Need advice

I need some advice so I don't spend more money on something I'm not going to
use. I've done to much of that already :-) I've bought car seats that
don't work well, and a stroller that doesn't work well.

By far the hardest part of twins for me so far is the damn car and getting
them around. Unfortunately I have a car...and 4 kids. 3 carseats in the
back. The infant seats I found that would fit are the heaviest damn seats
I've ever lifted :-/. I'm 6' tall and bending over to lift 20+lbs of baby
and carseat into the middle seat of a stupid Mercury Sable is killing me! I
can't fit the seats in if I put the booster in the middle. Sadly there is
no minivan in my future.

So today I'm going to try to latch the seats in without the base to see if
the booster will fit in the middle that way. The 5yo will have to climb in
through the front seat - which might actually be a bonus in his view ;-).
I'd have to either leave the seats in the car and carry the babies some
other way, or re-latch the seats each time. I also think my kids will
outgrow the infant seats long before they can walk (or even crawl, lol) so
I'll eventually have to carry kids without the carseats anyway.

I have a graco duo-glide stroller. The thing is a beast. Hard to get in
the trunk and hard to handle. My kids don't like it (to little for it I
think). I'm not much of a stroller person. I didn't even have one with my
older kids but I thought I'd need one with twins so bought this when I had
the chance. It may work better once they are older and can sit up??

I'm considering leaving the carseats in the car and purchasing a single
stroller and carrying the other in a sling. I have a maya-wrap pouch that I
have not used much at all so far (it is hot) but I can start. My babies
are only 3mos old. I know things will be easier when they can sit up and
have better head control but that seems a million years away right now, lol.
So I guess I'm wondering if the single stroller would be another waste of
money. Do any of you carry your twins like this?

Sorry this got so long, I'm tired today. When I'm tired I'm all over the
place, lol.


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

Hum I did waste a lot of money too. You're right about the infant carseats.
They don't last long. My first child was too big for it at 6 months (feet
sticking out and all), and with the twins we used them until around 9
months, so since then (they are 14 months) I have them in a Group 1 carseat,
that was supposed to let you install it rearfacing, but hey find someone who
managed and I'm giving him a medal.
It's SO difficult to install 3 carseats in a normal car, but at the moment
that's what we have, and well my 3 yo is on one side, and the babies are
side to side. It's not really comfy for them.
As for the stroller, I made mistakes too, but I really love my Maclaren Twin
Traveller. It wasn't really suitable before 6/7 months but you could use it,
because the seats completely recline. So that's how I carry them. I don't
think the baby carrier can be a solution that lasts. After a while they get
really heavy and it just kills your back to carry them that way, esp. if
you've got a stroller and a 5 yo to mind. Of course those twin strollers
take a lot of space, but the Maclaren is the best when it comes to that.
Plus it's really easy to fold and unfold.
That being said, the stroller can be useful if you intend to go out with
only one of the babies from time to time, but then I usually carry whoever's
with me.
I know these first months are difficult. Just wait until they become
toddlers, LOL

Sophie
Mommy to Héloïse 11/21/02 & Caroline and Alexandre 04/29/05

"Nikki" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
I need some advice so I don't spend more money on something I'm not going
to use. I've done to much of that already :-) I've bought car seats that
don't work well, and a stroller that doesn't work well.

By far the hardest part of twins for me so far is the damn car and getting
them around. Unfortunately I have a car...and 4 kids. 3 carseats in the
back. The infant seats I found that would fit are the heaviest damn seats
I've ever lifted :-/. I'm 6' tall and bending over to lift 20+lbs of baby
and carseat into the middle seat of a stupid Mercury Sable is killing me!
I can't fit the seats in if I put the booster in the middle. Sadly there
is no minivan in my future.

So today I'm going to try to latch the seats in without the base to see if
the booster will fit in the middle that way. The 5yo will have to climb
in through the front seat - which might actually be a bonus in his view
;-). I'd have to either leave the seats in the car and carry the babies
some other way, or re-latch the seats each time. I also think my kids
will outgrow the infant seats long before they can walk (or even crawl,
lol) so I'll eventually have to carry kids without the carseats anyway.

I have a graco duo-glide stroller. The thing is a beast. Hard to get in
the trunk and hard to handle. My kids don't like it (to little for it I
think). I'm not much of a stroller person. I didn't even have one with
my older kids but I thought I'd need one with twins so bought this when I
had the chance. It may work better once they are older and can sit up??

I'm considering leaving the carseats in the car and purchasing a single
stroller and carrying the other in a sling. I have a maya-wrap pouch that
I have not used much at all so far (it is hot) but I can start. My
babies are only 3mos old. I know things will be easier when they can sit
up and have better head control but that seems a million years away right
now, lol. So I guess I'm wondering if the single stroller would be another
waste of money. Do any of you carry your twins like this?

Sorry this got so long, I'm tired today. When I'm tired I'm all over the
place, lol.


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

"Sophie" wrote in message

It's SO difficult to install 3 carseats in a normal car, but at the moment
that's what we have, and well my 3 yo is on one side, and the babies are
side to side. It's not really comfy for them.

Ugh, I just bought this car two, and promply wrecked the fender on a snow
bank. It will be forever before we can sell it without a major loss to get
a van.

As for the stroller, I made mistakes too, but I really love my Maclaren
Twin Traveller. It wasn't really suitable before 6/7 months but you could
use it, because the seats completely recline. So that's how I carry them.

I'll have to check that one out. Maybe I just need a better stroller.


That being said, the stroller can be useful if you intend to go out with
only one of the babies from time to time, but then I usually carry
whoever's with me.

That would probably be infrequent and like you, I'd most likely just carry
them.

I know these first months are difficult. Just wait until they become
toddlers, LOL

Ahhh!

Thanks :-)


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

Nikki,

Maybe the problem is in the booster and not the infant seats. Which
kind do you have? Can you get the kind that is just a bottom (no
back)? They are SO much less bulky and I think they do take up less
space. I just switched to those for my 5-yo boys. They sell at Target
(among other places, online too) for about $20. I would try everything
before trying the infant seats without the bases. They will be out of
those before you know it.

Good luck,
Ellen

"Ellen" wrote in message
ps.com...

Nikki,

Maybe the problem is in the booster and not the infant seats. Which
kind do you have? Can you get the kind that is just a bottom (no
back)? They are SO much less bulky and I think they do take up less
space. I just switched to those for my 5-yo boys. They sell at Target
(among other places, online too) for about $20. I would try everything
before trying the infant seats without the bases. They will be out of
those before you know it.

I do have a backless booster. I switched it around and while everyone fits
OK back there it wasn't such a pleasant experience in the store without the
seats ;-) I tried putting one in the cart seat lying down. They hated
that!

So, I'll either take the stroller or take at least one of the carseats out
and just have to relatch it when we get back in. That will work until
winter and they'll be bigger then.

Thanks everyone. Oh, we also put the bases in dh's vehicle. I can always
drive that beast around if I have too. I don't usually take it ever because
I'm a menace in it ;-)

--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06