Exploring New Foods

I started back to school two days a week in January. My classes are Monday and Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. I drop Mackenzie off either with a friend or with Nanny and Papa on those days and since I knew I would be gone for those days, I was very diligent about breast feeding. I've made it a habit to feed Mackenzie first thing in the morning and then pump since the week we got home from the hospital with her. Needless to say, we had a massive stash of milk in the freezer. It got to the point that if the stash got below 15 bags, I would start to get nervous. On the days I have classes, Mackenzie had bottles with breastmilk in them and then I would feed her when we got home. Mackenzie is an incredible kid when it comes to adapting, she's never had a problem going from me to bottle and will take food anyway she can. Well, last Monday, February 23rd was the last day I breastfed Mackenzie. I've noticed the past few weeks that she was too busy to eat and was taking forever to get the amount that she needed. I don't know what changed her mind, it could be because she figured out that she didn't have to work as hard with the bottle, or that she simply didn't want to spend the time breastfeeding, but she was the one to stop. Monday night was a very long, tiring, exhausting night for all of us. I tried feeding her at her normal 6 p.m. feeding and she refused to eat. Daddy insisted on letting her cry it out and to try to get get Mackenzie to realize that she needed to breastfeed, but it wasn't working. After about 30 minutes of trying to calm her down, we made a bottle with milk in it, and sure enough she took it like a champ and even got so excited about it, she started to hold the bottle by herself! I've tried to offer myself to her, but she's over it. I tried to change my diet, drink water by the liters, and work with her as much as I could, but she said no way. The one thing that comforts me is that she was the one to decide to stop and that I didn't have to wean her when she wasn't ready. My frozen milk supply is quickly twindling down, and it's made me sad. Scott has been so supportive during all of this and has tried to help, but nothing has worked. I didn't expect it to effect me in the way that it did, but it's just another chapter in Mackenzie's life that's changed. She now drinks almost double what she was just two weeks ago, and eats cereal with vegetables for dinner and finishes it up with half a jar of fruit. So far, she's tried and enjoyed carrots (which is her absolute favorite), sweet potatoes, and peas (those make her gag, but she still opens her mouth everytime!). For fruit, she's also tried and enjoyed prunes, pears, and peaches. The only thing she's picky about is that her food must be warm, almost to the point of it being too hot, but if it's remotely cold she refuses to eat!

What in the world is this?!
Hmmm, it's kind of mushy, but I think I like it.

Yay for peas!!!

And now what is this stuff?!

Oh, it's prunes and they sure are yummy!

Such a big girl!

Watching the pups making sure they gon't try to steal my bottle!