Is 2 of EVERYTHING really needed???????

SweetRuca · December 2014

Hello,

I am due with twin girls May 2015, this is my first pregnancy. So, you can imagine the shock of having twins especially since they didn't find the second baby until 13 weeks! Anyways, I was hoping to get some insight on what I really need extra or doubles of. All of my friends are saying I need 2 of everything (none of them have ever had twins). buying 2 of everything seems a little much to me. Do I really need 2 swings and 2 bouncers? I look forward to hearing your advice anything will help at this point!

BabyKsMommy · December 2014

I think a lot of this depends on the set up of your house. I have a two story so I have one pack n play upstairs and one downstairs. I have 3 rock n plays but 2 would be enough because they are easy to move. The same thing with bouncers.

Swings are big, I would get one and see if your babies like it. Some babies do, some don't.

So my advice overall is get one and see if you use it/babies like it. Except where they will be sleeping. You might even want 2 bouncers because I put them in front of the shower so I can keep an eye on them while showering. Plus bouncers are small and cheap.

carrotcake06 · December 2014

You def don't need two of everything. Two car seats and two places to sleep are the only necessities. There are lots of things that are "nice to have" and what those things are depends on the person and the babies.

I've never owned a swing. They're huge and expensive. I've always preferred bouncers, but ones that actually bounce, not just a vibrating seat.

We also had one playmat and one exersaucer. No jumperoo or anything.

If you're planning to BF, a twin nursing pillow is very useful - I'd say 95% of twin mamas who nurse use one. I had a boppy from my singleton, but could have gotten by without one. I also barely used the bumbo.

Strollers: preferences vary widely on this. I prefer a stroller frame for the early months and then a jogger for everyday use. I went with the joovy twin roo frame and then a bob duallie.

We have two ergos, also. We tend to babywear a lot and each parent will wear a twin. A lot of times it's easier than maneuvering a double stroller - we live pretty urban and space is at a premium.

You will need more clothes, diapers, sheets, blankets. A lot is depends to how often you wash. Same with bottles. I work and BFed, so I had 4 sets of pump parts and enough bottles for 2-3 days (feeds I'd be away, we tandem nursed the rest). I also had two pumps so I could keep one at work but that was mainly convenience - I had one from my singleton and then got another through insurance.

Don't go crazy before you know what works.

Rynleigh · December 2014

I wouldn't get two swings until you know if either of them like swings - neither of mine did. Two bouncers could be helpful for getting things done, but a single pack and play is just as functional. We are a working class family, so our options were limited on resources.. our boys are nearing 2yrs old, and these are the things we found we definitely needed:

2 infant car seats (I didn't find infant seats necessary with my singletons, but with the twins they were pretty crucial)

1 double stroller (preferably one that accommodates infant seats OR toddlers, so you don't need separate ones and you don't have to unbuckle the little ones as infants)

2 cribs (we slept them in the same crib for several months, but as soon as Jamie sprouted teeth, he started biting Simon - we separated them from about five months until we converted to toddler beds)

2 feeding chairs (of your choosing - we got convertible high chairs that reclined and turned into table boosters and such - other people use just strap on boosters, bumbos, or even the stroller)

1 large pack & play (two could be nice for separating them, but we never found it necessary - just takes up more space)

I think those bare necessities pretty much covered most of our "places to set babies down" needs.

MrsP419 · December 2014

I did not read all the comments, so this may be redundant, but we had:

1 pack and play (they slept here until about 3-4 months)

1 swing

2 rock and plays- (they slept in these at night around 4-5 months, during the day from when they came home from the hospital, and we used them for travel)

2 high chairs

2 jumperoos (I was given two...don't think I would have bought two).

2 bouncers

2 bumbo seats

2 cribs (they sleep in these from 5 months on).

We live in a 1400 sq ft mobile home, so it was overwhelming for our small space. The way we handled it is I did not have all these things at once. As soon as they grew out of the swing, that went into storage. Once they grew into the jumperoos, the bouncers and rock and plays went away. I almost put the pack and play away, but it is in my living room now so they can have their own play space where their older siblings can't crash into them. The biggest challenge now is the two jumperoos. They are huge and take up a lot of space, but they both love them.

FaeryStarGazer · December 2014

I love it when people who don't have twins (or more) think they know what you'll need.

For us, we DID need two swings, two jumparoos, two bumbos and two boppies. Two cribs and car seats, too. But that was it. We didn't use high chairs at all-I fed the girls in their bumbos on the floor until they were maybe 9m old. Then we had little boosters (two of those) that strapped down to a dinner chair. We were living in about 1100 sq ft, and space was sucked up pretty fast

I started with one tandem stroller, but got a side by side as well. Once they're here, you'll figure out what you need and what you don't.

carrotcake06 · December 2014

Space will definitely dictate things too. We lived in about 1000sf for the first year of the twins' lives, so we made do with less. We've since moved into 1850sf and I'm trying my best to not let toys take it over.

SweetRuca · December 2014

Thank you all for you comments and in put. It has eased my mind. The thought of having two newborns in a matter of months is hard enough to wrap my head around let alone needing double everything. Thank you all again!

macchiatto · December 2014

This is my list of what I recommend you have for twins:

https://rootbeertwins.blogspot.com/2009/07/registry-recommendations-for-twins.html

JennMarie1 · December 2014

Maybe I'm being stupid but I'm really holding back on buying a lot of the non-necessity items until they're actually here. I have no clue what I'll really need, or what they'll like, and I figure I can always send someone to the store to grab something if we find we're needing it. But I have a large, almost aggressively-involved support system for the first few weeks so anything we don't take care of I can pawn off on other people

I'm a terrible person...

sasky · December 2014

We started out with one Boppy, one bouncy chair, one exersaucer, one Bumbo. As we learned our needs and as they got older we got 2 of each of those.

When I think of what we got by with only having one of, I can't think of much. Maybe because certain things we just don't have at all - swing, pack n play (have them, don't use them), jumperoo, high chair (we always used either a Bumbo or booster chair).

We do only have 1 play mat which continues to be fine.

So we have:
1 play mat
2 rock n plays
2 Boppies
2 bouncy chairs
2 exersaucers
2 bumbos
2 boosters
2 cribs
2 car seats (obvi)

We actually have 3 strollers. Snap n go, side by side jogger, and tandem.

So we do need 2 of everything. But certain things we're fine with not having at all.

Is 2 of EVERYTHING really needed???????

Re: Is 2 of EVERYTHING really needed???????

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