One of my very first Hold The Meat columns dealt with whether or not we were going to raise my then-six-month-old baby as a vegetarian. While we haven’t yet made a final decision regarding this issue, lately I feel as though my kid has been trying to tell me something. The photo above is an actual picture taken of my lovely progeny this morning, on his 10-month birthday. He had not, as it may appear, just finished breakfast. Instead, he had just gotten into the dog food… again.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the slobber-covered food-like matter my baby is drooling out of his mouth and getting into his neck rolls in this picture is freakin’ Pedigree. Thank God it’s just the dry food– if it was wet dog food I’d probably just have to sell him. Or vomit to death.
When I was pregnant, I read tales of other pregnant women developing Pica; eating sand and clay because they were missing iron or other nutrients from their diet. So when my baby repeatedly finds dog food in even the dustiest, unused corners of my home and shoves it into his mouth with such obvious glee, I have to ask myself, “Is he missing something?”
We haven’t fed him meat yet. Luke is still having philosophical problems with the idea, while my problems are still more practical: I don’t want to have to prepare it and feed it to him. Besides, Cooper spends most of the day with me, and since I don’t eat meat, I never have it around. A lot of what he ends up eating is whatever I’m eating, and I’m not eating burgers.
He’s (too) quickly approaching his first birthday, so that creates another sticky situation: I’m going to start weaning him. After that happens, protein is going to become that much more important. We’re already feeding him yogurt, cottage cheese, beans, and whatever random meat-replacement I happen to be eating at the time, but is that going to continue to be enough?
Everything I read though says that once he’s weaned, we should be replacing my milk with sippy cups full of whole cow’s milk. That also sounds kind of gross to me. It’s not as though I’m a dirty fucking vegan who doesn’t drink milk; I totally do — mainly because I like cereal and am suspicious of soy “milk,” as soy doesn’t have nipples.
I only drink organic milk though, because I’m pretty sure rBGH is the devil. But giving my baby cup upon cup of milk every day just rubs me the wrong way. It could be due to the fact that we had a 3-year-old stay with us over Memorial Day weekend who sucked down bottles of milk and refused to eat anything else. He then proceeded to vomit said milk all over a restaurant, then my car, and then my house. Turns out he had an ear infection at the time, but I think I still have PTSD.
So, dear readers. This brings me to my point: I’m not ready to feed my baby meat, and I’m kind of wary about the whole milk thing. I’m sure I could get away with not feeding him either milk or meat, but not both, right? So I need some alternatives; something that’s good and filling enough so I don’t end up feeding my dog and my baby at the same time. He’s already trying to go out through the doggy door; I don’t want to have to get him his own food dish too.
Clacked by Kona Gallagher 
on Jul 30, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
My daughter totally woofed down kibble every time I wasn’t quick enough to stop her, and she was already eating meat, so, I think it’s more of a “babies will eat anything” thing than anything else.
Paulina does have days where all she wants is milk. If I had known better at the time, I wouldn’t have gotten her so used to drinking it. I don’t think cows milk is as important a food as the dairy industry would have us think. Some is fine to be sure, but calcium intake can be met through green veggies like broccoli and kale as well, and supposedly our bodies absorb that calcium more easily than what you get from dairy products.
Oh yeah, and even covered in dog food, that is one seriously adorable kid.
Ethan drinks milk, but no more than 2 sippy cups a day. And I am forced to buy the evil rBGH milk because organic milk is too fucking expensive, especially since Brian and Ethan share the milk (I buy lactose-free, saving my office from a day of wearing gas masks). The rest of the time, Ethan drinks water. He doesn’t like juice and asks for water most of the day. I say, give your kid some milk, but make sure it’s only a little. But if he has an ear infection, I cannot guarantee a vomit-free time. But to be fair, cheese is just as nasty on the way back out. I know all too well…
I agree with everything Cate said, although I’m not a parent. If it’s on the floor, at the level of a crawling child, the child will find it and be curious.
Have you asked your doctor and/or a naturopathic practitioner about this? Have you researched what dirty fucking vegan moms do?
I wouldn’t worry about dog food and the doggy door. If he starts to growl when you try to take the food away, you might have a problem.
Ha. I’m not terribly worried about it, but it’s kind of funny because between our dog and the dogs my family owns, he’s around them all the time. He doesn’t quite growl when I take his food away (yet), but he did totally pick a ball up with his mouth like he saw the puppy do.