Winter Walking

Oh my Gosh woman! I am 31 weeks pregnant and barely take all my toddlers for walks anymore at this point. There is so much black ice hidden, even on the milder sunny days. I know for me personally, my husband would be flipping out if he knew I was walking as much as you do and would absolutely not be okay with me putting a baby in a backpack carrier with huge potential for falling.
I think you should: talk to the school agers parents, mention how the weather is just too risky for you right now to do these pickups, also look into another student doing drop offs and pick ups.
This could be a LONG winter that may last until March. Really think about your safety. It would be much worse to fall and have immediate contractions/early labour than to stop doing school pick ups and drop offs IMO.

Should probably clarify previous post.
My husband does not "allow" me to do anything LOL I allow myself!
What I meant by that is that the safety of our unborn child falls on us BOTH so if I slipped and fell taking an icy route possibly with another baby strapped to my back it is a huge safety issue for the unborn baby. He is the one who would have to rush home from work to take me to the hospital if I fell.
I still think you should not be out walking in this weather PERIOD in your condition and talk to the parents and work out another arrangement. If you have to invest in some serious gripped boots, walk slowly and use a wagon or jogging type stroller with big wheels. Be careful with your pulling. My OB said to watch "pulling" movements but "pushing" a stroller etc was fine.
Please be careful! It is simply not worth the risk of falling and having to go on bedrest and close your daycare period or worst case baby arriving earlier.

Are you sure the 5 year old will be allowed to get off the bus with no adult to meet him/her? My 5 year old takes the bus and the bus driver is not allowed to let him off unless an adult is at the bus stop to pick him up. I am not sure if the rules are different where you are, but you might want to make sure. Sounds like a tough slog you are doing. Would a sled work better to get the kids across the field? I bought an ice fishing sled from Canadian Tire this year and it is wonderful. It fits 4 small kids and has high enough sides that nobody falls out. It also wasn't expensive. The only problem would be if the roads or sidewalks are bare before you get to the field.

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Originally Posted by playfelt

I thought you were going to have your 2 year old and a new 13 month old and then eventually your own. Then again it will be Spring by then so the path will be at least melted into a puddle.

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Yes, but my 2 year old already walks the full distance by himself, snow or not. I would need the double for the 13 month and my newborn. And yes, thankfully, once the baby is here, the snow is GONE!

A sled only works if there is enough snow. The pathway and school yard will still be ice and snow long after the sidewalk to the pathway is cleared meaning the sled won't work for the first part of the journey.

What it really means is that given the situation you have with the pick ups and drops, you are not set up to take in the 13 month old without letting the older school agers go. That way you would just have the one walk around the long way to and from the other school. When we fill spaces we need to think of all aspects as to how a new child fits in.

Thanks everyone for your responses! I am going to have to sit down and give it some serious thought. Sassygirl, I am 25 weeks, so it is not to bad at the moment, and I am hoping by the time that I a really big, the weather will decide to co-orate. I was afraid of the whole 'pulling' thing, as I have heard that it is not good during pregnancy as well. But my husband is like yours...lol

Sunndydays, the 5 year old would be getting off of the bus with his 8 year old brother. I believe that is why the mother deemed it okay. However, he is sometimes a little bit spaced out, so I am not 100% sold on the idea. But I do agree that the older the should be able to walk his brother down 5 houses.

I completely understand. I agreed on taking the 13 month old in November, before the first snow fall. I was under the impression that the city would be plowing the pathway as it is used A LOT by the small school children and families. At that time, I did not realize that the my main pathway would be inaccessible. Otherwise, I would of rethought and prepared accordingly to a new baby starting.

What were you planning to use for the 13 month old even if the path was plowed. Would that still work.

I thought from your original post that you were carrying the 2 year old on the trip back to the bus to make it in time - hence the issue was how to carry two kids. But taking a stroller for the baby even if you have to turn it around and drag it much like you would one of those hand shopping carts works in the snow - you end up tipping the stroller and pulling it just on the two back wheels. If you put the brake on then they don't move and become like skids in the snow.

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Originally Posted by playfelt

What were you planning to use for the 13 month old even if the path was plowed. Would that still work.

I thought from your original post that you were carrying the 2 year old on the trip back to the bus to make it in time - hence the issue was how to carry two kids. But taking a stroller for the baby even if you have to turn it around and drag it much like you would one of those hand shopping carts works in the snow - you end up tipping the stroller and pulling it just on the two back wheels. If you put the brake on then they don't move and become like skids in the snow.

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If the pathway was plowed, I was planning on using the stroller for the 13 month old.

Maybe I worded it wrong, in the original post. But my 2 year old walks to and from the school making it on time for the bus. I carry him on occasion when the snow is to deep and his little legs get tired. But generally he does it himself.

I do not think that tipping the stroller and struggling to pull it while pregnant through the snow is a grande idea. I tried it on our first real snow fall, over a month ago, when the snow was not nearly as deep, and it was a huge struggle. It is a long way through the deep snow.

If everything had gone to plan, I would be pushing the 13 month old and sometimes my 2 year old (on really bad days) through the pathway. But that is no longer an option.

One other thing you could try is calling the City and asking them to plow the pathway. Last year I called them to ask them to plow our street because I couldn't get my stroller through to get my son to the bus...they came the next morning and plowed. I am not sure if the will do this for the pathway, but it is worth a try...especially if you stress how many people use it.