grocery shopping: because we all have to eat

This post came as a response to a question from my mom's group asking about how to take two under two grocery shopping. Some painful memories here at the many configurations for this question:

--Bjorn/sling baby, toddler in cart seat
--Toddler in front of cart, baby in carseat in back
--Double seats
--Baby in front, toddler in back of cart with toys/food
--Baby in front, toddler in car cart
--Leave both kids at home with a sitter!

Many suggestions came in, but one of my favorite (IRL) Baby Bunching friends, Carol Amie, emailed this to the group and she's just so damn funny that I wanted to share her tips. Her first two are 15 months apart, last two are 23 months apart. (It's a bit long, but worth the read for some great, funny tips.)

Start with a meal plan so you know exactly what you need and what you've already got at home when you make your list~in the store with two screaming kids is not the time to try to remember if you have that can of special tomatoes in the pantry and if you don't plan for the whole week you'll find yourself enduring twice the torture to get to the weekend with food in the fridge.

Now, logistics for the store: when it was just the first two I alternately wore one and put the other in the seat of the cart. I let (my oldest) choose which one he preferred right up until the younger one outgrew the bucket at about 3 months and went with it because it was an easy way for him to be appeased. Then I wore younger child in the sling and put him in the seat for a while because she couldn't sit up. Added bonus, she could nurse while I shopped and it made it a much less stressful race against the clock sort of outing. I also offered treats to anyone capable of eating finger foods while we shop. Probably not the coolest move as far as the store in concerned but something not too messy that requires a lot of chewing keeps them busy.

With the carts, our method now varies depending on the types available--double car-carts mean that the Bigz drive together and the baby is either in the sling or the seat.

The best option though is the cart at Harris Teeterwhich has the 5-pt harness for two big kids, as well as a baby seat facing them...all three kids keep each other entertained and with them much closer to me than in the car-carts I have a better shot at keeping the Bigz under control.

For places like Target with just two kids, I would use the double stroller but bring the sling. If I happened to fill the hand cart hung on these, as well as the lower basket of the stroller then I could put a kid in the sling and use their part of the stroller for the jumbo pack of toilet paper.

For a super quick trip I also found that hand carts hooked perfectly right over the handles of a basic $15 Walmart umbrella stroller making it easy to get in and out for milk, bread, eggs. Or that quick trip to the deli for a ready made dinner because it had been one of "Those days." Again, wearing the baby makes it possible. You do have to remember though that it can make the stroller top heavy so if you overfill the thing, your kid could get a surprising ride as the stroller tips over. No, I am not saying that ever happened to me, but I will say 2 gallons of milk is probably a danger for the average 18 month old.

Forget about huge grocery savings for the first year. Find a store that has decent non-sales prices and make it THE go-to store. Then you know exactly where everything is, how to find it and how to spell out your list in order of the aisles to make it as fast as possible. I actually keep a legend for all of the stores at home because I could call my husband on his way home and say "please pick up X that you'll find in aisle 10 at Giant on your way home" if I forgot something. Because you will forget something.

Next it is important to find a time when said store is relatively slow that also happens to coincide with a good non-napping, non-hungry, non-evening bewitching hour for her kids and make that her regular grocery time...if you can happen to sync that up with a good checker (I *loved* Sylvie in the no tabloids, no candy aisle of Shoppers when Tara was little) then you'll have the grocery trifecta.

Still, you should allow yourself a good cry in the parking lot now and then because we've all got to eat but shit happens.

Comments

[yasmara]

After too many frustrating experiences with my small Bunch (2 boys, 19 months apart, 2nd one born in the middle of winter in MN), I switched to ordering groceries online. If you have this service locally, it is a lifesaver! I could still use coupons & focused specifically on food, often planning meals around what was on sale.

I did NOT buy any household goods (diapers, TP, laundry detergent) unless it was an emergency, because these were significantly more expensive.

Now that my Bunch is older (4.5 & almost 3), I don't order groceries as often but this summer/fall my husband has been traveling a lot more for work, often out of the country for a week, and it has once again become a lifesaver for me. I can plan meals in the evening, order any missing ingredients & staples for delivery the next day & not have to worry about fitting in a trip to the store along with work, daycare, bedtime, etc.

[Rachel O.]

With limited access to a car, I'm all about multiple small trips using the stroller!

["Gidget"]

My boys are 19 mo apart- currently 2 mo and 21 mo. If I can't ask my sister to watch the 21 mo old OR have older son (11yo) come with me to the store, so we have two carts, I parked next to the cart corral and put 21mo old in the seat of the cart and 2 mo old in his infant carrier in the basket and then carefully arrange the groceries around his carrier and also use the bottom of the basket. This also works for Target/WalMart.

For going places that don't have cart corrals (Kohls comes to mind) and balance them both and put toddler in the Kohls stroller seat and hook baby on the basket. Walgreens is basically the same way except using the grocery store model.

For the church parking lot I put a harness on toddler and tell him that his monkey (harness is a monkey backpack) will be helping us today. We still hold hands, but I have the harness loop on my wrist in case he makes a break for it.