Sunday 9 March 2014

Bye Bye to the Amazing Quadmobile

Ahh today has been the end of era. I sold my amazing piece of multitastic kit. The quad buggy. This was the buggy that, when I found out I was expecting twins again, I researched and obsessed about for months. I had to have it. It was my solution to staying independent being able to leave the house by myself with all four children. However, in reality that didn’t happen very often.
 
I soon realised that leaving the house with two newborns and two eighteen month olds (including one who couldn’t walk) on my own was just a wee bit optimistic. I remember posting on Facebook when my first set of twins were born that it had taken me nearly two hours to leave the house when they were around five weeks old. So add a couple of stroppy toddlers in to the mix and you can imagine trying to get out in between feeds, naps and tantrums was a bit tricky. On some days it would have been getting dark by the time I stepped foot outside the front door. In the end what would normally happen is I would use the quad as a double buggy for the wee twins and then someone would come with me and take the big twins in their double buggy. This also attracted a lot less attention.
 
Now don’t get me wrong I am very very proud to have two sets of twin girls. However, there are days when you just need to leave the house to maintain that last ounce of sanity you have left and don’t want to engage in small talk with anyone. Some days by the time I had shut the front door I was practically in tears all I wanted was a bracing walk along the sea front to clear my head. If you are pushing a quad double decker buggy that is never going to happen. Every other person stops you and wants to ask ‘is it two sets of twins?’ or ‘are they all yours?’ and on a couple of occasions when I had my husband with me someone would stop us and ask if he had had the snip yet!! I mean really?? Isthat acceptable??
 
 
 
 
 
So my wonderful quadmobile started to sit for much longer periods in our hall and soon became the coat stand. When big twins started attending playgroup regularly then the quad would come out but the final nail in it’s coffin was when one of my front wheels broke halfway to playgroup and I had to try and support four children on three wheels all the rest of the way to School. Two replacement wheels had to be purchased and shipped out from Australia at great expense and I am afraid to say it has only been used a handful of times since. Big twins love to walk and scoot and run and yes we still draw lots of attention but I don’t mind.
 
The quad has gone to a local childminder and the space in the hall has now been taken up with my much loved mountain buggy duet and the money is going towards a much-needed downstairs loo. Happy days.