How do you .... with two?

Cheryl S. wrote:
Now that this baby is (hopefully) coming very soon I have a few things I
could use some tips on from all you who have BTDT.


My daughter was 5.5 when my son was born, so I don't have experience
with a toddler and a newborn. However, even with just one, I think
taking a child along while you run errands is a giant PITA. My main
advice is to minimize this by postponing as many errands as possible
until their father can look after them. (Or, of course, your husband
can do the grocery shopping, etc. Either way works.)


What do I do with the baby while I'm helping Julie at a public toilet?

Have the baby in a sling, Baby Bjorn, stroller, carrier, etc. - anything
that can leave your hands free.



How do I keep Julie from running away and being abducted/destroying
store displays/etc if I have to sit down and nurse the baby while we're
out?


When mine got to the stage of running away from me in stores I quit
taking her with me unless absolutely necessary (I can't think of
anything absolutely necessary except going to the doctor.) If I had
had two at that point, and just could not avoid taking them with me, I
probably would have done as Rosalie suggested and gotten a harness and a
leash for the older one.


How do I shower when it's not safe to leave a toddler unsupervised with
a baby?

Put the baby in a crib/bassinet/playpen and take Julie into the bathroom
with you. Or take your shower when your husband is there with them.


How do I get them in and out of the car and across parking lots without
getting anyone killed? (Currently have infant seat on driver side, and
Julie's seat on passenger side)


I would say - take the baby out first, and get him settled in
the sling or whatever. Then get Julie out and hold her hand
while you cross the parking lot.


Clisby

In article ,
"Cheryl S." wrote:

Now that this baby is (hopefully) coming very soon I have a few things I
could use some tips on from all you who have BTDT.

My daughter was 3 yrs and 3 mos when the twins were born, so a little
older; but some of this might help, anyway.


What do I do with the baby while I'm helping Julie at a public toilet?

The babies were in a stroller and I always used the stalls for the
handicapped. I stopped going anywhere that wasn't fully wheelchair
accessible, because the twin stroller (a side by side) would pretty much
fit wherever a wheel chair would fit. The four of us fit in most of the
wheelchair stalls -- though I sometimes had to leave the door opened.
(Now, some of the malls and such that I've been in have family
bathrooms: I would have used them if they'd been available.)

How do I keep Julie from running away and being abducted/destroying
store displays/etc if I have to sit down and nurse the baby while we're
out?

I never got a harness, but I DID get a "hand holder" for my daughter:
it went around my wrist and around her wrist. Sometimes, I attached
"my" end to the stroller. There were times when she didn't like wearing
it, so I'd give her the choice between staying with me and wearing it --
and the first time she started to wander off I put the hand holder on
her.


How do I shower when it's not safe to leave a toddler unsupervised with
a baby?

When the toddler is asleep. I made the mistake once of taking a shower
when the babies were asleep in their cradle, and the 3 yo was watching
TV: when I came out of the shower, both babies were on a blanket on the
floor. The 3 yo had wanted to help.

That means you sometimes stay dirty -- or take the toddler into the
shower with you, if you can't stand it.

How do I get them in and out of the car and across parking lots without
getting anyone killed? (Currently have infant seat on driver side, and
Julie's seat on passenger side)

For me, it was:
-get the stroller out of the back of the car, wheel to one side
-take baby 1 out of the car seat, strap into stroller
-wheel stroller to other side of car
-take baby 2 out of the car seat, strap into stroller
-unbuckle 3 yo from the middle seat, take her by the hand.

Getting back into the car, we reversed the process.

As long as the mobile child is the LAST one out, so you can hold her
hand, it really isn't as complicated as it might feel like right now.


Anything else that I haven't thought of yet that anyone else struggled
with and then found a good way of doing?

For some period of time, I stopped running errands when DH wasn't home
and I could leave one or more of the kids with him. I found that
running a series of errands at once, like I had done in the past (post
office, drug store, grocery store, shoe store, stop for lunch) was
simply out of the question for quite some time: by the time I'd done
the in-and-out of the car thing two or three times, I was exhausted, so
I seldom did more than two at a time -- and, as I said, did more on the
weekends and evenings. (I'd have had DH do them on his way home from
work, but we were a one car family at the time, and he got a ride to and
from with someone else, making stops on the way home impossible, unless
it was a clear emergency situation.)

Thanks!!
--
Cheryl S.
Mom to Julie, 2 yr., 5 mo.
And a boy, EDD 4.Sept

Congratulations, and good luck!

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

This is a great thread. I wish I had known about these newsgroup things
when I was wondering the same things! I muddled through it and we are all
alive and well. I have 2 daughters (currently 4-1/2 yrs and 2-1/2 yrs).
They are 23 months apart in age.

Everyone has given great advice to your questions. I would only add to take
the help offered at the grocery store for a while. Especially in bad
weather. I always felt wierd returning the cart to a cart return when it
was out of sight of my car (even though I locked it up and everyone was
strapped in). I also had to limit my errands and spread them over a few
days. I've found that I can't do much of anything in the afternoon. Both
kids are nappers so it's setting them up for failure to take them anywhere
and expect them to behave well in the afternoons. Mornings are great.

As far as the showers go, I would get up with the DH and take a quick shower
while the kids were asleep and he was still home. I'd often brush my hair
and lay back down until the kids woke up, but I got a shower in and it felt
like a good start for the day.

Oh, and I taught my older girl that one hand stays on the grocery cart at
all times and it is still working great. The alternative was to ride in the
basket which Miss Independent didn't want to do so it worked well for us.
Also, one hand on the stroller if we were in the mall.

It's more stressful to think about than to actually do. Your mind can
conjur up all sorts of scenarios, but it usually works itself out when
you're actually doing it.

Good Luck!
Sandi
Mommy to Amanda 4-1/2 and Hailey 2-1/2





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I'm sorry for not having responded better, but I did want to say thank
you to everyone for your responses to my questions. I've saved them all
for reference during the next few weeks. I keep telling myself that
enough people have done this before, that there *is* a way to do
everything - I just have to figure out how. But it should be easier,
having read about specific methods that worked for others, than having
to come up with things to try on my own. IOW now I won't have to
completely reinvent the wheel. :-)
--
Cheryl S.
Mom to Julie, 2 yr., 5 mo.
And a boy, EDD 5.Sept

Cleaning the house while your children are small is like
shoveling the sidewalk while it's still snowing.

"Cheryl S." wrote in message
...
I'm sorry for not having responded better, but I did want to say thank
you to everyone for your responses to my questions. I've saved them all
for reference during the next few weeks. I keep telling myself that
enough people have done this before, that there *is* a way to do
everything - I just have to figure out how. But it should be easier,
having read about specific methods that worked for others, than having
to come up with things to try on my own. IOW now I won't have to
completely reinvent the wheel. :-)
--
Cheryl S.
Mom to Julie, 2 yr., 5 mo.
And a boy, EDD 5.Sept

Cleaning the house while your children are small is like
shoveling the sidewalk while it's still snowing.




if i can do it, you can! good luck for next week. my two are almost the
same age apart as yours, and i am 1 year down the trakc and still sane, so
have fun!

christine

x-no-archive:yes
"Laurie" wrote:
Cheryl S. wrote:

How do I get them in and out of the car and across parking lots without
getting anyone killed? (Currently have infant seat on driver side, and
Julie's seat on passenger side)

You just get used to this. It's amazing what you can do. I often carry Jess
in one arm and Christopher in his car seat in the other arm! Or, carry car
seat and hold Jess's hand. Or, have CHristopher in sling and either carry
Jess or hold her hand.

Just wanted to comment on this - I used to carry both girls together
for short distances until they were well old enough to walk
themselves. I'd say they were 4 and 2 or maybe a bit older. They had
to cooperate for me to do this of course. I'd pick up one of them and
stash her on one hip facing out with my arm around her waist, and then
pick up the other one similarly.

I didn't have spectacularly large kids, and I was relatively strong
and fit at that time.


grandma Rosalie