gymboree dropout: accept it and move on

Like we mentioned yesterday, the motive behind baby/toddler classes isn't solely for baby and tot's development. They also are for moms to socialize and commiserate. We wish establishments would understand that and hone in on making their classes more Baby Bunching friendly.

Once you are ready to leave the house (and believe us, you will be), in the early days of Bunching your activities will likely center around your older child’s interests and possibly the younger one’s schedule.  Your oldest may still be registered for Gymboree, KinderMusic, Little Gym or some other seemingly simplistic baby classes. And like we all did, you'll make at least one attempt to continue on as business as usual.

We’ll be honest with you, most of these classes are more fun with one baby than two and you might find yourself reassessing and begging off from Gymboree for a while. There’s nothing like sprinting through Little Gym to catch your toddler as he tumbles off the side of the slide, only to jostle the baby awake from her nap in the Baby Bjorn. And nothing says a fun music class like an infant screaming her head off in the middle of the morning “Hello” song.  Do you see where we think someone might jump on this for a business endeavor?  Even the ones that do have sibling options usually don’t start until the youngest sibling is a little older, and we found the same super-sweet teacher who just loved teaching your Big’s class at six months old does not appreciate having a six-month old in the two-year old class.  Not to mention that most places charge for double duty registration.

Welcome to the wonderful world of “Baby Bunching is Not Cheap.”  All of the sudden $400 a semester for two people who aren’t verbal to take singing classes starts to feel a little silly.

Take our advice, even though we know brochures are compelling and may lure you into enrolling both kids, take a mini hiatus from structured activities that require payment and a complex refund process. Believe us when we say saving that money now will be SO worth it later when you can enroll both kids in the 4 to 6 year-old tumbling class at one time and sit in the park having a coffee while both kids are supervised and entertained. Ahhhhh.....those are good days to look forward to so hang in there.

We'd love to hear your stories about managing baby and tot during some of these structured classes. We've heard some pretty amusing ones so I'm sure you all have some fun ones to add.

Comments

[Amanda]

I finally accepted the reality that I could not finagle my bunch alone at storytime, etc. I put so much pressure on myself to make sure that my 1-& 2- year-olds had something "structured" to take part in each day and when it didn't pan out (for obvious reasons), we all endured a lot of unnecessary stress (luckily not in the pocketbook since Portland has so many wonderfully free, or low cost children's activities). Out of these exhausting and embarrassing fiascoes, I found a baby buncher's oasis; a indoor play co-op/swap shop, which offers occasional music and story times but for the most part is a free for all. It is worth the small monthly fee and gives me a place to socialize with other moms. We'll try story time and gym classes in a few years.

[Jenny]

I enrolled my 2.5 year old in dance on Friday nights, knowing my husband would rarely be able to come and help. It was a disaster. She cried, the baby cried, and getting both unhappy kids out to the car at 7pm in the bitter cold winters in MN was a nightmare. Needless to say, this fall I am saving the $70/month and we have dance parties in my living room. SOOOO much fun!

[Erika]

I was taking a music & gym class while pregnant with #2. There was another mom there with 2 kids - the youngest in the Bjorn. We got talking and arranged for the next semester (when I had an infant) we would trade off weeks. So one week, she would drop her little one at my house and take the 2 bigger kids to class. Then the following week I'd take the big ones to class and she'd keep the little ones at her house. It worked great! Now that class is long over, we still get together for playdates and mom-chats. So I gained a friend in the deal too! (We did ask the instructor for permission first to make sure it was okay. And we held a couple of playdates before the swap started so our children could get comfortable with the other mom and her kids!)

[royann]

I was really excited to find a music and gym class designed for siblings, but after a 2 week trial I knew it was not for us. I was not willing to pay the same price for a 2 month old as a toddler, and no one had any fun. I have also given up on library story time with my two. They are 15 months apart, and at any given time one of them has no interest in sitting down and listening.
I have a great play group and we enjoy group activities with them, and now that my big is in preschool 3 days a week, my little and I can go to story time alone.

[Alisha]

Mommy group & play dates work best. Now that the older 2 of my bunch (3.5 & 2) are pretty coordinated, we're going to try an open gym play date while baby hangs out in the Moby wrap. Pretty much, the boys will probably just run wild while baby watches and I chat :)

[Alisha]

Oh, and McDonald's Playland can be a life saver! We have a small one that is contained.

[Alisha S]

Ahh, library story time. When my first bunch was new it seemed as though as soon as I got settled enough to nurse baby my older one was running around taking other kids' snacks and name tags.
Now that we have a bunch of 3, I don't even attempt to take them anywhere together. Usually hubby and I split them up for activities. Preschool for our oldest is a lifesaver!

[Nicole]

I have a 3 yr old, 2 yr old, 1 yr old, and am 8 and 1/2 months pregnant with #4 (they are all 14-15 months apart).

We go to Gymboree 2 times a week, but just open gym (where it is a mixture of ages and no real structure). I rarely make it to the actual classes which are divided according to age, as I almost always have all of them with me.

When I had 2 that were 15 months apart, I thought it was pretty feasible. Even when the 3rd came along, it was relatively easy, as I usually just wear the youngest in a baby bjorn while following the others around. But now with 3 little ones and being so pregnant, I can barely make it through the 45-60 minutes without being completely out of breath! Someone is always running across something high or diving off of something, causing me to have to throw my pregnant self into some very compromising positions. :) In rare moments it's nice and I get to talk to my mom friends for a few minutes and the kids definately have a lot of fun, so it does make it worth it for us.

I think it will get easier again once baby #4 is on the outside, but we'll see. :)

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[Luann]

Thanks for this post. I dropped out of music class because it was too much trouble, too expensive, too hard to make it to class on time and risk getting locked out, I can go on, but really just too tired.

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