evolution_rex
Inkling
So for my story, the setting being North America/Canada during the Ice Age, I finally came up with an angle that I could genuinely enjoy writing. It's fantasy but with a heavy survival element, and I really wanted to tackle the angle of a male hunter and a baby being the sole survivors after their tribe is attacked by a rival tribe or some sort of group of evil creatures. The man not not only has to keep himself alive, but a baby's life is in head hands.
I really like the idea, but one thing is stopping me; can a baby even survive without milk? There is no formula in the Ice Age, and I really don't want to have some magical cop out. Is there any chance a baby could hypothetically survive through other means, by feeding it mashed foods (other words, giving it baby food early) or do they have to have milk? I'm not talking about whether or not it's healthy in the long run, just in order to survive.
I could solve my way around it by him finding an animal that's ready for breastfeeding, and the main character will of course eventually find another tribe and thus a woman capable of taking care of the baby, but I'd like to see the possibilities of not having milk.
I really like the idea, but one thing is stopping me; can a baby even survive without milk? There is no formula in the Ice Age, and I really don't want to have some magical cop out. Is there any chance a baby could hypothetically survive through other means, by feeding it mashed foods (other words, giving it baby food early) or do they have to have milk? I'm not talking about whether or not it's healthy in the long run, just in order to survive.
I could solve my way around it by him finding an animal that's ready for breastfeeding, and the main character will of course eventually find another tribe and thus a woman capable of taking care of the baby, but I'd like to see the possibilities of not having milk.