Having twin boys, what major items do we need 2 of?

[LauraP611]

Hi,
My name is Laura. I am an expecting Mom of twin boys on December 18, 2010. My husband I are new to this whole pregnancy/expectant parent thing. We have started our baby registry. We need help in figuring out what we need to get 2 of and what we can just be okay with 1. Please help us! Looking forward to hearing your advice.
Thank you,
Laura Puro
:) :)

[SammyeGail]

Help. You will need help. If you are one of the lucky ones who has people/family/friends who can help, take it! We didn't and it was so hard.

Is your due date Dec. 18? Mine was Jan. 4, but my OB told me to pick a date the first week of Dec. I had a case of fast onset of pre-eclampsia and they had to take the boys 11-20, they were great, so healthy! (not trying to scare you, it just happens to some preg. w/ twins moms, alot do awesome!)

2 swings, for me personally the swings were a lifesaver. I had preemie boppies, they were wonderful but I don't know if they make them anymore. I found some at Burlington Coat Factory, but this was years ago.

The most comfortable glider you can buy. One that reclines some if you can, you will spend alot of time in it.

Lots of sleeper type clothes, I couldn't believe what we went thru. I do remember it well, but that first 4-6 weeks was a fog also.

Its been a long time, I hope some more recent twin mommies can pipe in.

Oh, I loved our double snap-n-go!! Strollers have changed so much since mine were in them, but it helped so much not having to wake the babies taking them in and out of the car, especially in the cold weather.

Huge congratulations!!

[dowlinal]

Congratulations!! I have twin boys, and while it's rough at times, it's completely worth it. They are just amazing and they make our life complete.

As for baby gear, the main thing I needed two of were bouncers. My boys slept in the same bassinet for the first 3 months and then moved to a full sized cosleeper for another few months. By six months, they needed to be in separate cribs because they would roll over in their sleep and wake each other.

I got two of the grace 32 carseats, which my boys are still using. I can't carry them in the seats anymore, so they stay in the car now. A double snap and go was great for the first 9 months. Then their legs got too long to use it. You can get them pretty cheap on craigslist so you might want to go that route. It's a metal frame so it's easy to clean. I had a baby jogger double stroller from my older two girls and it's been great. I much prefer the side by side doubles.

My boys didn't end up loving the swing. I did have two, but only one really liked it. I recommend getting one to start. I also think one exersaucer and one jumperoo are enough. That way you can rotate between the two. I did have two playmats because the boys got too big to share one.

I had a glider already, but I didn't use it with the boys. I nursed them in my bed or in the middle of the couch. When I started alternating bottles, I would sit on the floor and nurse one while gicing the the other one a bottle in a bouncer.

My boys were summer babies so they lived in onsies. I agree that you'll need tons of sleepers. I went through 4-5 of them a day in the begining. The books always say to buy premie sized stuff so I had tons of premie sized stuff, but my boys were full term and didn't wear any of it. I would buy enough of both premie and NB to get by, but leave the tags on so you can return the preemie stuff if your boys are big.

[Momof3Labs]

Congratulations!!

Here was our final count on certain items (only listing what we had more than one of):

Swings - 4 (2 on each of two levels of the house)
High chairs - 2
Car seats (infant) - 2
Pack n Plays - 3 (one was originally a co-sleeper) - 1 upstairs, 1 downstairs and one used as a changing table (still - we need to change that)
Exersaucers/entertainers/jumperoos - almost too embarrassing to say - 6 (2 on each floor of the house, including in the basement where the boys play a lot)
Bouncy seat - we had 2 but used them VERY minimally; the girls were not fans (nor were my boys)
Cribs - 2 (didn't need both for a while, though)
Changing tables - 2 in different locations in the house
Play mats - 2, again in different locations in the house

If we didn't have other kids, we may not have needed as much stuff on both levels of the house, but we spend time in different areas of our house than when we just had one baby. We need a place to park the twins safely on each level. They napped in the swings for the first few months, thus the swings on both levels.

Stroller-wise, we used the double snap n go until they could kick each other in it. Now we use a Combi twin savvy in the car and a Baby Jogger City Mini Double pretty much everywhere else (loooove that stroller).

For clothes, we did footed sleepers almost exclusively for probably 6 months. We preferred zippers only - snaps took far too long to do (times two). Yes, 4-6 per day was pretty common. Newborn size for a few weeks, and then 0-3 month size. My girls were born at 37w5d and the smaller of the two was 7lbs, so we didn't need preemie stuff either.

[TwinMama2B]

Congrats! Double the pleasure, double the fun! This is our must-have list -

• Bouncy seats (4 - 2 on main level, 2 upstairs) - the only way DH and I were able to get the girls up and fed and then get ourselves ready for work, and really get anything done around the house
• Boppy pillows (3 - bought 2, borrowed one from a friend) - these were invaluable early on for propping up the girls before they were moving around, and I also loved the boppies for nursing
• Infant car seats (2 - we did the Graco Snugrides) + a double snap n go stroller
• Cribs (2)
• Glider/recliner (1) – this is in our room actually, and we got one with the recline lever hidden on the inside of the arm, rather than the outside – way easier to get to when you have two babies on your lap
• Pack-n-plays (2 - one co-sleeper in our room that the girls slept in until they moved to their room/cribs, one Graco PNP on main level of the house) – we still use both to corral them when there’s only one of us at home with them and they’re getting into EVERYTHING. They can pull up and cruise around inside the PNPs so they’re happy.
• Changing table/area (2 - one in their room that doubles as a dresser, and used the changer on the pack-n-play on the main level as the other one)
• Swings (3 - all loaners from family & friends, since we didn't know if the girls would like them) – they LOVED them, and were often the only way we could get them to nap during the day
• Exersaucer / jumperoo (one of each) - didn't buy them until the girls were maybe 4-5 months old, but a big hit
• Play mats (2 - also loaners from friends) - we moved the mats from room to room a lot so couldn't maybe doubled up on them
• High chairs (2) - we got the Fisher-Price convertible chairs that attach to our kitchen chairs, to save space
• Double stroller - we have a Baby Jogger City Mini double that we use mostly indoors and on paved areas, and also a Tike Tech fixed wheel double jogger for running and the off-the-beaten-path stuff
• Carriers/Slings (1 Moby wrap, 2 Ergo carriers) – I LOVED the Moby wrap (DH wasn’t into it – too girly looking for him) and it was great for calming my colicky/reflux baby who cried A LOT, and we used the Ergos once the girls were 5-6 months old. Still use them a lot when the double stroller just isn't feasible
• Bottle props (2) – I know there’s a lot of advice out there against using props, but it worked for us. We only used them when the girls were in bouncy seats or reclined in their highchairs. This brand (http://www.greatbabyproducts.com/baby-bottle-holder.html) worked well for us. Our nanny was a big fan as well.

As for clothing and other stuff, get way more burp cloths and bibs then you think you will need. My mom actually made a couple of huge batches of burp cloths very inexpensively for us by using the flannel receiving blanket multi-packs, cutting them to desired size and sewing two layers together.

Our girls were mid-August babies, so as the weather got cooler we did lots of onesies and pants; I had this thing about not wanting the girls in “pjs” all day so we got a lot of the coordinating onesies (short-sleeve and long-sleeve) and stretchy pants sets very cheap at Target. I’m a HUGE fan of all things Carter’s brand – true sizing, holds up very well - and if you have a Carter’s outlet close by I highly recommend a visit.

Totally agree with Momof3Labs on the zipper sleepers – snaps took too long to do. Also a big fan of sleepsacks (still using them – it’s part of the nighttime routine now), which we started to use once the girls were busting out of their swaddling blankets at night.

Good luck and wishing you a safe, healthy and happy twin pregnancy! :)

[scriptkitten]

what is your living situation?
for our first year we were in a 4th floor walkup, 2br urban apartment.

we got by with
1 swing - only needed it for a few months anyway
2 bouncers - svan, great for bottle feeding
1 electronic, noisy, vibrating bouncer - only needed for a few months
1 boppy pillow
1 boppy lounger pillow
1 playmat
1 jumperoo
at least 2 baby carriers. we had a lot of them because i loved babywearing

0 pack n plays. - no need when the nursery is on the same floor in a small apt. the grandmothers have 2 each, tho… they are used as cribs at the in-laws.

0 snap n gos. we live in the city and the snap n go is too rickety for twins on cobblestones

1 good AT stroller. (i have 3 strollers now but that's a whole other story)

i just rotated the kids through stations through the day. i didn't have space for two of everything

[iggy_saurus]

My twin boys are now 14 months old. Here is what we had/have:

double snap n go (until 10 months)
Maclauren Twin Techno (after 10 months)
2 infant car seats with extra bases (kept 2 bases in my car, my husband's car, and my parents' car)
4 bouncy seats (2 that just vibrate and then as they got older I got 2 more from craigslist that played music)
2 swings (swings not as popular as the bouncy seats, so only needed 1 but we got 2 as a gift. We only used the swings simultaneously on one or two occasions.)
2 exersaucers (I totally didn't expect this but my boys love their exersaucers. We still have one set up and they walk around the outside of it to play.)
2 highchairs
2 cribs
1 play mat (big one from Ikea they could both fit on)
1 co-sleeper (slept together until 4 months old)
0 pack and plays (but 2 at my parents' to use as playspace and napspace)
2 changing areas (1 upstairs, 1 downstairs)
2 coshee brand changing mat (these are great! good for changing diapers, giving sponge baths, and my boys loved laying in them and looking up at things)
0 boppys/0 nursing pillows (I found it easier to nurse in the recliner or propped up in bed)
1 extrawide recliner
2 carriers (1 sling that I still use, 1 baby bjorn used in the early days)

We had way too much in the way of clothes, bibs, and blankets. I was lucky that my boys rarely leaked through their diapers and rarely spitup. So we used one sleeper each per night, and one outfit each per day. The day clothes were sleepers for the first two weeks, and then we switched to rompers or onesies and pants. My husband agrees with the people who use sleepers with zippers. Personally, I like the snaps because you only need to unsnap a little bit to change the diaper. To use the zip ones you have to take their feet out to change a diaper.

We also didn't need any of the preemie clothes.

Have fun and enjoy your boys!