she's raising her son that way from the jump start. Although my three are vegan, they're certainly not superheros! (Well, okay...they ARE superheros but not in the food sense.) My 5 year old is the pickiest of all but it's sort of a strange problem to have because he eats almost only fruits and vegetables. It's hard to get any kind of carbs in him. Ahhh, kids!!
Sarah
veggie-kids.blogspot.com
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I wish I would have started my kids vegan from birth. I have a hard time getting them to eat veggies now. And I never, even before making the switch to vegan cooking, fed them junk food so it's not like they were used to McDonald's and then I put a plate of broccoli in front of them. I always served veggies with every meal since they started eating. When they were babies they both were more willing to eat veggies but have gotten more and more picky as they get older. They love fruit but other then raw carrots & cucumbers they wont touch vegetables. My 4 year old is super picky so it's really hard sometimes to get her to eat the family meal. Sometimes she just ends up with a PB & J for dinner. My 2 1/2 yr old is a little more adventurous but to get him to eat veggies I have to puree them in a sauce. I wish they'd eat broccoli and nori wraps! I'm hoping they'll grow out of this picky phase!
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