With parents' groups in the main centres and chat groups for parents on the internet, we thought it timely to start a special column with helpful hints for new mothers. Abridged versions are available in our magazine,Vegetarian Living New Zealand.

Gretchen and Nicola, both new mothers to healthy vegetarian boys, will be contributing to this column. If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the diet of new babies - vegetarian, of course- these can be emailed to Gretchen.

Gretchen, a third generation vegetarian based in the Auckland area and mother to Callum, is kick-starting the column.

Autumn 2008

Introducing Callum Samuel Anderson:

Currently almost 9 months old, he’s a 4^th generation vegetarian who, I’m happy to say, in no way fits the stereotype (still occasionally encountered) of being runty, anaemic, developmentally delayed, mentally deficient, physically weak…need I go on? I’m sure most vegetarians have encountered the list – at least in part – at some stage in our lifetimes!

An example from a Plunket nurse who, don’t get me wrong, is a well-educated, kind and really lovely woman, on finding out we were vegetarian: “Oh, you’re vegetarian. I knew a vegetarian once … she played sport and everything!” Um, yes, there are still a few of our good old Plunket nurses who need to be educated, I’ve found. Go to any “Introducing Solids” talk, and you’d be wise to go armed with a good supply of patience and some pamphlets from the Vegetarian Society with which to counter the Meat Board indoctrination.

Anyway, back to the boy and who he is: Now called Callum, he was nicknamed “The Wriglet” while in utero, as he spent most of his first 9 months bouncing and kicking almost non-stop – and he still lives up (and down, and up, and down…) to that name. Born at 3.78 kg (8.3lb for those of us who don’t do kilos when it comes to babies) he came into the world alert, wriggly and chatty, and hasn’t looked back since.

He was, and is, a healthy eater, who was fully breastfed until 6 months of age. He’s always been long for his age and solid-looking, but his cheeks certainly give him a head start in the “bonny baby” stakes (Louis Armstrong, eat your heart out!). Now he’s eating solids there’s no holding him back; he’s on the go for 8 – 11 hours out of every 24, and there have been a few occasions where he has grown out of his clothes in the space of a week!

He started his foray into the world of solids by leaning over and taking a bite (or should I say “gum”, as he still has no teeth!) of the banana I was eating, and progressed from that through fruits such as pear and apple to his current favourites, peach and melon.  The vegetable side of things was a bit slower to start – and he let me know in no uncertain terms that the “baby norms” of pumpkin and kumara were not going to be on the menu for him, when he promptly threw them back up again each time I tried giving them to him. Charming!

Peas, beans, courgettes & mushrooms, however, are an entirely different story – they’re especially well-received when blended together so that he gets to enjoy the lot at once. And anything on a base of brown rice or lentils is usually quickly devoured as well.

He taste-tests everything within reach, edible or not – and now that he’s crawling and standing there’s a lot within reach. His favourite food at the moment is marmite on home-made, gluten/dairy-free bread. This will stop any hunger-based temper tantrums in an instant. Phew! (Our cat also likes this delicacy, and has learned to stand under Callum’s high chair with mouth open at the slightest mention of the word “lunch”.)

He did go through a week where that was pretty much all he would eat, but thankfully we have passed that now – for the moment, anyway. And now I’ve learned that if he gets fussy, I just puree his veggies and put them on top of the marmite-smeared bread as a sort of paté – whatever gives him a balanced diet, I figure!

And as for me, the 3^rd generation vegetarian incubator of, and mother to, this human cannonball; well I’m 31, my name is Gretchen, and I can sometimes remember such things as my husband’s name (Chris, if I ever need to ask), our telephone number & where I left my marbles. Sometimes. Yes, I can now understand why chronic lack of sleep is an instrument of torture.

Regarding pregnancy and motherhood, I had hoped that my vegetarian lifestyle would inure me to the more uncomfortable side of pregnancy, such as morning sickness and fluid retention – but apparently nature decided to teach me a lesson in humility. I got landed with a hefty 4-month dose of each, with a 29-hour posterior labour thrown in at the end for good measure. Bother!

However, after putting on a scary 27kg during the latter 6 months of my pregnancy, I’m happy to say that I’m now back to my original (if somewhat redistributed) body weight. I’m sure this is mostly due to my healthy vegetarian lifestyle, as my main form of exercise is merely walking Callum to sleep in the pram every couple of days. It probably also accounts for my ability to keep within arm’s reach of Callum on most days (keeping UP with him is not necessarily an option all the time – where do such small children find such huge reserves of energy?!)

Right, well, sleep calls but will hopefully see regular, brief updates of Callum’s progress as a “Veggie Baby” as we try more of this solid food stuff.

Callum is almost 1 year old now, and his current favourite foods are bread (with almond butter or marmite), mandarins, figs, prunes, avocado, blueberries, sultanas and bananas – he loves his fruit!

Breakfasts usually consist of a mashed banana with another fruit chopped or grated in, plus LSA powder and cereal such as blended rice or puffed millet. I also add in some Kindervital sometimes: if, for example, we’ve had a rough night!

Lunch is bread plus more fruit (simple!).

Dinners are slightly less simple, with a plate of finger food (for him) to distract from the pureed veggies also being shovelled in (by me). His finger food is a mixture of textures and flavours, using seasonal veggies and fruits. At the moment I often choose from: spinach, carrot, beans, mushroom, courgette, beetroot, avocado, mandarins, prunes, dried apricots, sultanas and apple.

Dark clothes are however advised, against Callum’s current phase of spitting out unwanted food. (Previously he would just violently shake his head in order to avoid the spoon. Honestly, I don’t know which is easier to deal with). So to get the “good stuff” to stay in, spoonfuls of pureed veggies are popped into his mouth and VERY closely followed by a piece of finger food he likes – generally a small cube of marmite-smeared bread. This, with the performance of a loud and silly song (by me) will usually manage to keep the pureed veggies in long enough for him to decide he actually does like them and will swallow them. Bribery? Corruption? Sure thing!

He enjoys – in fact, demands – the independence of (painstakingly) selecting and eating the small cubes of food on his plate for every meal…except breakfast, for some strange reason. As long as this activity is available, we have a reasonable chance of ensuring he also consumes his quota of easily absorbable nutrients from the pureed veggies and rice/lentils/tofu. However I was glad to read that one can focus on balancing nutrient input over a week rather than by day with small children – a relieving thought on days when he prefers bread and water rations over anything fresh!