Cribs & Strollers?

First off, I have a 3 year old, and saved her crib "just in case". Now I am wondering about sleeping arrangements for the new babies when they come... I have heard that a lot of twins prefer to sleep together in the same crib, but I am wondering what you all tried. I was thinking that at some point they obviously are going to need 2 seperate cribs, but when?

Second... I am being bombarded with questions about what stroller I want already! My husband and I have not even started looking at baby things, but apparently they are planning a shower in the middle of July (I will only be about 23 weeks!)... So apparently I need to get on it! Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions about what strollers are good/bad for twins... I kind of like the idea of side by side, but I guess you can't use 2 infant carriers with them? Any advice or words of wisdom are appreciated!

Thanks!

 

Stephanie, I don't have any crib advice, but have spent the last week researching strollers. There is so much info out there. Here's what I basically found about the kind that 2 carseats click into, there are 3 main options:

1. The Double Snap and Go: it's cheap, lightweight, and easy to transport. The drawback, when they outgrow the carrier, they also outgrow the frame and you'll have to get another stroller, but by then, they could use a side by side.

2. The Graco DuoGlider: it's relatively affordable, is a all purpose stroller that most people seem to love, it can last several years. The drawback, it's heavy and can take up the entire trunk of a small car.

3. The Combi Tandem 2007: This is a brand new stroller, not too many reviews out on it, but it's about the same price as the DuoGlider, is lighter (25 pounds vs. 37 pounds), and supposedly folds up more compactly than the duoglider. The drawback seems to be that there is not much storage space in the basket underneath.

I haven't personally used any of these strollers, this is just what I have gathered from reading countless reviews and hearing form lots of twin mommies.

I'm curious to see what others have to say as well as we still haven't made up our minds. I have also heard lots of twin mommies say it's not a bad idea to have a single stroller as well, in case you are only taking out one baby.

 

We have 2 cribs. Mine really only slept together for the first few days they were home. Emilie would NOT sleep on her back since they put her on her tummy all the time in the NICU, so she slept in her carseat for the first few months until she could roll. By that point with them rolling I didn't think they would be able to sleep together, so they went in separate cribs at 5 months. Now they are even in separate rooms and that works well for us.

As for strollers we have the duoglider. I do have a SBS umbrella stroller that my SIL gave me, but don't use it much. I like the duoglider because it fits in doorways easily, with a SBS I would not be able to get in/out of my older DD's school and we walk to school, so the duoglider works well for us. I was able to put both carriers in it when they were in them and then use it when they were out of the carriers too. It was very helpful when they were in the carriers since I had to walk my oldest DD to/from school everyday. It is a bit heavy, but you have to expect that from a double stroller. I am used to it now, so it doesn't even faze me. We have a mini van so space isn't really an issue with it.

We really don't have the extra money to buy 2 and 3 strollers and the duoglider fits everything we need right now, plus they will be able to ride in it for a few more years.

 

My girls were in the bassinet in the pack n play until 7 weeks when we moved them to their own cribs. Lauren is super wiggly and Emma likes to stay put so we felt for us it was best that they slept in their own crib right away.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Baby Trend Double Snap N Go. I am not even kidding when I say I was out of the house a good 6-8 times per WEEK until my babies were about 4 months old. They would sleep well in their car seats so we went anywhere and everywhere to get them to take a good nap. The stroller was a piece of cake to use and it was sooooo convenient not having to take them in and out of their infant carriers. I was so undecided on my "next" stroller that I didn't register for it. My parents said they would buy it when we were ready.

 

K&K shared a crib for the first 4 months then they moved to their own. I had the second crib set up all along and it came in handy during a couple newborn middle of the night emergencies when I had to take off a layer of sheets/protectors, I put the babies in the other crib and they didn't miss a beat.

The only stroller I used for our strollering duration was the Graco Duoglider. I don't think there is any one stroller that meets every need of a multiple mom but this one met mine pretty well.

 

I LOVE my Double Snap and Go! It is so easy to get in and out of the car, the carriers snap right in and it was only $75! It's perfect for the mall, grocery store, etc.

However, I got a double jogger side by side stroller for our walkds. The Snap n Go didn't do bumps or curbs very well at all. I got the Safari TT but I can't remember who makes it. I really like it but it is MUCH bigger then the snap and go so i'ts much harder to get in and out of the car. Plus the seats dont' snap into it so I have to get them in and out. BUT it will last a very long time, whereas the Snap N Go is done when the girls grow out of their seats.

My girls are still in the same crib at 3 1/2 months. I don't think we'll be using the other crib anytime soon either!

 

I bought a double snap and go and the Phil and Ted's E3 Twin Buggy (do a google search to see who sells it). The Phil & Ted's is a jog type stroller and the only one on the market where both seats go flat so you can use it when they are infants up to 55 lbs per seat. We are hoping that these 2 strollers will be the only ones that we need.

 

I am kind of wondering about the crib sleeping arrangements also. I have a crib from my previous pregnancies, but I also bought another one. I don't know whether they will sleep together right away or not.

I have a little bit of experience with strollers. I bought a Jeep stroller with my first two children, because they were both little and needed to be pushed. The frame broke on it about 4 months after the warranty expired. I called the company and they said it could not be repaired and there was nothing they could do. I have recently bought an Evenflo Cititour/ Take me Two. I paid about $ 140 at Babies R Us (It is on clearance). It is a lot easisr to push than my last one and so far I love it. It is also great, because it holds two baby carriers. I hope this was somewhat of a help.

 

QUOTE(Stephanie1074 @ Jun 19 2007, 06:25 PM) [snapback]299157[/snapback]
First off, I have a 3 year old, and saved her crib "just in case". Now I am wondering about sleeping arrangements for the new babies when they come... I have heard that a lot of twins prefer to sleep together in the same crib, but I am wondering what you all tried. I was thinking that at some point they obviously are going to need 2 seperate cribs, but when?

Second... I am being bombarded with questions about what stroller I want already! My husband and I have not even started looking at baby things, but apparently they are planning a shower in the middle of July (I will only be about 23 weeks!)... So apparently I need to get on it! Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions about what strollers are good/bad for twins... I kind of like the idea of side by side, but I guess you can't use 2 infant carriers with them? Any advice or words of wisdom are appreciated!

Thanks!



Anyone know of good strollers with adjustable handle bars? My husband is tall and has a bad back, so we need something with a really long handle or one that adjusts. TIA

 

Has anyone used a crib divider? I've been planning on buying one so that even if the twins don't like sleeping together, they can both fit in the same crib for awhile. There's one on www.doubleblessings.com that looks good. It's only $30, so I figured even if I don't use it, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Just curious if anyone has used one...

Thanks!

 

I asked the sales guy at Babies R Us about the adjustable/extended handlebars for strollers, he said they do make them but you have to custom order them and they aren't available at their company. My DH is pretty handy and figured he would just rig something up on whatever stroller we decided to go with.

 

My boys slept WHEREVER they wanted too for the first several months. SLEEP for ALL OF US was key here We did put them in separate cribs around 6-7 months. We used the pnp, swings, bouncy seats, carseats etc for sleep up until they outgrew them. Yes you will need 2 cribs eventually.

Now for the strollers~ I loved my double snap and go too. Very lightweight for the early months of shlepping the babies in the carseats. When we were done with that i SOLD it and got a jeep tandem (very similar to the graco duo) but with a few more features. Its a tandem that worked great until the boys were about 18-19 months and would FIGHT over who got the better view in front So I then got a double umbrella stroller (side by side) inglesina and LOVE IT. (and so do the boys. They could both see well and old enough to hold their cups/snacks so the no trays was not a big deal here). It fits well through all doors I have tried! BTW the jeep double umbrella side by side is just an inch or so wider and does NOT fit well through doorways. you have to make sure the width is 29" or less). I have heard the new combi tandem is a piece of JUNK. The foot rests fall off and no tray for the backseat rider.

HTh and GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

Both our boys shared a crib and would always have to be touching. We kept them together for 3 or 4 months but then they started to wake each other up because they were moving around so we put them each in their own.

We have a Graco DuoGlider and love it!

 

I used pack n plays for the first 10 months. I wanted the babies in our room to make middle-of-the-night feedings easier and we constructed the cribs in their room before realizing that they wouldn't fit out the door. So, pnps in my room it was.

Until the girls grew to a combined 15 lbs, I put them both in the same pnp bassinett. They fit well in that. When they got to heavy, I put them in two separate pnps right next to each other. They didn't even notice the change because they were only 1-2 months old.

With the stroller, the Duoglider was by far my favorite. I also had a sbs but the fighting in that was just ridiculous because the kids could both reach each other. The sunshades on side-by-sides are also notoriously lousy and I had quite a few incidents where I had trouble getting the stroller through aisles. Side-by-sides are not supposed to be any wider than a wheelchair but there still seem to be a lot of places that wheelchairs can't fit properly and therefore your stroller won't fit there either.

 

QUOTE(twins_NYC @ Jun 20 2007, 12:39 PM) [snapback]300176[/snapback]
Anyone know of good strollers with adjustable handle bars? My husband is tall and has a bad back, so we need something with a really long handle or one that adjusts. TIA



I have heard that Maclaren strollers are best for tall people.

 

As far as sleeping separately, some twins will be different than others, I'm sure. My uncle had twin boys, and gave us one of their cribs. (Had loaned the other one to someone else.) We had our boys in the Twin PNP bassinettes in our room until they were almost 2 months, then we started putting them in the crib together. My uncle had said they were fine in the crib til they started rolling around. Well it was kinda cute, b/c they wouldn't roll, they would scoot somehow. We would put them at opposite sides of the crib, toe to toe, and they would always end up in the middle of the crib smooshed next to each other. Well, they are almost 4 months old now, and just last week is when we started separating them. They weren't really bothering or waking each other up yet, so we could have held off longer, but I didn't want to wait. The newborn book we got from the pedi actually stated that they advise putting babies in their own crib from the first night. It's whatever you feel most comfortable with though, IMHO.

As far as strollers go, we looked at both, and I actually didn't like the idea of a SBS for the same reason a PP stated, b/c there are some doors they won't fit through. I can't give you advice on what the best one is, we were given the Graco Duoglider with our Snugrides. The only thing I don't like about that one, is that it does take up so much trunk space for a car. We have a Toyota Corolla, and I thought the trunk was pretty big before that. We are looking into getting a mini-van now, for many reasons, not just to have more room w/the stroller. That's another thing to think about though, is what will fit with what you have, and which carseats it is compatible with. Hope some of that helps.

 

Thanks for all of your thought on this one... I have been looking into the snap n go, and then maybe something different down the line... About how long did your babies use their infant carriers? My daugther was a toddler at birth (10 lbs. 4 oz) and outgrew hers by the time she was 6 months, but I am assuming these babies will be smaller! Also, does anyone have any info about the Peg Perego Twin Aria? I have been offered a used one for 125.00 which sounds like a great deal, but not having experience with twin strollers I was wondering what others might have thought about it.

 

I got a Graco DuoGlider used & it wouldn't even fit in the back of my small car. I guess I need a bigger car!