Twin stuff | Imamother

amother ↓

Thu, Feb 09 2012, 6:45 pm

Im having twins iyH pretty soon and Im starting to think about stuff Ill need after they're born. My minhag is not to buy anything yet, but I want to start a registry so that after they're born my husband/mother/mother in law will know what to get. The thing is Im a first time mom so I have no clue where to even begin to get stuff even if I was having a singleton.

can someone suggest items that Ill need? can you include products that you are happy with, features to look for in every item and other details that may be important? I tried looking on my own but there are so many choices out there that I just feel so overwhelmed. I dont want to buy something and then later think" if only I would have known _______ I would have bought something else"

A few things you should know- I live in a small apartmetn, so space saving is important, and I dont own a car, but ill still need carseats etc, for when I do use one.

Thanks in advance!

RachelEve14 ↓

Fri, Feb 10 2012, 3:04 am

We also had twins first, also in an apartment Smile

You need 2 carseats. A double stroller is also really helpful (but you should try them out yourself and think of how you will be using it: bumping up steps, walking on rough streets, mostly for mall walking, etc).

We used one crib in the beginning. They were nice and cosy together, saved space. We also had one PNP for travel and if they needed to be separated. We didn't separate them until they were after 1, and that was only because one had a habit of biting. But they really enjoyed being near each other, they take comfort from each other, sleep through each other, ect. Even if you want 2 sleeping spaces, I would get a portable crib which you will need in the future for other things, and not 2 full sized cribs unless you really need.

We also had 1 bouncy chair, a playmat to lay them on floor and let them look at toys is useful.

With clothes, think of how often you can / want to do laundry. During the first weeks newborns have a lot of blowout diapers, so you might go through several sets of underclothes a day (but often it doesnt' get onto the "real" outfit). Also people like to buy cute clothes, so I would concentrate on buying lots of onesies, and the little pants that go under rather than lots of cute outer clothes. If you run out of outer clothes there is nothing wrong with a tiny baby going out in two onesies. My were also winter babies, and I had 3 sleep sacks (in case one got spit up on in the middle of the night). The sleep sacks were also very helpful for giving them an extra layer when going out in the stroller.

You will probably get receiving blankets, baby blankets,etc for gifts (we got TONS). You will also get rattles and toys (which they don't need yet).

Don't buy things now you don't need. You don't need a high chair cluttering up your apartment for 6 9 months until it's being used. Get lots of newborn & 3 - 6 month simple clothes, a crib, a stroller. Oh, also lots of crib sheets if you can't do laundry too often. And lots of the flat cloth diapers for spit up, protecting your clothes, everything else.

If you have any questions, you can PM me or ask specifically here. My twins will IY"H be 8 next week. Enjoy the baby days, they seem forever while you are in the middle of them, but before you know it they are gone!

Oh, and one last tip, LABEL the pictures. Even if your twins are not identical (mine look nothing alike, never did, but there are still a few pictures of them when they were very young where I don't know who was who Surprised

)

life'sgreat

Fri, Feb 10 2012, 10:15 am

First rule I found very important to remember: don't buy two of every piece of equipment. Every baby likes something else, so buying one should be good. The swing has been a lifesaver for us and I'd love to have two of those, but of course, that's expensive, so we have one. Some babies don't like the swing at all though. I have a bouncy seat, a rocker, a bumbo, a mat etc... and the babies keep on getting switched around from one to the other (I didn't buy anything other than the swing because I had stuff from my son and got some stuff from a friend).

We're still using just one crib and my girls are six months old already KA"H.

Carriage, IMO, you can hold off on buying that right away. The first while with twins is really hectic and just getting through the day and I didn't use a stroller until they were a bit older. Wait until you can take them and try out different strollers IMO.

Not sure what else.

Ezrachar ↓

Sun, Feb 19 2012, 6:53 am

I'd register for car seats - if you really don't go out much, weigh getting convertible seats which will last into toddlerhood instead of infant seats. My kids never liked infant seats, so we didn't use them much. If you DO get the infant seats, consider a double snap n go stroller, where you put the car seats in as seats. Otherwise, if you walk alot, I'd seriously suggest spending the money on a GOOD stroller. City mini double or something of ghost nature - if you use it that much (which I suspect you will if you don't have a car) don't skimp - it will be your most used accessory.
Get one crib and a divider for it. You can google it, but essentially it divides the crib in two - cribs are so big that one should last you a while.
Get some onesies, some footed sleepers and a few outfits. People will buy you small sizes as presents, so just get a few newborn/small sizes tolast. You can buy more later.

Get a few heavy blankets for trips outside. Sheets for the crib.

You really don't need much for a baby, or two. I'm due with twins soon too. I've got other kids, but I'm getting a few onesies, a few outfits, I have blankets, one crib, and am spending on a double stroller. My other kids were worn but I have a feeling these will be in the stroller more
I have to buy another car seat, but am getting a convertible.

Pm me if you want to talk, chat, etc!!!

↑ Ezrachar ↓

Sun, Feb 19 2012, 6:54 am

↑ Ezrachar

Sun, Feb 19 2012, 6:55 am

Teomima ↓

Sun, Feb 19 2012, 7:16 am

Wow, you remind yourself of me. First kids, twins, living in a small apartment, no car. Yup, yup, yup, been there, done that (fourth floor walk up, no less!). There are of course the basics, like cribs, (as another poster said, it's true you don't need two in the beginning, but eventually you will), car seats, and a VERY GOOD double stroller. If space is at a premium then I highly recommend the Combi Twin Savy (if you're in Israel there's the Baby Safe Twin Savvy which is basically the same thing. We used this daily for two years and it folds up to about the size of a golf club bag. We eventually switched to double City Micro because we used and abused our first twin stroller hard for two years). But the number one thing I recommend is baby carriers. I spent months wearing at least one, if not both babies, all the time. I had one who really needed to be held constantly ad with a good wrap carrier I was able to give her that comfort and still have my hands free to do other things. I had a wrap, a Bbay Ktan, and an Ergo (better for when they're past newborn stage but AWESOME after that). A good wrap, if not two, would probably be my number 1 recommendation for twins.

ewa-jo

Sun, Feb 19 2012, 8:26 am

I don't have twins, but I have closely-spaced kids, so I will recommend a double stroller. We have the Peg Perego Duette. It's a faaaabulous stroller because you can pop out the seats and attach two carseats into the frame (so it's a twin snap n go) when the babies are little. The seats in the Perego Duette recline all the way, so it's a great stroller for infants (when they're not in carseats) because they can lie down and sleep... and then you can use the seats in the regular sitting-up position when they're bigger and sit up on their own. The thing I really like about my stroller is that the seats pop out and can be re-arranged. For the longest time, I had my kids facing one another.. it was cute because the older one would make faces and smile at the younger one and talk to him. Now, I have both kids facing me. There's a good amount of space under the stroller and the canopies are huge.

Also, it's really really easy and smooth to steer. It has a steering wheel, so you can steer it with one hand, if you need to. Also, the wheels are nice and big, so it goes over uneven sidewalks and bumps easily. I shlep mine up and down hills every day and it's fine. Also (if this matters to you at all..lol) you can fit this stroller onto an Israeli Egged bus.. new bus or old bus. You can't fit most side-by-side strollers onto buses.

This isn't the best stroller in the world if you travel by car a lot... the frame folds up decently and if you're using carseats, then it's not so much more to take. This isn't a cheap stroller.. but if you're in the US, you can certainly find one on ebay second-hand and get it for a decent price.

http://us.pegperego.com/babypr.....e+SW+

OK, I had to add this photo.... because if you buy this stroller, you will turn into a sophisticated Italian lady with two model-like children.

momx6

Tue, Apr 17 2012, 8:44 pm

from my experience, the only double items that you must have are 2 car seats and 2 high chairs (there is a space saver high chair from fisher price that you clip on to a regular kitchen chair, so its not so bulky).
I had 1 swing, 1 jumperoo, 1 gym mat, 1 bouncer and they took turns!
For cribs, they started out sharing a porta crib, then they each had their own portacrib until they outgrew it and went onto the bottom part of a bed and the trundle.
Hatzlacha and b'shaa tova!