Two Things That Have Made Shopping with 4 Little Ones SO MUCH Easier

I remember when I was expecting my second baby and I wondered how in the world I was going to shop with two? I mean, who do I get out of the van first? If the baby carseat is in the front of the cart, do I put the toddler in the back and just hope she doesn't poke holes in the hamburger? Or do I put the carseat in the back and toddler up front, leaving very little room for groceries? What do I do if both break out in tears and the entire shopping trip turns into a nightmare? Well, I learned a few tricks very quickly, and it soon became a breeze.


1) Park right next to a cart return. You've got a cart right there at your immediate disposal and you won't have to leave the cart uncorraled afterward. (Yes, I am one of those that does not always put the cart away. If I can't prak within one vehicle's depth from the cart return when I have my kids with me, I just push it in the four corners of the parking spots. I will not leave my kids in the van while I walk half a parking lot away just to return a cart. My kids' safety is that important to me.)

2) Go with your entire shopping trip planned to the T. This eliminates the need to think, which we all know is impossible in the presence of babies and toddlers and preschoolers.

3) Don't stress the small stuff. So you don't normal give your kids snacks right before dinner, but if that's when you're shopping, let them eat. It will keep them busy and avoid the "I'm hungry" meltdown.

4) DO NOT take them out during naptime or near bedtime. It's not worth it. THE END.

I only shopped with three a few times. My wonderful, spendiferous mother in law began to come once a week to babysit while I ran errands. With the addition of the fourth child and the aquirement of a new job, requiring my husband to travel further, we now have two vehicles. This has given me the opportunity to take the kids out during the week (instead of their only outing being church on Sunday). So sometimes, while out, I swing by a store or two to grab a few things. I found right away that shopping with four is really a stenuous feat. I mean, just the logistics of gettig everyone through the store in a timely manner without returning home minus a kid and plus several items I never knew were in the cart... just overwhelming to think about.


Here are two items I have found that greatly reduce the stress and increase the enjoyability.

1) The giant brand spankin' new (at our store anyway) Walmart shopping carts with a bench for two kids in front and the normal kid seat and a regular sized basket in back. (I tried in vain to find a picture. Might have to take one myself.)

2) A sling from sevenslings.com. (BTW, I hear you can get a free sling from them by entering "babies" at checkout. I haven't checked that out though. You will have to pay shipping, which is overpriced at around $11.75ish)




A combination of these two wonders allows me to have NO kids walking or running away or lagging behind. I put C and D on the cart bench, E in the kid cart seat, and wear F in the sling. Love it! I can then walk my own pace, grab what I need quickly and let the baby sleep on my shoulder, instead of fuss in her car seat and I have the entire full size basket to fill with the required groceries. Now if I could just find a way to tie E's legs to the cart, so he'll stop kicking C and D.

Great and Awesome Deals on Photo Gifts

Artscow.com is a photo gifts website that offers some pretty crazy products and some pretty crazy promotions to go along with it. If you were simply to browse around their site, the prices would not astonish you. However, the shipping costs would. As weird as their name is, it is weirder still that this company is based in Japan (I believe). That would explain the outlandish shipping charges. The trick is to "like" them on Facebook and sign up for their email updates. They post/email 3 incredible promotions a week, all of them with free shipping. Not to mention, when you set up an account with them, they give you an unbelievable amount of free credits. You will, however, have to pay shipping on those... so you'll have to figure out which "free" products are actually worth the shipping costs. Anyway, if you like personalized photo gifts, check it out here.

If I Started Over Again (Dining Edition)

When you go through four babies/toddlers in five years, you begin to put two and two and three and four together and learn a thing or two. You know, things like what not to waste your time and money on. Here is such a list... all the things I'd skip and what I'd use instead, if I were to start back at the beginning.

Eating and drinking is a pretty big part of life for a baby or toddler. Thing is, there's so many different utensils, cups, bibs, plates, bowls, and bottles out there, that it's hard to figure out what in the world truly is designed for baby.

1. I would not buy every brand of cheap plastic utensils out there, hoping that maybe one of them might actually work. The spoons are either too flat or too deep. The forks either too rounded to stab with or shaped too much like a spoon. I would not buy sets from Target's dollar bins. The handles eventually break right off. Instead, I'd invest in about 4-5 good stainless steel set, such as the ones from Gerber or from Onieda. They most closely resemble adult silverware.

Do Not Buy This

Or This

Invest in This

Or Even Better, This

2. When it comes to sippy cups, it would seem that so long as the child can get liquid from it, it should work great, right? Hmmmm...... apparently not. There are two goals for sippy cups. One is to teach the child to drink from a cup and leave behind the bottle. The other is to avoid spills. This last goal is very important, as my couch and carpet can attest to. Straw cups leak. They always will, pretty much no matter what. Cups with no seal will leak. They always will, pretty much no matter what. Soft spouts help transition from the bottle, as well as help prevent teeth pressure. Hard spouts, while they serve the purpose, tend to put unneeded pressure on the front teeth, or so my older preschoolers have whined about.

Skip These

(straws leak)

(no seal = leak)

(hard spout = pressure on teeth)

Instead, start with this:

(Gerber handled soft spout)

Then move on to this:

(Playtex Coolster Tumbler Cup-
resembles a coffee mug, no spout,
option to use seal or not)

3. What is the purpose of a bib? I mean think about it. If we really don't want our kids getting messy with food, doesn't it make sense that the bib would catch the mess? So, I'd say no to any bib that does not have a pocket that stays open. The two that I've found that work for us is:

The Dura Bib

-snaps to form pocket
-wipe off or throw in washing machine
(I got mine at Walmart, but haven't seen them there lately)

The Baby Bjorn Bib

-molded so ornery kid cannot unsnap pocket
-wipe off or throw in dish washer
-I just wish they made a larger size for 18+ mo.
(I ordered mine from Target)

But that's just my take. I'm sure you may beg to differ. Or perhaps you've tried products I was never brave enough to spend the money on.