he did it!

Judah crawled today! it was like he suddenly realized how to put it all together, and he started crawling across the floor to get the toy i was holding! he is actually pretty fast already! i can't believe it! we are so excited!
judah is so proud of himself, too! when rob came home for lunch, i said, "show daddy what you just learned how to do!", and he crawled right up to him with a HUGE smile on his face!

36 weeks

Judah is 36 weeks today! That is so amazing to me, because since he was born at 36 weeks gestation, he has now been in our arms longer than i was pregnant with him! Time just flies!

pic of the week: 35 weeks

pics of the week: 34 weeks

judah is getting closer and closer to crawling. it is so cute to watch him get up on his knees just to flop onto his tummy as he stretches and reaches for something!

i do think that he crawls when we're not looking, though, because he always seems to end up on the other side of the playpen or halfway across the room! other modes of transportation include scooting on his bum and walking with mommy's help. he is getting to be such a big boy!

he turned eight months this week, and i had him weighed at the breastfeeding support clinic. he now weighs 17 lbs! a far cry from 4 lbs 14 oz, that's for sure!

chillin' with grandma, grandpa, and uncle matt

pic of the week: 33 weeks

taken at the afore-mentioned Lindley's Farm today! so much fun!

fittingly, judah is sticking out his tongue, as he has been doing habitually for the past week or so. teething? just discovering his tongue? your guess is as good as ours!

family fun at the farm

this afternoon, the three of us went to Lindley's Farm to pick out a pumpkin, buy a yummy apple pie, and spend some quality family time.



it was a nice change from sitting around or (more realistically, doing work around) the house. we took a few pictures of judah in the pumpkins and asked one of the farm workers to take a picture of our family before we left! it was so awesome to be able to spend such a beautiful day with a wonderful family. we are so very blessed!

almost crawling

i'll be crawling very soon. i'm getting pretty good at moving backward, and i think that soon i'll be able to go forward. actually, i think i could probably do it now, but i'm just not letting mommy and daddy know that quite yet, because it's kinda fun to see their reactions when i get up on my hands and knees. especially when i rock back and forth or move my knees forward. they get SO excited, they giggle, and they make all sorts of funny noises and facial expressions. i wonder what they'll do when i can REALLY crawl!

how does tofu compare to meat?

i do eat tofu as a meat alternative, mostly in veggie burgers and those types of foods, though i don't eat a lot of it. in comparison to meat, tofu and other soy foods have a number of health benefits. firstly, there are the benefits, some of which i noted in a previous post, such as no cholesterol, contain fibre, reduced risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and some forms of cancer. secondly, soy foods are low in saturated fat and lower in fat than most meat products. thirdly, you don't need to worry about contamination and getting sick from yucky stuff like that.

what is your favourite new vegan dish?

my favourite vegan dish would probably have to be falafel, which i ate before i became vegan, anyway. for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it is chickpea patties (kind of like meatballs, without the meat, of course) fried in oil and usually stuffed in pitas with hummus (chickpea spread that is SO delicious), lettuce, and tabouli (a middle eastern wheat salad). falafels are absolutely amazing. if you have never had one, try one, even if you think that chickpeas sound yucky.
i also LOVE lentils boiled in vegetable broth and tomatoes, served over brown rice. quick, tasty, and nutritious.
this is a great question, because people often ask what on earth vegans eat. i'll try to post recipes every once in a while, if i come across something really tasty.

is soymilk good for you?

soymilk is a very good food in moderation (as with all soy foods). it is delicious and full of complete protein. as i said in my previous post, i also love to drink rice milk, another great alternative for those who don't like to drink cow's milk.

how do you get the same amount of vitamins that meats provide?

because meats are a convenient source of some vitamins, it just takes a little more planning on my part to make sure that i consume enough grains (for iron), leafy green vegetables (for calcium), and protein foods. to get protein (the big question most people ask), i eat a lot of beans (green beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, hummus, chili, to name a few), lentils, and nuts and seeds (tahini/sesame seed spread, almond butter, ground flax seeds), and i drink soymilk. i also drink vanilla rice milk, which doesn't provide much protein, but contains loads of calcium, vitamin D, B12, and other essential vitamins. i try to eat a variety of different grains and vegetables, because this is what provides my body with all the essential amino acids it needs for protein. in general, vegetarian diets are high in most vitamins as long as you like your fruits and vegetables and are willing to eat a wide variety of foods!

ask me any question...

i don't want this blog to turn into a huge vegetarian debate, BUT i would love to clear up any misconceptions you may have about my diet or answer any questions about where i get [fill in nutrient/vitamin/whatever here].

so, here is the plan: comment away under this post with as many questions as you have/can think of, and i will answer all of them, one at a time, over the next couple of weeks, in a post titled with the question you asked. should you or anyone else who is reading the response have any further questions, just ask them under the appropriate post. i have changed my settings so that anyone can post, even if they are not registered users.

ask away, my friends!

happy thanksgiving!!

pics of the week: 32 weeks

the health issue

many of you are concerned about my health now that i am not eating any animal products. if so, please visit this link on health reasons to become a vegetarian. if you haven't done so already, please also read my blurb about why i became a vegetarian.
for those of you who probably won't read the actual article, i will summarize it for you. be aware that the vegetarianism diet referred to in this article includes the avoidance of milk and eggs.
taken from Vegetarian Foods: Powerful for Health on the PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) website:
1. cancer: numerous studies show that vegetarians are less likely to develop many forms of cancer, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer (both are linked to drinking milk), and, in particular, colon cancer (it has been directly linked to meat consumption).
2. heart disease: vegetarian diets prevent heart disease because animal products provide saturated fat (the main source) and cholesterol (the only source). furthermore, vegetarian diets have a lot of fibre, which helps to lower cholesterol, whereas animal products contain none.
3. blood pressure: people who don't eat meat have lower blood pressure. and a vegetarian diet can reduce one's blood pressure very quickly. (good news, because as i learned on one of my favourite television shows, blood pressure is one of the most important measures of good health! disclaimer: i am no way suggesting that this television personality advocates a vegetarian diet.)
4. diabetes: a low-fat vegetarian diet can aid in controlling or even eliminating adult-onset diabetes and can reduce the amount of insulin needed to control childhood-onset diabetes.
5. gallstones, kidney stones, and osteoporosis: vegetarian diets decrease the risk of developing gallstones and kidney stones because the animal proteins, cholesterol, and high fat content are implicated in the forming of stones. osteoporosis is also linked to consumption of animal products. (i have read studies that show that women who avoid milk actually have less occurence of osteoporosis, contrary to what the dairy industry tells you. unfortunately, i do not remember where i read that information.) mainly vegetarian diets, even those with less calcium, decrease the risk of osteoporosis. yes, calcium is important, but it does not need to come from dairy products. (calcium is more easily absorbed from green leafy vegetables like broccoli and spinach).
6. athsma: a Swedish study linked a vegan diet to a decrease in the need for athsma medication. this may be due to dairy allergies.
common concerns: the rest of the article focuses on common concerns in a vegetarian diet such protein, iron, calcium, and vitamin B12. protein is found in all sorts of beans, grains, and vegetables. in fact, vegetarian diets are good because they don't include the extra protein that compromises the typical western diet. iron is also found in grains and beans, (and when eaten with vitamin C, absorbed more easily). calcium, as i indicated earlier, is found in green leafy vegetables and is abundant in a vegetarian diet. B12 is the only tricky one in our modern society. it used to be easy to include in a plant-based diet because it was found in the roots of the plants that grew in its soil. vegans can find B12 in cereals and soymilks that are fortified with B12, and there are also readily-available supplements.
pregnancy, nursing moms, and children: pregnant and nursing mothers, infants, and children do well on a vegetarian/vegan diet, as long as one pays attention to the intake of the nutrients mentioned above. just to be safe, pregnant and nursing moms should take vitamin D and B12 supplements as well as folic acid (even though vegetarian diets are usually quite high in folic acid), and children should also be given supplements of B12. infants and children raised on a vegetarian diet usually live healthier and longer lives than their peers.
that's pretty much it. but, please don't take my world for it: read it for yourself!

latch-in 2005

yesterday, mommy took me to this place downtown hamilton to a gathering of lots of mommies and babies called Latch-In 2005. basically, we all went there to either breastfeed or be breastfed (us babies have a sweet deal going on) to encourage other mommies to breastfeed. a speaker named dr. jack newman spoke about why it's so great to breastfeed, why you should feed us when we're hungry instead of on a schedule, breastfeeding after we become toddlers instead of stopping when we turn one (or before), and some other interesting things. he also talked about how our society has some very distorted (mommy taught me that big word today) views about breastfeeding and babies. for instance, why is it that us babies usually aren't welcome at weddings and other events? in most cultures, babies are brought along wherever their mommies go. this is natural, and this is best, because we need to be with our mommies, and we need to eat! another funny perspective is how people see breasts: they see them first and foremost as something sexual instead of as a symbol of love and nurture (and, i must add, some VERY GOOD EATING...). i think that dr. jack person was pretty smart.
after he spoke, mommy and i walked around to look at some stations with information about taking care of unborn and newborn babies, how to feed us when we're babies and starting solids (like me!), and things to do with babies in the hamilton area.
the nice ladies that mommy and i sometimes see at the Sears Limeridge nursing room were also there today. they helped mommy and i SO MUCH when i was very little and we didn't know how to do this breastfeeding thing yet.
all in all, the event was fun! i did some loud screaming to let mommy know i was having a good time despite my being sick and everything, but i don't think she understood what i was trying to say. mommies just don't get it sometimes!

...but i love you, mommy

i really do love you lots, mommy. i want to snuggle with you all the time because you take such good care of me and i know that i am safe with you. it makes me feel so much better just being in your arms, even though i am still feeling so sick.

me? cranky?

well, i guess mommy's right. i have probably been a little bit cranky lately. but i just don't feel good and all i want is for her to snuggle with me. while dancing around the house. and singing. and making me laugh so i forget about feeling so sick.

and what's with the snot sucking? i've told mommy and daddy a billion times (at least) that i really don't like it when they try to suck the boogers out of my nose with that scary-looking blue thing:
yet they insist on doing so. they say they're just trying to help me feel better, but that blue thing is just terrifying. seriously.

sleep? what's that?

things have been a little rough around the ennema household for the past few days. judah has been waking up on the hour at night, and hardly napping at all during the day. the poor kid is obviously not feeling well at all (he has a NASTY cold and i think he's teething, too...), and just does not know what to do with himself. so he has been fussy a lot of the time when he is awake, too. to make things worse, he is totally going through separation anxiety, and wants ONLY MOMMY almost ALL OF THE TIME! so a tired cranky baby makes for an exhausted cranky mommy, which inevitebly also leads to a whiny mommy when daddy comes home. this, in turn, creates a very frustrated and cranky daddy, who is really just trying to do his best. but then when he takes the cranky baby (after exhausted mommy took care of cranky baby all day long), the cranky baby gets very mad, because all he wants is cranky mommy...

we really need some sleep around here...

pic of the week: 31 weeks

gorgeous brown eyes, a button nose, ...and a whole lot of drool!