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  1. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    Congratulations!! How exciting

    I think twowhats list is great. Its all the basic things you will need right away. All the other items can wait...if you have time and are bored while on bedrest, then sure, do research and figure it all out now. But if its stressful to you, then there's really no need. You can research and buy (aka order online) those items as the need arises (highchairs, bedding, jumparoos...all things that you won't need for a few months)
    DD 12/08
    DS 1/14

  2. #12
    Mopey is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by jam224 View Post

    I don't know if you're a gadget-type person, but it might be helpful to have an Itzbeen for each girl, to help you keep track of their feedings: http://www.amazon.com/Itzbeen-Baby-C...dp/B000MEB3GE/.
    I only have one but had to chime in - I was given the Itzbeen but actually use an app called Total Baby. It is fab, has settings for multiples and I love that it's on my phone.

    I also used a friends' Rock 'n' Play sleeper and Miss Mopey LOVED it. I will probably get it for the next; I could see two little ones being very happy in those for a good while.

    Congrats Mama!! You'll be great (again!).
    Mom to Miss Mopey! 3/12 & Baby Boy GoGo! 7/15



    "Be kinder than necessary. Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

  3. #13
    Melaine is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
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    Congrats on the twins! You can do it, even if it sometimes seems impossible.

    There have been some good threads on this in the past, I will see if I can find some. I think most of my "must haves" have been mentioned. FP Rock 'n Play Sleeper FOR SURE. I wish I had had that thing with my twins! Primo Eurotub, Leachco Keep it Up bottle prop if you bottlefeed when they are older. A sense of humor. Very important. I will look for more.

    Some good stuff here:http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/sho...d.php?t=427038
    Last edited by Melaine; 09-19-2012 at 07:30 PM.

  4. #14
    mommyoftwo is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    It helps me feel more in control to figure at least some of this stuff out. Yesterday I sorted out my newborn diaper stash for the most part. I spent today researching strollers and car seats. I think we will probably be getting the valco baby spark duo stroller and the chicco keyfit 30 car seats. Also, I found an identical crib to the one we have on craig's list for a steal so that made me happy. Tomorrow I'm going to start thinking about some of the smaller things. Thank you for all your help and encouragement.
    Last edited by mommyoftwo; 09-20-2012 at 02:41 AM.
    Jessica

    Mommy to:

    Amelia (11/21/03
    Linnea (9/1/05)
    Annaliese (12/21/12)
    Kirsten (12/21/12)

  5. #15
    Melaine is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
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    Your big girls will be such a help to you too. sometimes just having someone to hold a baby makes all the difference.

  6. #16
    oneplustwo is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    Congrats on your pregnancy! Take good care of yourself and hugs for all the rough parts of your pregnancy.

    BTW, I recognize your girls' names but not yours.

    Have you been in contact with your local mother of twins club? They can be an awesome resource. I just came back from our twice-a-year tag sale and even though my twins ~ my babies! ~ are almost 9 years old, and I still can't get over how much support and help these clubs provide members. Some clubs have those infant car beds that preemies need that you can borrow; members in general can provide you tons of advice on items to get, etc. Hearing from others who are on bed rest like you or have been through it can really help you through it!

    I just read that you mentioned how tired you are and can't understand why ~ well, you are building two babies! That takes a huge amount of energy.

    I think you're in good starting shape as far as equipment and supplies go. I fretted about the second crib but it turned out I kept the twins for the first three months in bed with me for easier nursing, pretty much what I did with my eldest. Now that I work the infant equipment room of our club tag sales on a regular basis, I can tell you that some of the most-sought-after items for those with infant twins are:

    swaddle-me wraps/Miracle blankets
    bundle mes for those winter babies!
    a couple of activity mats like the Tiny Love ones, one for each floor of the house
    that second baby swing ~ this and the above is because you will need places to park those babies as you can't juggle/hold them all the time
    twin nursing pillow (two is nice, one for each floor of the house ~ I had a regular one and an inflatable one that I also used for travel) ~ the My Brest Friend brand seems to be the main one out there now



    It sounds like you need some more infant clothes ~ just get some more basics as a PP mentioned ~ onesies, sleep sacks, those terry cloth (or regular cotton) footed sleepers. Don't forget lots of burp cloths (cloth diapers are awesome for this).

    Strollers are a whole 'nother ball game ~ I'm sure you know you can go nuts researching and trying to figure out what best fits your needs, and of course there's no one stroller that will ever do it all for you.

    Good luck!
    “The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will,
    and the other from a strong won’t.” Henry Ward Beecher

    Worry is like a rocking chair ~ it keeps you busy but it doesn't get you anywhere.

    for Sandy Hook Elementary School

  7. #17
    mommyoftwo is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    We live in a very small town and the nearest moms of multiples group is an hour away. It also happens to be where my doctors and the hospital are so I do get there fairly often but I'm not able to go to meetings. They have a facebook page but no one seems to post on it. Maybe if I do a little more digging I can get connected somehow.

    My mom is going to come columbus day weekend and get the baby stuff we do have down from the attic so we can go through it and see what we need. I definitely need some side snap shirts, onesies, sleepers etc. DH and I had already picked out the chair we wanted for the nursery so he can order that for us. I've been super exhausted the last few days (I have unbelievable insomnia and restless leg syndrome when I'm pregnant) so I haven't done much of anything for several days now. Hopefully my brain function will come back at some point and I can start thinking about things again. I've had multiple cycles of being completely unable to concentrate on anything followed by my body getting so exhausted that I finally get some rest followed by being lucid for a few days before the cycle starts again.

    Thank you for all the help and suggestions. I'm sure I will be back with many more questions but if you don't hear from me for a while, it just means I'm exhausted and can't think straight at the moment.
    Jessica

    Mommy to:

    Amelia (11/21/03
    Linnea (9/1/05)
    Annaliese (12/21/12)
    Kirsten (12/21/12)

  8. #18
    twowhat? is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Hang in there!!

  9. #19
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    Congratulations!!! This is very exciting news. We have 5 kids, with 2 being twins. After reading the posts, I can see that you are very anxious. Right now the only thing you need to be doing is relaxing. Your body needs to take care of those babies and the anxiety isn't good for them or you. Don't over think it. Honestly. Like the poster said, all babies are different and these guys might not be anything like your other babies. I had two before we had our twins. IT is an interesting position to be in. On the one hand, you are a not a "new" mom. So you won't have as much of that new mom nervousness we all had with our first. On the other hand, you have to be careful to have the same expectations on your multiples as your singles. All children are different. This was advice given to me by another mom of multiples when I joined a local twin organization. I think it is really true.

    You sound like you have the gear part down. Eventually you will need another crib. But not even immediately. My twins were NICU babies and there is some strange comfort in knowing that they are in there. They get round the clock medical care that is top notch. Every twitch your baby makes is noted and followed up. I have seen miracles in that place. I had my first lesson to the NICU with our second son so going in their with the twins was scary but I had to rely on knowing these extremely trained people know what they are doing. I would suggest getting a second swing though. My twins also lived in their swings. In fact I went through several swings! Those stupid arm swings are terrible. My babies loved them but we have gone through 3! The arms break and it is a constant complaint among users. Really they are intended for small kids but kids grow. So if someone can look for one second hand, let them get it that way. Having the twins in swings helped them to sleep and they didn't have some of the more typical reflux/gas issues you can have.

    When you have older children you need to make sure they above the others can be taken care of in your absence. I had parents and friends who wanted to do stuff for us, take the older kids out, help them to school etc. That was such a blessing. That way I could concentrate on my little babies. The week after the twins came home from the NICU, DH decided we it was time to move (we needed a basement which was obvious now), we needed a backyard (it was super small and our front yard was huge) and he wanted DS#1 in the best school in the county as he entered K in the fall. So we went looking for homes. My mom was our realtor. We found a house a week later and put in an offer. It was accepted after much negotiating a week later. Then we started to pack, get our house ready to be on the market and left for a vacation (yes, DH had planned a family vacation with 5 of his buddies and their families from college). I didn't have time to be tired, frustrated or anything else. Looking back that was a good thing. I tell you this only to help you hopefully see that you never know what to expect and life changes on a dime. Go with the flow and relax a little more. It was a good thing my babies decided to come early as if they had come on time we would have gone on vacation with them 2-3 weeks after they were born. (I still don't know what he was thinking!!!) MEN!!

    The important thing for me was getting my older two kids watched and loved on. Babies sleep a lot so during the time they were sleeping I would be cleaning the house we were moving into. Sometimes with a breast pump attached to my back with the baby carrier so I could have my hands free to vacuum the blinds etc.. The neighbors probably thought I was strange but survival mode it was for us. We lived in a perpetual moving state for 6 months with furniture at both houses. (we eventually had to rent out the other house- thanks market for falling apart). But I made it! you will will too. Things will fall between the cracks. Like bills. We switched to an on line billing service so I didn't have to worry about that while I was dealing with all of this and even switched my work to receiving orders by fax or email only so I wasn't at the mercy of a telephone call all day long. Do things like this that you can now to make the future easier. I run my own business so there is no maternity leave. I just had to do the best I could. I even worked in between the NICU nursing visits while I lived at the hospital. IT was probably crazy looking back but that was life. My babies were small when they were born but grew fast and strong. They are ironically the largest kids for their ages that I have had. My 1st is still small for his age!

    After having 2 then having twins I think the hardest part if just not having enough hands. Your older kids can help a lot! We made DS#1 a "runner" he loved it. He ran around and would get things we needed. We praised him endlessly and he now is great at it. He of course was much younger than yours so you should be in good shape. We scheduled people to come over and see the twins not until they were over 3 months old. The NIUC tells you that. Even when we went on vacation with them, they were pretty secluded to their bedroom and what did they want to do anyway? Sleep and eat My sister went along on the trip too and she helped a lot with some of the small things so I could enjoy a little of the trip. Keeping people away (DS's were in school and preschool) was a smart thing to do. The twins qualified for the RSV shot and that is one they did get. We held off on other shots and did them one at a time and very slowly over time. With the exception of needing ear tubes they were really healthy. DS#3 (the oldest twin) was born with torticollis and needed therapy for that but again in retrospect, the twins have been super healthy. Torticollis is very common in twin pregnancies. I think getting and keeping their weights up was really important, I breast feed but also had to supplement some as I couldn't make enough for two. that is a whole nother topic! and they got vitamin supplements starting young too as recommended by the NICU. Now, your babies might not ever end up in the NICU. I am now the NEW/Expt moms coordinator for our local twins organization and have seen plenty of moms with babies born at 34 weeks like mine without a day in the nicu. That all depends on your babies. Babies are pretty resilient. It is truly amazing.

    As you are sitting there reading this where I have gone on and on, feel some comfort in knowing many before you have gone through it and made it. Not always gracefully but we did survive those first few months. This is such a precious time. Take each day and watch your babies. They are so amazing. You are also for having them. Heck, we even had a 5th! That by the way was so easy after having two! MY body is the on;y thing that hasn't fully recovered. Give yourself lots of time for that! I have 3 hernias to eventually take care of thanks to the twins but also I thank them for helping me let go of my Type A personality. I was so tight before they were born. When I got pregnant with them I physically couldn't do things and by week 28 couldn't get off the floor or even the couch without help. It became a comedy routine.
    anyway, I hope the info I am passing on helps you in some way. I understand the rational behind waiting to get baby items. After multiple miscarriages I was the same way. Unfortunately for us we had a pattern then... miscarriage, baby, miscarriage, baby so when we got pg with the twins I did expect to loose them. IT was just the pattern. But they had other ideas!!! We didn't even tell most people we had twins on the way until I was 18 weeks when it was more than obvious, I was huge! Our twins were totally unexpected. We had always hoped for just one more to have 3. We got the twin and then a 5th. IT was meant to be. My house is always a mess and I still have 20 pounds to loose, 3 hernias to have fixed and my poor boobs look like wet teabags after nursing 5. I have sure stretch marks like tattoos and that belly ring of fat I just can't seem to loose. but I wouldn't have it any other way. I watch my boys all interacting and see how precious it all is. Even when they are fighting and arguing and the house is awash in noise. Right now my 2 oldest are in school and today I have to find a way to work on school stuff and work stuff around having the twins and our toddler home. See I am secretly putting it off it all off and on the computer! As I was typing, twin #2 came in covered in yogurt. HE snuck a yogurt drink and managed to pour it all over himself and the sofa. Thank God for leather. It wiped right off. For him, I am going to go put him in the shower Good luck to you and please keep us posted on how you are doing. You and your babies will be fine. Enjoy feeling them move and get to know each other in the womb. I do miss that a lot! Have a good day!

    B

    DS 03, 06, twins 09 and 7/11 PS- The one baby gear item I wish I could still have?? A second washer and dryer!!!!!

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    Congratulations! Hope you're feeling better and hanging in there. I've never had twins, but just wanted to add that, in addition to baby supplies, you might stock up on some easy snacks for you as you get closer to your due date. Cheese sticks, yogurt squeeze tubes, granola bars...things you can grab and eat one-handed while you're holding a baby and starving (nursing can make you soooo hungry, and it's hard enough to find time to eat with just one new baby!). Also, not sure whether someone else has already mentioned this, but we swear by our white noise machine. It helped calm and soothe both our kids when they were babies, and we still rely on it to help tune out noises when the kids are asleep in our small house. Oh, and don't forget to stock up on batteries for whatever battery-operated baby gear you have (swing, mobile, etc.).
    Mom to J 6/25/08 and M 6/21/11

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