My Raw Toddler

Before becoming a mother, I used to think about motherhood and the kind of mother I wanted to be. I knew that I would have a homebirth, breastfeed (with child-led weaning), co-sleep, carry my baby in a sling and raise him/her as a vegan.

Zenchai was born May 21, 2006 in our home. He came to us very quickly, with quite a spectacular entrance and Claude being the first to receive him. As in my dreams, I am breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and raising him as a vegan and raw.

Zenchai has always been a passionate breastfeeder. I wasn't surprised when he reached six months old (the common age to begin solids) that he wasn't showing any signs of curiosity towards solid foods. I am a strong believer in introducing foods in a baby-led way. We have never pureed or bought jars of prepared food. Instead we had lots of finger food and allowed him to freely explore our plates – even if he wasn't interested in eating it.

As a family, we decided to consciously eat a high raw food diet when Zenchai was one year old. Reflecting back, he wasn't really attracted to solid food until he was between 13-15 months old. I noticed with each new tooth came new desires to taste solid foods.

From a young age (around 9 months old) he has always enjoyed drinking our green smoothies and eating our puddings (bananacado). It was when he was just under a year old when he started eating almond milk with banana. If you ask him what his favourite food is he'll answer with "almond milk and banana".

Raising a raw toddler has had many challenges. Initially, it was knowing what foods could be safely introduced without causing sensitivities and allergies. As a guide I used the kellymom's chart, but even those guidelines seemed to be quite conservative, often times leaving us to follow our instincts.

There do not seem to be many resources or much support on how to feed a raw toddler. We often looked to the Talifero family for suggestions, but it regularly led us to dead-ends because our lifestyle and families are so different.

 Each day brings us something new. There are some days when Zenchai will be really keen to eat a certain food and the very next day he could refuse it, as if it were the vilest thing on the planet. I try very hard to be accepting of his body's wisdom. But I do find it trying being surrounded by so many conventional thoughts on how children should be eating.

I hope this blog will serve as a platform where parents can unite and share our perils and triumphs. I deeply believe having a sense of community whilst raising a child is paramount, especially when what you are doing goes against the grain.

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