The six month dilemma

With Maya hitting the age of six months, I find we're facing a bunch of issues that hadn't been anticipated.

Eating
She's just now started eating solids, and while it's sweet for her to be sitting on my knee, it's not practical, and we both end up with orange sweet potato (or whatever) everywhere. Buying a high chair for two (three? four?) months is just silly.

Maya helping herself to rice cereal

Sleeping
She's almost too big for the little crib that we have for her, and so I have started putting her on the other side of my bed, surrounded by pillows. But, she's now discovered she can move the pillows, and likes to roll, very quickly, in any direction. I have managed to catch her before she gets dangerously close to the edge so far. But this has also brought another problem with it. She used to put herself to sleep quite well, but I can't let her anymore, in case in my absence from the room she shifts a pillow, wriggles away and plops over the edge of a very high bed for a tiny baby. So I now have to lie beside her, holding her hand or patting her till she drops off. Which is exactly what we shouldn't be doing at this age if we ever want to her be an independent sleeper... Again, buying a cot for two (three? four?) months is just silly. She's back in the crib in the meantime, though she's looking very big in there.

Mobility
Little punky baby now eyes up other parts of the room, and I'm sure she's thinking: hmmm, if I could only lift my bum up a bit, move these little legs a bit, and coordinate my hands, I'd be able to get there. Hmmm, that plug socket looks tasty. Hmm, that life size ceramic Dalmation under the TV looks like a good bongo drum. Ooh, dead fly on the ground, yum yum. I'm praying she doesn't figure out how to crawl till we're back in Abu Dhabi, and living in a more manageable environment.

Maya trying her hardest to get from her spot to all the tasty goodies around the room.

Visa
If I am out of the UAE for more than six months, my residence visa will expire. So I'm now facing the prospect of leaving Maya behind with the babysitter, who'll live in our place while I'm gone, and flying back there to say: hi, I'm here, don't cancel my visa, then flying back. It's almost become our commute: Abu Dhabi - Mexico. 28 hours or so, at $2,000 a pop. Madness.

Work
I have six months' leave at work, and that's due to end soon. I will still have a job to go back to, but the end of the salaried months is going to be tough. And not having any idea when I might possibly be back doesn't help anyone at the Council.

Permit
Our adoption permit - that hard won document that came with our FM3 visas - also has a six month expiry date on it. That's not going to expire until December, but if it does, I hate to think what hoops we'll have to jump through to get another one. (Ha ha, little note added on 28th Sept: turns out it was only valid for 3 months, so actually expired in early September. Another flipping hoop to jump through to get that one renewed...)

The general weariness of being in a place you don't want to be for too long
That one was just added, because sometimes I feel like this.