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Multiples
clybrarian
member
Twin gear must haves? Eager to hear suggestions!
clybrarian
member
in Multiples
Hi Double Bumpies!
Can any of you who have twins or are planning for twins share what twin gear you have found to be totally valuable? Strollers especially (is there a perfect stroller that grows from twin infants to twin toddlers??)...
Thanks!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Twin gear must haves? Eager to hear suggestions!
I wish I would have gotten a Double Snap N Go (DSNG) and used that with the infant carriers for the first several months and then decided on a stroller. If you are going to use the infant carriers, I would highly recommend trying to use a DSNG.
My other suggestion is to not buy two of everything. Neither of mine used bouncers, bumbo chairs and only my son liked the swing. Its ok to get just one of everything and then, if needed, pick up an extra of the item that both babies like.
I do have a few items to recommend that are not "gear" but are items that I really like:
1. Homedics Sound Spa noise machine. I have a feeling I will need to buy an extra one and send them both to college with their own.
2. Halo Sleep sacks. We are on the third size and I love these.
3. Space saver high chair. We've taken ours so many places and even fed them in the chairs outside at picnics, etc. Highly recommend if you don't want high chairs to take up tons of space.
Good luck!
I am glad we had a couple of different types of bottles to try. They each use different kinds.
I wish I would have gotten the FP space savers.
I love having 2 small sling diaper bags if my husband and I each take one baby somewhere.
I hate the graco snugrides...should have gotten something more cozy
Couldn't live without my video monitor.
-I absolutely hated the DSNG, so I personally would not recommend it. I wish I would have skipped in completely and just bought the Baby Jogger City Select with the car seat adapters. We ended up buying the city select when our babies were about 4 months old and I love it. I didn't get the car seat adapters because it has the full recline and I didn't want to spend the extra money on something I wouldn't need too much longer. Plus, I love that you can use it as a single stroller if you're only taking one baby out. It is the perfect stroller for us.
-I loved having two boppies and two bouncers.
-The Homedics sound spa is wonderful.
-Loved, loved, the Aden and Anais swaddling blankets.
-We formula feed and the Dr. Brown Formula pitcher is awesome. We mix it up the night before and have all the formula ready for night feedings and the next morning.
First of all, check your area for a local mothers of twins/multiples club. Most of them have semi-annual sales and you can pick up a lot of gear on the cheap. Also, if any friends/family offer to let you borrow gear, take them up on it. You never know what your LOs will like/dislike.
My tips:
- Clouds and Stars Quick Zip crib sheets. I swear I couldn't live without them. It's so quick and easy to zip off a dirty sheet and zip on a clean one. I couldn't imagine hassling with a fitted sheet/crib mattress.
- Bottles: Don't mess with small sizes. If you bottle feed at all it'll seem crazy putting a couple ozs in an 8 oz bottle but it'll save you from buying more bottles when your LOs' feedings increase. My LOs liked Dr Browns so we never tried other brands. Still... it's not a bad idea to have some other options available.
- Strollers: I got a DSNG from my local MoMs club sale. Truly, I hate the thing (very hard to maneuver, especially as they've gotten bigger) but it's so,so easy to pop in the back of the car for quick trips. We also bought a BOB Revolution duallie which I *love*. It's maneuverable, the babies like being in it, it carries infants to 50 lb toddlers, I can take it anywhere (jogging or walking on local streets, bumpy sidewalks, trails). The downsides? It's heavy, doesn't fold very small, and the storage basket sucks.
- Bouncies/Swings: My LOs love their bouncies. To this day, they take bottles in the bouncies and they'll occasionally nap in them. That said, I'd still start with one. Neither of them liked the swing so I'm so glad we tried a borrowed swing first.
- Amazon Mom Club: Great deals on diapers with or without the coupons from Parenting magazine, 2 day delivery, scheduled shipments, plus you can earn additional months of Prime shipping based upon your purchases. Win/win/win/win!
Ditto the MoMs club. I have two of everything. One, I put on the registry. The other, I bought used from the MoM's club. Swings, bouncies, bumbos, etc. I may have over purchased, so I can tell you what I wish I hadn't bought:
Two baby carriers. One ergo is sufficient. The other hasn't been opened. And therefore, one infant insert for the ergo. I have an unopened ergo carrier and infant insert that I can hopefully resell. Bottles. I initially registered for Dr. Browns. A friend told me that they were a waste of money for her, and to try the playtex drop-ins. So, I registered, and purchased (and used so couldn't return them) playtex bottles. My boys have reflux and I ended up switching to Dr. Browns anyway. A waste of money. Only buy a few bottles (of several types) and don't invest until you know what you really can use.
Extra car seat bases. These are still in the boxes. I was positive my husband would need them in his car, but we only use my car when we take the boys out.
Everyone says this, but I didn't listen. Don't go overboard on newborn and 0-3 clothes. I ended up not using so many in these sizes, and having to buy more for 3-6. I washed them all, so I wasn't able to return them for a larger size.
I also have an arm's reach co-sleeper and a pack and play. I use the pack and play for the changing station only. The co-sleeper has turned into a cat bed. :-/ For me, I wish I would have held off on the co-sleeper. Also, with the pack and play, I wish I would have gotten a basic pack and play with changing station. The bassinet, play gym and lights/vibration/music of the Chicco Lullaby have gone to waste.
Oh, DO get two rock and plays. These are awesome, especially when they are newborns. They slept in these for the first several months. They are also easy to fold up and throw in the back of the minivan (or trunk of the car) to take when visiting anyone's home.
Stroller - had the DSNG, and liked it, but hated how I couldn't get to the basket and it was hard to steer. Got a BJ City Select and LOVE it! We have the car seat attachments but also can put the seats on.
Two bouncy seats was a must for us also... I use them to tandem feed when both girls are hungry at the same time. I also love our FP Little Lamb swing. One of my twins loves it, while the other doesn't so its great to have a place for one to sleep during the day.
Monitor- we have a regular sound one, Sony Baby Call. Works fine, we only use it when the babies are upstairs and we are downstairs. No monitor at night because we can hear them crying from their room.
Fisher Price Rock N Plays- must have for us. The girls have been sleeping in them since they came home from the hospital because they didnt care for their cribs. Once they are STTN consistently we will transition them to the cribs.
Cut the Crap - Weight loss journey of a Few Fat Chicks
Ditto the PPs on the Homedics Sound Machine -- our LOs are 20 months old and we still use it!
Also ditto on the Dr. Brown's bottles and formula pitchers. I pumped and we supplemented, then switched to all formula........the pitchers were a lifesaver. We'd make 2 (3 as they got older!) pitchers in the morning to be set for the day.
One more ditto......the FP Spacesaver Highchairs. LOVE them.
We got a lot of good out of the FP Infant to Toddler Rocker, as well as two bouncers.
If I had it to do over again, we'd not have bought the Bumbo chairs and trays. Our LOs didn't like them at all!
They arrived at 36 weeks after PTL and bedrest for 14 weeks.
Ditto to the sound machine, the Aden + Anais swaddle blankets and the DSNG. We have two bouncy seats and ours napped for a long time in them, although now we've moved to all naps in cribs. Also agree on starting out with the large bottles. We bought cheap bottles for the 4oz (glass Evenflow) and even though it was only about $30 worth, I wish I would have saved that for the 8oz bottles (we've switched to Dr. Brown's).
Other things we love:
-Ultimate Crib Sheets. So easy to snap on/off.
-Happiest Baby on the Block - skip the book, just watch the DVD for the techniques to calm a crying baby.
-AngelCare monitors. I wanted ours to sleep in cribs from day 1 so the movement monitors give me a lot of peace of mind. However, I find the sound on the basic one that's got movement and sound that they sell at BRU to be super crappy. If you're going for one, go for the deluxe one that is digital and has voice activation features, else you'll be hearing the babies' sound machine all night long (like we are).
-Faded Glory sleep-and-plays from Walmart. I am not a regular Walmart shopper and was kind of skeptical when I received some of these as gifts, but they are 100% organic cotton, come in really cute prints and have zippers. The zippers are the BEST for diaper changes. And they are only $5. They are also a ton softer than anything I have from Carter's.
-Boppy pillows - I only registered for one, thinking of it only as a nursing pillow. In the hospital we discovered how it was just a nice place for the baby to lounge (supervised) and I ordered a second one to be waiting for me when I got home (thank you Amazon Mom with 2 day prime). When I feed them both at the same time, I use a boppy on each side of me.
Must haves for us (so far)...
MyBrest Friend Twin nursing pillow
Chicco Double Stroller & car seats
2 Boppies
2 PNP's....one for upstairs, one for down
2 diaper genie's...one for upstairs, one for downstairs
Baby Trend Double Jogger
dozens of cloth diapers (used as spit-up cloths)
Swaddlemes (for the first few months)
2 carriers (I use Borjn, DH uses Infantino)
big diaperbag! We have an EddieBauer
Pump In Style Advanced pump
So far, this is what we couldn't live without:
2 boppies
2 FP cradle & Swings
As many swaddleme's as I can fit in my basket!
Any crib mobile - the boys love it!
I actually don't have a diaper genie - and I've heard bad things about it. I have a regular trashcan that we empty every 3 days, and the BM diapers go in a little sented bag, then in the covered trashcan.
Oh yeah, DSNG works very well, but we don't take the boys out right now due to cold/flu season. We bring them to the pedi's office, and it works just fine.
they also sell these washcloths that are shaped like animals but are gloves - I got an aligator and a hippo for my shower - and it's the best for bathing the boys.
Here's my must-have list:
2 boppies, 2 bouncies, 1 swing, bibs if you FF feed, twin nursing pillow if you BF, ultimate crib sheets (awesome if you have spitter-uppers), ditto the p.p.s on buying large bottles and skipping the little ones*, and the DSNG. The DSNG is not fun to push but it's super light which makes it great. If you're not getting these things as gifts then hit up a multiples mon-to-mom sale b/c none need to be new (except bottle nipples IMO).
*If people will buy you bottles as a gift, like if you register, then register for a full set of larger bottles in whatever brand you want. Just save the receipt and start out only usung 2 and you can exchange them if they don't work out.
i never used a double stroller (except for running, in which case i recommend a BOB). i just tandem wore them. as newborns, i used the moby for this. after that, i wore one on my back (mei tei) and one my chest (moby). as they got heavier, i adjusted my carriers (kokopax on back, ergo on chest or hip). so, i recommend baby carriers. at 17 months, i still wear one on my back for most outings (and then i just use a single, cheap stroller).
newborn essentials for me, other than the moby, was an EZNurse breastfeeding pillow and white noise machine. we had one swing, which they kinda liked, and one infant bouncing seat that they did not care for (although now at 17 months they constantly fight over it, go figure)
I agree with the boppies. I have 3 of them and they are AWESOME. Use them all the time.
We use SOOOOO many bibs and receiving blankets it's ridiculous. From the two showers I had, we had a total of over 50 bibs and before I had the boys I kept thinking "i have way too many of these. I'm never gonna use all of these". I have to do laundry at least once every other day because we use them all the time. Then again, my boys are pretty sloppy
We have two swings and love them. I'd definately recommend only getting one though to see if your kids even like them. We have two bouncers (from baby shower) and don't use them ever so they just take up space.
HATS HATS HATS. I live in Wisconsin so it's quite cold here and the boys *ALWAYS* have hats on, no matter what. Also, the mittens that are used so baby's don't scratch themselves. We use those just to keep the boys hands warm.
Swaddle-Me's are amazing. I would lose my mind without them. I have some eco friendly blankets that are used specifically for swaddling that are from Target and my boys must be Houdini because they get out of them everytime. The Swaddle-Me's they never get out of though.
I agree with a lot of these (DSNG, 2 Boppy pillows, etc), but I cannot over-emphasize how much we relied on our bouncy seats (the ones with the woodland creatures on them- bought @ Target). We put them next to each other and I could bounce both at once with one foot. We fed them in their seats, napped in the seats, secured one while I washed the other, etc. I am at home alone with DS and DD, and the seats were like an extra pair of hands.
Down side - we have sooo many pictures of them with those *&^$ woodland characters in the background...oh well.
Also, if you are having B/G twins - interchangeable onesies and socks. Have all the individual cute ones you want, but have a bunch of white ones around so you don't have to go digging around for the "right" ones.
1. DSNG stroller
2. 2 FP Rock & Play Sleepers
3. 2 boppys for feedings
4. 2 bouncy seats
5. one large diaper bag and one smaller for quick trip
My DDs were spit up queens so something I did with their bouncy seats and boppies were to cover them up with white bath towels. It was easy to swap out when they were dirty and it provided a nice picture backgroud. :-) I think we got a 12 pack of towels or something like that from Sam's Club.
***Twin fraternal girls born at 35w6d in 12/2008***