A Little More Than a Trip to the Zoo

We are currently in the middle of a little mystery regarding the Babe that required a trip to the pediatrician this week, plus a blood draw.  The tech was very nice, and a swarm of warm, caring nurses poured into the room upon hearing the crying and screaming coming from my little one.  Let's just say she's strong, and doesn't want her blood taken. 

We thought that was it, but two days later got word that the sample wasn't good, so we'd need to go to the Children's Hospital for the blood draw.  Ugh!  I purposely scheduled the lab appointment so Daddy would be with us.  Then, since the Milwaukee County Zoo is within a mile to a mile and a half away from the Children's Hospital, we had a plan.  I told her we were going to the zoo today, weather permitting, but had to go to an appointment first.  I glossed over that detail, and she focused on the zoo.  However, my husband and I felt bad misleading her, but knew we had to use some trickery to get her there.  So, once she was buckled up in the carseat, as we were backing out of the driveway, we told her what we were doing first.  She was definitely not happy about this, but there was no negotiating.  We had off and on tears en route, and the waterworks really came on when we got to the hospital drive.  She calmed down until we got into the lab room itself.  Then, well, it wasn't fun.  But afterwards made up for it (I hope).  It was sunny and almost 50 degrees out; a perfect morning to stroll the zoo.  It was our first visit there, and the Babe definitely enjoyed herself, wanting to see more animals even as we were leaving. 

One thing I'm amazed at is the cost of family-friendly activities.  Because of our anxiety that the Babe may react, we are leery about investing the time and money going to certain places.  It would stink to arrive at a place after a long drive, then spend over $40 on parking and admission fees, only to turn around after a few minutes.  Its not that we couldn't afford it, its just the spendthrift in me cringes.  This past summer we purchased a museum membership that provides reciprocal admission to many zoos, children's museums, and science museums around the country.  It has paid for itself in that we don't feel bad if we spend five minutes or five hours at a venue.  Today, other than parking, it didn't cost us anything.  We spent over an hour, but the time wasn't an issue.  We stayed as long as we were comfortable and/or felt safe, and then left.  This membership has given us a certain freedom to explore.  We have several more places we plan to visit with this membership, but at least for today, we had a fun reward for the Babe after an unpleasant experience.