Help us prepare!

[parkette]

A few months ago, my husband and I got a pretty big shock when we found out we are expecting TWINS! While the pregnancy was planned, having multiples was not and we've been a bit overwhelmed, though we're starting to get used to the idea.

I'm now 17 weeks and so far everything looks good. I'm looking at what we'll need once the bubs arrive. People keep telling me "two of everything!" but I'm skeptical about needing to duplicate everything, although some things will be necessary.

So, parents, and especially parents of multiples, what do we really need? And in what cases will 1 thing do, and where is it better to have 2?

Some extra notes:

• We will likely travel to Australia once the twins are 9 or 10 months, and will stay for 12-18 months. At this time we won't need to plan for what they will need beyond the 9 month period, because it sure isn't coming to Australia with us!
• We will look buy as much used as possible, and try to resell before we move.
• I have a huge family and, although it's unnecessary, people will give us gifts. I'm guessing we won't need to buy much for clothes, at least early on?
• Unfortunately, there is no multiples group where I live and we haven't found any young families with twins yet, but I'm hopeful we will cross paths before long.

Thanks everyone!

[merula]

Congratulations! I have two, but not twins. IMO, the only thing you need two of is car seats. So much other baby stuff sits unused most of the time. You're probably not going to need to put both of them in bouncy seats at the same time, for example. You can't change two diapers at once, so you don't need two changing tables (and plenty of people don't have any). You don't need twice as many clothes, babies don't wear that much anyway.

My general advice for new parents is to not buy anything new. Set up a registry to direct gift-givers to the stuff you want,  and put the word out that you'd appreciate hand-me-downs. If there's anything else you feel like you need, keep an eye out on Craigslist and at thrift/consignment stores.

[zolotiyeruki]

Wow, what a mustachian way to have kids--only one pregnancy for two kids! :P Unless you have them share a crib or playpen, you'll need two if those as well. You're in for one heck of an adventure

[sassy1234]

Hi,
You might want to consider not buying a crib.  We have used a bassinettte while my 4 month old was little and we are about to transition her to a montessori floor mattress.  They are actually pretty popular in Australia and some other countries (all of which have lower infant injuries and death while sleeping).  Floor mattresses cost way less than cribs and allow babies to roll out of bed independently in the morning and play, instead of crying for you.

Also, cloth diapers are surprisingly easy, but still not for everyone.  Might be worth researching. 

I have 2 boppies for my 1 baby, one for each floor and it was so worth it!!!  Helps with breastfeeding and a quick place to set a baby. 

Also, I got a small high hair that clamps on to our table, so it takes up so much less room that those giant plastic chairs. 

Best of luck! 

[parkette]

Thanks everyone :)

We're still processing but trying to be organized about everything!

I've been trying to figure out the whole crib thing; with the relatively short time we're planning on being in Canada, would they both be able to share until 9/10 mths?

merula- Thanks for the advice. I agree, I feel like there should be very little I need 2 of (car seats definitely!). Do you think it would be helpful though to have 2 seats (bouncy or vibrating etc) as I can't imagine I'll want to be holding one all the time? In all honesty though it's possible there will be enough help around that those babies will be in somebody's arms a lot of the time!

zolotiyeruki- I hadn't thought about it as mustachian haha! We might be able to work out some cost savings, but as we don't pay out of pocket for hospital services in Canada I'm not sure how much difference it'll make. One of my biggest disappointments was not being able to have 2 parental leaves! I'm lucky to get a full year off at nearly full pay- but of course 2 years would have been even better ;)

sassy1234- Thanks for the tip about the floor mattress! I hadn't heard of that before. It might be especially useful once we get to Oz- if they're popular we might be able to get one secondhand. I'm planning on cloth diapers but thinking ahead to our move to Oz, are we going to end up taking 1 suitcase full of diapers? How many will we need? Or will it end up being another expense once we get there?

I just looked up a boppy- if these can double as a seat then that's great! Although I'm wondering if I should try to find one of the mega double-nursing pillows (my brest friend I think they're called). They look intense and like they take up a lot of room, but if I can tandem feed then I feel like I might actually get some sleep... maybe??

[merula]

On crib sharing: if you can find other parents of twins, that'd be a good one to ask. 9-10 month olds could definitely fit in a crib together, but may wake each other up. On the other hand, maybe they'll calm each other down.

I don't think you need two bouncy seats in order to set them both down at the same time. I put my 4 month old down in his crib, on a blanket on the floor, propped up on the Boppy, in the high chair or in a baby rocker.

Now that I reconsider it, though, you might want two high chairs for feeding, eventually. You could get the kind that strap onto a real chair; I have a folding one I've used for travel and it's great.

My 2 year old is on a mattress on the floor and is perfectly happy. We just moved his crib mattress to the floor and bought a second mattress for the baby. I was worried that it'd look strange to other people, since it's not common here, but I call it a "Montessori bed" and say that it's for safety and that seems to work. Or they're just being nice.

[bagwasher]

I have twin girls who are now 15 so I don't remember a lot about the early baby days. But one thing we did was use laundry baskets as a cheap alternative to basinets when our girls first came home. We bought 2 baskets and lined them with blankets and the fleeces that they had from the ICU. They worked great as we could just carry them around with us. They slept at the foot of our bed in their baskets and in the morning if they were still asleep we could carry them downstairs in the baskets. Also, we needed to prop one end of the basinet so they slept at on a slight slope so that was easy to do with the baskets. I don't remember how long they slept in the baskets but we still have them and now use them for laundry each week.

When they got too big for the baskets we had one crib and we split it down the middle with a blanket to separate them. At some point we bought the 2nd crib but I can't remember what age.

We did have two baby seats which came in handy because I was unable to breast feed so we bottle fed two babies at once by sitting on the floor between the two baby seats and holding the bottles.

It was useful to have one of those saucer things that you can sit one baby in. When you only have one adult to take care of two babies it is helpful to have somewhere easy to put the other baby that will entertain her while you deal with the other such as change a diaper.

Good luck. Having twins is wonderful. Hard work but a most amazing experience. Once they are age three it gets easier because they always have a playmate and can occupy each other.

[arebelspy]

Congrats!  I'd love to have twins.  With two economies of scale can work in your favor, at least slightly.

Sounds like a fun adventure.  :)

[sandyvanburen]

Congratulations!! Double joy!!

You don't need a ton of bottles. For my (1) baby, I really get by with just the one bottle (changing the nipple for size as she gets older). So don't start yourself off with more than 2 at first. You can always add more if it's not enough.
This rule really goes for anything else too!

I don't think you'd want them to share a bed. They might keep each other up and with 2 babies at once, you're going to want them to sleep! But I don't see why they couldn't share a playpen. My daughter shares with my friends baby when we visit each other, it works out great!

And don't buy to many clothes. Not just in the beginning when you get a lot from others, but also after. I found that 6 sets of clothes was already a whole lot for my baby (she didn't spit up a lot) and some things were left untouched completely. It's such a waste.

I wouldn't do double toys either. They can share everything, especially the first year this won't be a problem.

Good luck!!

[CubicleEscapee]

My twins are 25 now and they slept in a huge playpen in our bedroom for the first several months.  One of them started sleeping through the night at 9 months, at which time he went into his crib in their bedroom.  You will definitely want 2 bouncy seats and later on 2 highchairs.  I can't remember how many cloth diapers I had but I washed a load every day.  Figure you'll need a dozen a day per child and then a dozen extra.  Ours was a surprise 4th pregnancy - yikes - and our 3rd child was only 15 months old when the twins were born, but oh it was a blast!  Fun times, good memories!

[TrMama]

Congratulations! You're in for a wild ride.

All my friends who've had twins said that the babies initially slept in the same crib, or pack and play, because they slept better when they were together. However, as they got bigger and started rolling around they needed to be separated so they wouldn't wake each other (and their parents) up.

In your situation, I'd skip cribs entirely and get two pack and plays (aka portable cribs). These work just fine until about age 2.5. They don't take up much space and when you travel the babies will sleep better because they'll always be in their own familiar bed. We went this route with my 2nd (her older sister was still using the big crib) and it was fabulous. Not dealing with a cranky baby when we reached our destination was the best part.

If you fly with the babies on your lap, some airlines still give the infant a full baggage allowance. At least Air Canada used to do this anyway.

On the day of the flight, use some kind of baby carrier to get through the airport and security. Do not take the babies through security in a stroller. Use the stroller as your cart to carry all your baggage. The reason is that if you wear the baby you can go through security as a pair and not have to take the baby out of the carrier.

If you have them in a stroller, you have to take them out (aka wake them up), fold up the stroller while holding the now cranky baby and try to shove the stroller through the x-ray machine. On the other side, you get to repeat the whole debacle in reverse.

[caseyzee]

My twins are 7.  They'll tell you that they are 7 and a half.

For the first 9 or 10 weeks, they slept in a pack and play in my bedroom - the one with the twin insert.  Super convenient, and you can find them used.  After that they went to their cribs - separate, because I think everyone slept better.

For us, 2 swings was really, really needed.  They used their swings a lot when they were little, it really helped them get back to sleep after middle of the night feedings.  Which helped me get back to sleep after middle of the night feedings.

We also had 2 high chairs, obviously.  And 2 jumperoos, but they were gifts.

Everyone who knows you will give you matching outfits.  Just enjoy them and know that you won't have to shell out much money on clothes for the first year or two.  It gets more expensive after the gift giving stage because economies of scale do not work with clothes!

Good luck.  And you mentioned the multiples group - if you can find one anywhere close at all, do get in touch.  They have the best consignment sales where you can buy and sell.

[parkette]

You guys are amazing! Thanks for all the wonderful advice and encouragement.

Fortunately we still have a while to go (or at least I hope we do...) but I'm trying to really think this through first so we don't get caught in a baby wasteland. I've been trying to hold my mother off from buying/gathering/hoarding us a whole bunch of stuff because I don't want to end up with a whole bunch of crap we never use that I'll just need to get rid of in a year.

A special thank you to those who have flying with babies/twins tips! I can now visualize it being rough traveling with just 2 seats for 4 people on a 14 hour flight. I'm considering purchasing 1 more seat to have the extra room, but we'll see how our airline point accumulation goes :) We've got enough for 1 seat to Oz paid for with points; we'll see how far we get in the next year.

I still can't quite get my head around the type of sleeping area we'll need. A friend has a pack & play/bassinet that she's offered us once her newborn grows out of it- we could start with that then see how it all plays out.

Here's what I'm thinking anyhow:
2 x car seats
1 x double stroller
bed(s)?
1 or 2 x swing or seat or whatever works
48 x cloth diapers

I'm not worrying about clothes at all- most of my friends just had babies so I think there will be plenty, plus gifts.

My mother is really intent on getting us a rocking chair of some type. Will this be worthwhile?

Then there's just all of the peripheral stuff like blankets, bottles, soothers (?), breast pump, breastfeeding pillow, diaper bag... really hoping that's getting toward the end of it :)

Does having a baby monitor make everything easier? We can easily hear cries from anywhere on the main floor, unless we are on the deck. We have a basement (split level) but I really only go down there to do laundry and yoga (could see it being useful while doing yoga, but I can move my mat upstairs). Then there are the other monitors- breathing, CO2... our friends/family have these?

[TrMama]

24 diapers will be plenty. Think of the smell of 48 dirty diapers. You'll never let the pile get that big. I easily diapered 2 kids using about 14 diapers. They just got washed more  often. Get the one size diapers. They really work and you don't have to shell out for multiple sizes.

If you already own a decent sized backpack or other type of bag, then you already own a diaper bag. I used the messenger bag I'd purchased in university. I still use it to bike commute 3 years after changing my last diaper.

You don't need any kind of monitor, they will destroy your sleep. After you have a baby, you develop super sensitive mom hearing. You'll hear the smallest noise your baby can produce, even through a brick wall. It's a curse.

Sometime this week, go to the library and check out several books from the "how to get your baby to sleep section." Read them all. This will stand you in better stead than buying any gadget.

[MicroRN]

Something to think about with the travel, if your kids are already used to being in car seats for driving, they'll probably be more relaxed for the flight than if you tried to hold them.  We did a 6hr flight with a 5mo and almost 2yo.  We bought them each a seat, and strapped in their car seats.  If we'd tried to hold them, the 2 yo at least would have wiggled and yelled the whole time. The seats made our lives much easier.  The baby fell asleep while we were taking off and stayed asleep for the next 3 hours,because he was comfortable in "his" space.

For twins with an expected move within a few months, I'd probably go for a pair of Pack n' Plays.  Travel cribs are great to have anyway, and that way you haven't purchased heavy, expensive furniture that you then need to sell.  You can also move the travel cribs around the house as needed.  Sometimes twins start playing with each other and have to nap/sleep in separate rooms entirely (one of my friends had that issue).  You can scoot them right up against your bed for ease of night time nursing.

Rocking chairs can be great, but I never liked the wooden rocking gliders.  I had a rocking recliner that was fabulous.  I slept in it post c-section since I couldn't comfortably get in and out of bed, and nursed in it too.

[MayDay]

Some random thoughts, in no particular order, having had 2 children but not twins.

I would get two baby-holding devices, maybe one swing and one bouncy.   Or the rock n play, people love those. 

I would start with one or two pack-n-plays, two if you can get them used- but I wouldn't shell out for new.  That way you have the flexibility to put them down separately if needed (or if one hurls all over.....  )

For a rocking chair, I loved mine.  We got a regular old recliner, actually.  Comfortable for nursing.  I found hard wooden rocking chairs horribly uncomfortable, you want it to be fully padded.  OTOH any comfortable chair will do.  With twins, I would want a chair wide enough to fit the giant twin nursing pillows so you can do both babies at once.

Speaking of, I would buy a giant twin nursing pillow.  Then, i would buy a second if nursing works out for you, as I expect you will want them in a couple different locations in the house. 

I would have a breast pump on hand even if you are dead set on nursing.  I nursed both mine, but used the pump fairly early on to help relieve engorgement and pump a little extra milk for the freezer.

Definitely a double stroller and 2 car seats, as mentioned.  Look into which brands of baby buckets have lower weight limits and get those in case you have tiny wee babies.  We flying, my kids have been both lap babies and in car seats, and they slept much better on the flights in their car seats.  If under 2, i could still nurse even during take-off, but then i could set them down after nursing.

For cloth diapers, if you plan to hang to dry you will need quite a few extras as they take a while to dry.  Plus there are the days when they pee and poop every 15 minutes.  I would get 36-48, but not all fancy types.  Plain flats and prefolds are cheap and good for when the fancier ones are hanging to dry.

For bottles, I found having 2 per baby was enough.  One to be used if I left them, and one extra in case of emergency.  Obviously if you are going to work you would need more.

Honestly you don't even need baby shampoo.  Just rinse them off.  The worst they will smell is curdled milk, and water will get it off.  You might get some plain non-allergenic lotion though, as many babies are born with dry peeling skin. 

[MsRichLife]

I've been trying to figure out the whole crib thing; with the relatively short time we're planning on being in Canada, would they both be able to share until 9/10 mths?

A friend of mine had twins and they shared a crib for a good long time, one at each end as they got bigger.

[Primm]

Hi,
You might want to consider not buying a crib.  We have used a bassinettte while my 4 month old was little and we are about to transition her to a montessori floor mattress.  They are actually pretty popular in Australia and some other countries (all of which have lower infant injuries and death while sleeping).  Floor mattresses cost way less than cribs and allow babies to roll out of bed independently in the morning and play, instead of crying for you.

Really? I'm Australian, work in maternity services and I've never heard of one of these! Definitely never seen one second-hand. I don't even know what it is.

Edit: google tells me it's the mattress that kids sleep on when they're in day care or kindergarten for their nap. That's the only use I've ever seen of one. Haven't ever heard of people using them at home, but I guess there's no reason you couldn't.

To the OP, we co-bed the twins in our hospital here (before they go home obviously) in a standard sized cot. Should work until they're at least 9 months old, I think.