Shopping Adventures

The first four months I almost always only went shopping when Paul was home. I'd leave Ian at home, take Nadia with me, and stay out for at most an hour since Ian was nursing very frequently. The last two months I have been taking both children with me and carrying Ian in the Snugli while Nadia is in the cart. Here are some lessons I've learned recently:

1. Target and Walmart do have some carts that accomodate up to 3 children. This will be very useful once Ian becomes too uncomfortable to wear in the front position of the Snugli. I'm probably going to have to drive farther to a bigger grocery store as the one I go to doesn't have anything to hold even 2 children. If it's nap time I have him facing me and he falls asleep, and if not, I have him facing outward and as long as the trip isn't too long, he is content.

2. Although it's possible to take them both to the mall (wearing Ian in the Snugli and putting Nadia in one of Sears' shopping carts), it's probably best to pay a babysitter and go by myself. I had planned to get a haircut, get free ice cream, and do some shopping during Nadia's nap today. Since Paul went to PSU, I altered my plans and left the house at 9:30 this morning with both children. I was planning only to do some shopping. It went well for about one hour. We left the mall a little before 11am. I thought that was a safe time to leave since the earliest I put Nadia down for her nap is 11:30, and usually she doesn't go down before noon. I was wrong. She fell asleep. When we got home I woke her up (because I didn't think that would end up being her nap) and fed her lunch. I put her down a little after 12:00pm, and she played happily in her crib for 90 minutes. She didn't sleep At All, which is not good! Her average nap is 2 hours with the length usually ranging from 1.5-3.0 hours long. She stayed dry during our trip and peed on the potty when we got back - YAY, but then she pooped in her crib during her "nap time." It was the first time that happened since we started potty training (in March or this time around).

3. It's definitely better to only take Ian with me if I am shopping somewhere where there aren't any carts involved such as at a greenhouse or a yard sale.