If you were hoping that this post would be a “we saw The Wiggles with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and they were fantastic” sort of post then you are going to be sadly mistaken! Venturing out with a 2 year is not for the faint hearted and if you have ever regretted your decision to leave the house then this post is for you!

The day we went to The Wiggles concert my 2 year old took at least 2 years off my life!

It’s no secret that I get motion sickness, any type of movement sets me off. So, deciding to take the train into Melbourne may not have been the best option but it was certainly the easiest with the concert being at the Melbourne Town Hall. So, I piled the pram up and hopped on board. All the seats would have me facing backwards (not ideal) and after 30 seconds, I decided to find another carriage and sat down next to another Mum and her delightful 8 month old baby boy. Oliver kept my kids occupied (especially baby loving Alegría) and we settled in. Isaac lost interest quickly and wanted to explore. I was not feeling great. Not totally sick, but a bit off. It was on this journey that I was thankful I wasn’t travelling very far or that I wasn’t stuck on a plane. Alone. With my kids. Isaac wouldn’t sit still but we made it and I was only a little bit stressed! We walked up to the Town Hall from Southern Cross Station and joined the line – around the block – of people with prams. So. many. prams. So many people. I was stopped by a lady asking what was going on! Oh, you know, a Wiggles concert!

We dropped our pram off, went to the loo and then went in to find our seats.

Cue MAJOR DRAMA #1.

I turned my back on the kids for the time it took to put my bag under my seat and Isaac disappeared. Gone. In a sea of kids his age. Hundreds of little kids and I couldn’t see mine. I grabbed Alegría and started looking. It was overwhelming and I had a moment standing there in front of the stage, looking out at all these people and kids, and thinking “I’m never going to see him again. I can’t find him”.  Unfortunately for my kids, it seems that I am quick to give up! Luckily, I snapped out of it and sprung into action. I found a staff member but only got out “he is 2, has blonde curly hair and a … ” and I lost it. I couldn’t get the words ‘stripey top’ out because the lump in my throat was strangling me. Any parent who has ever lost their child knows how it feels.

I finally got my description out and continued my search. Some of the staff were helping but it was the “Mum Brigade” that came out in full force and helped me look. One mum took Alegría back to our seats and took care of her. She said “I could tell by your face that something was very wrong”. Others were running around shouting “Isaac”. One came outside with me onto Swanston Street and was searching. Panicked, I went back inside only to find a mum holding onto a little arm. “Is this him?” I look down to find a smiling little face looking up at me. Not scared. Not a bit fazed by his little adventure. Little turd. “YES! That’s him!” And I fell to my knees and hugged his happy self. She said, “This is the second kid I have found with a stripey top – the other one didn’t look like you so I let him go! This one matched the description so I wasn’t letting him go until I found you!” I never got to fully thank any of these wonderful women that stepped up and helped me find Isaac and take care of Alegría. If you are reading this … THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

Flustered, we sat down and the show began. To rapturous applause The Wiggles came on and sang Rock-A-Bye Your Bear. Alegría and Isaac stood up and did all the actions. After the song finished, Isaac turned to me and said “Mumma, Home”.

YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME! I paid $120 for these tickets and you want to go home?

Isaac then spent the rest of the show running away, heading backstage to hang out with the ballerinas and rolling from one end of the stage to the other side through the all kids whose parents’ money had been much better spent.

The stage had a curtain along the front which Isaac found led to a wonderfully dark world where the sound of singing and dancing above your head created an atmosphere of adventure as one was able to walk around all of the cables and scaffolds. Watching him disappear, I was up and out of my seat and crawling under the stage as the show was occurring above me. I met another mum retrieving her son from under there as well. “I’m so embarrassed”, she said. “I want to go home”, I replied. And we shared a knowing smile. It was true, I wanted to go home and I really didn’t care about the $120 anymore!

Alegría, on the other hand, loved the show! So, if you’re a number cruncher – it was really only $80 we wasted as her $40 was well spent! Emma, Lachy, Simon and Anthony were wonderful and the show was everything you would expect from a Wiggles concert. Dorothy, Henry, Wags and Captain Feathersword were all there and the dancers from the Australian Ballet School did a fantastic job! It seemed that everyone was excited about Emma and Lachy’s engagement and they were even given a handmade hobby horse to ride off into the sunset on! The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra were faultless and it was fantastic to introduce the kids Alegría to the joys of live music. The Melbourne Town Hall is truly a magnificent building and is open for tours (I highly recommend going and having a look!).

After The Wiggles had taken their bows, we joined the crowds as they made their way down the stairs to retrieve their prams.

Cue MAJOR DRAMA #2.

The stairs were chaotic and probably not the best place to be standing with hundreds of kids and, dare I say it, a few frazzled parents. We were all trying to wait patiently, and I was holding Isaac’s hand. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I have no idea what happened. I wasn’t watching him. I can only assume he slipped off the stair. But, I looked down and he was taking that deep breath kids take before they scream the house down. True to form, he let out this scream that could make your ears bleed and I said to him “What’s wrong?” to which he replied “My arm”.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? AND NO, I DIDN’T YANK AT IT!

It looked limp as he held it against his little body and I knew something was not right. The line moved quickly, possibly not quickly enough for the other parents listening to Isaac cry, but we got to the front of the queue and waited for our pram. I was holding Isaac and the bag so of course Alegría wanted me to carry her coat as well. Why do they do that? Anyway, the pram didn’t arrive so I grabbed a staff member, headed out the back and pointed it out. With Isaac strapped in by one arm, we were off.

Clearly not thinking straight, I headed into our private health fund to check if we have ambulance cover. Of course we do. I know that. I rang Tim and told him that something was wrong with Isaac’s arm and to keep his phone on him. Having ascertained that we have ambulance cover, I hopped on a tram to the Royal Children’s Hospital. Yes, you read that right. I hopped on the tram. Of course, it was not a direct tram and we had to change trams! The nice people of this world helped me on and off the tram with the pram. Alegría deserves a medal because she did not once complain of hunger or of anything else. Oh, except for the crying because we weren’t going home on the train. That little episode, however, was fixed quick smart by me threatening to cry in the middle of the tram. I wasn’t even kidding.

We arrived at the hospital and as luck would have it are seen almost immediately. I LOVE the Royal Children’s Hospital. It truly is the best. Our nurse examined Isaac, manipulated his arm and he screamed like someone was killing him. It took all my willpower not punch him in the face ask him to stop! Our nurse asked another nurse for a second opinion and she confirmed that his pulled elbow was now back in place. He had a dislocated elbow. Well, isn’t that just fantastic and it’s very common for under 5’s apparently. So now you know!

Tim arrived to take us home and as we all hoped in and he said, “Can you drive? My eyes are stinging. I’ve had a really big day!” I swear one of these days … I’ll give him stinging eyes!

Mine are still twitching.

Have you had a nightmare toddler experience? Share with me to make me feel better in the comments below!

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