Boobilicious

I have a lot of time for random thought and semi-amazement for the hours I nurse Gillian every week. Today, laying next to her in our bed, trying to get her to sleep (she went a little long and was all jacked up), I was thinking about the act of nursing. Have you thought about the fact that nursing our young defines our species as mammalian? I mean, yes we all know we are mammals, but the word 'mammal' comes from a root for mammary, as in milk-making. So, our species is defined as such because of the females among us and our ability to nurse our young with our milk-making selves. From the dictionary:

Main Entry: mam·mal
Pronunciation: 'ma-m&l
Function nounEtymology: New Latin Mammalia, from Late Latin, neuter plural of mammalis of the breast, from Latin mamma
breast: any of a class (Mammalia) of warm-blooded higher vertebrates (as placentals, marsupials, or monotremes) that nourish their young with milk secreted by mammary glands, have the skin usually more or less covered with hair, and include humans -
mam·ma·li·an /m&-'mA-lE-&n, ma-/ adjective or noun

Not only that, but it appears that the word "mamma" comes from the latin for breast. I found this endlessly fascinating. My preferred parental nickname is so chauvinist. In essence I am choosing to be called "breast" for short by my darling daughter, and assuming, any children to follow. Weird.