What Should I Buy for Twins?
The glib answer to this is two of everything! But in truth there are a few things that are specific to getting set up for impending multiples.
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As I write this our twins are just 8 weeks and finally beginning to stabilise into a routine (of sorts).
Mrs C and I have spent the last two months not sleeping and rapidly road-testing various things that we’ve bought for our two.
We’ve done a mixture of second hand, borrowed, gifts, off eBay and buying new. With twins you need to economise wherever you can. I’ve included some links to useful things on Amazon below.
Buggy / Travel System
This is enough of a topic that I’ve separated it off. Which Buggy should I buy for twins?
Sleeping
Moses baskets are a short lived sleeping solution, most babies outgrow them in the first 3 months, and you’ll need two. We managed to grab some second hand, and our little ones were happy to share for a week or two, but now hardly use them at all.
Cot
Ours are still sharing a cot, now at either end, and it won’t be long before they need one each and at that point they’ll be in their own room.
Bean Bags
A surprise, these, recommended by our health visitor. For a little while, propped up on their fronts on these was the only way our two would stop raging. Obviously given SIDS this was a ‘while someone is in the room’ thing, but it really helped.
Vibrating Chairs
My brother swore by these for his little one and in the last couple of weeks as the twins have started to notice the world, the inbuilt toys seem to be beginning to be appreciated.
The vibration proved useful ‘moving things along downstairs’ and also for sending them off to sleep.
The tunes are not too annoying.
We were also recommended the Baby Bjorn bouncers by a couple of other twin mums. Ours haven’t taken to them yet, but I think once they’re more aware then they’ll come into their own.
Carrying
We have a couple of Baby Bjorn carriers, which are pretty useful if you have to do stuff and keep a single twin happy who only wants to be ‘on’.
Nappy Bins
Now this might seem incredibly superfluous, but with two you’ll be getting through a lot of nappies and these bins only need emptying every couple of days and keep the smell at bay completely. We have one upstairs and one downstairs.
Also don’t bother with the third party refills, just buy a load of official ones, they hold the smell in and don’t take a half hour to put together: you’ll have better things to do with your time.
As for the nappies themselves: Pampers - good, Huggies - didn’t seem to fit well and Sainsbury’s own brand - just as good and half the price.
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Good luck. You’ll need it.
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Last updated on May 18th, 2013 by @andycroll