pic of the week: 78 weeks

Look what I have, daddy! A ball!!!!!!!!
Those of you who know Judah well can probably hear him excitedly shouting "ball!" across the room to anyone who will listen!

pics of the week: 77 weeks

well, there are no pictures this week. our camera went kaput halfway through our vacation. fortunately, it's still on warranty. we're just hoping that it doesn't take too long to get fixed.

Breimer family camping 2006

Charleston Lake Provincial Park
August 5-13, 2006



on the road

some snapshots of what should have been a four hour trip but took much, much longer. Rob rented a truck from work to carry all the supplies. The guys did a great packing job, but our tarp would NOT stay tied down; we really thought we were going to lose all our camping supplies! Judah was a trooper, though! and our stop in Oshawa definitely helped.

a visit to the Heemskerks

On our way to Charleston Lake last weekend, we stopped at the Heemskerks' place in Oshawa. It was nice for us to break up our trip a little bit and it gave Judah and Rachel a chance to play together.

pic of the week: 76 weeks

pic of the week: 75 weeks

World Breastfeeding Week 2006

This week, from August 1st to 7th, is World Breastfeeding Week. It's an opportunity to celebrate the health benefits and natural beauty of lactation. Congratulations to anyone who nursed their child or children in the past and to anyone who is currently nursing.

Judah is still nursing at 17 months, and while that may seem strange to some people, it is actually very natural and extremely healthy. It is now recommended to nurse until 2 years and beyond. I am leaving weaning up to Judah, a concept called self-weaning or child-led weaning.

Kathy Detweyler, an anthropologist who has taken a special interest in breastfeeding practices and the age of weaning, has written quite extensively about breastfeeding. In her article A Natural Age of Weaning, she writes, "In societies where children are allowed to nurses 'as long as they want' they usually self-wean, with no arguments or emotional trauma, between 3 and 4 years of age" (A Natural Age of Weaning). According to Detweyler, "the mimimum predicted age of natural weaning in humans is 2.5 years, with a maximum of 7.0 years" (A Natural Age of Weaning). She indicates a number of other interesting facts about the natural age of weaning, which you can check out here.

The Kellymom website, which is devoted to educating mothers about breastfeeding, lists multiple reasons to nurse beyond one year of age: toddlers benefit nutritionally, immunologically, and socially, just to mention a few. I find the amount of vitamins and minerals present in the breastmilk to be impressive:

In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:

• 29% of energy requirements
• 43% of protein requirements
• 36% of calcium requirements
• 75% of vitamin A requirements
• 76% of folate requirements
• 94% of vitamin B₁₂ requirements
• 60% of vitamin C requirements

Isn't it amazing how God designed a woman's body and her ability to provide her children with all of these nutrients, even as they grow past infancy?

If you're interested, you can check out the entire Kellymom article here.