Registering soon - wondering what twin moms "must-haves" are?

Hi Moms!

I'm 16 weeks pregnant now with my first pregnancy (twin boys) and am planning to register for my baby shower in late December, or early January. I was wondering if any of you could respond back with some items that are "must-haves" for twins and that you just couldn't live without. Are there specific brands of products that are better? I want to start making a list so I'm prepared when we go register. Thanks so much for your advice!

Lisa

 

There is a Sticky at the top of the Expecting forum with a list of stuff that is very helpful to register for. Here is the link.

The only thing I would add to that list is Boppy Newborn Loungers. I don't know what I would have done without those for the first few months!!

Have fun registering!!

 

Here are a few of mine:

two boppy pillows: I still use them all the time. I used to help me feed my girls. I would put a boppy on each side of me with a baby in each and feed them.
playmat
bouncy seat
swing
miracle blankets to swaddle
noise machine

 

QUOTE(Kyrstyn @ Dec 8 2008, 10:46 AM) [snapback]1101908[/snapback]
The only thing I would add to that list is Boppy Newborn Loungers. I don't know what I would have done without those for the first few months!!


Those are so cool...how did I miss them? Too late now, but they look great!

 

Now that I have my girls I would do things different...

2 boppy pillows to duel feed
1 swing (if they really like it you can buy a second one)
2 play mats
4 crib sheets (Although the twins sleep in the same crib, I would always have the other one made up as when they were real young one would spit up a ton and this way I didn't have to remake the crib at 3 in the morning)
TONS of bottles if you are planning to formula feed

 

Miracle blankets are a must. I didn't discover them until my guys were a month old and I wish I had them from day one. They are the very best way to keep a baby swaddled (much better than the velcro type swaddling blankets). However, I don't think BRU carries them. I ordered mine from miracleblanket.com.

 

I posted about this in Expecting, but I'll add it here....

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2861762

That's one we have, and we have a more simpler one-which I would advise to get vs. this one. We never use the tray.

We take these chairs EVERYWHERE! We never use restaurant high chairs anymore. We put the boys in these-inside the booth. No one can touch them, spill hot food/drinks on them, and their food does not get dropped all over the floor! Instead it is on the booth-a much easier cleanup for mom and dad! And-we use these whenever we go to our parents house, others, etc. LOVE them. It is the best thing we invested in!

Other things:
Laugh-n-Learn House/Kitchen(I registered for some toys when they were older-was glad I did-and they LOVE this!)

Toys for when they are older...

Bouncy seats-we used these until they were a YEAR OLD! Once they held their bottles on their own-they sat in these when I was alone(or someone else). We just stopped bottles during the day, so we don't need them anymore. They were great though!

Burp cloths-so many you don't know what to do with them-because they won't be enough!

Bibs-ditto what I said about burp cloths!

Those are some things that stick out in my mind. We did have two pnp's but honestly-never really used them all that often. Definitely not two. But that was just us. Have fun registering!

 

QUOTE(Mom2twogirls @ Dec 8 2008, 08:33 AM) [snapback]1101993[/snapback]
TONS of bottles if you are planning to formula feed

Be careful buying bottles before your LO's arrive. I went out and bought a TON of avent bottles, and my girls would not use them at all. I ended up switching to Dr. Browns, and gave away all the AVent one's. Maybe buy 1 or 2 of a couple different kinds. Then when you know what works for them, go out and buy more.

My girls never cared much for the regular boppy pillows. They were both pretty small when they came home and the regular boppy's just ate them alive. I definitely preferred the loungers. I am just jealous that they make slip covers for them now, they didn't when I used them.

 

Congratulations !!

Heres my list of must haves:
2 swings - we didn't get the expensive ones, we were short on space, so went for the fisher price rainforest take along swings. They eat up the batteries, but we now use rechargeables so its no big deal. These were a lifesaver in getting them to sleep.
2 boppy pillows - the biggest used item in our house. I can feed both by myself because of these.
2 kiddopotamus snuzzlers - not for carseats, but to use when swings etc are too big. Great in strollers too.
Play gym - we now have two. A Baby Einstein one, and the Fisher Price Rainforest one.
Jumperoo - again the rainforest one. Loved it so much, we ended up buying another.
2 Rainforest booster seat thingies (same as PP). We actually use the toy trays a lot, as I let them play with the toys while feeding them solids. They also buy me a few minutes while I clean their faces and prep their food etc.
Dr Brown's Bottles - we tried a few different sorts, but even now, the babies still prefer these, and they ended up with waaaay less gas.

We bought our own car seats, and double snap n go. We registered for a regular stroller (Baby Trend double jogging) and were given it, its turned out great. We received 2 baby bjorn carriers. We haven't used them all that much, but they do help out at airports, or if a baby loses the plot while in the stroller and wants to be hauled around like a sack of potatoes. Oh, and we also got an infant to toddler tub complete with hammock/sling thingie (think its safety first). That was a must for me.

 

I HAD to have the Kiddopatumus wraps when they were newborns. They were amazing! Now I completely rely on the 2 Boppy Pillows (especially in the morning) and the 2 Boppy Papsan chairs (rest of the time)! I couldn't live without the swings either.
Check CL for swings. You can get them VERY cheap and in great condition because most people don't use them for long.

 

2 boppy pillows are a must in my opinion. I use them to feed the boys when I am by myself with them and DH and I each use one when we feed the boys before bed each night.

Get one swing and if they both love it get another, we only have one that loves to swing so we didn't really need 2 and the second just takes up space.

A good pair of walking shoes. Getting out with the babies for a walk in the begining was my saving grace. It got me out of the house, got the babies to sleep, helped me keep my sanity, helped me realize that I COULD do this and helped me start shedding the baby weight. Having a good pair of shoes is critical!

 

My must have's are

sound machine
2 aquariums (fisher price) for crib
1 jumparoo
1 bouncy seat
a good twin stroller

we don't have 2 of anything, we just switch the girls from one thing to another. Your house will get pretty full w 2 of everything IMO.

 

Congratulations!

A few things I'd add to that list

- a double snap'n go. It's great with infant seats.
- waterproof pads. I use those all the time to change the babies.
- a humidifier (visible mist is best)
- crib soothers. the fisher price ones are great
- a play yard (not pack'n play)
- diaper pail, only if you don't feel like bringing dirty diapers to the trash all the time (I have dogs so leaving diapers somewhere for even 1 minute is a no no).

I would not bother with receiving blankets. I used some to swaddle, but 99% of the ones you find out there are too small. Use waterproof pads instead. I've never used my boppies. I'd think about it beforehand to see if you'll get any use out of them... I prefer holding the babies to feed them, and I still feed them one at a time.

For the exersaucer, physical therapists don't recommend them, so I'd probably wait to see if you really feel the need to contain your babies for 20-30 minutes sometimes. I didn't, so I barely used mine. I used a play yard instead.

For the bouncer/swing, we ended up using two of each, until they were 5-6 months. But you can just get one and see if they like it before getting another one (and you can find a lot on craigslist for cheap).

It's all I can think of right now!

 

i didnt read everyones responses but heres mine-

only buy 1 swing/1 bouncy. they might not like them! mine didnt and it was a waste of money. if they both like it you can always go get another. or just register for both and only open one and wait and see if they like it.
dont buy tons of the same kind of bottles.
a changing table was a waste too. lol we never use it. i actually never have! it stores the blankets/spit rags though!
snap n go!
a bright colored mobile is awesome! though it took them awhile to get interested, but now they stare at it long enough for me to get a shower and get ready for the day.
crib toys- like the rainforest one, or theres one i got from walmart that projects stuff on the ceiling. its good when theyre going to bed.
i found cute fancy outfits are a waste too. its nice to have a few for special outings, but otherwise at home its easiest for them to be in onesies (the theres tons of cute ones there too)
for later on mine love the jumperoo. the exersaucer theyre getting a little interested in

 

Boppy Pillows [I don't have them, but I wish I did - and I've heard nothing but good things about them!]
Nice swaddling blankets
Sound machine
Good amount of bottles - once you find out what they like [I have 12 and I wash them about twice a day]
Bouncy chair [we got one that leaned way back for when they were really young. Now we only use a sit up bouncy chair]
Gliders - we have them, wasn't sure we'd use them much, but we DID! Babies frequently get bored and you need different things to keep them busy.. we called them 'stations', lol.
Lots of jammies for the winter :] Sometimes mine wear theirs all day!

 

This is what we use a lot!
2 boppy pillows
at least 1 swing
bouncy seat
jumperoo
mat (with the toys hanging down)
a good double stroller - we have the Graco duoglider - its a little heavy, but I love it, it rides smooth (does that make sense?) http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2899790
we have a single snap and go that I use for walks with one baby in a carrier
2 carriers (like Bjorn, Infantino, etc.) our girls love these


Congrats!

 

NO body put it on here, but a diper caddy I think is essential. You can load up a 3-4 days worth of diapers, a package of wipes and things like nail clippers vaseline, q-tips, etc. We got one at brus and it was $30 bucks so def. reg for one. it was so easy to do diapers anywhere. I miss ours it got torn apart by the boys, so keep yours out of sight! And the sound machine is a weird must, but we still use ours at almost 11 months! Congrats on your babies!

 

First off are you planing on breastfeeding or bottlefeeding?

I'm breastfeeding but pumping and having other bottle feed if I'm allowed to take a couple hours break to run errands or spend special time with my oldest son.

I use old fashioned cloth diapers as burp cloths and as a boundry under the babies chins when breastfeeding because they get messy sometimes. The diapers can hold a lot of milk in them and are just my favorite hands down. (Trick I learned from my mama.)

A swing (DF bought 2 and then someone gave us a hand me down and now we have more swings than babies!) Don't go all out, my boys only like them half the time, same with bouncy chairs.

Bouncy chair(s) I have heard good things about the fisherprice rainforest one so plan on buying one and putting another less expensive one facing it as the waterfall and other objects on it can be seen from both sides and also it leans back enough to put smaller babies in it (important!!!). We have one that was given to us but it is too upright for them to use it still.

Play mats (I loooove the fisherprice rainforest one [in fact the rainforest line is all around wonderful.])

Boopys!!! My mil and other family come over and hold the boys all the time so they really like to be held a lot now. I have a trick of holding one swaddled until they fall asleep and then put them in the boopy because they feel like they are still being held...plus having them a little more verticle helps with reflux.

I actually use the pack n play for sleep (not the twin one) and its great because it can hold two boppys face to face so the fit perfectly!

I already wrote my advice on bottles in a thread in the expecting forum and wrote about my bottle heater which I LOVE!!
We have the Munchkin bottle heater and it has many features I find very useful. It comes with a with measuring cap and a card which tells you how much water to use depending on the bottle size and whether it is cold or room temp. It heats pretty fast and the perfect temp EVERY TIME you use it, plus it can sterilize nipples and binkies and other small items. The only drawback is that you can't do one bottle right after the other because it has to cool down to a certain temp first. But we loooove it! I even sterilize medicine droppers in it.

Changing table (ESP IF BREASTFED!)
Breastfed babies stool's are a little looser and they can actually "shoot" poop out if they have a little too much pressure on their bells while being changed. My MIL and I know from experience and trust me its much easier to clean and table than your bed esp in the middle of the night when you are half asleep.

Washclothes! Great for covering little boy parts when changing so they don't pee on you.

Baby gowns are great for night changings!
Onesies that zip are awesome for night changings as well.

Graco carseats are great if you are getting a snap 'n go stroller or the dou glider.

Cold air humidifier and saline drops for their noses.

Gas drops (I found a generic form or mylicon) my boys can get very gasy and fussy even though they are breastfed and this really helps.

Those are really my everyday musts even though I've only been at it for a month.

Sounds like you've already got some great ideas...I wish I asked this before I had my twins.

Oh and CONGRATS, you are about to start an amazing journey. Cherish it.

 

My must haves:
- one boppy pillow, I dual fed with only one and propped the other baby up on my leg or against the edge of the boppy and the couch.
- the Miracle Blanket- I got 3. They really are a miracle and help them sleep so well.
- 2 cradle swings. These were LIFE SAVERS! They loved them and it would soothe them to sleep instantly.
- LOTS of bottles, so you aren't washing them 2 times per day (if you're bottle feeding)

Those were the things I found most helpful the first 3 months. I still use the boppy, bottles and Miracle Blankets.
Congrats!

 

A few of my must haves:
2 boppy pillows. We still use them!
We registered for a swing and were given another swing once we discovered they both like it.
A bouncy seat, never got 2 because DD hated it but DS, especially as a newborn, loved it.
Bottle brush, small but extremely helpful-especially if you don't have a dishwasher.
Diapers and wipes-you will need them!
Feeding seats or high chairs
Bumbo seats
Burpie clothes
Swaddle me blankets (a lifesaver those early months)
Pack and play
CD players to play lullabies during nap time and bed time or white noise machine
Lullabye CD's

Congrats and good luck!

 

We're only 6 weeks into life, but I can tell you what we use/need on a daily basis:

Cloth diapers--not for diapering but for pretty much everything else. They're cheap, wash well and make excellent burp cloths, changing pads etc...

Bottles: We're using the Born Free ones and the babies seem to be doing well. I only bought 8, so I wash them a couple times a day. When we step up to the bigger size, I will probably buy more (like 12)

Dr. Brown's Formula pitcher: If you're formula feeding (we're doing a bit of breastfeeding, pumping and formula) It makes like up to 38 oz or something and it has a really cool mixing blade which means no shaking, no lumps. I cannot reccomend this highly enough.

Pack and Play: The babies slept in that for the first few weeks (moved to the crib for nighttime last week). But we use it as a changing table, travel crib and eventually I'm sure as a baby jail

Bouncy seats: We have two. They don't care at all for the entertaining stuff yet, but they do like to sleep in them from time to time. I like the above ide of having them face each other so you can share the Rainforest light show, we have one Rainforest one (it is SO cool), and that's a great idea!

MIRACLE BLANKETS: We have four and they are AMAZING. The boys sleep so much longer if they're in them. We use them mostly for their longer nighttime sleep, but also for a nap during the day if I think they need a longer downtime. I have a coulpe of the SwaddleMe and a) they were way too big for my kids and b) not as good as the Miracle Blankets. We bought 4, and if you get them from the company itself, there's a discount if you buy more than two.

Those are the things that I know we couldn't get by without. Of course, we use other stuff too, but these are the essentials

 

What is your house like? We had a condo that was all on 1 level for DD and it made a big difference in what I needed and used. With the twins, we have a basement, 1st floor and 2nd floor that we use regularly so I have a lot more gear.

What is your budget like? If there are any constraints at all, I would personally try to get the items you use for longer (like good convertible car seats, good dresser, good stroller, good high chair) and possibly borrow the baby things they outgrow quickly, like bouncy seats and swings.

Many of my friends are done with kids and have passed along lots of barely used swings, exersaucers, bouncy seats, play gyms & baby toys. I have 3 exersaucers (2 on main floor, 1 in finished basement), 2 play gyms, 2 swings, & 3 bouncys. Basically there are 2 places to safely put a baby on each level. I honestly use them all. I spent my money on good bedding, good furniture, car seats, and a very nice stroller (or things I didn't want used).

With 2 floors, I found having a diaper station (with everything close at hand) on each level was very helpful. We have a pack-n-play on the 1st floor with a diaper organizer attachment thing that keeps everything in place.

 

I didn't read all the way through but here are my must-haves

2 boppy newborn loungers
2 papasan chairs for when they are tiny
2 bouncers (bigger and the more lights and music the better) -
we actually had 5 - 2 in the LR, 2 by the kitchen, 1 in the bathroom

 

I didn't read all the way through but here are my must-haves

2 boppy newborn loungers - absolute must have
2 papasan chairs for when they are tiny
2 bouncers (bigger and the more lights, music and toys the better) -
we actually had 5 - 2 in the LR, 2 by the kitchen, 1 in the bathroom - I got tired of lugging them around
larger swaddle blankets (Target)
double snap n go - absolute must have
hotsling if you have a fussy one
playmat with mirror
exersaucer and jumperoo
2 walkers (they run over each other if only one is moving)
interesting mobile (skip the cutsy ones that match the bedding)

buy anything you can used they go through all this baby gear so fast

also things I should have registered for and didn't
a few of several types of bottles
sippies, bowls, plates, spoons - they get there faster than you think
TOYS - I know seems silly but I registered for only newborn toys and with bday and xmas together we had to go toy shopping at 6 or 7 months.

Good luck and have fun - also go register early. You can always update later or online but go ahead and go "touch" anything you think you need to now just in case!

eta: to finish my post - i hit enter too fast.

 

THANK YOU ALL for your posts! I can't thank you enough! This is great! I just printed this entire thread out to go through when I'm registering. It will be a lot of help!

Lisa