We were delayed THIRTY minutes this morning by a seat belt FIASCO--of COURSE the fiasco happened to MILES.
If it weren't for the choking incident that happened a couple weeks ago (click here), something like this seat belt issue could have "ruined" my day. But let's face it, the world is an entirely different place when you're just grateful everyone is alive.
There was a day when Miles was my easiest, and calmest child - the one I didn't have to worry about. Now I'm realizing that perhaps that moment in time was merely the calm before the storm.
For those who haven't followed the recent saga, here's my father's 12/26/14 facebook recap of Miles' holiday vacation:
We just finished the best Christmas ever! Strangely though, it coincided with Miles' week from Hell... This poor little grandson had to have the Heimlich maneuver performed on him, literally in the middle lane of Christmas rush traffic. Then he split his eyelid open at the park. Then he had two of his fingers smashed by his brothers in the Arcadia door and had to go to Urgent Care on Christmas Eve for x-rays of his poor deformed hand, and then today has a temperature of 103 with strep throat... Anything else this poor little guy has to endure? Merry Christmas Miles!
This morning, the saga continued! Before we left for the day, I was lingering in the driveway with the car running. When the kids loaded, Miles thought it would be funny to sit in his older brother's car seat. I asked Emmett to help his little brother move, but Miles still didn't budge from that chair. I got out of the car to figure out what was going on, and much to my dismay, I found the shoulder strap seat belt was twisted around Miles' middle. How he even got all wrapped up in it was beyond me. All I know is that the seat belt began to tighten, and the more we tried to get him out of it, the tighter it became. I thought having him stand up would help. It didn't. I thought moving the car seat out from under him would help. It didn't. The more I tried to help him, the worse the situation became. I was ready to cut the seat belt, or call the fire department. I knew if we were to safely get Miles out and avoid cutting the seat belt, that I would need another set of hands. After a few unlucky phone calls, I got a hold of my parents who just happened to still be on the roads in town before heading out to a property. I told them Miles was tangled in a seat belt and they were like, "What? Say that again?" At any rate, they arrived with my little brother, Taylor, and they all had the same shock I had experienced as they inspected the twisted belt loop around his middle. You can't see it from the picture, but the seat belt crisscrossed & made a loop behind him - he was literally tied up in it.
After a little maneuvering, a few anxious cries from my toddler, who was afraid to move, because he could feel the seat belt getting tighter, my brother came in from the trunk, and my dad crawled into the mini van to help from the middle. They were able to convince Miles to squeeze his head under the shoulder strap that was next to the window. Then they untangled him by twisting him and rolling him around - his feet went over his head a couple times very carefully. When he was liberated, he had the sweetest, most joyous smile on his face, and we all cheered!
There's a blessing to be seen & lesson to be learned from my 30 minute delay this morning. It's a blessing this happened in our driveway. Miles learned his lesson, because later in the day, he didn't try to pull a fast one and sit in his older brother's car seat, again - he went straight to his own chair. :) As for me - even though I knew that 5 point harnesses are the best for the little tykes, I realized in a much deeper way that if a toddler can get twisted up in a shoulder strap in your drive way then we don't even want to imagine the damage an accidentally twisted seat belt like that could have on a little kid during an accident.
Emmett's classic photo bomb!
When it was over - I looked at the clock & just shook my head - never a dull moment around here! If I had known what a handful my 3rd little boy would be - maybe we would have thought twice about having a 4th! Haha - the joke is on me since we are already committed. I'm going to start praying now that the drama slows down before this baby is born! Heaven help us...the crazy thing is that I know angels from Heaven already are helping us - I think we've been wearing them out lately. I'd better not stop praying, now, though - we need all the help we can get!
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