Calling all twin moms (really anyone)!
Tell me your musts and must nots for your babies. I know everyone has their own preference and opinions. But what have you learned? Strollers? Tips?
I have been searching message boards and websites to get thoughts. Now it is your turn!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Twin Registery
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19 comments:
Hooray! I'm so glad that you get to do this! Okay, a few things that I think every mommy needs (Or wish I knew when I had Colin)
Miracle Blanket
Wubanub
Moby Wrap
(We found tight swaddling to really help during witching hour)
Baby jogger city mini- (The graco snap and go thing just didn't work for long for us and the baby trend jogger was crap)
Pottery Barn Chamois sheet (Pricey, but I just wash it over and over, it's cozy)
tylenol, mylecon, breast pads, litle noses saline drops or spray,
fisher price booster seats- way cheaper than high chairs and take up way less space, and they can go into these as early as a high chair)
Thats all I can think of!
THe baby papasan chair or bouncy seat will make your life much easier so you can put one down while holding the other...
Oh I have something else, I'm not sure what your plan is for sleep, but Colin went to his crib right away and the only way that I slept was with the Angel Care baby monitor, we had just had too many sad things happen to be able to rest while he was sleeping soundly... too soundly sometimes? Good luck! I can't wait to see what you get!
I've been meaning to do a blog post on my favorite baby things. Anyway, here goes:
*Baby K'Tan carrier- complicated at first, but the most comfortable of any sling or carrier I've ever used
*Fisher Price Rainforest Swing
*Bouncy Seat - The one we have this time is also Rainforest, but I really don't have a preference
*Huggies diapers
*Huggies wipes
*Dr Brown's Bottles - They really do seem to help with gas and reflux. None of my babies did well with Playtex bottles. I tried the new Breastflow bottles, but B seems to have less spitup with Dr. Brown's.
*Gas drops - I never buy Mylecon $$$. I use the generic brands. I have friends that swear by Gripe Water, but I didn't work for B.
*I love B's moses basket. Too bad she will be too big for it soon.
* With the first two we used a high chair. I think I will buy one that straps into a chair this time to save space.
*Baby Trend Flex-Lock car seat - Consumer Reports Best Buy
*Playtex Embrace breast pump
*Lansinoh breast pads and lanolin
*Soothie or Mam pacifiers
*Wipes warmer
Swaddling blanket, or get the hospital nurses to show you how to swaddle with a regular blanket.
*Sleep Sack
*Disposable changing pads for blowouts requiring changes at nasty public bathrooms. Just throw it away!
*Little noses saline spray and bulb syringe
*Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser and Cetaphil lotion
*Aveeno Baby Wash
I think that is a good start. :)
The best things we own are our papasan swing and our by-your-side bouncy seat.
The swing is a fisher price and it's great because t has a moving mobile with multiple sounds and because it PLUGS IN.
The bouncy seat is actually our 2nd bouncy. This one sits up higher off the ground, has 4 positions, and has vibration and sound. The mobile it comes with sucks and is pointless but all the rest of it is great. It also doubles as a high chair if your kiddo(s) aren't sitting up by the time they are ready for solids.
Also, Robbie's favorite, favorite, favorite thing is his playmat. It's a Tiny Love lights & sounds delux. Another friend of mine just had twins and apparently Tiny Love has a buy-one-get-one-free deal for twin moms. You might want to check into that.
The gift I now give at every baby shower: An ear thermometer.
Ooops, maybe I just gave away my secret! Perhaps you should keep this off your registry and make sure you check your mail ;-)!
I bought this stroller for Joelle and she says it's her favorite thing EVER.
forgot the link...
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=534817&cm_ven=Froogle&cm_cat=NA&cm_pla=NA&cm_ite=14324
One more thing. Before getting an ear thermometer, check with your pediatrician. Some docs like them, but our's makes us take a rectal temp even if we use the ear thermometer. Ugh!
Ditto on the fisher price high chairs- i have these - LOVE THEM!
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2002&e=product&pid=35236
I have this stroller - love it! The only thing I wish it had more of is storage - although I think you can get clips to hang a diaper bag from the handles. It is pretty reasonably priced.
http://www.combi-intl.com/Products/Item.aspx?Item=9
Also, if you end up having to buy stuff, ask the store if they give a twin discount (I know babys r us does) - they will usually let you use it for big stuff.
We have a temporal artery thermometer and it works great...really easy. The nurses and docs at the hospital recommended it. Our pediatrician still does rectal, but the temporal is closer to rectal than axillary or the ear.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2267477
Ok..listen, I have a twin double carrier (like a baby bjorn but for twins) that I never used. I have the instruction dvd and everything. We had a graco tandam double stroller that fits the car seats and we used that until they outgrew the car seats. Now we use a side by side which I like much better. Go to Buy Buy Baby and check out their strollers and car seats..they have a little more upscale things than babiesrus and we the guys there are much more knowledgable. Please let me know what else you're wondering about and I'll tell you what we did. So excited for you missy!
Must have:
Bumbo seat (one for each) - this is great for when the kids get a little bigger. They can sit up themselves with it. You can even use it to feed the kids.
Angel Care monitor - a little more expensive, but definitely worth having a little more peace of mind.
Unless you have very specific blankets in mind, I wouldn't register for them. You tend to get a lot of blankets at baby showers.
I liked the Dr. Brown's baby bottles, but they have a lot of pieces to wash. I think I would use the Playtex Drop-ins if I had twins just to cut down on the hassle.
If you get a breast pump, don't skimp! I got the best Medela pump along with the bra/attachments to pump hands-free. But you might want to wait until after the babies are born to see if you'll need a pump. One of my friend's milk never came in.
One of the most important things is the diaper bag! I never found one I really liked, but go for functionality over style. :)
That's all I can think of right now.
Oh, so many thoughts when it comes to twins... You need twice as many of so many things, so try not to get extraneous things that you really don't need and focus on the real necessities. Does that make sense?
Must haves:
-Bouncy seats. We did a lot of up and downstairs, so I got 4, 2 for each floor (2 new, 2 secondhand).
-Dr. Brown's bottles. After buying the Avent (lots of them), having serious gas problems, I then bought the Dr. Browns. Loved them.
-Ditto on the breast pump. I rented a hospital grade, and boy, was that necessary.
-Pack N Play for the living room/kitchen/where ever you spend a lot of time that's not the bedroom.
-Two Bjorns. This was great when out and about with hubby.
-Double SnapNGo. You can use this for a long time, as long as they're in carseats, and it's basic, no frills, easy. Don't buy new if you don't have to...check craigslist, twins club, etc.
-Waterproof pads and lots of sheets. I layered sheet/pad/sheet/pad/sheet on both cribs. When they got wet/spit up at night, I didn't have to fuss with changing sheets, just pulled off dirty sheet and pad, and fresh was below.
-Backpack-style bag...your hands are full. Petunia Pickelbottom sells a really pretty one.
Things I didn't find useful/or just took up extra space:
-wipes warmer
-bottle warmer (they get used to these and then what do you do when youre somewhere with a cold wipe!??)
-swing (mine hated it, and it took up a lot of room. wait to see if they like one before you get it)
I could write a whole book on strollers...
things I can't live without.
My valco rocking chair for cuddle and feeding time. (both DH and I have one so comfy)
AngelCare motion/noise monitors. (you can use 2 in one room)
things the babies love
bouncy chairs
muslin wraps (they grow so fast getting fitted miracle wraps were a waste of money)
Change table x 2 (trust me it's worth having the 2 in one room during bath time it's easy to go from bath to changemat etc without fiddling around)
you will find a lot of what you buy is a waste of money, sadly you wont figure out what that is until you buy it. for me it's crap like wipe warmers etc.
Don't rush out and buy lots of "stuff" you don't need it the babies don't need it, and you have a whole lot of time after they are home to work out what you really want. DO NOT listen to sales people they are there to make you part with your money end of story.
babyjogger city mini is my choice of pram.
Things I could not survive twins without:
-double snap-n-go stroller
-lily padz breast shields
-crib divider until they are big enough for two cribs
- ergo baby carriers-bjorns will hurt your back as they get bigger
-Jane Power Twin jogging stroller (I hate the side-by-side ones)
and the #1 must have ...
The Podee bottle!!!! The only way to feed two children at the same time. It was too hard to breast feed my twins tandem because they were different sizes and different types of nursers. This bottle is great when they are too young to hold it. I can nurse one baby while the other has a bottle (and I am the only one at home).
I agree with so much of what Laura said. I have twins that turned 1 today, unbelievable!
*I tried many bottles and settled on Dr. Browns. Many parts, thank goodness for the dishwasher.
*I rented a breast pump from the hospital. Still wasn't pleasant but was much faster.
*My ped let me put my swaddled babies on their side in a sleep positioner. They wouldn't sleep on their back except in a swing.
*After the kids outgrew their graco tandem car seat stroller I got a Maclaren and I love it.
*I had Fisher Price Rainforest Swings that were a lifesaver until the kids were about 6 months.
*The book Twinspiration
I loved so many things and didn't use once so many things. I could write so much. Drop me a comment on my blog if you would like more. Good luck!
I'm a little late to the list here, but hopefully still helpful! I read through the above comments, so will try to just agree or add new.
We have loved the double snap-n-go if they're already in their carseats somewhere. But it's a pain if you just want to go for a walk. I used an umbrella stroller and a bjorn for walking a lot.
The bottle warmer was great for us as I had a lot of frozen b/milk from the NICU. It's good for food, too. Bottles and pacifiers vary by baby, but we used Avent bottles, and Soothie and Nuk pacifiers.
We had 1 bouncer (Fisher Price Kick-n-Play) and one swing and it worked out well to switch it up for them. We have a borrowed exersaucer that's been great.
Two boppies were really important - that's how I bottle fed them for months. And extra covers for both the boppies and the changing table.
If you end up needing bottles, it's important to have at least enough bottles for an entire day so you're not constantly washing them. If you have a dishwasher, the Munchkin baskets are great for washing the nipples.
Long post. :) Feel free to track me down if you have more questions! My boys just turned 1 last week!
Skip hop diaper bag for twins!
Valco tri mode twin stroller
Avoid gra.co. Bad company. Search online for more info if you'd like.
Peg Perego Primo Vagio SIP Car seats (preemies fit best in these. I should know!)
Baby Trend Double Snap N go
Two bouncers
MANY recieving blankets
Dr Brown's bottles
Best personal tip from me, plan ahead and cook/freeze meals for when they arrive. YOu will be surprised at how little you feel like cooking a real meal! lol
Good luck!
Leanne @ http://emptyarmsandbrokenhearts.blogspot.com/
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