Wiggly Piglet’s Playpen

How can a baby that weighs less than 20lb require 70lb worth of stuff for a 7 night stay in Mexico? This is only what went in the luggage – clothes, food, diapers, and a few toys. On top of that, we still have to bring her stroller and car seat.

MeiMei is not a big fan of suitcases. With families coming in and out all the time from out of town, she has associated luggages with separation. She gets upset when she sees people packing. She has done this before to my sister and mom in the past, and she did it again yesterday. As my Mom was packing their stuff away for Taiwan, she left the suitcases open on the floor in her room. When she came back from lunch, she discovered a nice and warm present from MeiMei right next to her suitcase. At least, MeiMei didn’t leave her marks inside the suitcase.

Mckayla really doesn’t know her own limits. She’s been pulling herself up to standing position the past few days using the push cart. Her legs are not strong enough to hold up for more than 10 seconds. But obviously, she doesn’t understand that those round and chubby legs are only for looks and they really can’t do much yet. Last night, after she pulled herself up on her feet, she decided to let go of her hands from the push cart’s handle. And the consequence – falling back and lands on her butt and head.

We went back to our house on Saturday while few friends and their babies came over for BBQ and swim in the pool on the hot sunny day.  At first, Mckayla didn’t like the water - it was a bit too cold even for me. After I hung out in the sun for a while, she got really warm and Ted took her back in the water again. This time, she had lots of fun, kicking and splashing water in the pool. Ted even dunked her couple times in the pool. After spending time in the water and sun, Mckayla took a nice long nap while we ate and chatted with friends. Since we didn’t bring the montior with us, I went to her room to check on her periodically. Two hours later, when I peeked my head in her room, I got a nice greeting from Mckayla. She was standing while holding the railings and smiling at me. She pulled herself up to stand!

Logan Brown finally made his landing, just one day before his expected due date. I went tio visit the Browns in the hospital while Mckayla stayed home with Ted.  Logan is so cute and alert! He was all nicely bundled in the blabnket but his big brown eyes were wide open, checking to see who was holding him. It’s hard to imagine how fast kids grow. But it was only 7 1/2 months ago, when Mckayla was that tiny.

It was hot today! Mckayla went to her swimming class and had a great time. She got dunked in the water 5-6 times and swam about 4-5 feet now. And she even did some of her “kick kick kick” while under water. When we got home, it was still very hot, so we jumped back in the pool again. The water in the pool at home was not as warm compared to the class and Mckayla did not enjoy it as much. Later that evening when we went out to eat, she slept through most of the dinner. The heat and swimming must have drained all her energy. It was still warm in the house when we got back, so we kept stripping down her clothes one by one. By the end of the night, she was pretty much naked - hanging out in her diapers only. She had even harder time falling asleep. She has mastered from crawling position to sitting but still struggles a bit going from sitting position to crawling. When I put her to bed, she immediately rolled to her stomach and sat up in her bed. She was getting so tired but she couldn’t get back down to sleep. After I put her back on her tummy, she sat up again. I put her back on her tummy once more and she sat up again. It went on for another ten minutes until she finally got so tired and coudln’t get up to sitting position that she fell asleep.

I knew this was going to happen any time because I pack my pumping supplies in the morning right before I leave for work. And today, when I clocked out for lunch to go pumping, I realized I didn’t bring the horns. I left in such a hurry this morning that I left the horns in the sterilizer after I washed them. I was waiting for the cycle to end before I pack them in my tupperware box, but I ran out without taking them. Thanks to Jackie for delivering them to me at work!

We went up to Portland for Ted’s cousin’s wedding for the weekend. Mckayla had a very busy weekend entertaining the family. She was being passed around like a little toy for the most of the time – she was pretty good for the most time, as long as she didn’t see Ted or me.  She even got to meet her cousin, Brandon, for the first time. When they met, Mckayla did her usual pulling his hair, grabbing his arm, and hitting his face. Brandon was such a gentleman, he just let her do whatever she wanted and didn’t complain. But, when he was told to give Mckayla a kiss, he went straight for her lips. There goes Mckayla’s first kiss, stolen by her cousin.

Mckayla behaved decently for the most part of the wedding ceremony and fell asleep during the entire photo session. She woke up as we were getting ready to leave for the reception at the Riverside Golf & Country Club. After we fed her dinner during the cocktail hour, she went back to sleep again.  When she woke up from her nap, Ted and I held her and walked around to keep her calm for the rest of the night.

Being the center of attention was rough on Mckayla. She couldn’t fall asleep and kept waking up in the middle of the night when we were in Portland. Good thing that Ted’s parents are early risers, we were able to hand her off to them to spend quality bonding time while we slept in to catch up on sleep for a bit. But we had a  very traumatic experience on the way back on the flight. We knew she was tired and was due for her nap. But we had no idea she would get so upset. She was getting slightly cranky shortly after we boarded the plane and got settled down in our seats. After the door was closed and the plane started taxing towards the runway, Mckayla started screaming and crying. For the entire time and until shortly after take off, about twenty minutes, she cried and screamed until she finally fell asleep. We’ve never seen her this upset and we had no idea what was wrong with her. We gave her pacifier, offered her bottle, and even changed her diaper in our laps, but could not calm her down. We were so worried and embarassed at the same time. We’re pretty sure the entire plane, including the captain, heard her crying. She slept for the entire flight until the plane was ready to land. After the nap, she was back to her happy self, smiling and playing with other passengers around us. Based on the comments we heard, we knew the entire flight was traumatized by her crying. We were so relieved when we got home – finally able to relax for a bit while Jackie played with her. That was the Father’s Day gift from Mckayla to Ted!

Mckayla has definitely developed a sense of “object permanence”. According to the books, babies begin to learn that things and people exist even when they’re out of sight. They typically start to play the “I drop & you pick-up” game, when they drop things over the side of the high chair, look for them, and expect the adult to retrieve what they’ve dropped. Mckayla has mastered this “I drop & you pick-up” game well.  And the same thing occurs with their parents. Babies realize that there’s only one Mommy/Daddy, and when they can’t see Mommy/Daddy, that means Mommy/Daddy’s gone away. At this point, babies don’t understand the concept of time and don’t know if or when Mommy/Daddy will come back. And they will do whatever they can to prevent this from happening – for Mckayla, it’s crying and screaming on the top of her lungs.

This morning, Mckayla got up around 7:30, shortly after I got out of the shower. I tried to put her back to sleep, after I changed her diaper and fed her.  But she refused to go back to bed and wanted to be held. So I held her in one arm with her legs wrapped around me like a koa la bear, while MeiMei followed behind us, got ready for work. Mckayla was fine when I handed off her to Nanny when she showed up. She gave the Nanny a big smile and her usual legs kicking and arms swinging to show her excitement.  She watched me as I grabbed my bags and keys to head out the door. The moment I walked out of her sight, she started screaming. I turned around and played with her for a little bit, but it didn’t seem to help. She was crying even louder with tears coming down her cheeks. So I picked her up to hug her and she finally calmed down. This time, I tried the “proper farewell” – kissed and hugged her, then told her that I’m going to work and will be back in the evening. As I hand her off to the Nanny, tears already filled her eyes again. I resisted the temptation and walked out the door while she started to cry. Poor Mckayla, I hope this phase of separation anxiety passes soon.

MeiMei peed in our bed again last night. With her recent frequent accidents, I am contemplating on getting her doggie diapers. I googled dog diapers and found this intersting product called “Peepers“. They even sell “fancy pants” to cover the diapers. Mckayla’s diapers are much cheaper compared to these ones – $12.95 for a package of 10! Maybe we should try one of the Pampers on MeiMei first.