Taking twinfants to the grocery store

Well, it's been 10 days since I was discharged from the hospital, so I am allowed to drive again. My very next trip out of the house is likely to be a grocery run.

I am trying to figure out the best way to take my twins to the store. I'm not particularly handy with the duoglider yet, and even so, don't really think I could push it and a grocery cart at the same time.

I have one ring sling that is big enough for both twins, and another, smaller one that can carry one twin. I could criss-cross the slings across my chest and carry both twins. Of course, I could also take the car seat carrier for one of the boys and put it IN the grocery cart and put the groceries around him. (my store doesn't have those carts with the built in seats)

So, what has worked for you? How did you handle grocery trips?

(I am wondering if it would be best to just wait for my husband to come home!!!)

 

I've been wanting to take some trips out with the girls. I, too, think of how the heck I will do it without taking the stroller. I go through scenarios just as you are doing. Know what I end up doing? ..wait for dh to get home! LOL

I'll be curious to hear what people say because I really do want to get out. I hate being trapped in the house.

 

QUOTE(Cynthia3200 @ Jan 25 2008, 09:29 AM) [snapback]588958[/snapback]
Know what I end up doing? ..wait for dh to get home! LOL


:lol:

Okay, so I'm not the only logistics-challenged new twin mom!

 

:Clap: for being able to drive and get out of the house! :Clap:

What I found most helpful for taking the twins out when they were so young was my double snap-n-go. I don't know if you have one, but it was the greatest thing. You could just put them in the snapngo with the car seats, and it had a great big storage area on the bottom for those trips to the grocery store. :good: Best investment EVER for us. I was very sad when we out grew it. I hope you get some other suggestions on how to get out with them without the snapngo because I really didn't go out with out it. Good luck, and have fun!

 

QUOTE(TwinLove @ Jan 25 2008, 09:34 AM) [snapback]588963[/snapback]
:Clap: for being able to drive and get out of the house! :Clap:

What I found most helpful for taking the twins out when they were so young was my double snap-n-go. I don't know if you have one, but it was the greatest thing. You could just put them in the snapngo with the car seats, and it had a great big storage area on the bottom for those trips to the grocery store. :good: Best investment EVER for us. I was very sad when we out grew it. I hope you get some other suggestions on how to get out with them without the snapngo because I really didn't go out with out it. Good luck, and have fun!


I also have the double snap and go and I love it! It's so conveinent. Another thing I do at the grocery store is put both of their car seats in the grocery carriage (obviously only for shopping trips to pick up a few things). I had quite a case of cabin fever on my maternity leave so outings to the grocery store were a real treat. Good luck!

 

We have a supermarket by us with oversized carts, so that's the only one i ever went to with both of them. I would put one in the cart, and one in the front part of the cart where a toddler would sit. There was still a lot of room for groceries. Now that they are out of their "buckets" as well called them, I go food shopping alone when DH can watch them.

 

I use my stroller if I just need a few things, but if I need a lot of stuff me and dh go together. He could just go, but I like getting out of the house.

 

Before my girls' could sit up, I would do one of three things (depending on my mood!): A) Wait for DH! B) Put one in a sling and leave the other in her car seat and put the car seat on the shopping cart seat part C) Take the duoglider and still put on in the sling and the other in the duoglider, using the back of the duoglider where the second girl SHOULD go as my grocery cart.

Now that they can sit up, a majority of the time I just put both together in the seat of the grocery cart. It gets a LOT easier once you can do this! (Besides, it is way cute!)

Somedays if I was going to the bookstore or somewhere just to get out of the house, I would use a single umbrella stroller for one and put the other in my sling.

(I use a homemade ring sling).

Have fun! You'll have better days getting out of the house, or at least I always feel more human on the days I can get out!

Erica.

 

we had an Eddie Bauer front pack and I'd put DS in the front pack (he was bigger than his sister) and then leave her in the carseat and snap the car seat on top of the grocery cart (where an older child would normally sit - the carts should be built for that)....and I got some AMAZING comments from people about doing that (nice ones - not nasty!)

 

I'm another logistics challenged twin Mom. Our babes have not gone anywhere other then to the pediatrician. Today we are taking them to the catering place where we will be holding our baptism party, and that seems daunting. The concept of taking them grocery shopping seems completely overwhelming. Right now either me or DH fly solo for that trip. I am just not that brave yet!

 

We all go as a family now!! It's actually kind of fun, it just doesn't happen very often, like once a month or 6 weeks!!! My hubby calls every night to see if I need anything.

 

I just did my first alone trip last Friday, I went to Walmart to get some bottles. Then I had to bring them both to the doc on Sunday. My girls are 3 months! Before that the only place I'd go alone was my mom's or my dad's.
If I have a larger errand to do like grocery shop, I either go alone (if its really cold or wet out) or I have my sister come too and we make it a 'family field trip' like we did yesterday.

Either way... Good Luck!!!

 

Wow, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who gets anxious about this stuff!!! I have been out of the house three times since my section--twice to the pediatrician (both times with an entourage of grandparents) and once to the grocery store with my husband--leaving his parents to watch the twins for all of 15 minutes!

But before my 6 week post-partum checkup (where I will have to go, alone, with the twins, during rush hour into Atlanta) I want to be comfortable driving around with them and getting them in and out of the car, etc.

 

When the boys were small, I used the Duoglider/carseat combo to go to the grocery store and just pulled a shopping cart behind me. THe first time I went alone, I went to the grocery store at 8 AM, so it wouldn't be too busy and I could bang into all the stuff I needed to. Now, it's a piece of cake. I put them in their side by side stroller and still pull a cart behind me. Everyone is really helpful whenever we go out shopping and they tend to get out of your way when they see you barrelling down the aisle with 2 babies and a full cart. BTW - the Duoglider is really easy to maneuver with one had.

 

I'm not a person who can stay home all the time, so we go out everyday. We have pretty much from the beginning. The grocery store is a breeze because they have big carts, one on top and the other in the basket, then pull a cart behind you for the groceries. I love my snugli but I find it to be a pain while grocery shopping.
The hard shopping trips are the ones where the carts are tiny and barely fit 1 seat on top. That and the mall are the only times I get the stroller out (at least with the frigid weather).
Like someone else said, people always help when they see you with 2 babies, don't worry and best of luck.

 

I would take my stroller and hook 2 shopping basktes on either side (you can get the hooks really cheap at babies r us). I am limited to what I can put in the baskest, but it works in a pinch. It was easier when the babies were smaller b/c they would sleep, now my DD hates the carseat and cries in the stroller so we don't get out as much. Honestly though I make my big shopping trip on Sunday while DH watches the babies, it's my "relaxing getaway" for the week!!

 

Sorry, but I have to play "devil's advocate" here......it is RSV season, along with cold/influenza season. Our pediatrician told us to have very limited public exposure because it is prime illness season. As well as let friends/family know that if they are sick or even have the sniffles to stay away until they are better for a visit.

Our babies were 4 weeks yesterday and we are playing it safe. I say, wait until your husband gets home or do what we do, we use our grocery store's delivery service where you place your order online and they deliver it the next day! What a huge convenience and takes a big ordeal/outing with my babies off my plate.

Plus, taking newborn twins out to the grocery store you are going to get a lot of attention from people wanting to take a peek or stop and ask you questions, etc....and from what I remember with my singletons and taking them out when they were peanuts, some people just HAVE to touch your baby without asking.

It is unbelievable when it happens, some people just dont have boundaries. OH!!!!!!!!!!!and when we left the hospital after having the twins, I had to wait for my husband to bring the car out front. I was waiting at the main entrance in the lobby with both babies in their car seat carriers in our double snap and go stroller and of course as people were walking by and commenting on the double stroller.....TWO women actually stopped and started to peel back their fleece BundleMe blankets to look at them!!! I WAS FLOORED! I kindly asked them to stop.......still cant believe it.

I dont know, I just wouldnt chance their health right now, just my opinion! Take them for a walk in your neighborhood to practice with the stroller, etc.

~jillian

 

QUOTE(Jillianstwins @ Jan 25 2008, 09:42 PM) [snapback]589820[/snapback]
Sorry, but I have to play "devil's advocate" here......it is RSV season, along with cold/influenza season. Our pediatrician told us to have very limited public exposure because it is prime illness season. As well as let friends/family know that if they are sick or even have the sniffles to stay away until they are better for a visit.

Our babies were 4 weeks yesterday and we are playing it safe. I say, wait until your husband gets home or do what we do, we use our grocery store's delivery service where you place your order online and they deliver it the next day! What a huge convenience and takes a big ordeal/outing with my babies off my plate.

Plus, taking newborn twins out to the grocery store you are going to get a lot of attention from people wanting to take a peek or stop and ask you questions, etc....and from what I remember with my singletons and taking them out when they were peanuts, some people just HAVE to touch your baby without asking.

It is unbelievable when it happens, some people just dont have boundaries. OH!!!!!!!!!!!and when we left the hospital after having the twins, I had to wait for my husband to bring the car out front. I was waiting at the main entrance in the lobby with both babies in their car seat carriers in our double snap and go stroller and of course as people were walking by and commenting on the double stroller.....TWO women actually stopped and started to peel back their fleece BundleMe blankets to look at them!!! I WAS FLOORED! I kindly asked them to stop.......still cant believe it.

I dont know, I just wouldnt chance their health right now, just my opinion! Take them for a walk in your neighborhood to practice with the stroller, etc.

~jillian


I was thinking the exact same thing. I wouldn't take such young babies out in public unless absolutely necessary (like the pediatrician). People like to touch your babies, they don't have boundaries, I agree. And heaven knows what germs people are carrying around.

 

Boy am I a wimp! I just took the babies to the mall without my DH yesterday and that is the first time I have ever taken them anywhere without him. I wasn't even alone! My sister was with me (but she had her two small children so she wasn't a huge help). The good news is it went really well, so maybe I will try it again sometime soon. Right now though, I get groceries by myself! Hats off to you much braver twin moms.

 

I have daddy go with me shopping. I can't manage groceries and two babies..and the fact that one or both may start screaming...and I am not about to abandon a cart full of groceries during a trip. Because when they start crying it's time to feed usually. Regardless if we fed, changed and all that jazz before we left. I always have daddy and we each use a grocery cart or one takes the stroller and one takes the cart.

 

okay, not to hijack the post here, more like a piggyback-- what do you do when there's a toddler to consider, too? I've thought about the above (when they're old enough) carrier/sling, carriers/2 carts etc-- what do you do w/ a toddler who would walk but I'd constantly be chasing him down.... how this all works confounds me.

 

I'm not brave enough to go to the grocery store (or really anywhere for that matter!) yet.
DH or I go alone & the other stays home or DH goes on his way home from work
My stroller (graco quattro duo) is a tank & I cant imagine navigating my way around with it in public!
I think I need a few more 'dry runs' with another person before braving the outdoors alone with them!

 

Well it looks like I'm gonna have to bring this over when we move back to the states. I've been shopping since day 1 alone. Dh goes with me sometimes and we just use 2 carts.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p143/IB.../Photo-0112.jpg

 

To this day, grocery shopping is very difficult with twins unless I got to Sam's Club where they have the 2 seat shopping carts. My dh has gotten very used to grocery runs and usually stops at the supermarket on his way home from work or I go when he gets home. When the weather is descent we will take the girls on the weekend and do a big shopping with each of us having a girl in a cart. During the warm spring and summer months when the girls were really little I would walk to the supermarket (about 6 blocks) with the girls in the snap n' go (man do I miss that stroller!!). It had a great sized storage basket so I would walk there about twice a week and just pick up a few things that I could manage myself. It was so nice to get out of the house!

 

okay, not to hijack the post here, more like a piggyback-- what do you do when there's a toddler to consider, too? I've thought about the above (when they're old enough) carrier/sling, carriers/2 carts etc-- what do you do w/ a toddler who would walk but I'd constantly be chasing him down.... how this all works confounds me.

Its funny how you will one day look back and think how much easier it was to go shopping with infants than toddlers!! The two seater carts are a life saver for that. OR, I let them walk with me and give them each a job to find something. Or I carry one and put the other in the cart while I push. Its much tougher with toddlers.

Also, if you are very concerned about rsv season but have to leave the house, its always a great idea to use the slings, (nobody can touch) and then put on in the back of the grocery cart in the car seat with a blanket over it. Some people would just assume no baby in there (since I was carrying one) or would just leave it alone bc a blanket was over it.

 

The snap n go goes EVERYWHERE with us!!!! the basket underneath is pretty big so i throw all my groceries in there-its even held up to jugs of water! if i dont have the stroller for some reason they r now big enuf to sit one up in front and the other in teh bottom of the cart still in her carseat. i have (maybe twice) put both carseats in teh shopping cart but i am short and can not see over the one on top!! also u can fit less in there than u can in the stoller! i also agree w/ another idea taht was mentioned of putting one in a sling/bjorn and teh otehr in the car. we go out pretty much everyday and that stroller has been great!

 

walker006-- okay, that's just awesome!

 

I wait for DH to come home.

My babies have never been to the grocery store, and they're 7 months old! Granted, DS has/had an airway issue, so we have been extra cautious about exposing him to germs, because we can't risk his catching any respiratory illness.

Even if I wanted to take them now, it would be hard because they're out of the infant carriers (they're huge), but they don't yet sit up well on their own. So, I need a double stroller, but can't use the snap n' go with the huge basket...

At your stage, if I were forced to do it, I would put one in a sling/front carrier, and the other in a carseat inside the grocery cart.

(Hey, whereabouts in Atlanta are you? I had my babies at Northside, too!)

 

What is a snap and go????

 

QUOTE(coveytwins @ Jan 26 2008, 06:36 PM) [snapback]591022[/snapback]
What is a snap and go????


HERE is a Snap and Go

 

QUOTE(lynnymama @ Jan 25 2008, 09:39 PM) [snapback]590300[/snapback]
okay, not to hijack the post here, more like a piggyback-- what do you do when there's a toddler to consider, too? I've thought about the above (when they're old enough) carrier/sling, carriers/2 carts etc-- what do you do w/ a toddler who would walk but I'd constantly be chasing him down.... how this all works confounds me.


I have most of the time, pushed the stroller, pulled the cart. My 3 year would ride in the seat part of the cart. It can be done, it just takes a little bit of practice!

 

I took them shopping with me from the beginning. Ours were born early, but in the spring, and our pedi never once gave us restrictions about going out. And for the record, I can only think if one time when someone touched the kids (and I went out regularly).

For grocery shopping during those first four months, I did the following:

1) BIG SHOPPING TRIP -- One in a Baby Bjorn and one in the carrier, snapped onto the seat of the cart
2) MED. SHOPPING TRIP -- Use the double snap n go and put groceries in the bottom. You can fit a lot in there!
3) QUICK SHOPPING TRIP -- One in the carrier snapped onto the seat of the cart; the other in the carrier in the basket of the cart (that way I did not have to mess with a stroller or anything)

Walker006, is that some sort of seat that you can purchase to attach to a cart, or is that built into the cart? I melted when I saw that pic!

 

It is built into the cart. I think stores have them for one infant in the states But here all the stores have them for twins. And they just built a new Asda here (Its Walmart UK) so the carts are new and clean. Its great. I've tried pushing stroller and pulling cart, but its near impossible. All 4 wheels rotate on the carts here. Where as in the states the back wheels are locked. Its a big pain in the butt, even just pushing without babies.I'll get a pic without babies so you can see it.

 

Becca, I live in Canton, GA, probably about 20 miles west of you!

 

QUOTE(walker006 @ Jan 26 2008, 07:02 PM) [snapback]591095[/snapback]
It is built into the cart. I think stores have them for one infant in the states But here all the stores have them for twins. And they just built a new Asda here (Its Walmart UK) so the carts are new and clean. Its great. I've tried pushing stroller and pulling cart, but its near impossible. All 4 wheels rotate on the carts here. Where as in the states the back wheels are locked. Its a big pain in the butt, even just pushing without babies.I'll get a pic without babies so you can see it.


:icon_eek: That is the coolest thing ever! Would have saved me lots of time. :a_smil09: