However, we all survived Mia's first road trip with minimal crying and only one ER visit! I wish I was kidding about the ER visit, but I'm not...more on that later.
Mia and I went out of town for Labor Day, unfortunately Mike had to work, so we went with my mom, step-dad, brother, and sister.
We went down to San Antonio so we could go visit our family. This was also Mia's first time to meet her extended family down there. I was born in San Antonio and most of my family still lives there, so it was great to see everyone!
We left Dallas Saturday morning and the drive was not too bad. Mia stayed entertained with the contents of her activity bin (read about what I packed for her to stay busy here). The only time she really lost it was when she woke up from her nap and realized she was still in her car seat.
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| This was Mia's favorite "busy bag" |
Once we got into town, we went to my grandma's house and had dinner with our family. After dinner we went to Tealicious, a Boba tea place. It was my first time having Boba tea, and I was not a fan of the tapioca, but everyone else seemed to enjoy theirs.
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| Mia was all over the Boba tea place trying out all the funky chairs |
On Sunday, we spent the day going house to house visiting with family. Our first stop was my paternal grandma's house, my grandma Nora. Mia was able to meet her great-grandmother, her great-great aunt (my Godmother), and 2 (out of 13) of her second cousins. She still needs to meet 5 (out of 7) of her great aunts/uncles on this side as well...maybe next time.
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| Headed to Grandma Nora's house |
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| Grandma Nora, Aunt Lucy, and cousin Ana |
The next stop was my maternal grandma's house, my grandma GiGi (Virginia). They had a BBQ for us and most of my family came. Mia was able to meet her great grandmother, 5 (out of 6) of her great aunts/uncles, and 3 (out of 9) of her second cousins. We ate really good, my Aunt Cathy made basil burgers and they were delicious!
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| My Uncles Jr and Steve with Mia |
Our last stop of the day was my maternal grandpa's house, my grandpa Tom. Mia was able to meet her great grandfather and great grandmother Yvette. I had not seen my grandpa in a couple of years, so it was really good to see him.
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| Four generations! |
Mia was just about done for the night and started throwing tantrums when I wouldn't let her explore just any room she pleased, so this ensued...
The car trip back to the hotel was the worst one of the trip, but once we made it back to the hotel, Mia crashed...hard.
On Monday (Labor Day) we went to have breakfast at Piedras Negras before heading out to San Marcos Outlet Mall for some shopping. Once we got to the outlets, I cleaned up at Carter's and got some pajamas for Mia at the Gap (I love their PJs).
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| My haul from Carter's and Gap, Mia should be good to go for Fall/Winter |
After the Outlet Mall, we stopped at Rudy's for dinner before heading home. Mia was not having it at this point and was happy to be out of the car for a bit.
We all piled back in the car and headed home. Everything was good until I noticed that Mia was not using her right arm. When I looked over at her, her right arm was just limp. I went to move it and she started crying. I picked it up again to look at the joints for redness and swelling and she really started crying. I told my mom and we started looking for hospitals to take her nearby.
By the grace of God, we were 6 minutes away from McLane Children's Hospital. My step-dad got us there in no time and I rushed Mia into the ER fighting back tears of my own. I checked her in and we waited. Mia was in obvious pain and there was nothing I could do but hold her.
I had never felt so helpless. As a pediatric nurse myself, my mind was wandering to some dark places as to what the cause was. Since there was no apparent accident, my mind wandered to this being a neurological problem instead of a musculoskeletal problem.
Any who, we were called back fairly quickly and the MD assessed her. He maneuvered her elbow during his assessment. I told him what happened and he told me that he thought it was nursemaid's elbow (a dislocated elbow).
The doctor brought some stickers in to see if Mia would reach for them, she didn't. He said that we would have to do an X-ray to make sure nothing was broken. He was called out of the room and Mia turned into a different kid. She grabbed for the stickers, started crawling around on the bed and was reaching for the side rails.
When the doctor came back I told him that I thought he popped her elbow back into place during his assessment. Mia went back to not reaching for the stickers, so the doctor hid behind the curtain and watched Mia use her arm from a distance. He was able to see Mia use her arm and we were able to leave without having to do an X-ray, YAY!
Mia was back to her old self, like nothing had ever happened. Children are amazingly resilient! We got back in the car and headed home. Mia was acting like it was playtime and she played until she fell asleep around 10:30 pm. We got home pretty late, but Mia perked up when she saw her daddy and our dogs.
Phew, what a trip! Mia was a rock star and loved meeting all of her family. And in true Mia fashion, she kept us on our toes with the ER visit. My baby girl really showed how tough she is and I was humbled by the grace she showed during the ordeal. I'm so thankful that she is better now and am glad that she was able to meet a lot of her family!
Car trip activities (update on this blog post):
As far as the car trip went, these were the activities that Mia enjoyed the most:
1) The busy bag with bracelets, sunglasses, stickers, and post-it notes. She went to town on the post-it notes and it kept her entertained for a long time! Bonus: everything in this bag came from Dollar Tree.
2) The cake pan and magnets. Such a simple concept that she really enjoyed playing with.
3) Good old fashioned books! We brought these for the road trip and she loved hearing them over and over. They were our saving grace during one of her meltdowns.
4) The magnadoodle. The best way to "color" without the mess of crayons in the car.
5) The wallet with cards. She loved pulling the cards out of her very own wallet.
The activities that were a bust were:
1) The cup with the pipe cleaners. She thought they were straws and would get frustrated when nothing was coming out of them.
2) The wipe container with wash cloths. This one was hit or miss, she got frustrated with it in the car, but enjoyed playing with it at home. She kept getting her hand stuck, would get upset and toss it over in the car. Womp womp.
I hope everyone had a safe Labor Day! I don't know about you guys, but I am so glad summer is coming to an end. I am super excited for Fall...I am a pumpkin everything, boot wearing, scarf wearing kind of girl! #basicandproud
Car trip activities (update on this blog post):
As far as the car trip went, these were the activities that Mia enjoyed the most:
1) The busy bag with bracelets, sunglasses, stickers, and post-it notes. She went to town on the post-it notes and it kept her entertained for a long time! Bonus: everything in this bag came from Dollar Tree.
3) Good old fashioned books! We brought these for the road trip and she loved hearing them over and over. They were our saving grace during one of her meltdowns.
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5) The wallet with cards. She loved pulling the cards out of her very own wallet.
The activities that were a bust were:
1) The cup with the pipe cleaners. She thought they were straws and would get frustrated when nothing was coming out of them.
2) The wipe container with wash cloths. This one was hit or miss, she got frustrated with it in the car, but enjoyed playing with it at home. She kept getting her hand stuck, would get upset and toss it over in the car. Womp womp.
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