By Karen Ranzi

We are blessed to have the wonderful, Karen Ranzi, on the raw mom team.

Karen answers a common question on what to consider when weaning a baby to a raw or vegan diet. Many of you have emailed us about this, so we thought posting Karen’s reply would allow everyone to benefit. Karen will be giving more nutrition advice throughout the week on the blog and in the wisdom nuggets.

“My name is Karen Ranzi,

I am the author of the new book, Creating Healthy Children: Through Attachment Parenting and Raw Foods.

The type of food given to baby is dependent on the age of weaning. All babies require mother’s milk for at least the first year of life to create the strong immunity and bonding necessary for baby’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual development.

The fat and protein in mother’s milk is sufficient for baby’s growth well into the second year. I encourage you to nurse as long as possible. Humans are the latest to mature of all mammals therefore our young require the longest nursing periods. I recommend a minimum of two years. If a mother is unable to nurse for at least the first year of baby’s life, then alternatives could be a wet nurse, milk bank, or raw (unpasteurized) goat milk. (more…)