Twin Questions

thesecretis42 · July 2013

Hey, all!

I'm a FTM and I am expecting twins (just found out that both are boys!) and I have a few questions that I would really appreciate any advice you can give me.

1) Do we need to buy 2 cribs right away or just start out with one?

2) When should they start sleeping separately?

3) Should I register for everything times 2? What items can I get by with just getting 1?

4) Since there is a possibility of delivering early (hopefully not, but you never know...) when should I start registering/have the baby shower?

5) When I'm looking for a pediatrician, do I have to get one that specializes in multiples or will a GP pediatrician be fine?

Thank you for taking the time to read this! I appreciate you guys! Congrats to all

kgs0505 · July 2013

You probably can get away with one crib until one of them starts rolling, and then you'll have to separate them.

i wouldn't register for two of everything. things like bouncies, swings, rnp's, pnp's, you probably only need one of until you figure out what they love, if it's even the same thing. stuff like carseats will be essential to reguater for two of.

i would plan to have your shower around 26 to 30 weeks tops. not so much for twins coming early, but for the way you'll be feeling beyond that point. i was 31 weeks and it was hard.

pediatrtician, you don't need one to specialize in twins. once they are out they are like any other baby really. it's just during pregnancy you need extra attention and where twins are complicated.

rn8 · July 2013

Congrats!

1) I would get 2 cribs right away. My babies slept in a co-sleeper until they were about 2 months old and then were each in their own crib.

2) See #1. It's really up to you and what works for your family. There are moms here who keep their babies together, who co-sleep, etc. At around 2 months, I realized they were napping for longer stretches during the day in their crib than at night in the co-sleeper next to us. I had to change that quick, especially since I was going back to work in a month.

3) I would register for 2 carseats, high chairs, boppy pillows and bouncy chairs. We had 2 bouncy chairs and 2 swings and kept one of each in our family room and one in our bedroom so I had a place for the babies on each level of the house. Also, I received 2 changing pads. I have a changing station downstairs and upstairs. This was great when they were tiny and being changed 10x day and I was recovering from a C-section and it's great now that they are 1 and are into everything and I need to keep an eye on the one while I am changing the other.

4) I would try to have the shower by about 24-26 weeks. Mine were at 28 and 32 weeks and while I felt fine on those days, it was hard to organize everything afterwards.

5) I think a regular ped is fine. I would ask if they'll do back-to-back sick or well visits, and separate waiting rooms for sick or well patients.

Good Luck!

staceymack · July 2013

Congratulations!! There's a good guide here on the bump that includes a twin registry checklist.

https://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/pregnant-with-multiples.aspx

We got 2 cribs so I we'll be ready when they decide they no longer want to sleep well together.

My shower was planned at 25 weeks, but unfortunately I was admitted for PTL the week of and had to cancel. Every pregnancy is different so it's hard to say.

I'm looking for a pediatrician that has experience with the special needs of preemies, whose office will allow me to schedule appointments together or back to back, who will be Ok with me bringing both even if only one is sick.

thesecretis42 · July 2013

Thank you guys for your help! As excited as I am, it's really overwhelming so I appreciate the advice

Courtney201212 · July 2013

You got some great advice, so I won't repeat it. I would 100% recommend investing in two Fisher Price rock and play sleepers! Best money we spent! My twins slept in theirs up to age one! It has them sleeping on a slight incline, so it's great for reflux. Plus it's easy to fold up and move from room to room! They are priced between $50 and $75 each but they were my "must have" item! Good luck to you!

starrkitten89 · July 2013

1) Do we need to buy 2 cribs right away or just start out with one? We have a crib and a bassinet- we did that in case one hated the crib and to save space until we move. They sleep in the same crib together right now (almost 8 weeks)

2) When should they start sleeping separately? I will separate mine when they roll or noticeably bother each other.

3) Should I register for everything times 2? What items can I get by with just getting 1? We registered for one of the major items (swing, bouncer, bassinet, etc), figuring that we would see what each baby liked first- our plan was if they both liked the swing best, we'd just get another swing later. I didn't want to spend the money and have neither one like the larger items. We have been fine with one of each of these types of things thus far.

4) Since there is a possibility of delivering early (hopefully not, but you never know...) when should I start registering/have the baby shower? I had mine at 30 weeks, and had I not been able to sit down the entire time I wouldn't have been able to do it. I was also on modified bedrest by then and had to get my docs ok to go on with the shower.

5) When I'm looking for a pediatrician, do I have to get one that specializes in multiples or will a GP pediatrician be fine? I have a regular pedi.

AB87 · July 2013

Congratulations!

1. You could get by with one to start. I bought two because I have awful luck with furniture being discontinued and I don't want to be stuck with two different ones.

2. I moved my twins to separate cribs between 1 and 2 months. They started wiggling around and one would end up with their feet in the other one's face.

3.I will say that the most useful things we have two of are boppies and rock n plays. We also have two baby bathtubs that we use until they can sit up on their own. We only have one swing since it's so big.

4. I had my first shower at 29 weeks and my last one at 33 weeks for this same reason. It's also going to get harder to move things and organize once you get close to your due date. I delivered at 37w1d.

5. A general ped. is fine

KDR1979 · July 2013

.

1) Do we need to buy 2 cribs right away or just start out with one?

We bought cheap Graco cribs from Wal-Mart and love them. We knew we probably wouldn't have more children, so it didn't make sense to buy expensive cribs. We bought 2 cribs and put them in the same bedroom initially (We had major sleep issues and they were moved into their own rooms when they were 8 months old). DS was 1lb 9oz bigger at birth, so they never slept together.

2) When should they start sleeping separately?

My kids always slept separately

3) Should I register for everything times 2? What items can I get by with just getting 1?

We had 2 Rock N Plays (lifesavers for us + the Velcro swaddleme blankets)

2 bouncers (we bottle fed (pumped BM + formula) them once they were big enough while they sat in the bouncers)

We had 2 bottle warmers-1 for downstairs and 1 upstairs for night feedings

We put a mini fridge upstairs in the nursery

We probably had 32 bottles. Babies got 8-9 feedings/day in the beginning. First, a bottle of BM, then a bottle of formula. We tried to only run the d/w once at night, so having a lot of bottles was nice.

4) Since there is a possibility of delivering early (hopefully not, but you never know...) when should I start registering/have the baby shower?

I had all of my showers between 24-28 weeks

We did our maternity photo shoot at 29 weeks (good thing, I was put on bedrst at week 30)

I probably started registering around week 20.

5) When I'm looking for a pediatrician, do I have to get one that specializes in multiples or will a GP pediatrician be fine?

We just got a regular pediatrician (we picked 3 on our insurance plan that were close to home and interviewed them to help us choose). My kids were 36 weekers and never needed SCN/NICU. If you have preemies, they'll be managed by NICU docs there and you would probably get sent to a specialist if necessary after NICU discharge.

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