The Bike Trailer and Hiking Carrier

Finally!!!  I got the boys used to the bike trailer!  I wrote about it in a previous blog post, but the first time we put them in it, they both screamed (although Sebastian much more than Adrian).  We took them to Borderland State Park on Memorial Day to try it out (first mistake), and it was crowded as hell. Everyone looked at us as the boys screamed bloody murder.  So that trip lasted all of 5 minutes.

I decided to take a more gradual approach.  I brought the helmets inside and started calling them the boys' "special hats."  I wore my helmet a few times, and let them experiment with putting on their helmets.  

The next step was to put them in the trailer the other day and just ride around the neighborhood without their helmets on.  I felt awful doing it, but I thought that maybe if I could get them in the trailer so they could see how much fun it was, I could get them to put on their helmets the next time.  

Well, wouldn't you know, without their helmets on they seemed to be able to focus on the ride more (instead of having something foreign on their heads) and they LOVED it!  

So today, Carlos and I put on our helmets and put the helmets on the boys and tried out the bike trailer as a family.  We stayed in the neighborhood, and the boys had a good time.  They kept signing "more!"  Unfortunately, they still seem relatively uncomfortable in the helmets.  Sebastian's came off after every lap by the time we were getting back to the house, and Adrian's came off after three laps.  But we'll keep working on it!  At least they are showing progress!

We took a similar strategy with the hiking carriers.  They shrieked the first time we put them in!  So, we moved the carriers into the play area and started calling them the boys' "special chair."  Then I started to tell Sebastian and Adrian that if they could go in the special chair, we could take them to see some animals.  (I had Blue Hills in mind for a short hike and the trailside museum for the animals.)  They got used to seeing the carrier.  Then I just forced Adrian into it.  He cried while I smushed his little legs into the holes, but once he was in, he realized it wasn't so bad.  He stopped crying and even liked it!  In fact, he wanted to get back in again when we took him out.  So the next night we tried the same thing with Sebastian.  Like Adrian, he cried at first, but then got used to it.  I think he'll be ok if we try taking them to the Blue Hills this weekend.

The jury was still out here, but he's warming up to the idea of the carrier!