My Review: Double & Triple Strollers

I wanted to put my two cents out there on the whole doulbe/triple stroller world. I have a strict policy of getting everyone out of the house at least once a day, and I’m often asked how I do it with two 2 year olds and a 1 year old. So here is my review of the wheels behind my madness:

The first stroller I ever bought was the Graco Duoglider. I bought it because two infant carriers can click in and once the twins outgrew their infant carriers they could sit in the seats with full seat belts. This stroller is a champ. As my kids grew I appreciated the light-weight design and the ample storage space. After my third child was born I learned that the bottom storage space could also be used for a tired kid. We got creative with making this double stroller work as a triple.

When my twins were a year and a half, my youngest daughter was born. The twins were still not old enough to walk everywhere and everyone having a seatbelt is occasionally priceless (parking lots!). So we bought the Joovy Triple Stroller. We call it our limo, and if you have anything smaller than a Suburban it might not fit in your car. The infant carrier (or two) click in, there is a back seat, and the far back seat is also a standing area for the third child. It is heavy (like all triple strollers), but it definitely does the job!

As my youngest started walking and everyone wanted in and out of the stroller (and over and over), we wanted something that would give the kids a little more freedom. We got the Choo Choo Wagon. This wagon is great because it is lightweight, can be rinsed out, the kids can get in and out on their own (there are also seatbelts), each “car” has a cup holder, and it just plain looks cool! And let’s face it, a little separation between kids is only a good thing. This is our vehicle of choice for a walk to the park, a trip to the zoo, or trailing down the beach.

I generally prefer the tandem style strollers because they are easier to maneuver in crowds or store aisles. We do have a favorite side-by-side double stroller though. When the twins were a few weeks old we invested in a Double BOB Stroller. This stroller is great in all weather, all terrain, and is very lightweight and easy to move. I can easily fit 4 kids in this (one on each of the foot rests), and we still regularly use it with our trio.

And you know what… even when my youngest was just a little thing, even a simple single stroller and letting the older ones “push” was sometimes easiest!

I hope some of this information was helpful and if you have a favorite triple/double stroller I’d love to hear about it!

Clogged Toilet

A couple weeks ago we began the potty training process with M & C (more details on that adventure later). It has gone really well and I’m proud to announce that I now change 70+ less diapers per week. Today I went shopping and left the kids home with daddy and couldn’t help but laugh we he texted me this update:

Don’t children have the best timing?

Reactions to Twins

I wrote this when our twins were a couple months old, it’s really funny to reread since so much of it still applies. Here are some of the common questions us twin parents get, along with my thoughts:

“Is that twins?” (while I’m hauling the double stroller with two infant car seats)

No, I just had two babies at once. Ok fine, they’re twins.

“Is it two boys or two girls?”

95% of the time the people asking are staring directly at the babies. This question always baffles me because they are always covered with BLUE (C) and PINK (M) blankets, hats, mittens, and passies. I usually delay my response to see if the person asking will put it together, but I always end up having to answer. I find that there are a lot of people that don’t know that twins can be fraternal, hence the one boy and one girl.

(After asking if they’re boy/girl) “Are they identical?”

Yes, completely. Oh wait… except their eyes, noses, heads, genitals, skin complexion … alas I just answer no. People usually are totally oblivious that identical means EVERYTHING has to be identical, including gender.

“Did they come out at the same time?”

Of course! Is that even possible? I gently responded that no, they were 8 minutes apart, but I had my sarcastic answer at the tip of my tongue.

“Did you have to have sex twice to get two?”

A mother of four asked me this in Gymboree right before she showed me how she breastfeeds in the middle of the night. I thought she was joking and almost couldn’t recover my laughing.

“One of each, how lucky!”

And to think I thought we were lucky because they’re healthy.

“My ________ has twins…”

Everyone knows someone that has twins.

“You’re too young to have twins.”

Really? Thanks. When will I be old enough?

“Did you use drugs?”

Yes, caffeine. Did YOU use drugs while conceiving?

“I’ve always wanted twins.”

Hahahaha! Sucker.

“Do twins run in your family?”

Yes. And do they walk in yours?

“Wow, you have your hands full.”

Oh thanks for telling me. I feel like it’s my special little secret that it really isn’t bad at all, and I love every day of it.