How do you shop/run errands with your LO's

I feel so defeated by my LO's and they are only 5 months old!! I never knew how such sweet angel faced babies could be so very frustrating. Every time I want to venture out to a store they begin screaming and fussing. I can sometimes make it to one store, but today I didn't even get 2 miles away and had to turn around and go home. I have never been an online shopper but I am seriously thinking that that is what my life has come to.
Anybody else do online shopping?? I get a little nervous about the return issue. Or do you just put them in their stroller and let them cry through the store?? (that can get a little embarassing )

 

I online shop quite often now. You're right though, returns are a PITA b/c you have to pay for return shipping. But it's worth it. I just can't get out a whole lot w/o the kids.

 

I try my best to shop; without kids or just do really quick errands if I have to take them with me. Online shopping has been fantastic for me, but I try not to order things if I think they might have to be returned. If you order from places like Target, who have a local store, returns can be taken there & it's much easier.

 

I like online shopping, too. I normally shop after DH gets home. We'll go as a family or I'll go by myself.

If my babies are fussy at a store, Puffs or Cherrios usually get them quiet.

 

I've only taken my guys out solo twice so far, once to Target and once to the mall. I don't get to go shopping near as often as I used to since I try to do so while my husband or somebody else can watch them. So last night, for instance, I waited until the boys were in bed and headed to Walmart at 8:15pm. That all being said I can't imagine life without Amazon!! LOL I've always done a fair amount of shopping online, but it has gotten to ridiculous levels now. Several packages arrived today and I don't even know what they are yet because I've ordered so many darn things recently, heh. But I have two new reasons to shop, and who knew they had such cool things for babies these days?! A floating digital thermometer for their bath temperature? Get OUT Plus since I can't get out and do as much shopping as before I gotta fill the void another way, so online shopping it is! If I order clothes online though I try to only order from places that have a local store like JC Penney and Lands End (which you can return to Sears!).

I would take the boys shopping with me more if they could just go a little longer between feedings. But a lot of times they start fussing to eat after only 2.5 hours, and by the time I get them in their car seats and loaded up to head to the mall there just isn't much time to shop. When I do manage to take them with me they usually behave really well and appear to enjoy the ride in the stroller.

 

Well im now a single mom of twins and a 4 year old, being that i have to take my kids everywhere..grocery shopping is kinda hard but i have learned to deal with it, i put one of them in the front of the basket the other one on the back of the basket. At walmart i have the 3 seater carts, they are handy

 

It was definitely frustrating when my twins were little. :hug: I live 30 minutes away from the grocery store (CUB) that we shopped at so it was always a one stop trip. My trips ended up being small trips, short trips. By the checkout they were both in tears. When they got older I'd get a banana to feed them during the trip so they'd be happier longer. Make sure they are fed beforehand so they are happy. It does get better. Hang in there.

 

Sometimes you just have to get out (at least I do)!! It's very often my only way of feeling like a functioning part of society!

First of all, I make sure I have NO expectations of my trip. Yes, I've had to turn around and come back home before I even got to the store (but mostly in the early days). Oh well. I don't leave with the "I HAVE to do *this* stuff in *this* amount of time" attitude. That way I'm not let down when things don't go as planned. And I don't do errands on a tight schedule. I allow for feedings, diaperings, etc. And I don't run "errands." I run "errand" - singular. Well, sometimes I'll sneak in two, but only if we're all (I have a 3 yr old in addition to the 5mo old's) in a particularly adventurous mood. lol. Even the best babies get tired of the carseat gig after too long. I make sure the babies are well fed, dipe'd, and hopefully in need of a nap so there will be sleep involved. I also dress them properly for my errands. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a mommy w/ an infant bundled in a snowsuit in the grocery store. The baby is screaming (cause she's been wearing that snowsuit indoors for an hour!!!), the mom is panicked, and no one is having a good time. I also make sure I'm well stocked w/ distraction toys. I have a good rotation of carseat toys that travel with us. Other than that, I just pray. ardon:

I think that getting your babies out no matter what is a good thing. I think it helps them learn to cope with your outings better down the road. And if they cry? Oh well. I've had grocery clerks open a lane for me when the babies are fussing...so I guess there can be perks!

Eve

 

I get a baby sitter and leave the kids at home. Otherwise I go nuts when I take all three kids out.

 

for shopping other than groceries stuff... I just tote ours along. for the longest time I would just use our snap & go and lug them around in their carseats. Or if going to Target or another store w/regular sized carts you can put both car carriers in their cart. either one in the basket and one in the front facing your. or both facing sideways hooked on the top of the basket. Ours have always loved going out and about, but it might be because I've always been out & about with them.

Grocery shopping is another thing. I would do the same thing for the longest time, but that doesn't leave your cart with any room to buy anything... I can't see how you could push/pull 2 carts or a stroller & cart so I never attempted that. I think I mostly did grocery shopping when either my dh was home or when I dropped them off at grandparents.

Now for shopping its easier... they love being in the cart sitting up... but now that they are bigger its harder to cram 2 babies into those carts that only have 2 leg holes. Its hard, but I think they get used to what you do, for the most part... if they don't. Then I have found that once they go to sleep at 7pm I can run errands then.

good luck.

 

I have found that getting mine out actually makes them less fussy. They might cry at first in the car, but by the time we get to where we are going they are fine. I try to run with the jogger to the places that are close, just because it is easier for me to load them in the stroller than to load them in the car. When I go grocery shopping, I put one in the carrier (I rotate, or whoever is fussiest), and one in the car seat on the shopping cart. This also doesn't seem to be such a distraction for people, because they assume it is two different age kids- helps you blend in a bit. I have gotten over running errands (That and the fact that my car can't take frequent stops..). Last week, it took me three days to get cat litter, go to the grocery store and get diapers- but I made sure I started before anything became an emergency. Also, I do shop online. Diapers.com is great, and ordering to get free shipping is easy with twins. Their prices seem to only be $1 or $2 more expensive than at Babies r us (for pampers swaddlers, and for wipes- not sure of other things). I justify that as shipping, and the cost of saving me from spending 30 mins to run a 10 min errand. I don't really do any other shopping other than what we need, so I have never taken them to the mall (I also hate the mall... nor have I taken them to the outside mall (smoking ban not in effect yet, and too many "crazy" people-FYI: used to not mind or care at all, until I had two little babies to look after!).

My husband also does the short errand shopping. Like picking up the cat litter, wine, specialty meats, etc... He is good at shopping deals and brings home better stuff than I would!

 

actually for me it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be, just time consuming, i used the double stroller as much as possible...and they never fussed once...the only issues i had was people coming up to me and wanting to talk about the twins or try and touch them (uugghh), as they got older i got boldre and more daredevil about putting one on top of the shopping cart and placing a blanket on the bottom of the cart for the 2nd baby, at one time, i decided to put them both in the cart with the blanket but now that they stand up it's harder, so i either do all my shopping alone, find a cart for 2 babies in the front or still put them in the stroller and put my groceries on the bottom of the stroller....

 

At that age, I usually didn't take them grocery shopping, as it was just too hard to maneuver the cart overflowing with food, and a double stroller. I did my grocery shopping at night, after they went to bed, a lot of times. For other things, I would make a list, for one store(that's all we could handle in a day!), and tried to make it as quick as possible. I always planned the trip and had everything ready to go for right after I fed them. It does get easier as they get older.

 

I do grocery shopping every second week by myself with my 3 yr old and now 8 month old twins. I started doing it when they were around 5 months old, I would push them in the stroller and pull the shopping cart behind me with my 3 yr old in it or standing on the side. Yep, it's a huge pain, but I'm a very independent person and I save having to ask my inlaws to babysit for when it's really necessary (dr appts, or like today when it's raining but I'm sure my son's soccer game will still be on, I don't want to take the twins to sit in the rain for an hour).

I leave immediately after the babies are fed, thankfully our walmart has a mcd's in it now, we go and me and my 3 yr old grab lunch and then I speed shop. I go there so much I know where everything is so I have my list in pretty much order of the store so I can rush through. I tend to fly by people who are asking me questions because I know I have a limited amt of time to get in and out!

I rarely go more than 1 place alone, only because it's too hard on my back to haul everyone out to the truck, buckle all 3 in, remove twins and buckle in stroller, put everyone back in the truck when done....etc. My bad back can only handle so much in and out! :lol:

 

I always did a lot of online shopping and started doing even more once the babies were born. Like a pp I try not to buy things that I might need to return or I buy from places I can return stuff too locally. I take advantage of free shipping as much as possible (like diapers.com) and only shop brands or stores that I am familiar with. In the early days I took the boys out almost every day....I HAD to get out of the house so we were always going to Target or somewhere. There was a stretch of time around 5 months that they hated the store so we didn't go for awhile unless someone could go with me or watch them. Sometimes I feel like it's harder now than it was when they were still in their carriers. In general though, I feel like the more you get out with them, the easier it becomes. They get used to being out and you become much more confident of your abilities to handle them both when out and about.

For groceries I order quite a bit of stuff online from Schwan's and they deliver it to our door so that helps. Otherwise it's just quick trips for a thing or 2 at a time and I do one big grocery shopping trip a month without the babies. I just realized that our grocery store offers the option to order online and you can pick up at the store and they will even meet you at the curb with your order. This would have been great when the boys were babies, you can always check to see if a store near you offers the same service.

 

And I just told my DH today, that I am going to have to start going to the mall more often, cause mine only sleep good in their carseats, and it's too cold to run around doing errands,

A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do