Before I could leave, I had to rearrange the carseats so that the stroller and the dog crate would fit in the back. I needed the crate to keep the dog from dragging his leaky rear all over the car (thus the reason for the vet visit). I needed the stroller to be able to escort two babies, one leaky dog, and Katy into the vet's office. Being May, it was already 90 degrees, it was humid enough to rain at any minute, and there was absolutely no movement in the air. Arranging three carseats, a dog crate, and a massive double stroller in this weather was no picnic.
After 20 minutes of sweating it out in the car, I was finally read to load everyone up. First the dog, who was suddenly afraid of his crate, spread his stiff legs to prevent entry, and peed a little on the back bumper. Catarina, who was screaming in her carrier while I situated the dog, spit-up mid-scream and began choking on her own spit-up. Thankfully Cami and Katy kept their cool.
Somehow we arrived at the vet's office a few minutes early, which is good because it turns out the vet's office is not handicap accessible. The narrow door with the big step was going to be impossible with my giant double stroller. So, I began the tedious task of unloading the dog, two babies, and Katy and using my two hands to move them all towards the door two at a time in small spurts that would't constitute abandoning anyone in the middle of the parking lot. It was still hot, so there was more sweat.
Once inside the vet's offie, it was time to fill out Doug's new patient paperwork while holding him tight with my free hand and rocking Cami's carseat to try and calm her crying. I scribbled my way through the paperwork as fast as possible, and then asked a stranger in the waiting room to watch the babies while I went to the car for my twin carrier. She probably thought I was nuts for several reasons: coming to the vet with so many needy dependents, leaving my children in a waiting area with her, while I ran to the car, and wearing two babies at once in 90-degree weather. The tandem carrier surprises everyone!
Once the babies were in the twin carrier, they feel asleep pretty quickly, which was a nice victory. Unfortunately, this prevented me from being of any assistance when it was time to weigh and examine my very-nervous and apprehensive dog. Doug became a bit aggressive as a result, which made Katy scared. I became a walking mob with two babies asleep on my chest and a scared dog and Katy glued to my sides every time I moved. And of course I had to move to keep the babies asleep and coax Doug anywhere near the vet and her assistants.
On the way out, we caused a minor traffic jam in the hallway to the reception area (I am quite wide in all directions when wearing the twins on front, wearing a backpack on back, holding Katy's hand at my side and carrying Doug's leash on the other side). The receptionist helped me hold down paperwork I had to sign before leaving because my hands were tied up with the babies and keeping Doug from picking a fight with a dog in the waiting area. She then rushed to help me outside and unknowingly put the babies in the car in the wrong order. Apparently, Katy wanted to sit next to Cami and not Catarina. The improper arrangement caused child number three to break down in tears and resist all attempts to buckle her seatbelt. Yay - now all three children and the dog had cried at some point during our outing, which made me want to cry as well.
We arrived home at 2:30, half an hour before Letty was leaving and only 30 minutes after our appointment time. Had I know the vet visit would be such a quick outing, I could have left the babies and Katy with Letty in the first place. But I had no way of knowing the vet would be so efficient, and it is very possible they vet was so efficient with me only because I showed up with two babies, a four-year-old, and my dog.
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| Twinning and winning (?) at the vet. |
