Calling all current and/or expecting Moms of Multiples!

lincbeesmom · October 2017

SO I’ve been trying to do research on my own, but every time I think I find something I like the reviews tell me it sucks.

What double stroller did you use with your twins? Pros/cons?

What kind of car do you have or will you be upgrading?

DS is still in a car seat and our current car can’t fit 3 across and we’re considering an suv with a third row but that’s still up for discussion.

I have two rock n plays and two bouncers on my registry? Are they both necessary or am I being excessive?

Feel free to add any questions of your own. I’ve just had a lot of free time to over think things so thought I’d bring you all in too.

ebergen12 · October 2017

I do not have multiples but three super close in age but you might really like the diono rxt car seats they are supposed to fit three in a row in a small car and they go all the way from infant to full booster. We love them! And stroller - you might like the versatility of the baby jogger city select. Well worth your money!

lincbeesmom · October 2017

@ebergen12 the city select was one of the ones I was interested in. The price tag is a lot to take in though haha

sandbar517 · October 2017

When my girls were born, we had an SUV and a 4 door sedan. We used the Graco Click Connect seats (I'm pretty sure that's what the type was, they were definitely Graco something Connect LOL) and we used the Joovy Twin Roo stroller. I LOVED it. It's a stroller frame, so it's super lightweight, folds relatively small, and it's relatively easy to maneuver. The thing I hated the most about it is that the basket underneath was really hard to get to once both car seats were clicked in. We also bought car seats that were the "wrong" something Connect and had to sell them and buy the "right" something Connect ones that were compatible. Example, we bought the Classic Connect but only the Click Connect was compatible. However, I think the last time I looked, they are now compatible with more brands and types of seats.
When we decided to try for a third, I got a minivan. As much as I always told myself I would never drive a minivan, it's almost a must with three in car seats. In our three row SUV (a Kia Sorento), if we took my 5 year old niece anywhere, her car seat would be in the third row because it didn't fit in between the other two. So to buckle her in, we would literally have to crawl in through the trunk, because you can't put the second row seats down while a car seat was in it. I hated it. Not to mention if an adult wanted to ride with us, they either had to squeeze in between the two car seats in the middle row (super uncomfortable) or go through the trunk to sit in the third row (which didn't work for my 72 year old mother).
There are SUVs/crossovers that have captain's chairs in the second row, or that have a sliding middle row that you can adjust with a car seat in it (the GMC Acadia and Chevy Traverse, I think? The Acadia for sure does, because that's what I wanted, but we couldn't afford it). However, I think even having the sliding middle row, it would still be difficult for an adult to get back there to buckle car seats in the third row. When I got my minivan, MH insisted on buying a Chevy Equinox, which is only a two row, 5 seat SUV, and I still to this day think he's crazy and wish he would've listened to me to get something bigger. He insists that there are plenty of car seats that can fit three across (which he's right, there are-and a ton of websites dedicated to them, just google three car seats across) but now we have to buy three new car seats. I've also reminded him that if we have two convertible car seats for the girls on the outside, how is he going to get the infant car seat up and over the convertible seat to get it clicked in to the base in the middle seat? Or if we go with a convertible seat for the new baby, how will he reach over the convertible seats on the sides to buckle the baby in? Sorry this is getting super long, but it's something I've been dealing with for the better part of the past year, and it still makes me angry. Not to mention the fact that he'll never be able to take anyone else besides us in his car because there are no other seats available. Long story short, if you can and are willing to get a minivan, DO IT. Seriously. Especially with captain's seats in the middle row. It's just so much easier, and there's so much more room. I can get from the driver's seat the whole way to the back row without getting out of the car. Granted, I'm only 5'1", but it's just so much more convenient.
As for the bouncers/rock n plays, we had two swings that the seats were able to disconnect and become bouncer seats. We never did rock n plays, but I feel like they're similar enough to the bouncer seat that you could probably just pick one of the two. Or maybe get one of each, see which baby prefers which seat and then go from there. We used our swings a lot, but found that we almost never used the seats as bouncer seats.

suchaglencoco · October 2017

Current mom of 22 month old twins

What double stroller did you use with your twins? Pros/cons?

We got the Contour Options Elite, it's front and back and not side to side. and I really liked it the first year and a half for them. It was easy to maneuver and super easy to set carseats in. It also had great storage underneath and the bigger kids seats could face in or out. I was able to push the stroller and pull a shopping cart behind me easily at the grocery store.

This spring someone gave us a used double jogging stroller and we've been using that instead. It's nice because it's not as long, but we do have more hitting matches.

We also have 2 umbrella strollers for when DH and I are both out together with the kids. Sometimes it's just better to gave them separate.

I do recommend going to a large baby store and experimenting with the different strollers and practice putting in carseats and such.

What kind of car do you have or will you be upgrading?

We used to have a sedan and an SUV. I used the SUV with the kids, but the sedan stopped working so we needed a new vehicle. We ended up getting a van with remote doors and remote start and we haven't looked back. I cried when I realized we would need a van, but it's been amazing.

If you're looking to upgrade and have a larger stroller, I recommend bringing it with you whole car shopping. We tried the smaller 3rd row seat SUVs, but our stroller wouldn't fit behind the 3rd seat when it was up. Kind of defeated the purpose for us.

I have two rock n plays and two bouncers on my registry? Are they both necessary or am I being excessive?

Do you have any friends or family who recently had a little one that you can borrow stuff from? We ended up getting a bouncer and a swing, but of course both liked the swing better, but would be ok in the bouncer. We bought one RNP and borrowed the other from my brother.

We also got the twin pnp, which was nice because it is a bit bigger for them to romp around with when they're older. Unfortunately, we couldn't use the bassinet attachments for very long because DS had some stomach issues so he slept better in the RNP.

We have one of those twin z pillows that helped a lot with feeding, but unfortunately breast feeding didn't work out so it wasn't a necessity. I could have definitely just used 2 boppys. It was nice to just set it on the bed, out each in a side, and hold their bottles up.
With carseats since we knew I'd be going out wth them alone, we got 2 infant seats from our baby shower and bought the bigger carseats later on ourselves. It was just easier to carry them and move them around together if they were in an infant seat. Ours were in their infant seats until at least a year so to me, it was a good deal. Again if you have one from your first, I'd see if someone you trust has one to lend to you.

sandbar517 · October 2017

@suchaglencoco had some good points. As small as the joovy twin roo was folded up, it also wouldn't fit in the back of the Sorento when the third row was up. After the girls outgrew their infant seats, we had a double side by side umbrella stroller that we used every once in a while, but we actually bought a Radio Flyer EZ Fold wagon and we use that now instead. I LOVE it. We never use strollers anymore. They're almost 3.5 and we just make them walk if we don't want to use the wagon.
I definitely second her suggestion to go to a store and try out the strollers and car seats, if they'll let you. And for sure take car seats, strollers, etc with you while car shopping. I felt like a huge pain when I did it, but I'm so glad I did. I wanted to make sure the seats would fit in the van, that MH (who's 6'3") could have his seat back as far as he needs with the car seats installed (I'm one of the "crazy" ones who still has my 3.5 year olds rear facing), and that our wagon/stroller would fit in the back.
I've heard good things about the Z pillow, but I was able to breastfeed the girls and highly recommend the Breast Friend Twins pillow, if you plan to and are able to breastfeed. It didn't help with propping them up very well, but it made tandem feeding so much easier.
We did the same with car seats, regular infant seats with bases until around a year and a half (until they grew out of them) because they are way easier to carry and handle in them as opposed to convertible seats and having to baby wear (although the twingaroo carrier looks super awesome and I would've loved to try it).
Sorry, I think suchaglencoco will agree that this is something we could talk about for hours, so hopefully it's not too overwhelming!! Feel free to ask more questions, or PM if needed/wanted.

lincbeesmom · October 2017

Thanks for all your input! Just saw the stroller thread come up too

i was going to do the babytrend snap and go kind of like the joovy twin roo

im TRYING to convince dh to just go for the minivan. I mean I’m the one driving, not him! We’ll see how everything goes.

ebergen12 · October 2017

@lincbeesmom

we gawked at the price too and went with a cheaper one for #one and didn't believe a stroller could be worth that much! But there are sO many pluses: its compact, steering is phenomenal

maybe try kijiji or second hand!

sandbar517 · October 2017

@lincbeesmom We looked at the babytrend snap and go, too, and didn't like it. At least the one we were looking at, don't know if they've advanced much in the past four years. And maybe we're just stupid, too....who knows. But I think the name is misleading. From what we could tell, the car seats don't actually "snap" into the stroller. You kinda just set them in there and use a belt kinda thing to strap them in. The Joovy, they actually click into place, which is why we chose that one instead.

lincbeesmom · October 2017

@sandbar517 oh thanks! I was going to just get the babytrend car seats and I figured those would snap in. I’ll have to look into that!

SaVy_05 · October 2017

Hello, I have 18mo old twins!
We started out with a Chicco Cortina together, I like it when they were in thier bucket seats, it made for easy transitions without waking them up, but it was heavy! We switched to a city mini double (side by side) it fits through doorways, easy to fold up etc, we love it!

We had a Honda crv when our twins were born, we also had a 3.5yr old at the time. It was a tight fit with all 3 seats, but we made it work. We have now changed to a Honda Odyssey, and it is a dream! It's so much easier to get everyone in and out, plus tons of room. Also thankful since #4 is on the way.

For us, two rock n plays were a must. We loved them and used them all the time. I would skip the bouncers and just get the rock n plays.

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Calling all current and/or expecting Moms of Multiples!

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