Must-haves before birth?

[Linguaphile]

We're counting down to d-day for our twins in 10 weeks, and after a week of crazy 'they're coming and I'm not prepared' dreams, I'm feeing the drive get everything in order. For those of you who already have twins, what are the definite must-haves to get sorted before they're born? We can't fix up the nursery yet (my parents will be using it as a guest room for the first month after the birth), but I need some peace of mind that we'll be set if they arrive early!

something for them to sleep in, car seats, pushchair even though you may choose not to take them out for a little while it's probably better to have it in case, a few clothes (I got mainly newborn babygrows and vests but had to send dh out for tiny baby even though they were born at 37 weeks so may be worth having a few of that size too), hats, blankets etc. Even if you are planning to bf I would get a couple of cheap size 1 teats bottles I was glad I did this as planned to bf but ended up bottle feeding. You can always get better bottles if you need to afterwards. Nappies (cloth or disposable). I use disposable and would stock up when the offers were on ended up with plenty of newborn sizes and also some bigger ones. Loads of wipes. I wouldn't worry about toys and things it's an excuse to go shopping with vouchers you get gifted etc. You will have at least a short stay in hospital after the birth so you can always send people off to buy supplies even straight after. Dh started making regular trips to supermarket soon after they were born and unfortunately that hasn't stopped (dts ar 16 months now). You will be fine. You have enough to time to look for bargains on ebay etc. I wouldn't worry about having nursery ready for ages yet but bear in mind it may be hard to find the time to do it after! Oh and congratulations op! (Im sure Ive missed off loads off the lists there will be more answers soon)

Swinging chairs - they were a god send for me. You can put one baby in while you deal with the other.

Muslin squares - to put under babies head when they are in mosses basket. If they are sicky babies it is easier to wash a muslin square than a bottom sheet.

V shaped pillow - I did mixed feeding and used a mothercare pillow for breast and bottle feeds.

What are you planning on doing about sterilising stuff ? We used a water kit for dummies and syringes. We were not planning on doing this because I didn't like the idea of using chemicals, but they had them in scbu and it was really handy, you just have to clean tub and change the water every 24 hours.

You will never have enough blankets, gro bag / sleep bags etc. So if you can get plenty of those they will come in handy.

Good Luck

The things I've found most useful are - loads of muslins, loads of baby grows and vests (2nd hand have often hardly been worn esp small sizes and newborn size), a twin breastfeeding cushion if you're planning on breastfeeding (I got an EZ2 nurse one off eBay which has been great), pushchair ( I started going out quickly as needed to get out of the house even for a short walk everyday), definitely stock up on nappies if you're using disposables. Also somewhere to put one baby while dealing with another e.g. A swing/playmat etc and if you've got stairs it's easier to have a changing mat and all the stuff upstairs and downstairs.

It sounds like you'll have lots of help from your parents after the birth which is great. You can always get them to get things you suddenly find you need so don't worry too much!

I'd get a steriliser. You may be planning to breast feed, but even if you do you will most likely need/want to do some expressing, and a steriliser is essential for that. Also nursing tops and bras - my husband had to do a dash for bras after my twins came very early and were in special care. Towels, muslins, cotton wool, nappies, small sizes of vests and babygros, bath support, bath thermometer, soft sponge, anti bacterial gel for hands after nappy changes, a bin for nappies, changing mat, lansinoh ointment for nipples!

Worth sussing out how to hire a hospital grade breast pump too, just in case. Because mine were in hospital for weeks, I had to do a lot of expressing at home to keep supply up and had a mad rush to get one delivered as soon as possible (expressing by hand is NOT fun!)

Don't bother buying clothes for their early days other than vests, babygros and cardis that they can spend waking and sleeping hours in - IME you will not have the time or inclination to put them in outfits and change them twice a day (and the rest, when they pee all over their clothes when you take nappies off!) It gets easier with practice of course, but for a long time my mind boggled at how on earth I was supposed to have the time to dress them as well as clean, change, feed and burp them.

Good luck!

Have your hospital bag ready. One for you one for the babies.

Second loads of muslims, nppies and wipes.

Also changing station upstairs and dowstairs if you're on two floors (changing mat and a box for nappies&wipes is all you need).

Place for babies to sleep. Wehad two moses baskets but lots of people put them both in one cot at first. In the day we had them in the pram downstairs.

We used the pram at home to start with so needed itfrom day one. But also had to go back to hospital for visits etc so it was useful.

If you live in the uk you can get most stuff delivered pretty quickly so I wouldn't go mad on other things (ditto bottles, you will know if you need them by the time you leave the hospital)

This is all great--thanks!

I would buy the cheaper type baby vests, ie from primark or asda. The cotton is thinner and stretchier, much easier to get over babies heads or to pull down past their shoulders during a poo explosion! I found the thicker, better quality vests difficult to put on...especially when trying to wiggle over a fractious new born's head.

Hi Linguaphile, we are nearly there . I think I have about 9wks to go - eek!

This is a really useful thread, thanks for starting it. I have been on the look out for most of this stuff since 18/20 wks on Gumtree and Ebay and have built up quite a stock. I think mine are going to be known as the second hand twins

Can I ask a couple of things?
How many nappies do twins get through every day and how many (newborn size?) did you stock up before they were born? It's hard to know at what point they will get bigger and need a bigger size. Has anyone used the Naty Nature ones?

Is a swing or bouncer better? Two of each or one of each? Or do they get used at different weights?

Lingua did did you ever sort out how to get them home with no car? We are still debating!

I would have struggled without a tumble dryer.

My top tip would be those nightdress things. When you're changing two babies in the middle of the night, poppers and sleep deprivation don't mix, especially if you keep the room quite dark for night feeds like we did. They also don't grow out of them so quickly. I used the same set of nightdresses (yes, even for the boy twin) from when they were born until they were about four months old.

This sort of thing although I wouldn't pay that price for them. I found some on eBay.

Ok, not much to add as the great advice up thread but

FOOD, start now if you have a chest freezer get cooking and ask anyone that you know loves to cook to do the same thing!

Breast Pump - possibly and freezer pots (you can get post birth or someone can)

Nappies I used disposible (sorry) for the hospital and just after whilst I orderd resuable ones. I found the NOT having to deal with resuable nappies straight away for me was a big help. It also let me sus what sort of resuables to go for. I am sure there will be lots of people disagreeing with me

Vests - I used wrap round ones and found them to be fab in the first few couple of weeks

Bouncer / rocker (I had two for the rare occassions I wanted / needed to put both down) I liked the sort that I could rock with my foot but again everyone is different

I also could NOT have managed without my Changing station / bathing station I had a greco one that had a tonne of storage and an baby bath built in but, you may not want one though but mine was a godsend

I also hated muslins but I bought old fashioned terries nappies from boots I bought 3 packs (think there were 15 in each pack) and they are still going strong now, I found abut 1001 uses for them

V shapped pillow I bought a normal one not a breast feeding one.

Oh and I am queen of second hand! A lot of my stuff went onto friends etc so is now thrid of fourth hand

Echoing what people say above:

Your hospital bag and theirs, packed.

Lots of food and drink for the hospital (you may have CS and so hard to move)

Maternity pants and pads (the ones they give you are ick)

A sleeping bag for DH in case he's allowed to stay

You can never have too many muslins with twins. I think we have 48!!

Found swing chairs much better than the bouncers. And defo two of each unless you only want one to sleep!

A couple of packs of Prema nappies (can always ebay if they're bigger) and some prem sleepsuits (ditto)

We got through just over 100 nappies in the first week. Hi-bloomin-larious!

Jelonet and nipple shields if you're BF. Unlike singletons you can't give one boob time off, so I was very VERY sore.

BF cushion. They work!

Two bath recliners.

Ours were in the same Moses basket for about a month, then different ones for a few months after, then graduated to cot together, and only went into different cots at about 4 months.

Shameless plug but I write a blog about surviving (just) with twins. Have a flick through some of the earlier posts (they were born March 2012) about what we got in, things I wish we'd taken to hospital etc.

Then the post 'Of Cabbages and Slings' is my guide to what to buy/not buy.

Good luck! Muslins! Jelonet!

likepeasinapod.com/

Oh the only other thing I had could not have done without was a night light and my rocking chair (lived in the thing for the first few weeks!)

Hi Cornwall, how's the pregnancy going? We're also in the secondhand crowd! Fara Kids, Ebay, and Gumtree have been my little haunts the past few weeks. What sort of travel system did you get in the end? We just got a Donkey this week on Gumtree in mint condition for £700. Thought that was a pretty good deal, considering it was being sold just down the road from us! Almost got an iCandy, then changed our minds at the last minute as I kept looking lustfully at all the pretty side-by-sides--figured I should get what I want and just deal with the bigness. Fits in our hall closet, which is a bonus! Will just sell on if it doesn't work out.

Thanks so much for all the advice, everyone! Adding stuff to my Amazon list now. How many outfits did everyone pack in their hospital bags? Enough for 3 days? More? Less?

Oooh, Fara Kids is my favourite place! They have amazing stuff. Can't remember exactly how many I packed, but maybe 5 each, but my DH could go home and get more if we needed them. Also, small hats, as if they are on the small side you want to keep their heads warm....I second a good arm/rocking chair for you and a night light. Something magical about late night feeds like that.

Lovely new babies, secretly a bit jealous. Don't tell my DH!

Hi,
Im 5 weeks in after having my boys, and here are a few things that i have found to be totally necessary so far. (sorry if much of this already mentioned!)

Muslins - lots!

If bf - a good breast pump - i had the ameda lactaline double electric

breast milk storage bottles.

Microwave steam sterilizer.
Two vibrating bouncy chairs.
Small compact travel cot for downstairs sleeping - i wanted them to nap together in day as they share a cot at night. Didnt bother with moses baskets as felt too small so got a 'nuna' compact travel cot. Its the absolute perfect size for both of them, my best buy by far!
Blankets - good selection of different fabrics for layering etc.

Cot top changer. - i ordered this while dts were still in hospital, after realising how much we would need one. Got a vinyl padded one from ebay (new from an ebay shop) rather than the regular wooden ones. Its fab. And only cost £15 with delivery!

Lots of nappies - stock up now to save worrying about running out in the first few weeks. My two are going through one of the packs of 24 in two days (ish!)

I will post again if i think of anymore! Good luck! HTH! :)

Hi Lingua, I'm good thanks, 30 weeks yeterday which is very sobering - never thought I would make it this far let alone stay pg! Enjoying being on maternity leave. Can't get comfy at night so mainly nap during the day.

We went for the MB Duet. I really wanted a side by side as I need access to a good basket because we have no car so will be using it a lot. At 63cm its also the only one that I can get beyond the front door, everything else is too big. I got it for £400 inc raincover on local Gumtree from a mum who used it for a year for a baby and toddler. Not planning on getting carrycots, just sheepskin liners as it lies flat. Also getting new Britax car seats grp 0/1 and storing them in the basement to be used as and when we use the car club.

I think I am going to plan for 5 days staying in hospital/baby outfits just in case. Have you packed your hospital bag yet? This is something I need to get my head round!

Rowan, good to hear from someone 'at the coal face' so to speak . I have moses baskets for sleeping downstairs and cots (one in our bedroom) for sleeping at night. Also planning on a cot top changer upstairs and a may and bag of change essentials downstairs. You mention lots of nappies. I am planning on re-usables (again good stock purchased from local Gumtree!) but obviously will have to wait until the twins are the right weight. What nappies do you recommend at the start? I was going to go with Naty Nature as I like their eco credentials, but there are so many mixed reviews of everything I read about every nappy!

I managed to get an avent microwave steriliser on ebay with 8 bottles and plan to get a few more. I hope to be able to breast feed/mix feed. If I do this I would be looking to hire a pump and not have my own. How many bottles do I need?