Extreme "Where's Wally?"

Today was my first attempt at looking after two toddlers on my own all day. I have a good friend Steph and we had babies one day apart.

Steph has had both children (now 16 months) a few times and has managed amazingly, today was my turn for the challenge. What could be so hard, it's just Percy x2? As long as I don't attempt to do the weekly shop or cook a roast at the same time it should be fine. I'd planned to take them to "sticky fingers" a group run in my church building where there are loads of toys, some soft play stuff, a singing time and a craft time. I planned to spend the morning there, they would sleep in the double buggy I borrowed from Steph on the way back then a bit of lunch, a bit of play and then home time for little Elodie. 

So I drove home from Steph's with 2 toddlers and a buggy and thought "there's definitely a right and wrong order to unload my cargo." Buggy first, while the babies are still strapped in, then Elodie as she was in the car seat on the road side, then grab Percy. Sorted, well done me. No toddlers left wandering in the road while I carry a very heavy buggy. Maybe today will be easy. 

Right, get some toys out to amuse them and then work out how to use the buggy. Ok one of the wheels isn't going round, bums. Stupid buggy. Oh and it won't quite fit through my doorway. Right abandon that go and get my pram that I'd put upstairs out of the way and a sling. I am not a massive baby sling wearer, I like the idea of them but the problem is if you're carrying your baby in a sling then you have to carry all the crap that you need to look after a baby too. Whereas, with a pram you can shove all that stuff in the pram. So, the sling I have is just like a big sash. For a baby Percy's size the way to do it is to put them on your back but I could't work it out so I had to carry him like this:

Except it wasn't like that at all, this woman makes it look too easy.

Anyway we got there even if my spine is now deformed by Percy's weight. Percy ran off straight away and I had to go and put the pram in the pram bit and unstrap Elodie. We quickly found him and then I realised maybe this isn't the best thing to bring two kids to. A really massive hall (it can seat 600 people) full of toys with over 100 toddlers. It's hard enough keeping track of one, but two is impossible. 16 months is a difficult age, they are very mobile and very quick, but they also fall over a lot and grab things off other children and get frustrated when they can't get in the big toy cars, etc.

Imagine playing "Where's Wally?" but instead of finding an imaginary man on a picture for fun, you're trying to find two real people who are moving in a sea of other moving people because you're responsible for them. And it's not just like "Wahoo! you've found them" you have to continually keep your eye on both of them for two hours, while also seeing to their needs, such as for food and nappy changes etc. it's exhausting. So I stood kind of in the middle of the big hall looking at one for a few seconds and then the other who was the other end of the hall and then back like one of those CCTV cameras. But then I realised Elodie needed her nose wiping which meant having to go to my bag by the pram thus taking my eyes off both of them for a bit which is long enough for them to have moved to a totally different area of the hall. Then I noticed Percy's shoe had come off so I had to go and sort that out which made me lose Elodie. 

They were meant to take their shoes off for the soft play slide but I wasn't going to stick too much to that rule, I do normally with just Percy, but too much risk of loosing a shoe with two.

They are briefly contained and contented with toast.

Then came nappy change time. Luckily I didn't have to deal with a poo whilst I had both of them. Percy quickly put that right though with two poos in quick succession after Elodie returned home. (Spoiler alert: she did make it home in one piece.) Anyway I did both of their nappies at sticky fingers while I was doing Elodie's I couldn't see PJ but I trusted he was ok. Until a woman I know a tiny bit shouted "Is this your child? He was climbing up something and he fell off." She was holding Percy's hand and he was crying. Sorry Percy. I have to confess I've been before and a kid has pushed Percy over or something and I was always thinking "where is the mum?" now I realise "maybe they have two kids!"

Anyway it was time to leave and at this point they were meant to both fall asleep in the double buggy, hmm. After another back breaking journey we arrive home and Elodie is nicely asleep in the pram, phew one down, one to go. Now for some reason Percy always has his lunch time nap in his pram even if we're in and it's raining I still have to take him for a walk to get him to sleep. Yes he goes down in the cot at night but for some reason it is a totally different thing at nap time. I tried to trick him into thinking it was night time: dark room, milk and a bed time story. 

"night night percy" 

"bye bye" he said happily, as I put him down in the cot next to his favourite bear. Then I left the room and he cryed. I ended up rocking him to sleep and putting him down in our bed.

So after half an hour both were asleep. Whoop whoop. The rest of the day went well. Elodie woke first and had lunch before Percy woke which worked well as we only have one high chair. Then Percy ate while Elodie mainly played with a ballon, and then well all went to see Lola the rabbit.

I often give Percy old carrot ends to give to the rabbit. I forgot that Elodie doesn't know this custom and therefore tried to eat it herself.

Look a rabbit!

She's so funny

Big up to parents of two or more. x