If you have twins can you answer a question for me please?

[Pinkkahori]

What would you say the most useful thing you had in the newborn weeks?
My lovely friend is expecting twins and I would love to get her something genuinely useful.
I have 2 children myself but was thinking there might be something I just haven't thought of.
I haven't considered budget yet as I have some time to save so any ideas welcome.
Thanks.

[hereyougosuckmyassforensics]

Definitely perfect prep machine

[FrancesHouseman]

My friend with twins would also say the prep machine. Also a full time nanny...

[stickersstickerseverywhere]

Perfect prep machine is definitely the most useful thing I has

Mind you, they may have already got the necessary, and I'd definitely consider the prep a necessary. So maybe something extra. Coordinating Morrck hoodies or starsuits. Vouchers for those memory soft toys made out of baby clothes. Twin swim float.

[MerryMarigold]

Wow that's difficult but I'd say a stock of healthy home made meals she can just defrost and heat up/ put in oven. I don't know what a prep machine is. I had twins a few years ago without one. A good breast pump, but that's expensive!

[chuntersalot]

Honestly - laundry bags for every floor of the house 😁 I do have 3 floors though so might not be a useful if less. But just to be able to take off their clothes and have them put out of sight was great.

[MerryMarigold]

Bumbo seats were great.

[Amirite]

Snacks like biscuits that she can eat with one hand, large drinks bottle to fill with squash as bf’ing sessions with twins go on forever! Meals for the freezer is a good one too. Box sets... we got sky q which saved my life. Oh! Ewan the sleep sheep, that thing is a miracle! Twins are a blessing, just be there for her as a friend. You sound like a great one.

[ceeveebee]

I’d steer clear of anything to do with bottle or breast feeding - could be a sensitive issue for her, it was for me as I was determined to ebf but plans scuppered when they had to go to special care

For me the things I found most helpful in the early days were friends/family who came and helped out, made me a coffee, cooked a meal. My lovely sister sent me a hamper of loads of nice food that I could eat one handed and that was very well received
Or a nespresso machine!!

[MyDcAreMarvel]

A Netflix subscription , other than by twin feeding pillow there was no difference between twins or my singleton babies in useful items.

[FreeButtonBee]

A friend bought us 5 Charlie Bingham ready meals for the freezer which were a godsend.

Bouncy chairs or a twin feeding pillow also lifesaving (the feeding pillow a useful whether breast or bottle feeding)

Cake also good (I was ravenous constantly for about a year)

[Yumyumpigs]

I looooooved my perfect prep but it does depend if she's breast feeding or bottle. If she's breast feeding a tein feeding pillow might be just the job.

My best Friend bought food. (I do have a chest freezer though

[Rylanmakesmyheartsmile]

No perfect prep machine here either, and in fact we couldn't even use the wee machine we'd bought which measured out the formula scoops because it didn't work for the hypoallergenic formula DTs were on.

One of the best things for us was a friend from church who asked us what size nappies DTs were in when they came home from hospital and then proceeded to drive into the city from our rural town (45min each way) and bought us about £50 worth of tiny nappies. They weren't available anywhere in our town so this was a total lifesaver and kept us going for several weeks. DTs were both less than 5lb when they were discharged from hospital and regular sized nappies just didn't work so we really needed the tiny preemie ones.

Preemie clothes (mostly bought online) were also very much appreciated - especially tiny babygros and bibs.

In terms of other practical help - we have an incredible older couple in our lives who are surrogate grandparents for our DC who met us at the hospital when DTs were in NNU with a car boot full of meals for us. They totally filled out fridge, freezer and cupboards with easy to cook/heat, nutritious, tasty meals. In those early days when we were in and out of the hospital several times a day, that was an amazing help.

[MyDcAreMarvel]

Yes I forgot genuine prem baby clothes were really useful.

[trashcanjunkie]

A Costa and a Greggs prepay card. I would have loved that. Or for a laundry company that would collect and deliver 😬

[reallifesucks]

Taking loads of washing away and returning it dry and folded! Mine were pretty much in a routine after SCBU; so 1 sister managed to arrive around 1 feeding time a day for a while which was a super help.

[Dioskouri]

Agree with PP re freezer meals, perfect prep machine and prem baby clothes. The latter is tricky though because obviously you don’t know when the babies are going to arrive and what size they will be (they’re not all teeny tiny). The other thing I found pretty essential was the extra large Tommy Tippee nappy bin (bought from Twins UK I think).

[neversleepagain]

Freezer meals for me. Dh and I lived off toast and junk for months. A friend came to visit with a homemade lasagne and apple crumble, which was so nice and so appreciated.

[JourneyWithMe]

Freezer meals

If she's breastfeeding, the EZ to nurse foam pillow

[Waterdropsdown]

I’d say practical help, like going round and tidying up or putting on washing/sorting washing/emptying dishwasher. Making her a cup of tea and bringing a cake with you. Netflix subscription is a nice idea. Which ever way you feed - you spend half your day feeding them.

I had friends buy a whole load of meals and tbh my husband would just go to marks and buy dinner as we were always needing something else anyway. I even did the whole batch cooking thing and ended up chucking ALL of the food out about 6 months later
Defo would avoid anything to do with feeding. Also clothes you won’t know till babies are born. Mine were both 3+kilos so newborn was fine.

I’ve got to say I was utterly amazed at people’s generosity re presents.

[Pinkkahori]

Thanks everyone for all the great ideas. I think a twin feeding pillow and a Perfect Prep are topping the list.
She doesn't have a large freezer so batch cooking for her is not really an option. Also I'm 2 hours away so won't be able to do regular laundry runs unfortunately.
She's gone through a tough IVF journey to get to this point so I really want to support her and help her as much as possible.

[Baubletrouble43]

Someone who comes over on a regular basis and holds the fort whilst she washes her hair/sleeps/tidies up/has a cup of tea.Does she have a dog? Book a dog walker. Seriously, there was no item/stuff that could have come near to any of these!

[BuffyFan]

Does she have any older children already? My twin carrier was a godsend for me on the nursery run, I could walk my 4 year old up the road with two sleeping babies, come home, make a cup of tea and some breakfast without moving them. Definitely my must have!

I'd steer clear of anything breast or bottle related too, unless you know for certain she's doing one or the other (or both).

[TheSecondOfHerName]

Baby nightgowns. At 3am, when you have just fed two babies and changed both nappies, you don't want to have to fasten what feels like eleventy-billion babygro poppers in semi-darkness.

[pottersotters]

Rocking bouncy chairs, it used to be the only way I could get mine to nap at the same time.
Twin sling.
My favourite gift was the meals tho. But difficult if she hasn’t a big freezer.

[Pinkkahori]

More great ideas, thanks.
She doesn't have other children so no issues with school runs etc
I'd love to be able to offer more hands on help but I'm too far away to be able to offer day to day help which is a pity but her partner is really great and she has sisters local to her