twinutero

This balmy winter is an exception. Most years, January means snow, ice and temperatures that weld your eyelashes together. Since I absolutely must get outside in winter (not to the mall), I need an all-season stroller: wheels big enough to plow through snow; good suspension; and coverings that are wind-resistant yet breathable.

I also need a stroller that can be easily folded into the back of the car, fits through an average doorway, and safely and comfortably carries two babies, preferably side-by-side.

Most of the strollers that fit all of the above criteria are “jogging strollers”. After researching on-line, (www.joggingstroller.com and stroller-advisor.com are somewhat useful) we chose a double Chariot. It has the added advantages (for us) of being made in Canada, available locally, and convertible to a bike or ski trailer.

We bought the Chariot when twins were three months old. Strollers for that age are usually rear-facing. Chariots are front-facing, which is one disadvantage of jogging strollers in general. We also had to buy the Chariot’s “baby slings” to provide additional support for the twins until they were about six months old. (There’s a crucial difference between the “baby sling” and the “baby supporter”, we learned after several trips back to the shop. Two supporters will not fit in the double stroller; two slings will.)

The twins loved the Chariot from their first wintry excursion. We liked it too – enough to buy the single version for our toddler. Family outings are now a walking product endorsement. There are, however, a few aggravating features of the Chariot. Nothing is perfect. For anyone shopping for a double stroller, here are a few other things to consider:

-The Velcro that holds the Chariot’s plastic windbreak in place is loud enough to wake any sleeping baby. Not a problem in a single stroller: your child wakes up, you take him out. But twins seem to never wake up at the same time, and Velcro closures makes it impossible to take one child out of the stroller and leave the other sleeping.

-While it’s cozy in winter, the Chariot can be a bit of a greenhouse on a mid-summer day. Even with all the vents open, there’s not much air-flow. We were concerned enough to buy a thermometer to monitor the inside temperature, and it does get several degrees hotter than the outside air. With the plastic covering down (on a warm rainy day) it can get much hotter inside.

-With a few jostles, bumps and expletives, the double Chariot will just fit through most doorways. This is more of a gripe with building design than stroller design. I hadn’t noticed, prior to wielding a gigantic stroller, how narrow doorways, aisles and checkouts are; how many shops and public places are accessible only by stairs or do not allow strollers; how few doorways have automatic openers; and how snow plows leave a small (but sometimes insurmountable) bank at every intersection.

I attempted to bring our twins to a playgroup at the neighborhood library. The room was on the ground floor and there was a ramp bypassing the few stairs to the door. All good. The staff, however, informed me that strollers were not allowed inside the building. Again, not a problem with one child: park the stroller and bring her in. But it’s a big problem with two infants unless you can safely carry them both at once – and someone gets the door. These inconveniences have changed how I plan outings and ultimately where I go with the twins. It has also opened my eyes to the much greater frustration that must be felt by people with permanent accessibility challenges.

-Finally, a double stroller doesn’t really get us around “with three under two”. We didn’t consider triple strollers. They’re just too big. So when we take all three kids out, we bring two strollers and two adults – or Thomas has to walk, which is not such a bad thing for a toddler with energy to burn.

With three kids in diapers, poop happens a lot in our house. Here’s the scoop on cloth versus disposable diapers for multiples.

For their first six months, our twins were diapered in generic disposables. It seemed the easiest and cheapest option, and I couldn’t muster the energy to explore alternatives. My conscience prodded me each garbage day, however, as I sent several bags of paper, chemicals and human excrement to the landfill. I finally decided to switch to cloth.

We had used cloth diapers – on and off – for our first son so I knew what was involved in sorting, washing and drip-drying. I also knew I was not up to the same for three kids. I found a diaper service in the yellow pages, and signed on. We now get seventy cloth diapers delivered, and the soiled ones picked up, for just under $20 a week – about what we had been spending on disposables.

Do cloth diapers work as well as disposables? No, unfortunately. The chemicals in disposable diapers are super-absorbent and unless a BM is deposited, a paper diaper can last three or four hours. Outrageously expensive diapers like Pampers Cruisers last even longer. Disposables are convenient. They also linger in landfills for about five hundred years.

Cloth, on the other hand, is a little less convenient but much more virtuous – or so I hope. Our diaper service uses “prefolds”, one of the simplest diapers on the market. (And a confusing term as they aren’t obviously folded at all. They’re flat squares of multi-layered cotton.) Prefolds are used with wraps, more elaborate versions of the plastic pants that I wore as a baby. Much depends, I have found, on the quality of the wrap. Here’s a quick review of the brands we have tried:

-Bummis Whisper wraps with Velcro: Good at preventing leaks but the Velcro is rough and sometimes leaves scratch marks. That would make me cranky!

-Mother-ease wraps with Velcro: Good fit and good leak prevention but same scratchy Velcro and a tight waist-band. Looks uncomfortable.

-Bummis Whisper wraps with snaps: Scratchy Velcro problem solved.

-Nikky: Super-soft cotton and great fit. Not as good at leak prevention as Bummis.

-Fuzzi Bunz: The ultimate cloth diaper. Soft, snug, and very absorbent. They are designed for use with Fuzzi Bunz insert pads, but also work well with prefolds. The only deterrent is the initial cost of over $20 per diaper.

With a good wrap, the twins are comfortable in prefolds for about two hours. We use lots of barrier cream (Zincofax, Aveeno, Peneten) and have had only one serious diaper rash so far.

These diapers don’t work as well for our two-year old. One pee and he’s soaked, trousers and all. While this helps with toilet training, on a daily basis it’s frustrating for everyone. So we still use disposables for our older son, as well as on the twins at night and during long outings. Nonetheless, with the diaper service, we have cut our weekly landfill contribution from three garbage bags to about one. Now, if only our municipality would get a composting program….