I was in a complete daze that first few weeks when the girls were born. Kind family and friends brought us meals, and my in-laws had Vons deliver groceries right to our door. But after a while the casseroles stopped coming and we had to figure out how to keep food in the house by ourselves.
Here are some of the things I tried:
- Online Grocery shopping: Thankfully, grocery stores, Walmart, and Target have online shopping options with home delivery! Honestly, this is the best way to keep your pantry stocked when you have newborn twins at home. If you’re in a rural-ish area (like me), they may not deliver to your house, but nealry all grocery stores have curbside pickup. Online shopping works well if you don’t need groceries right away, since it takes a day or so to process and ship your order. Depending on the store, you may get free shipping the first time or for orders over a certain dollar amount. Some stores have loyalty programs where you can apply rewards and clip deals, which helps save a little extra money.
- Take a buddy: My 9-year-old son was my shopping companion on many ocasions. I would push the cart around the store and he came behind with the double stroller with the two babies inside. You could bring a stroller or each of you push a cart with a baby. I have to say, this was not a very good experience for me. It took a lot longer to coordinate the movement of 2 people and 2 4-wheeled objects through the aisles. It was awkward and took up a lot of space in the aisles too. I don’t recommend this option.
- By yourself option 1…Two carts: A few times I tried putting the babies in one cart (one on the handle bar and the other in the basket). That way I could push the babies ahead of me while pulling a second cart behind with the groceries. Or sometimes I would place one baby on the handle of each cart. Two carts on a shopping trip by yourself was my least favorite choice for doing shopping. It is very cumbersome, it attracted a lot of unwanted attention, too. I already get anxious with all the attention that twins draw, I don’t need to add more by lugging two carts around!
- By yourself option 2…Use a sling or baby carrier: This is the only way I shop now. I keep a sling in the car at all times in case I get a sudden urge to shop. One baby goes in the sling and the other stays in the car seat and gets to ride in the cart. You can still fit plenty of groceries in the cart, and one baby gets to snuggle with mommy. You could alternate which baby goes in the sling each time to make sure each gets some snuggle time.
I haven’t tried using two slings (or the kind that holds two babies), but I imagine they are a life saver! I tried several slings before finding one that was comfortable enough to wear all the time. Make sure you have practiced getting yourself in a sling before heading out. Otherwise things could be tricky.
Do you have a different way of getting shopping done with twin babies? Share in the comments.