Baby food in 12th c. England

[wiseheart]

I'm writing a Cadfael story, and one of my characters has just born a child some two weeks ago. She doesn't have enough milk to feed the baby, and neither is a suitable wet nurse to find. So, what would she give the baby? Cow milk? Some mashed vegetables

Comments

[wiseheart]

Thank you. The strangest things can turn out useful sometimes, right?

[wiseheart]

Yes, he did... and that's a good idea, thanks.

[marycatelli]

Ah, but how often is it toxic to infants? And can it be sorted out from the noise in that babies often died, particularly those whose mothers didn't have enough milk?

[conuly]

It's not always toxic to infants, though - and, to make matters worse, that's far from the only cause of infant botulism. If kids sometimes drop dead in this dramatic way after eating honey... but sometimes they die in that same way after NOT eating honey... then it's all a bit moot.