Vegetarian diet and your
Baby
Some parents choose a vegetarian diet for religious
or personal reasons. The question is can a baby be healthy
on a vegetarian meal plan. Yes, a baby can be healthy
if he is offered a variety of foods. Get your pediatrician's
advice on the meal plan and the special needs or concerns.
Different eating plans require different considerations
to ensure baby doesn't lose out on nutrients.
Ovo-lacto vegetarian diet. This diet includes dairy
products with eggs. When on solids baby needs adequate
amounts of food that contains protein, iron and vitamin
B12. egg whites should be introduced when baby turns
1 to prevent the development of egg allergy.
Lacto-vegetarian diet. Dairy foods are part of this
diet but without the eggs. Again, adequate amounts of
protein, iron and B12 is a must.
Vegan diet. This diet excludes all animal products including
dairy products and eggs. Baby must receive adequate
amounts of protein, calcium, iron and B12. iron enriched
cereals and grains should be included in baby's diet;
serve vitamin C rich foods to enhance iron absorption.
Soy products are rich in protein and many are enriched
with calcium and B12 and the baby may like tofu, textured
protein foods, soy milk. Pureed beans, lentils and split
peas are other good sources of protein.
Baby's vocabulary and
understanding of Words
Baby recognizes words as symbols for objects. When you
name something, she may point at it or where she expects
to find it. For instance if you say 'milk' she may point
to the kitchen if she does not see.
Use correct terms, not baby terms: she is ready to start
learning names for her body parts. Although it is cute
to use made up names for private parts, it is advisable
to use the correct term from the beginning.
Name objects often: the more words your baby hears,
the better her association with objects and words will
be. If you often say 'spoon' when you feed her, she
will soon make the connection between the spoon and
its name.
Practice makes perfect: your baby continues with her
baby babbles. It is quite fascinating how similar it
is to actual speech; she is practicing the rhythm and
intonation of language.
Developmental stages
All babies are unique little people. You may worry your
baby isn't developing properly if he skips a step of
passes over in the developmental phases. For example
some parents worry when their baby doesn't go through
the crawling stage but goes straight to walking. Be
reassured: if baby skips one stage and enters another
at the appropriate age there is little cause for concern.
Occasionally a child with developmental delay doesn't
go through the crawling stage. In these situations,
not crawling is an early symptom of delays; it is not
a cause of delays. Babies usually begin walking between
9 and 15 months; if she walks without crawling first,
she may be an early walker.
Things you can teach now..
Responsibility
You can begin teaching baby this important concept now.
Baby is beginning to understand cause and effect; she
is beginning to realize her actions have consequences.
How do you teach baby responsibility? Try 'baby' responsibilities
like ask her to daddy the napkin when you hand one to
her or to throw away a tissue in the garbage can. As
she grows older, match tasks to her growing capabilities.
Self reliance
Teaching this asset to your child is an important goal
for most parents. You can reinforce certain age-appropriate
tasks. An important task right now may be learning to
feed herself with a spoon. As she grows, her tasks will
change. The tasks should be simple for now and help
her when necessary. She will learn she can do things
for herself; the older she gets her confidence will
grow and she will need less help from you,
