Our List of Waiting Room Essentials

Emmy and I spent the morning in the doctor's office waiting room during their "After Hours Clinic" since she was awake for a large majority of the night last night crying and telling me that her ear hurt. That darned right ear. It's always the right one. I think a visit to an ENT (Ear, Nose + Throat) Doctor may be in our future next Spring.

We have learned, through multiple visits to the doctor and the urgent care centre, that we need to come armed with a few essential things to make our wait a little less painful for us AND for the other people in the waiting room. Here's what we pack in our bag when we know we're going to have to wait for an hour...or two, or three, or even sometimes four:

1. A snack.

I always make sure to ask Emmy before we leave he house what snack she wants to ensure that we don't have a waiting room meltdown (e.g. "No, I want cheese and crackers!"). I bring a ziplock baggie to distribute the snacks in and then the whole original bag in case we are there for a long time. 

2. Reading material.

Who doesn't love Rickard Scarry!?

I love groups of small books like this - there are four books and they are each about 12 pages long. They are small so I don't have to worry about packing a whole separate bag the size of a large book. 

3. Colouring tools.

When we are out at a restaurant and get a pack of crayons, I always make sure to take them home with us and add them too our "waiting room essentials" bag. That way we aren't removing crayons from the set we use at home and losing them/worrying about losing them. I usually bring a colouring book or some scrap paper, but have also asked the receptionist is she can spare a piece or two. 

4. Flash cards.

I got this set at the Dollar Store for A DOLLAR and we love them. This one is "Beginning Words", but we have a number of them (e.g. numbers, first words, Dora themed cards, etc...all from the Dollar Store). Again, they are small and take up minimal space in my bag, but provide a LOT of entertainment and keep Emmy occupied for quite a while. 

These items work well for us and are easy enough to pull together in a few minutes so that we can get out the door in a hurry and hopefully be first in line to see the Doctor! I think this list of items would also work well to keep Emmy happy and occupied in any other setting that required a long wait, such as an airport visit.

Here's hoping that the antibiotics Emmy is on clear up this ear infection before Christmas!