Shopping with two brings its own sets of challenges. I avoided it like the plague, picturing every worst case scenario, but we started whittling away into nothing. Six weeks into twin motherhood, it was time to get to the grocery store, just the three of us.
[Solomia, age 6 weeks, in the cart at Aldi]
Wear one in a Bjorn
This is how we got anywhere, especially down the grocery aisle.
[Girls, age 6 months]
Expect the gawking
The shoppers gawk,
come running, shout across the aisle "ARE THEY TWINS". It can at times
be impossible to navigate the cart through the fans. If I let it, it can
be frustrating. But when I brace myself, I realize that these little
smiles can brighten up someones day. Mostly older adults are the ones to
tell me about all the twins in their family, I realize they might be
lonely, and try and give myself extra time for the shopping trip.
[Girls, 7 months]
Bring or buy a snack
Let them dig into the bag of pretzels- it's not the end of the world.
[Solomia, at 9 months, nibbled through this pepper]
Only one stop
There's
no such thing as shopping around for deals- it's not fair to the babies.
Besides the occasional stroller walk to the local fruit market, I try
and limit grocery shopping to once a week, and one store only. There's
no such thing as a quick trip with the girls. Running to
get a loaf of bread will take at least 35 minutes. There's
only so much time in a day, and hours I can take away from playing with
the girls to do errands. When my husband is off of work, I want him
home with us, building Lego towers, not making grocery stops.
[Girls, 14 months, and shoes are overrated!]
.
Ask for help
Even still I'm not ashamed to ask for help. If you're close to me you
have most definitely received the text "hey on your way over can you
grab a box of cereal and some bananas". Or the "do you want to come over
for dinner, can you bring Chinese!"
[Girls, 19 months, loving the double seats]
If
you're wondering how to shop with two, let me be that voice of reason, "you can do it!" Just keep calm, keep it simple, bring some
snacks, and get a bjorn!
