I Did not Do this on the Airplane

Soooo.... we woke up before the sun came up and Stella had no idea what was going on. We got on the Airport Express in her new "airport stroller" and off we went. We checked in at Cathay Pacific. She screamed her head off in the security line, as people are known to do. But, we made it to the lounge with plenty of time for me to feed her breakfast and wolf down a bit of my own. We boarded the plane and the flight attendant politely asked, "Mrs Dillon, are we waiting for your husband???" to which I replied, "No that seat is for my baby..." I nearly cried that my camera battery had run dead because Stella looked so funny sitting in her giant business class seat with all of her toys spread around her. She was an angel on that flight. Though I did give her Calpol before takeoff hoping it would knock her out. It did for about 20 minutes. Then she suddenly woke up in that "I want to rock right now.....hit it!!!" kind of mode. But, it didn't matter. She watched Mulan while I watched Knocked Up. I even ate lunch and had a few glasses of wine. She was completely fine, but who wouldn't be in business class on a Cathay Pacific 747?

Then, we arrived in Tokyo. We switched to Japan Airlines as they were willing to provide a toddler type car seat for her from NRT-LAX which, I think, now that we've been through the drill, isn't "required" as I was told. The lounge was fantastic. They had highchairs and unbelievably good Japanese food. We basically hung out for 3 hours (I requested a long layover so I could feed her with no rush). The highlight for Stella was this booster seat type thing attached to the wall in the bathroom stalls. It's clearly for mothers traveling alone who need a place to put their kid when going to the bathroom. I love Japanese heated toilets but this contraption that I stuffed her in was the bomb. I handed her a toilet seat cover and she literally laughed her head off. It was funny.

Then we got on the JAL plane. I love their business class because it has shiatsu massagers in the seats and more room than Cathay Pacific, though the flight entertainment is far inferior. Anyway, Stella's seat this time had a car seat which she hated. She refused to sit in it which made for a miserable flight. Her seat served as expensive toy storage. She was tired, I was tired. She got super cranky. She fussed a little, but most of the time I had to hold her face up to the Disney channel and keep rewinding this one Mickey Mouse cartoon which was the only one that held her attention. Miserable. The one drawback to business class is the distance between the seat and the TV so I was literally on the edge of my seat. She desperately tried to sleep on my chest, straddling my legs with hers but we were both so uncomfortable. It was awful. Though the food was good and the staff was super nice. They kept bringing her toys every few hours and even made her fresh mashed veggies. I felt badly that I didn't let her eat them because I had no idea what they were. I hope that I can request no car seat on the flight back. Cathay wouldn't let us fly long haul without me hauling on a heavy convertible car seat which I just couldn't do by myself.

We made it to LAX, tired. Mom and Dad picked us up and at about Oceanside we hit traffic. Stella hates traffic. She screamed her head off so hysterically that she gave herself a nose bleed and we had to pull off to a random gas station on Leucadia Blvd. And then the next week or so she had jet lag and had no idea where she was. That was fun...not.

Goin' Back to Cali

Please do this on the airplane.

Snaggletooth Isn't a Baby Anymore

This hairdo is much better, we think. Her hair gets so nappy that we're trying to get it to look cute without cutting it really short. We still have to use "the eating headband" because she gets a ton of food in her long sideburns.

The offending tooth is no longer a hole as you can see actual white. It's sharp as a knife, believe me. And it's coming in crooked (not that baby teeth matter), which is no shock as Dan and I don't have the cleanest dental records. We figured even before she was born, she's destined for some severe orthodontia. The other bottom tooth is on it's way as it's crater has formed. She won't let you get in there to inspect but she was screaming with laughter all day today (see photos) so when she opened her mouth wide I tried to have a look. She's a very, very good baby during the day so we really can't complain about anything...during the day. She is really funny, very interactive and a pleasure to be around. However...

We did some controlled crying last night to try to get her to regain her ability to self-soothe at night. As annoying as the process is, it does work though we are sympathetic because we know her teeth are bothering her. Someone told us that it will take another good year and a half, maybe more, for her to get the rest of her baby teeth so she'd better learn to deal which is easier said than done. We babied her when she was sick so we got completely off track in the soothing department. She's smart and knows now that she can get whatever she wants if she whimpers. I'm in for a hell of a week when we land in CA.

She also has decided that she's no baby. She does not like being held in a cradle position. She doesn't like her sippy cups and goes straight for a regular cup. It's very cute to see her attempt to drink like an adult. She does not like being burped, but rather will sit herself upright if she needs to burp and gets annoyed if you try to force it out. She also wants adult food...badly.

She'd better behave like an adult on the airplane!

Does My Eye Look Gimpy?

It turns out that her eye is fine. We spent what felt like all afternoon at the Sanitorium hospital in Happy Valley, which is under massive renovation. It has the best eye centre in HK but the downside today was that there was one functioning elevator. Anyway, we made it to ophthamology and the doctor we saw was very nice. She ran some tests and there is no lazy eye or squinting that she could see. One side is more swollen than the other...you can kind of see it in this photo. It's aggravated probably by always sleeping on that side.

As I said, she was born with one eye open and even though I was high as a kite and excited to meet her, for about 30 seconds I was worried that she was a cyclops. But it all turned out ok, didn't it?

We took her to the LRC for lunch yesterday and she ate in a high chair for the first time in public. It was probably the most relaxed lunch we've had since she's been born. She was happy just being in the mix and could not keep her eyes off this German guy who was cruising around in a Speedo all afternoon. Dan thought that was hysterical. We were sitting by the pool.

Daddy, Please Take Me To Wolong

This is a photo with Pudgy, the panda that Dan bought for me at the Chengdu Panda Research Centre gift shop. It was a sweaty little shop with what seemed like a million Chinese tourists in it. I really wanted Pudgy because he's fat, so Dan toughed out the line. Stella has always loved pandas, as the panda on her Lamaze cube was the first toy that ever held her attention. Anyway, Dan swore we'd never go back to Wolong (where I held the real live pandas) ever again but I figure if I brainwash Stella a little bit, we have a chance of going back someday.

Stella has been in a pretty good mood and sleeping 10-12 hours straight lately. We went to the doctor today for a flu shot. She also has a lazy eyelid (and possibly eye) or something like that so we have to see a specialist next week before we fly out. Yvonne, our midwife/registered nurse/baby guru/shrink told us to go see Dr. Thondup about it a few days ago but luckily we had an appointment for the flu shot anyway. Her eyelid has become puffy in the last week or so. I'll be happy when the specialist appointment is over as I'm nervous for probably no reason. I remember she came out of the womb with one eye open and I was super worried until she opened it. Then, all was fine until the last few weeks it's been a little bit red, however, both eyelids were red when she was sick. She also sleeps on that side of her face so we thought that might be why it's red. The pediatrician isn't too worried, but since we're flying home in a week he wants us to see a specialist in an abundance of caution.

I am having nightmares about the flight home. I've been having them for the last few months. We had a huge problem trying to book our flight as the regulations for car seats have changed with some airlines not allowing you to bring your own long haul. Anyway, we fly Cathay Pacific to Tokyo and then JAL from Tokyo to LAX. Cathay long haul wouldn't let us bring our own car seat unless it was that big convertible kind which I can't carry by myself. JAL provides those car seats. But, through a series of events not worth going in to, Stella has her own seat on Cathay Pacific and a bassinet (no car seat) so I can put her wherever I want depending on her mood. It's just as well, to be honest, as she doesn't like to be restrained. They wouldn't let her do that long haul though. And then on JAL, she has a Britax car seat provided by the airline. If anyone is worried, yes we are flying business class. Stella only flies business class, as does her mother...that is the deal "we" struck with Daddy (who also only flies business class). Thank goodness for miles, a generous travel allowance and a tanking US dollar. The latter has been just dumb luck.