Land of Milk and Mommy

Gavin calls Minnesota the land of milk and honey, but lately, I feel like we've left that place and landed in the land of milk and mommy. Morgen has been a demanding little girl lately - after eating nearly no solid foods during her trip to Minnesota, she has decided that there is nothing like mother's milk. All the previously loved favourites like carrots, sweet potato, and squash are simply detested bites reluctantly swallowed and frankly, well, resented. We can only get her to eat veggies and fruits by tricking her into thinking she's about to get oatmeal and rice cereal. This cereal, and only this cereal, is the one thing besides breastmilk that she seems to enjoy eating. Even prunes, once something she couldn't get enough of, is on the gross list. We just keep soldiering on, making sure that we give each attempt at mealtime at least thirty minutes, ignoring the betrayed looks that result from pushing veggies or fruit into her little birdie mouth, and trying to stay firm. We're learning though that Morgen is one stubborn and smart little cookie. She flattens her lips shut, frowns, whines, and then gives us the ultimate sign. She turns her head and sucks her thumb, and says "La!" This syllable means "milk," and has mean that since she was just a week or so old. 

Needless to say that the increased nighttime breastfeeding and wakefulness that result from her solid food semi-strike is a bit of a challenge for Mommy. Or, to put it in the first person...it's a challenge for me! Me, me, me! I've been eating all of our treats and snacking pretty much constantly to keep up with it all. This isn't as much fun as you might think, but I'm getting through it. And hopefully, Morgen will come around. Lately she's just been attatched to me at the breast, though, no matter how hard we try to put her off or show her how much fun mealtimes at the table can be.

So, it was with some trepidation that I left Morgen alone with her daddy and a bottle of formula this afternoon. Three whole hours later, thanks to the distractions of a bookstore, a grocery store, a diaper store, and a good friend, I returned home to discover that Morgen....was sleeping. The child who refuses to sleep without nursing was sound asleep. So, we're on to you, missy! And, now I feel reasonably prepared to start attending a course at the university once a week. I'm looking forward to easing back into some semblance of a balanced life.

In other news, it appears that Grendel no longer fears Morgen. He's now just in open competition with her, no more lurking, skulking or sulking. It's an all out war for Gavin's lap now. Either that, or Grendel has decided to take up reading. Poor, poor, kitty.