Buying for the babies...

OKay i know i am "far" away, but i was wondering... Other than the normal things like 2 cribs, 2 carseats Ect... What did you find helpful to have 2 or more of (that you dont normally think of)? How many bottles did you buy? How many bottles do you use in a day?? How long does a case of diapers last? Wipes? Can of formula from Costco?
Thanks for your help!!
:good:

 

I bought 20 bottles and use 12-14 per 24 hours. It helps because if I am so tired, there are a few bottles I can still fill with formula without having to clean them. I started out using ready made because I felt overwhelmed and I was alone during the day. Now, we have switched to powder and the BEST thing to mix it is a mixer from Pampered Chef. https://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_...p;words=pitcher (link) It mixes formula PERFECTLY. Do not buy one from the grocery store because it is not the same. I bought one from there and it stunk. This way, you can mix all your bottles for the day at one time.
Hmmmm, what else....I bought two of every little toy, but I would wait to see what they like before buying two of everything. My dd likes some my ds doesn't and v/v.
If you are planning to use pacis, but enough so you don't have to clean those everyday, too.
Diapers...oh gosh...you will use a TON! I don't even know how many I use. A LOT!!! You will need tons of wipes, too.
As they get a bit older, I found using bibs when I am just bottle feeding keeps their shirts clean. Also, get a few SOFT washcloths. For the bath, my babies love a soft washcloth, not too thick or scratchy.

OK, sorry to ramble. Keep in touch with any questions!! Hang in there!!!!!

ps - if you are having shower, ask for 6-12 months onsies and bigger clothing. NOT just 0-3...they will grow out of things so fast, they will not be able to wear everything.

jen

 

We used 2 playmats (one at first, but then they got too big) They really loved the ones with light and sound (Baby Einstein). I would also suggest 2 exersaucers, 2 high chairs and 2 of a lot of the toys. Some of the toys we got at our shower we only have 1 of and they fight over them! We only have 1 jumper-roo and that works fine...

Bottles? I agree...buy enough for the whole day then at the end of the day put them all in the dishwasher and clean them all that way.
Lots of diapers...you can't get enough!

Congrats!

 

My lifesaver was 2 bouncy seats. Both of mine loved them and sat there alot. They are great for feeding both and having somewhere to put them while you deal with the other one. And my dd slept in hers too some b/c of reflux. I also had 2 swings and 2 boppies but I don't know if you "need" them I got mine free from Freecycle. I had one swing and they both loved it and so I asked again on freecycle and got another one free so it was cool. I went through about 100 diapers a week and a TON of wipes. Be careful though not to stock up on the smaller sizes I noticed mine didn't stay in the size 1's all that long.
Good luck!

 

I agree w/ the pp !!

I have 2 cribs, 1 pack n play, 2 swings, 2 bouncy seats, lots of receiving blankets,
you will need to wait before buying formula - they gave us similac at the hospital but neither one of mine could use it - I had also bought Good Start because I had a couple of good coupons but they could not use it either - we ended up on Enfamil AR which I had never even heard of before the babies arrived. (I breastfeed 90%of the time but supplement every now and then). You will need tons of diapers - mine were 6 pound each and I had like 3 packs of preemie diapers that we used and about 12 packs of newborn diapers that I ended up giving 1 pack away
because they outgrew them now at 3 months they can wear size 1 in Pampers but I prefer size 2 (we are at 11 pounds now) I bought about 20 bottles. I bought all Dr. Brown bottles and Addison hates them - she prefers the wide nipples so be careful about that too- but remember I breastfeed mostly so that may be the reason.
you will need lots of socks, onesies are great, crib sheets, we got 2 highchairs at our shower but we havn't used them yet. oh and our carseats came with headrests but they were not enough- we bought 2 more and we use the one that came w/ the seats plus the ones we bought still. my niece has this thing in her baby's infant carseat
that snuggles the whole baby - I wish I had seen that when my girls were newborn - it keeps her baby's head from
going forward MUCH better than the headrest things- it snuggles his whole body she got it at her shower so I'm not sure where it was bought. I have diaper bag issues - the one I got matches my stroller and carseats but does not open up very wide and w/ 2 babies you need a good diaper bag - so shop around and find you one that opens up
good and that is a good size. OH and I have this container that has 3 places to put baby formula - you just put a couple of scoops of powdered formula in each section - so you don't have to take the whole container everywhere - it is GREAT!!! that saves room in the diaper bag too!! both of my girls prefer Nuk pacifiers.


my girls have sensitive skin - I had bought Johnson and Johnson baby wash - well they broke out so my pediatrician told me that Dove hypoallergenic, fragerance free soap is the best - it is a bar soap and not tear free but it has been the best thing!!! they have not gotten cradle cap and their skin is soft and free of eczema!

Bourdeaux's Butt Paste works wonders


I got a fisher price baby bathtub at my shower - the aquarium one with the hammock thing for new babies - well I HATE it because I bathe my girls in the kitchen and the stupid thing does not fit in the sink - I went and bought the cheaper tub that has the indention in the middle that allows it to fit down in my kitchen sink - which is way easier than having to put the tub on the counter and having to fill the tub w/ a pitcher and in the sink it is easier to use fresh water from the faucet to rinse them off with.

I am sure that I will think of other things - I will post later!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Heather

 

Oh, yes! Two exersaucers and play mats...the baby einstein one is the best with that star that will eventually drive you crazy. I actually have 4 bouncies - 2 upstairs and 2 downstairs. It really helps so I don't have to keep moving them around.

 

I had two swings, two cribs, two bassinetts, two papasan seats.....I just had one exersaucer and one jumperoo and they would go back and forth.....they liked the variety. We have about 25 bottles.
If I was you I wouldn't buy a bunch of formula in advance because you never know what formulas will work for them....my twins were on two different kinds. One big can would last about a week and a big package of diapers was the same a week. Big thing of wipes would last a couple of weeks for us.

 

I have 4 1/2 week old twins. These are the things we are using right now -

- One box of 96 ct newborn size diapers per week - they are probably 7 & 8 lbs now and I think we just opened our 5th box. They were 7 & 5.10 lbs. when born.
- 1 large can of formula per week - don't stock up until you find which formula works best. One twin is on her 3rd formula, the other twin is on her 4th.
- Mylicon for gas
- Saline for stuffed noses
- Bouncers - we have 4! Two in the nursery, 1 on our bedroom and one downstairs.
- Travel swing - great space saver! One of the twins isn't thrilled being in the swing.
- 4 Swaddle blankets - keeps their arms from startling them awake.
- Wipes - 1 pack upstairs & 1 pack downstairs per week.
- Tons of pacifiers for cribs, diaper bag and various other locations.
- Bottles - I think we use about 14 a day.
- Washclothes & towels.
- Gowns - With 2 newborns and a toddler, I don't always get the babies dressed everyday if we aren't going anywhere. They at
least get a bath and new gown every day.
- Big diaper bag - I'm using a large one from Enfamil, but I still can't get it zipped shut.
- Double stroller
- Two cribs & waterproof mattress pads - also waterproof lap pads to put in the cribs on top of the sheet to catch spit-up or blow-outs so you don't have to change the sheets constantly.
-Bibs or burp cloths for feedings
- Some preemie and newborn size clothes. My twins are no where near being able to wear 0-3 clothes.

Hope this helps!

 

Here are some things that I found were helpful:
• We bought both audio & video monitors. The video monitors were very helpful since we have a 2 story house. It eliminated a lot of trips up and down the stairs.
• A “front & back” double stroller is more convenient than the “side by side” double strollers because it is easier to maneuver in crowded situations (i.e. shopping malls, narrow aisles, etc.)
• High chairs with wheels makes it easier to multi-task when you have to feed them and do other things in the kitchen.
• I used the Nurse EZ nursing pillow. I found it wider, bigger, and sturdier than a Boppy or Breast Friend.
• We used one swing and one bouncer and the babies took turns in each of them. These were especially helpful when I needed to feed them by myself at the same time and they were not old enough for the high chairs.
• We bought 2 saucers and the babies love them. The saucers are convenient when you are not able to chase after both of them.
• We bought 2 “corral type” gates and attached them together to give the babies more playing room. This allowed them more space that was “baby proof” than a single gate.
• “One Step Ahead” catalog has a lot of unique baby items. They have a website, too.
• www.cafepress.com is a great website that has a lot of different twin stuff paraphernalia.

 

We had two infant/toddler rockers (I still use them to feed the girls), two boppys (they use those now for sitting), 2 miracle blankets, 2 fisher price booster seats (we don't have enough room for highchairs), 2 exersaucers and 2 bjorns.

The things we only had one of were toys (they have a lot of them just no repeats), swing, crib (they didn't share a crib till 8 months), basically everything else.

As for bottle - I bought the Dr. Brown ones. We have about 12 of the 4 ounce and 9 of the 8 ounce. I am still using the 4 ounce ones for pumping and storing EBM in the fridge. I think that they were eating 8 times per 24 hours when they came home. I found it easier to have a ton of bottles so that I didn't have to wash after every feed.

Diapers - really it varied. There were a lot of times that we would go through 3 diapers at a changing because of unexpected poop - and then even MORE unexpected poop! Since we changed every time we fed I would say that they first few weeks we went through AT LEAST 16 diapers a day. Of course that slowed down once their little bodies got used to food.

We used the Pampers sensitive wipes until they were 6 months then we moved to Costco brand. Figure at least 1 per pee diaper and 3-4 for a poopy diaper...

I can't remember how many scoops the Enfamil can at Costco does but I think that we are going though about 1 a week. But I wouldn't bother buying that till after your babies come. You will get a ton of free samples from the dr and hospital and you never know what kind the kiddos are going to like.