When I just had the one child I didn't mind going to the shop too much. It was kind of a handy chore to have, we lived abroad and it killed some of the long baby hours while getting me out the house. It was a break from just being us two. When Vanessa learnt to walk, the walk between our house and the shop in Switzerland became a good way to tire her out. She's always had lots of energy and as soon as she learnt to run she started doing crazy laps of the room before bedtime, she still does it a good few times a week. Even when Nova arrived it was mostly alright. It depended on how I had them with me, we opted to get a better baby carrier and stick to our single pram, just changing the attachments between the toddler seat and carry cot, instead of getting a double. So either I carried Nova in a carrier and Vanessa (26 months+ old at the time) sat in the buggy or Nova lay in the pram and Vanessa walked. The latter was a lot more hard work in the shop, she went through a delightful period when she'd protest sit on the way home at various points if she was in a huff. Of course she didn't give a s*** if it was wet or dry out or if she was even on a pavement when she'd decide to just plonk her arse on the ground.
Then we moved to the Scottish countryside and I started to drive; the way we shopped and the kind of grocery store we went to changed. Instead of walking to smaller co-ops we were driving to big supermarkets. And I'll admit I love having everything in one place, I have short windows when I have time and energy to shop as at least a couple of kids are with me and they aren't always much fun in the shops. Because we were now driving to the shop we started doing shops using the trolleys - this was a fab solution when we just had the two (as long as we were at one of the big supermarkets) where I could fit both children into one trolley and so containing the mayhem. Our eldest is still well bellow the weight limit but for obvious reasons the younger ones end up in the trolley before she does these days (of course this has changed since the family expanded).
The double seated trolleys come with a downside, it might prevent your child from doing mad runs down the aisles but it most definitely does not prevent your children from fighting with each other. The girls are consistently inconsistent when seated next to each other, one second they are hugging and laughing together the next they are clawing each others eyes out - might come as a surprise but this behaviour regularly results in me leaving the shop without about 30% of my list.
Then we had Elis: as I've mentioned many times before we have to be extra careful with his spine because of his dwarfism condition, he needs to avoid upright positions and we aren't allowed to use baby carriers (using a baby carrier was invaluable to me when I had the two girls and went grocery shopping in smaller shops without the double seated trolleys available). It means I have to plan my shopping trips a little more than previously. In the larger supermarkets there's usually a handful of trolleys with infant seat options, they aren't the most comfortable looking but are better for his back than other options and still gives me the possibility of putting the middle child in the trolley next to him. Then, if I've got all three children with me, I only need to try to keep track of the eldest one running about.
If I only need/have time to get something from our (much nearer) small Co-op it has been more difficult as they until recently only had trolleys for babies/toddlers who could sit independently. His back means I have to bring the pram along with me and add another thing to take in and out of the car with all three children, and then walk through the shop with both girls wrecking havoc. Thankfully our nearest Co-op branch just got refurbished and they appear to now have at least one trolley with a infant insert although I keep forgetting it and still get the pram out of the car. When the two girls get to walk about freely I inevitably hear Vanessa point to things (sweets mainly) and whisper "take that" to Nova, while I have to ensure none of us are in the way of other shoppers. It's a very calm and relaxing way to do your shopping! I'm not even going to touch on the joys of breaking up the fight over who gets to carry the basket around the shop.
Even without Elis' achondroplasia shopping with one or multiple children is a hassle. It takes at least twice as long as it ought to, often with some sort of meltdown (it's a 50-50 split as to whether that comes from one of them or me). It's no wonder online shopping is so popular with parents these days! We've started opting for the click and collect option instead of home delivery as that means we can nip in to the shop if there's something they've forgotten or not had (we prefer to pick our own replacement as the shop sometimes makes bizarre choices for you which completely throws off your meal plans).
The problem is that we still need things from the shops outwith our planned orders, sometimes you get a last minute invite to a friend and wish you could bring some snacks. Before child 2 and 3 I'd happily just have nipped to the shop. It's of course not helped by the fact that we don't have a shop within walking distance anymore, but even if there was one there isn't such a thing as just nipping to the shop these days. On the very, very rare occasion I go to the shop alone I am overwhelmed by the sense of freedom, almost to the point that I miss the madness... Only almost though! But as with so much of this parenthood gig, this phase too shall pass so for now I accept that a trip to the shop is a massive adventure in itself and most likely not very fun.
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