Babywearing Through London

We were brave and took the plunge taking 4 small people on public transport into London for the day.

Hubby thought it would be easy. Strap the 2 babies into the pushchair with the older 2 walking and off we go. What he didn’t factor in was 1. our double pushchair is massive so couldn’t really be kept up on the tube and 2. our destination (Oxford Circus) had no step free access. We could have planned our journey using only step free stations but at just 2 years old, O struggles with walking long distances.

The only answer to this dilemma was to use my baby carriers. This was no problem for me as I love carrying my babies but hubby has always been reluctant. He still brings up the cost of my double pushchair everytime I mention I’ve used the carrier!

I have 2 baby carriers. I bought a stretchy Calin Bleu wrap when the girls were first born. It was fab and I even mastered putting both girls in it. Eventually though, I got bored of time consuming wrapping and I decided I needed buckles. A Rose and Rebellion soon arrived and I was in love. It was so much easier to put on and the kids didn’t get bored waiting!

We kitted up on the train just before we arrived into Finsbury Park Station. I took the wrap with our smaller twin. It wasn’t going to be ideal as she’s probably too heavy (16lb 7ozs) but to be honest, now she’s bigger, I found she fitted better. I felt like it was tighter on her but that was probably just my poor, beginner wrapping skills! To be fair, my wrapping skills haven’t improved to much!

Finsbury Park station is all steps down onto the underground and this would have been our first major challenge. Instead, we managed to get all 6 of us down onto the underground platform fairly quickly. The only drawback hubby mentioned was not being able to see the stairs as we went down with a baby strapped to his front and guiding a toddler.

We got on and off the tube with ease and, to my shock, people even offered us seats on the train!

We arrived at our destination probably more sweaty than if we had the pushchair but a hell of a lot less stressed! It made the whole day out so much easier and the boys were superstars.

The biggest drawback was not being able to run through Kings Cross station. It was touch and go but, after dragging 2 very tired boys across the station, we made our train home with about 10 seconds to spare.

This little trip has thrown up some revelations. My wrapping can’t be too bad as I was really comfy all day and Daddy has discovered that he loves carrying as well. I fell asleep on her Daddy almost as soon as she went in the carrier and he loved having sleepy snuggles. He loved it so much that he’s wanted to carry her since and has even agreed I can buy another buckle carrier.

Now to decide which buckles I want next. I love my R&R but willing to try anything. Any suggestions?

Father’s Day

It’s Fathers day today and time to spoil Daddy and show him how much we all love him. We do this every day of the week anyway but, convention dictates that you must buy a card on this one day of the year!

We’re taking Daddy on a surprise day out as chosen by the boys. They are going through an obsession with steam trains and love the local narrow gauge railway so of course have chosen that as their destination. I’ve written about it before here as we go quite frequently.

The boys have been working hard and have made their own cards for Daddy. They are so proud of their cards that the eldest asked if I could “show the world” his card on my blog!

An alien family from B.

Inspector Gadget from O

The girls are far too small to be doing crafts and I quite honestly can’t deal with the mess so they had to make do with a shop bought card.

It’s very true though and sums up how we all feel about him. He really is our superhero!

A Sunny Afternoon – Van Hage, Amwell

Our boys are having a mini holiday at their Grandparents while we go away to celebrate my 30th birthday. This meant we had to take the kids to the in-laws to deliver them safely into their care.

Usually, we get to their house and don’t really do too much but, as the weather was so lovely, we decided to head off to the local garden centre. Van Hages is not your average garden centre (although they do sell some really amazing stuff). They have a fantastic pets corner and a miniature railway.

The boys loved looking at the animals and trying to convince Daddy that we need a pet. I need no convincing (as if 4 children isn’t enough!).

They have a huge array of animals including goats, sheep, rabbits, birds and some strange exotic named creatures!

After a visit to the animals we headed over to the miniature railway. Run by the East Herts Miniature Railway, this ride on train goes on a journey around a small section of the garden centre. A ride is £1 for anybody over 2 years old which I thought was really good value for money.

The boys had a ride with their Grumps who didn’t complain when we suggested he take the kids on! The boys were so excited about their train ride.

We were only there just over an hour but could quite easily have spent much longer. It’s definitely a great place to go to pass a few hours without spending huge amounts of money.

Choo Choo! A Morning Of Fresh Air.

My two boys are absolutely obsessed with all things train. They are particularly interested if it’s a train that they can actually have a ride on so, when I saw our local miniature steam railway was running this weekend we decided to give it a try. We’ve been on the steam train when they’ve taken their mobile track to local events but today we headed over to their station.

The Fenland Light Railway http:// http://www.fenlandlightrailway.co.uk/ is located in a small village in Cambridgeshire and a little bit off the beaten track. As you head down the road towards it you feel like you are driving into the middle of nowhere.

The boys spotted the steam cloud as soon as we arrived and couldn’t wait to get out the car and onto the train.

The boys plus Daddy got to have a few rides on this little train while Mummy was left holding the babies! Their faces were an absolute picture and O was giggling the whole way round. I think even Daddy secretly enjoyed it!

Thankfully, the girls were asleep so lucky me got to enjoy a hot cup of tea!

The site was really busy and it was lovely to see so many people supporting a local charity/hobby (not sure what to call it). They had a queue of people waiting for rides at one point. They have recently moved to a better site and have received a Lottery Grant so it looks like things are on the up for them. 

We eventually managed to prise the boys away from the trains and home for warm sandwiches and a chilled out afternoon. I’m looking forward to taking them back for one of the special events they run throughout the year.