Holland Day 3: The Melt-Down

It was supposed to be yet another easy day for us, but little did we know that the little Spud has something else on her mind. While she did have a good night since we arrived and sleeping through a good 12-13 hours, I think she must have woken up at the wrong side of the bed that day.


She showed signs of crankiness the moment she woke up. Apparently when Silver Bullet minded her when I was showering, I was told that she “was not quite herself”. When we tried to put her down for her morning nap in the cot that was in the bedroom, she brought the house down. The 10-minute rule did not work. We eventually released her from her misery and she was all smiles again. But only for a little while.

She was quite off that day. Every nap was a tough and exhaustive battle. Every diaper change became a war zone, complete with its sound effects. (She hates to be on her back and every nappy change means that people in China might be able to hear her voice). While we did expect Spud to have some sort of fits, we weren’t completely prepared to handle her melt-down; especially not on the day when we need to attend a gathering of family and friends to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday party!

Just as Spud would have it, she threw her biggest tantrum when we were getting ready to go; and just before we walked out of the door, she decided to honour us with the biggest poo she could muster. It was also one of the most carcassed, foul smelling poos she ever made! It was so bad that I was gagging and almost throwing up.

So, there we both were --- all frenzied, stressed, about to be fashionable late already and yet, another poo had also meant another change, another battle with an extremely loud bawling baby who did not want to be on her back and refused to cooperate.

When we were finally done, I felt so dizzy from the ordeal that I swear the world was spinning around me. By the time we got to the party, I felt like a zombie . But somehow, I managed to run on autopilot and despite feeling a little overwhelmed, I was glad that I managed a decent conversation without biting their heads off to whoever who came my way (Spud was attached to me in a wrap) and to those who were kind enough to tolerate my spaced-out antics. I figured, they were polite enough to humour me.

The good thing though, Spud did behave a little better at the party. I remember she even fell asleep for a little while. We speculated that perhaps she has had an upset stomach earlier on.

It was quite a day, and by the time the evening was almost over, I simply cannot wait to put Spud to bed so we could crash on the couch, wind down for the day and be mentally and physically prepared for a rather long drive to the south of Holland the following day!