PDA

View Full Version : Seeking Must Have Items for Twins



kwlargop
02-28-2012, 11:04 PM
Hi, I'm expecting twin dd's in June and this is our second and third as our ds is 4.5 years old. So I am seeking guidance and suggestions on what are the must have items I need for my twins. Look forward to your feed back and recommendations.

Thanks in advance for your help.

P.S. They are fraternal.

twowhat?
02-29-2012, 11:12 AM
There are lots of threads on this if you search. Some to start you off:

http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=360169

http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=384235

http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=325893

Post back with specific questions! You'll get lots of feedback on things like specific strollers, car seats, etc. We're also happy to provide feedback on must-haves and things that you could do without. There are at least a couple of twin moms with older children who pop in here every now and then and would be able to give better advice.

You really don't need a whole lot to start with. A safe way to transport babies (car seats), a safe place for babies to sleep (crib, pack n play, co-sleeper, or bassinet - they can share at first), and then basic supplies like clothing and diapers and blankets.

veronica
02-29-2012, 11:39 AM
fisher price rock n play sleepers. the boys are 9 months, and we still use these when we give bottles at the same time! they were their "beds" in from birth to 4 months , as both boys have reflux and slept the best in there, with the recline!

kwlargop
02-29-2012, 03:10 PM
Thanks for the feedback, very helpful. *I do have some specific questions as well would be interested in the must haves and can do withouts for twins. * I'm sure things have changed since my ds was born in 2007.

Specific questions:

- Does the Arms Length Cosleeper have a bassinet feature within it that both twin dd can sleep in at first. *I have one bassinet and was planning on getting a second.

-Does anyone have any experince, good or bad with the My Breast Friend Twin Nursing Pillow? I have a friend who has offered to sell me a brand new one at a discounted price.

-Is the Graco Snugride still a good car seat? *I have one that we used with ds and was planning on getting a second one, but didn't know if the seat was still recommended?

-In regards to baby carrier, is Beco or Ergo better? *I used a Ergo one with my ds and again was wondering if still a good one to use.

-Do you recommend having the twin dd's sleep in the same crib once they are too big for the bassinets?

- I'm planning on going the double Snap N Go route for the beginning, but am very interested in what twin strollers folks like. *Anyone have experience with the City Mini?

Thanks again for all your help and I'm sure I'll have more questions later.

Karla

twowhat?
02-29-2012, 03:27 PM
I'll answer the ones I can:)


Does anyone have any experince, good or bad with the My Breast Friend Twin Nursing Pillow? I have a friend who has offered to sell me a brand new one at a discounted price.


I didn't use my breast friend but I used the E-Z-2 nurse and they look very similar to me - I just wanted to mention that nursing twins simultaneously will most likely require an assortment of other pillows, rolled up blankets or towels, etc for positioning to tuck here and there around the nursing pillow, under their heads, etc, especially at first. It's very different than being able to use both arms to position a single baby. So don't get discouraged if you find that your twin nursing pillow isn't "enough" to comfortablly nurse at first. Once they are bigger and older and don't need as much help being held in position to nurse, then it gets easier. I always kept a stack of blankets, towels, and an assortment of small pillows (both for the babies and for myself to tuck under my elbows, behind my back, etc) at my nursing couch to make us all comfortable.


-In regards to baby carrier, is Beco or Ergo better? *I used a Ergo one with my ds and again was wondering if still a good one to use.


I've tried both the Ergo and Beco. I recommend the Beco for younger babies and the Ergo for older ones - so don't give away your Ergo!! The Beco is nice for younger babies because of the built-in infant harness, and the learning curve for back carries is not as steep because of that internal sling. I ran many an errand with one baby on my back in my Beco and the other held on my hip, or (once they were sitting up) one baby on my back and one sitting in the grocery cart seat. The Ergo is nice for older babies/toddlers once you learn how to get the back carry down because there isn't that internal sling which kind of gets in the way when you're inserting a kid with shoes on, etc. And a toddler can help "hold" himself on your back as you work the carrier on. We had 2 Becos and it worked out fine for us...we used them until the babies were a little older than 2 and haven't used them since (stroller was easier at that point when they wanted to get in and out to walk).


-Do you recommend having the twin dd's sleep in the same crib once they are too big for the bassinets?

This is probably totally personal preference. Our babies shared a single crib for a while...probably until they were about 4 months old I think. That's when they graduated from their swaddles and started moving around more in their sleep. But I don't think it really matters one way or the other...whichever you end up thinking is best! FWIW, our girls (3.5) share a room and wouldn't have it any other way.


I'm planning on going the double Snap N Go route for the beginning, but am very interested in what twin strollers folks like. *Anyone have experience with the City Mini?

We have a city mini double (2009). I SO wish the city mini double GT (which is basically the city mini with all-terrain tires) was available back then because if so, it totally would have been our ONE AND ONLY stroller. You can google for reviews of this new stroller which came out last month I think. The only reason we have a separate air tire stroller is to manage bumpy sidewalks and the occassional grass or dirt during walks. I think the city mini GT could've handled all that just fine. Search the stroller forums for review on the various doubles out there - it's going to come down to personal preference probably. But in our case (we aren't serious joggers, suburban living where you have to have a car so easy to fold was big, mostly concrete and sidewalks but occasional grass or dirt or gravel at parks, etc)...the city mini GT would've been PERFECT. It's got that great nearly-flat recline too which is very nice for newborns. Often I'd go out for a walk, the girls would fall asleep, I'd recline the seats, finish the walk, and then just leave the stroller at the entryway inside the house and grab myself a much-needed bite to eat while they napped in the stroller:)

Hope that helps some!

Melaine
02-29-2012, 04:39 PM
I can't comment a lot on the specifics you mentioned because I didn't have most of that. We used the Graco Twin pack 'n play a lot and felt it was worthwhile for naps and travel. We then put the girls in the same crib until they started rolling over and then I felt more comfortable separating them. You will find that most people with twins go through stages of different sleep solutions; you have to be flexible. For awhile my girls slept in bouncy seats, sometimes they napped in the boppies, they also slept in the same crib, different cribs, their carseats, pack 'n plays, swings. For awhile they had to be put in separate rooms for naps because they just seemed to wake each other. But then it seemed to resolve itself and they went back in together just fine.

Specific things that we loved and had two of: two bouncy seats (different ones), two exersaucers, two swings (1 travel size, 1 full), two boppies, two bumbos, two playmats.
Tons of burp cloths and bibs, twins tend to be preemies and tend to be reflux-y. A good breast pump. I haven't tried the twins "My Breast Friend" but I did have the regular and it was much better than the Boppy for BFing. I loved the Boppies for tummy time and also for bottlefeeding. I would lay them both down in the boppies and give them their bottles at the same time.

If you end up bottlefeeding, the "Leachco Keep it U (http://www.amazon.com/Leachco-Keep--Bottle-White-Yellow/dp/B005V8H5KY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330547838&sr=8-1)p" bottle prop is awesome for twins. Using something like that is probably the last thing I EVER thought I would do but having twins changes everything.

We also loved swaddle blankets & sleep sacks.

I will add more if I think of them. You are probably likely to find more of my favorites in old threads because it has been so long I keep forgetting stuff.

vtmom
02-29-2012, 08:26 PM
Congrats!

We used the full size Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper for the first four months with our twins. It has a bassinet feature with a 30 pound weight limit. Our two actually outgrew it lengthwise before they reached that weight limit. We then had them in one crib until they really started moving around and waking each other up. Then they went to two separate cribs (which are next to each other in the same room). They now nap in separate rooms (they keep each other awake otherwise) during the day (one naps in the co-sleeper in a guest room the other in a crib their bedroom), but share a room at night without a problem.

I used the E-Z to Nurse Twin pillow and loved it! I tried to make do with my Boppy from DD1 and it just didn't cut it. The EZ twin pillow made nursing twins simultaneously possible. It looks similar to the My Breast Friend pillow, so I imagine that one would work as well.

We used Graco Snugrides and were happy with them.

I have only ever used an Ergo, but I loved mine with DD1 and still love it. We got a second one when the twins came so DH and I could both carry a baby as necessary. We never used the infant inserts either. We looked at the insert in the store and felt like we could improvise just fine with blankets and never had a problem. We are still using the Ergos with the kids at 14 months old.

I really loved the Fisher Price Infant to Toddler Rocker. It is fairly inexpensive compared to some bouncy seats, it has a high weight limit so it can be used for a long time, and it has a "kick-stand" type thing (not a good description - it is more stable than a kick stand) that puts the seat into a great position for bottle feeding.

I Love, Love, Love Aiden and Anais muslin swaddles. They are great for swaddles, nursing covers, a million other things and bottle props! As a PP mentioned, I never thought I would do that (and didn't with DD1) but twins change things, and you do what you have to do to get everyone fed!

I posted an answer to your stroller question on the stroller board, but I do not recommend the double snap and go. It is like steering a barge. We have a Maclaren Twin Techno, a Chariot Cougar 2 and some singles from DD1 that we sometimes use while carrying one twin in the Ergo.

mikeys_mom
02-29-2012, 10:42 PM
Thanks for the feedback, very helpful. *I do have some specific questions as well would be interested in the must haves and can do withouts for twins. * I'm sure things have changed since my ds was born in 2007.

Specific questions:

- Does the Arms Length Cosleeper have a bassinet feature within it that both twin dd can sleep in at first. *I have one bassinet and was planning on getting a second.

-Does anyone have any experince, good or bad with the My Breast Friend Twin Nursing Pillow? I have a friend who has offered to sell me a brand new one at a discounted price.

-Is the Graco Snugride still a good car seat? *I have one that we used with ds and was planning on getting a second one, but didn't know if the seat was still recommended?

-In regards to baby carrier, is Beco or Ergo better? *I used a Ergo one with my ds and again was wondering if still a good one to use.

-Do you recommend having the twin dd's sleep in the same crib once they are too big for the bassinets?

- I'm planning on going the double Snap N Go route for the beginning, but am very interested in what twin strollers folks like. *Anyone have experience with the City Mini?

Thanks again for all your help and I'm sure I'll have more questions later.

Karla

Congratulations! Twins are exhausting but lots of fun :).

When our twins were born, DS was 4 and DD1 was 2. We had lots of gear from the older 2 kids and tried to buy as little as possible until we knew what the twins would like.

My twins weighed 5.5lbs each at birth and gained weight pretty slowly the first 6 weeks so we were able to fit both of them in the regular pack n play bassinet for a couple of months until they got too heavy. We tried to keep them together as much as possible but sleeping/napping arrangements changed all the time during that first year. They generally slept together in the crib or bassinet until they started to roll over and disturb each other. They are now 3 years old and sleep in separate cribs in the same room with no problems.

I used the E-Z 2 nurse twin pillow but was really only able to tandem nurse for a very short time. It just wasn't working for my girls. It was easier to nurse them separately for me. I think most of the twin nursing pillows are similar but like PP's have mentioned, be ready to add lots of extra pillows and towels.

We had the double snap n go. It is a beast to push. However, with 2 older kids and living in a cold climate, it was helpful for short outings. I had a love-hate relationship with mine. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably still buy one because there were times when it was very handy not to have to get the girls out of their carseats. We bought ours used. There are always tons of them on craigslist around here.

We tried not to get too many doubles of everything because it just takes up so much space but we did have 5 bouncy chairs. Our house is two floors plus a basement and it was very handy to always have somewhere to put the babies down on each floor. While I BF during the day, we gave them formula at night and I agree with the PP that the Fisher Price infant to toddler rockers were the best for bottle feeding. We had one from our older kids and the others were all borrowed. I also liked having a pack and play or bassinet on each floor, especially at the beginning so I had someplace they could sleep near me.

kwlargop
03-02-2012, 08:27 PM
Thanks everyone for the excellent feedback, and if you think of anything new feel free to continue adding to the discussion. It is very helpful.

*newmomma*
03-05-2012, 10:17 AM
Hey Karla! Congrats to you! My twin boys just turned 3 yesterday and a couple of things I'd recommend for the early days are two bouncy seats. I couldn't nurse, so I'd prop them up side by side and feed them at the same time. If you can get them on the same eating and sleeping schedule it will make your life much easier!
We went through about 3 double strollers before I landed on the BJ City Mini double (2010). I love it and can't say enough good things about it. I'd strongly advise against a Graco Duoglider - they are WAY too heavy, huge and awkward (not at all good for running errands).
We also swaddled our boys, and I swear by the Miracle Blanket. Nothing else worked as well as those for keeping them snuggled up tight.

Courtney