Article of the month May

Think of having to buy two of everything for newborn twins, can seem pretty daunting, not to mention extremely expensive, so here is what I have found, thus far, to be necessity and what is fluff, at least for awhile anyhow.

Ok so you found out you are having twins, shocking, but great, so what do you need? welp you need a lot of things, especially an insane amount of bottles if you aren’t breastfeeding, and you don’t want to clean bottles out 3 times or more a day. We bought 20 avent bottles and found them to be a leaky mess, quite honestly. Dr browns I had used with my last, and they were good, but with two babies ain’t nobody who feels like adding the extra work of cleaning all of those parts to their daily routine, it just is too much in my opinion with multiples, however they are really great bottles, so I don’t have anything bad to say about them per say, except the extra parts. Born free has the extra parts as well, and sometimes the nipples collapse during feedings. Not cool for bottles that cost so much!

The low down on bottles is this, less is more. you don’t gotto pay a lot, I bought and tried vent-airs, (don’t even go there they leak from the bottoms to), born free, other Playtex variations, the Avents, and I sware they are very leaky even the new ones with the seals, though they might be ever so slightly better. I find we are weaning yourself off the Avents though if they correct that lil problem, I;d recommend those, but I found in the long run, $1 a piece bottles, Evenflos, to be best, actually picked up 12 last night for $9.99, in a big package. they are strangely, in my opinion, and in conversation with other mom’s at my kids’ schools, the best bottles we have used to date and we have tried many of them. isn’t it ironic, you assume if you pay more you get better, and it’s so not true. We spent a lot of money on Avents (20 of them), and no one wants to be the one who is going to feed using one of them, when they are in the fridge, along side of the Evenflos. I’m sure soon they will all be in the cabinet collecting dust, and I’ll just buy another 12 pk. of the Evenflos, even the nipples are cheaper, and I’m not cheap where bottles are concerned, but they just happen to be better, and made for smaller mouths. The nipples on the Avents can be tough for small babies, which multiples are usually smaller to start with.

Anyhow, on to the next thing, bottle warmers. I say if you can afford it buy two, you can heat them simultaneously, and feed your babies at the same time, without having to get up again. I do this and it was so worth the extra money. we bought two Avent IQ’S, they are much better then the original warmer from them, that I had with my last. I push the buttons at the same time, and presto, so I highly recommend them, and in getting two. if you shop at overstock for one, or wait for a babies r us coupon for 20% off, you can save some money on these. I can’t rave enough about them and about having more then one, it’s terrific.

Ok, now bouncers, I saw you DEFINATELY need two of these, and if you have the money maybe even more for a different floor of your home, so you won’t have to lug them up and down the stairs. if you can’t afford it, you can always check out craigslist or your local consignment store for a real bargain. they are great for when you need your hands free to get something accomplished, which may seem hard but not impossible, and for feedings to, they are essential when going tandem. I have two right now, but am planning on going and grabbing 1 or two more, at a local shop, I hate all of the lugging.

Travel swings. you can just go and buy two of these, you don’t even need the big swings, with twins you want convenience, and these are able to be moved from floor to floor and place to place quite easily, which you will appreciate. the others obviously will not. when I have one baby wailing and the other burping or feeding, because of course I don’t always feed at the same time, I like to have my special holding/bonding time as well, I can place the other in the swing, or at dinner time, a total lifesaver when you want to eat in peace and who doesn’t right? two of these are terrific. grab them on amazon. $54 a piece right now for the pink bright stars one, but watch out because the price goes to $70 when amazon runs out, but they restock so check back in and grab the deal plus free shipping. gotto love amazon. OH and if you can only afford two bouncers, then keep 1 bouncer/ swing downstairs, and 1 bouncer/swing upstairs. It seems to be enough. I just hate all of the lugging:)

Anyhow, you don’t need two play mat gyms, I almost bought two, but why? especially not for a long while. my girls are 6 wk’s old and have zero interest in the thing yet, and it’s bulky unless you are always taking it apart, definitely not an essential when money is tight, and it always is, with two in tow. Don’t bother with this one at first and only 1 when you do go there. It may end up being all that you need.

Two boppy pillows, absolutely. these will be your best friend, my girls just love them. they fall asleep in them easier then in the co sleeper, and like to relax in them as well. they say no sleep on the tags, but as long as its for a nap and not all night long, you are good, just watch them. use a folded blanket to put under their bodies to help support them, fill in the gap and make them more comfortable. works like a charm, and also terrific for feedings. (bottle feedings anyway). I think there is a special pillow for those who breast feed, even a twin one, so check that out, if you need something like that as well.

Two highchairs. you won’t need these in the beginning, so don’t bother, save the $ for now and buy a bunch of diapers that you can never get enough of, because they are bulky, take up space, and aren’t necessary in the beginning, but yes inevitably, you will need to have two of these. My husband talked me down from buying two of those ASAP, and I see now he was right. wait on it. Again you can get cheaper on craigslist , but if you don’t want used, which personally, I don’t know, I get a little grossed out by stuff like this, I need two new highchairs, but don’t listen to me, I’m just nutty like that, you can get a twin discount on these types of items, at babies r us, and other retail stores, like buy buy baby, so always ask for that when buying two of any big ticket items at any local baby store chain, why not get a discount whenever you can? Car seats of course you will need two of, and before the birth, so that is an absolute immediate necessity obviously. you can also buy used or get a twin discount for these as well, just tell ‘em it’s twins. I recommend the infant seats, for the 1st year. you want to be able to move your twins while asleep into a snap and go or twin stroller adaptors without waking them for quick errands especially, TRUST ME ON THAT ONE LADIES, so go for the infant seats, noo doubt. Greco snug rides, rule. I have two 35′s! They will last longer. A bit heavier to start with, but I can’t predict how fast these bubs will grow, and so the longer I can keep them in these and rear facing, the better off mommy is, ha ha, so I highly recommend them. A pic of the ones I chose are below, in the Lily print. So girlie and pretty!

Strollers. you won’t need 2, unless you want a double jogger as well, but again not right away, but as far as a main stroller goes, you need one REALLY good one, that isn’t; too heavy, isn’t too bulky, is smooth riding and comfortable, light-weight, compact, has multiple features that make life easier for you, during outings, and has the option of twin car seat adaptors is a big bonus. I found all of that and more in the double stroller we purchased, and I now highly recommend, the Stroll Air ‘My Duo’. I was a bit nervous about an item I had to pre-order months in advance (at that time), is new to the market and costs so much ($800) but in thinking about it, I’m so glad we splurged for this, I have used it several times now and it rides like a dream, I can manage it easily out on my own, it’s not super duper heavy like other models, and it fits in our wee lil trunk that we have gotto upgrade to a van, because it’s just not gonna work out, my babies are all so cramped and we can’t even fit everybody in the car all at once. No one knew it was twins at the time of the lease, so ha ha, joke on us. Welp only 4 yrs. (rolling eyes, he he). No we really need a switch no doubt but I digress, this is the perfect stroller for someone who wants something versatile, it is very much so, the seats have different configurations, and also the twin car seat adaptor options which we love. it just is the cream of the crop and considering how much babies use their strollers, I figure car seats and the stroller is just one thing to not skimp on.

I checked out other double strollers at the stores, including buy buy baby, the baby jogger city stroller, bumble ride which is a second fav of mine, and of course the other lower expensive models like graco and kolcraft, but this one just blows away the competition to ME, by far. I mean the quality is insane, you will feel and see when you get it, and its so nicely padded, has great features and again collapses nicely, with or without taking out the seats, better then others, and has a great one touch 4 wheel lock, it’s just amazing, I’ll post a personal video review of this stroller shortly, I just adore it so far, plus its one of the most narrow doubles you will find. Trust me, you want life as easy as humanly possible with twins, so why stress yourself and strain yourself. Splurge on this item, you wont regret it. Comes with a ton of accessories as well.

Ok back to twos’… jumperoos and exercausers are great for entertaining little ones, but one of each will do, and are NOT a necessity at first, but will become so as time passes by. save the money for now, and buy these types of items later. all they are doing for me right now, is taking up huge amounts of space in our garage. they aren’t going out of style, so you will be able to find them later on, but two exercausers and two jumperoos sounds excessive and just is, they can take turns in both items, and enjoy them that way just fine, so one of each is absolutely a smart, space saving, and money saving move for you.

Two cribs? Welp not at first either, unless you are like me, and really like seeing a nursery in it’s entirety, and also want the discount you can often get from buying two of these at one time. I can’t say don’t do it, as I did it myself, and though we aren’t using any cribs right now, I like the way the nursery looks with both set up, plus it may be hard to find time to do that AFTER the twins are here, so I wanted to get that out of the way however, not a necessity for some time. We are using the arms each co sleeper and bassinets at the moment, so I’ll let you know how the crib sleeping with twins goes, when it happens. Right now we prefer them more nearby. Some twins like to sleep together, some do not, and some don’t care like my girls. If they wake each other a lot, you may need those two cribs, however it wont change what room they are in, I guess if things got THAT bad, you’d need to separate though I haven’t heard of many stories of that happening. At first they can easily share a crib if you choose to use one right away, and save money on these other items, by simply using an inexpensive sleep divider, when they start to bother each other, and if they like to touch, toe to toe is very comforting, and also safe for your babies.

That is all I have time for today, I hope I have helped you out some. Check back soon for more pearls of wisdom:)