Out and about with twins logistics

Mcsweets · December 2013

Ok, we're going from 0 to 2 and I'm over thinking "going out" with them. Right now DH and I usually grocery shop together, I'm guessing that's done? Unless we were both wearing one since 2 car seats won't obv go on a cart. What about general shopping? Do you bring a stroller? Or going out to eat do you have one kid at either end of the table? No more comfy booths? What If you're in a group at a long table?

We haven't gotten a stroller yet because we figured it wouldn't get used until spring anyway for walks and whatnot. Would you agree? Along those same lines, do we NEED the double stroller that goes with our car seats or can we get away with just any double stroller?

LittleLady77 · December 2013

I'm still pregnant, so take this with a grain of salt but we got a double snap and go for $40 on craigslist for infant shopping. I imagine if I feel like leaving the house with the kids we will take the stroller and shop together (he can deal with the cart). We also have two baby carriers. I have heard from a MoM friend that a double stroller is a must have. If you need to leave the house by yourself then you need a stroller. You don't want to be stuck.

eandk18 · December 2013

I have the Baby Jogger City Select and I love it! It has a large basket underneath so I go out with the girls to Target, Kohls, malls by myself all the time. As far as grocery shopping goes I will either run out alone or DH will come with me and one of us will push the stroller, the other the cart. This works well for us right now.

We have the Chicco keyfit 30 carseats and the BJCS. That's the only stroller we have for now and I'm hoping that's all we'll need. We may get a double umbrella down the line but this stroller works perfect for us for now.

eandk18 · December 2013

Oh and I don't think my siggie works. My girls are almost 4 months old and I've been taking them out with no problems since they were just a few weeks old.

Mcsweets · December 2013

We have the ket fit car seats as well and the stroller that goes with it is $300... I think yours is even more! *sticker shocked*

eandk18 · December 2013

Yes, I know, it is an expensive stroller! But, I know we'll be able to use it for a very long time so I felt ok about purchasing it.

whitehousem · December 2013

My twins aren't here yet, but I've been watching a little boy who is 3 months older than DD for the past year. Here are some options: push the stroller and drag a cart behind you. Push one cart and drag a second. When they are a bit older, find a cart that holds two kids (target has one where they sit diagonally across from each other strapped in... It says not to use til age 2, but I have been using since at least 9 or 10 months, just make sure they are strapped in tightly and you don't walk away. Or some stores have those little cars that that kids ride in at the front if the cart). I have the Chicco car seat and liked the stroller but the double is a little more cumbersome. I'd still prob get it if I wasn't now going to have a toddler and two infants (I need a triple option). You might want a double car seat caddy for the first six months or so (easy and lightweight) and then get a double stroller that you like for when they are old enough to sit in it. Good luck! For me it was overwhelming at first to take two out, but you will figure out what works and then it's not that bad. Now someone tell me how to take two infants and a two year old out... Please!

bumpuser924057 · December 2013

eandk18 said:

I have the Baby Jogger City Select and I love it! It has a large basket underneath so I go out with the girls to Target, Kohls, malls by myself all the time. As far as grocery shopping goes I will either run out alone or DH will come with me and one of us will push the stroller, the other the cart. This works well for us right now.
We have the Chicco keyfit 30 carseats and the BJCS. That's the only stroller we have for now and I'm hoping that's all we'll need. We may get a double umbrella down the line but this stroller works perfect for us for now.

Pretty much exactly what she said. I use the City Select for nearly all my shopping needs - I can even get through most of a Costco or Sam's Club run with it! If I really need to, I'll push a cart along with the stroller. It was expensive but probably some of the best money I've spent so far, as it gets used literally every time I leave the house.

For right now, I pull the stroller up next to the table at restaurants. When they get a little older I will buy another of the FP Healthy Care boosters and take it with us - we had one for DS and it was great for that in-between time where they're not sitting well enough for a restaurant high chair. A lot of restaurants are kind of light on high chairs anyway so it helps to have your own in a pinch.

bumpuser924057 · December 2013

whitehousem said:

My twins aren't here yet, but I've been watching a little boy who is 3 months older than DD for the past year. Here are some options: push the stroller and drag a cart behind you. Push one cart and drag a second. When they are a bit older, find a cart that holds two kids (target has one where they sit diagonally across from each other strapped in... It says not to use til age 2, but I have been using since at least 9 or 10 months, just make sure they are strapped in tightly and you don't walk away. Or some stores have those little cars that that kids ride in at the front if the cart). I have the Chicco car seat and liked the stroller but the double is a little more cumbersome. I'd still prob get it if I wasn't now going to have a toddler and two infants (I need a triple option). You might want a double car seat caddy for the first six months or so (easy and lightweight) and then get a double stroller that you like for when they are old enough to sit in it. Good luck! For me it was overwhelming at first to take two out, but you will figure out what works and then it's not that bad. Now someone tell me how to take two infants and a two year old out... Please!

The Englacha Junior X-rider. I love it.

LegalLadyBug · December 2013

I haven't done 0-2 but with DD we usually just used the car seat in her stroller and DH pushed a cart if we needed it, otherwise he carried a basket. With the twins plus a toddler the plan will be pretty much the same, twins in a stroller and DH pushing a cart with DD, but honestly she walks and only gets put in the cart if she is not listening, misbehaving, etc.

kari.sandall · December 2013

We each push a cart and put one car seat in each cart to grocery shop together. Shopping depends on where we're going, sometimes we take our stroller sometimes we wear them. To go out alone you definitely need a double stroller. They're all pretty expensive but so worth it! We bought a BOB duelle and just took the babies out of their car seats to use it since it reclines almost flat for the beginning. We figured hopefully we'd only have to buy the one stroller. 8 months later so far so good.

Also our car seats sat next to us in the booth.

Rynleigh · December 2013

Early on: We tried the drag the stroller and push a cart thing. Wasn't happening. Sooooo we went to usually shopping together and each putting one baby in one cart (edit to clarify, we always kept the car seats in the basket of each cart - not latched on the bench part), or one of us with the cart and the other with the stroller. When I did have to go out on my own, I started just grabbing one of the baskets instead of a cart, and hanging it over the handle of my stroller (I have a DuoGlider), and sticking big things like milk or formula in the bottom of the stroller.

Now that they are able to sit up well, I can take them out on my own no problem. I have a big fluffy blanket in my van that comes with us everywhere we go - if I can't find a cart that's got two sets of leg holes in the child seat, I just collapse the child seat and lay my blanket in the bottom of the cart, and they sit on that. It does mean I have to strategically set things I don't want them to touch down below, instead of in the basket with them, but it works!

We didn't do a lot of going out before they could sit up. The few times we did, we were are places with the slings that hold the car seats or just fast food where we brought the stroller in. Now when we go out, they just sit in high chairs. We try to take the top part of our DuoDiner high chairs with us if we are planning in advance, just in case they don't have high chairs (because the DuoDiners can strap onto normal chairs).

B&K706 · December 2013

eandk18 said:

I have the Baby Jogger City Select and I love it! It has a large basket underneath so I go out with the girls to Target, Kohls, malls by myself all the time. As far as grocery shopping goes I will either run out alone or DH will come with me and one of us will push the stroller, the other the cart. This works well for us right now.
We have the Chicco keyfit 30 carseats and the BJCS. That's the only stroller we have for now and I'm hoping that's all we'll need. We may get a double umbrella down the line but this stroller works perfect for us for now.

Yup, this! We went grocery shopping together in the past, and still do unless one of us needs a break

However, our favorite combination right now is to wear one or both of them. We get stopped WAY less this way (you know, only 10 people asking if they are twins instead of 20). That's part of what I love about the BJCS though. We have the option of using it as a single stroller and use it that way about half of the time. We were lucky in that we were gifted most of the cost of the stroller, but it would have been well worth it even if we paid for all of it. We love this stroller.

(In case it matters, my babies are now 7 months old)

eta: lol AshB62 - I didn't see you had already commented on getting stopped less

katekat8721 · December 2013

Love this question. No advice to contribute, just soaking up all the responses!

shaunah816 · December 2013

When the boys were small (aka too young to sit up in a double shopping cart), my husband and I would go grocery shopping together. One of us would push a regular cart, the other would push the babies in our Double Snap N Go. If you need to go shopping on your own, most MoMs I've seen recommend wearing one and putting the other's infant seat in the main part of the grocery cart. I was lucky and my husband always came with us! As for restaurants, booths were better for us when the boys were small enough that we brought them in still in their infant seats. We'd put the seats in first, then slide in next to them. Once they were big enough to sit in restaurant high chairs we switched to sitting at tables.

ckred27 · December 2013

My twins are still on the way, but have a 1 yr old and 3 yr old. If I am not going somewhere that has a cart that can hold two, like Costco, I leave the lil guys home w. DH and relish in my mommy alone time

But I have wore one and had the other sit in the cart when I dont have another option. But that only works when they are a bit older. You can wear one and have the carseat in thecart as well, just cant get a full load of groceries that way

LegalLadyBug · December 2013

All the comments about getting stopped and asking if they're twins are so amusing to me. My friend has a daughter that is 5 months older than my DD and when they were small and we did lunch or went to a store people would ask if they were twins. Once it happened at a store where we were both with our husbands and we each had our DDs in a moby. Sometimes people make no sense.

24karat · December 2013

whitehousem said:

My twins aren't here yet, but I've been watching a little boy who is 3 months older than DD for the past year. Here are some options: push the stroller and drag a cart behind you. Push one cart and drag a second. When they are a bit older, find a cart that holds two kids (target has one where they sit diagonally across from each other strapped in... It says not to use til age 2, but I have been using since at least 9 or 10 months, just make sure they are strapped in tightly and you don't walk away. Or some stores have those little cars that that kids ride in at the front if the cart). I have the Chicco car seat and liked the stroller but the double is a little more cumbersome. I'd still prob get it if I wasn't now going to have a toddler and two infants (I need a triple option). You might want a double car seat caddy for the first six months or so (easy and lightweight) and then get a double stroller that you like for when they are old enough to sit in it. Good luck! For me it was overwhelming at first to take two out, but you will figure out what works and then it's not that bad. Now someone tell me how to take two infants and a two year old out... Please!

DD is 2, twins are nearly 5 months. I can make it work with a double stroller and an Ergo when I need to go out solo with the kids. We have both a DSNG and a tandem double that DD could ride in if necessary. It kind of helps that she's small for her age (25lbs and 36") so she still fits in the Ergo quite easily so that's my other option. She loves to walk alongside and help though, so sometimes I'll let her just walk and hold onto the stroller. For groceries, I kind of depend on one of those carts with the kiddie car attachment on it. I can stick her in there to play, DS1 in his infant seat inside the cart, and DS2 in the Ergo. Sometimes for a quick run I'll opt for the DSNG, Ergo, and a Mommy Hook to clip a shopping basket on the stroller. None of the situations is totally ideal, but it works when it needs to happen.

PurpleIris30 · December 2013

My experience is a little different, but my girls were born at 32 weeks. After they were released from the NICU, we were basically instructed to quarantine them in the house through flu and RSV season. The only place we take them is to the doctor. Even then it has been hugely helpful to have the double snap and go. Easier than carrying two car seats, and I don't have to worry about setting the car seats down on surfaces that aren't disinfected.

So even though we don't take them out in public, the double snap and go has still been great to have. I watched prices on amazon and got a new one for only $65.

Scorpgirl444 · December 2013

I'm separated so I do this solo all the time. Mine are 17 months now.

In the beginning when I wasn't separated, we would go out solo and the other would watch the kids at home. When we all went out together we used our Baby Jogger City Select. Yes, expensive...*so* worth it. We're obviously out of car seats now and have the regular seats in. They actually like this stroller. Best part is you can change it up to so many different positions. You can't do that with alot of strollers.

When I go to the food store..I have to use the car carts. I hate those things and my store only has like 8 of them so I have to go when no one is there. If no car cart I put them standing in the basket. They both love that. Most items have to go underneath so it has to be a smaller trip. Anything light enough for them to pick up and I might as well just have thrown it on the floor myself multiple times. lol

I use the stroller at the mall. I only don't use it if there is a place with shopping carts. They really love to stand in the basket. Today at Target DD sat down and was hugging DS by his waist until he giggled...then she finally let go and was giggling herself.

tootsscott · December 2013

Baby wearing while grocery shopping is genius- never would have thought about it.

Double stroller is a must in the beginning, in my opinion! And I would make sure your car seats are compatible!!

pillowass · December 2013

You've gotten good advice here regarding strollers, etc. but I just wanted to add another perspective/strategy, which is to leave the babies at home as much as possible if you need to get something done like grocery shopping… Going out to dinner? Forget about it! I don't want to pay $50+ to shovel food in my mouth while intercepting flying french fries and/or bouncing a baby. I can do that at home for much cheaper!

We had so many failed outings with DS 1 that I decided early on not to be too ambitious with outings once the twins were born and that has made a huge difference in my level of sanity. Now that they are toddlers, we go out more often and they are able to engage with the world. When they are babies, it's just stressful for everyone when you take into consideration naps and feeding and all the contingency planning you have to do. (That is unless you have amazing chillaxxed babies which I do not!)

sparkman-to-be · December 2013

Grocery shopping, of shopping of any sort, will have to be a solo mission for us post-babies. Taking twin babies, our 17 month old and our 4 year old shopping sounds like hell on earth. We have declared shopping trips alone as mini vacations.

ntdane · December 2013

@mcsweets, definetly take a look at Craigslist for strollers if you decide to get one. We have Graco Snugride car seats and I had wanted a Quattro tour double stroller and found one in my area that was $100, in brand new condition, and they retail for $230-$250.

I am the type that will go crazy if I can't get out with the kids so I'm hoping to make a combination of infant seats, carriers, and possibly a backpack/leash for DS (he's 2.5) work. I'm sure it will be an adventure!

katiebenes · December 2013

double snap n go. one of you pushes the cart, the other pushes the twins.
you can both wear one

one of you can wear one and you can lay the other one in the top (that's how I shop alone) you just lay a fluffy blanket down to cover the metal and the leg holes

But people always seems to stop us no matter what... so we end up having Grandma and Grandpa watch them or have just one of us go.

I find putting the seats in the cart left zero room for shopping. you can't buy very much stuff.

raraavis28 · December 2013

Yeah....if there are two of you, my advice would be for one to stay home w/ babies and the other to get the shopping done. DH and I do a lot of tag-teaming b/c, at the end of the day, it's just easier and more efficient for us. When we do go out as a family, we can either use the double stroller and a cart or it's just a stroller errand. When on your own, I agree w/ @pillowass to try to plan grocery shopping around a time when you can do it alone (obviously this will be easier if you have help nearby, but I also often go shopping after the twins' bedtime, which is 7 pm). Like @sparkman-to-be said, it's a mini vacation.

JodiAriel · December 2013

From the very beginning I would push the stroller and pull the shopping cart behind me. I got very good at exuding the "don't talk to me" vibe so I was able to get through pretty quickly. You definitely want to get some sort of stroller for the beginning whether it be a snap and go or something else. Never leaving the house alone with the twins can make you crazy.

D&HMom · December 2013

I couldn't have lived without my snap and go. It was helpful for the doctor's office and pretty much everywhere we went. It was really light and easy to get in out of the car. Baby wearing did not work so well for us. When they were 4 months old we purchased our BOB. I still used the snap and go for outings until about 6 or 7 months. We used our BOB a ton for walks (I walked with them every day, even when it was cold out...we needed the fresh air and something to do.)
I also have two umbrella strollers for when we would separate and need a stroller. We haven't used them a ton but it has been nice to have and they weren't expensive. If money was no object I would have bought a city mini as well but it really isn't' that much smaller to make it worth the investment. A double MacClaren would have also been nice had I ever been able to find one second hand.

While we now don't use our BOB every day we still use it a lot. Its nice to have for when we go to festivals, parades, or long walks and they get tired. We have taken it on vacation. Its great through sand on the beach and the snow. I like to have the option to have them strapped in somewhere if things go off the rails. Often we find ourselves in a busy place and it just feels safer or they are having a melt down and its just easier to have it strapped in. Many people I know have sold their strollers by now but I will keep mine until they outweigh it! With two sometimes you just need the extra hands!

I have definately gotten my moneys worth out of my DSNG and my BOB!

kgs0505 · December 2013

My husband and I have different schedules, so I do a lot of stuff on my own. A DSNG is highly recommended for the infant seat stage. When I grocery shop, I have the girls in their DSNG and my DS in the cart, I push the cart and pull the stroller behind me. This unfortunately tends to get a lot of attention. But it's the best I can do. I forgot the DSNG once and I put each girl in the basket of a cart (still in infant seats), and DS in one of the seats and pushed one, pulled the other.

If you are going together, just have one of you handle the cart, the other the stroller, or one of you stays home. But really, I wouldn't alter going out too much once you have kids. When they are really little, yes, but eventually you just have to bite the bullet and get out there. If you enjoy shopping together, then continue to do so. Restaurants can be tricky, but while they are in the infant seats, keep them in the double stroller next to the table. Sometimes the booths are wide enough to get the infant seat on the bench with you, some are not. It's just going to depend. I wouldn't go to a fancy expensive restaurant with them, but a breakfast place, a noiser place in the evenings... stuff like that, I wouldn't hesitate even a minute.

You'll do fine Once you figure out what works for you, it'll be easy. Ok, maybe not easy, but doable

Stephanie2167 · December 2013

DH and I went to lunch before we took the girls to their one week appointment. We sat at a booth and each of us had one on each side. You just need to make sure the booth has enough space. We have a Joovy Roo Twin snap stroller and really like it. Easy to maneuver too.

Mcsweets · December 2013

Thank you everyone!

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