Maybe you’ve just discovered you’re expecting twins and are still in the whirlwind of letting this news sink in or maybe the realisation has hit that the twins are coming and you need to start getting prepared. Either way, I’ve got a great list of all the must-haves and include the items I think you really don’t need two of.
I’m not going to include the quantities of early clothing, bibs or muslins as that will depend on how often you intend to wash. What I will say is that you’ll need more than you think. Obviously it’s down to preference but buying lots of neutral or plain vests and babygrows makes dressing much easier in the early weeks.
Sleeping
We bought two second-hand Moses baskets and then bought a new mattress for each when we found out we were expecting twins. They shared the Moses baskets for the first couple of months and we only had two so we could have one upstairs and one downstairs.
At night time, the girls shared an arms reach co sleeper which is a very large alternative to the single sleepers that attach to your bed. They slept in this together until about 6 months. We didn’t buy cots initially as we knew we wouldn’t need them to start off with and then picked up two cotbeds in the sales.
When they outgrew the co-sleeper, they moved into a shared cot bed for a few more months before we separated them at 9 months and put them in their own cot bed in their own room. They still sleep in the same cot beds (now converted to toddler beds) at 4.5yrs and I anticipate them staying in them for a few more years yet.
Are you expecting twins?
Entertainment
To start with we just got a play gym. I really searched high and low for a large one but in the end, I realised a standard size one works just as well with twins as it’s only their head that need to be under. We also got them a simple bouncer chair each.
Instead of buying two of everything, we chose to get one each of a few different ‘toys’ to occupy our twins. As they got a bit older, we had a door bouncer and a walker. Remember the large jumperoo toys take up a lot of room and two would fill most people’s living space.
Changing
We didn’t have changing units as I didn’t feel they were very safe and they also felt like an expensive short term purchase. However I had two change stations, one upstairs and one downstairs. At each station, there was a changing mat and a baskets with wipes, nappies and creams. This saved me having to take them both up or down when they needed changing.
Wipes
Very early on we bought a cute set of 12 reusable wipes and we are still using them four years later. Personally, I didn’t choose to use these as nappy wipes but for face wipes and for little spills and spit up. They got thrown in with the regular washing and were dry within minutes.
Feeding
I combination fed. For us, this involved breastfeeding, expressing and regular bottle feeding. I found it easier to use a cold water steriliser as then all the breast pump parts were ready whenever I needed them. It also meant we just needed to change the water once every 24hrs and then bottles, teats etc could go in and out as required.
For the early weeks, my twin breastfeeding pillow was really helpful but once I got the hang of it and could latch the girls more easily, I found a regular body pillow more comfortable and adjustable. I bought my long pregnancy body pillow early on in my pregnancy. It helped me sleep and I still use it now when I sit up in bed.
One extravagant item we did purchase was the Perfect Prep Machine. It made bottle prep a breeze and was worth every penny. We took it upstairs during some harder sleep times and even packed it in the car for a stacation.
Bathing
We only bought one baby bath. The one we used and loved was the angelcare one and it was quite large so one one would have fitted in the bath anyway. You are likely only going to be bathing one baby at a time and so one bath is perfectly adequate.
Buy Second Hand
Where possible, we bought many of our items second hand. You need to remember the useable life of baby products is very short and people often go crazy buying all sorts of things they don’t need or don’t end up using. This makes for a great second-hand market, where you can pick up practically brand new items for a fraction of the cost you pay in the shops.
Also, try not to be one of those people yourself. You don’t need to get every gizmo and gadget before your twins arrive. If it turns out you really want or need something, you can likely have it delivered the next day and at least you’ll know it was something you are definitely going to use.
If you are expecting twins, then you might want to check out some of my other posts including some of the hardest aspects and my tips to making life a little easier. You’ll find that one HERE.
If you’re reading this and you already have your twins, I’d love to know what your essential baby twin items were and what products you regret buying or you just didn’t use.
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The article was written in collaboration with gifts from Very.com