How do you afford it?

[twinkledag]

Waiting to find out if my latest IVF round has ended in twins as we had more than one embryo put back.

Wondering how others afford it?

I'm due twin boys in a few weeks and it's not cost a huge amount more than one baby. Here's how I cut costs/planned for two:

Didn't get a bugaboo or other crazy expensive pushchair.
Got carrycots second hand saving £220.
Got given a lot of clothes, a baby monitor, twin breastfeeding pillow etc
Waited for sales for other clothes, sheets, mattresses, high chairs etc
Got cots from Poland that were cheaper, good quality and with the side coming down will last until age 2 (but still cot as opposed to cot bed size which wouldn't fit).
Got toys second hand on eBay.
Stocked up on some nappies and other things now while still on full pay.
Went through our finances eg switching energy supplier, checking entitlement to child benefit.
Planning to breastfeed which if it works will be cheaper.
Not redecorating their room but using some wall stickers, putting toys and books out.
Getting our childhood books out of the garage.
Having a list of what we need and gradually getting things as they get discounted.
Waiting until after the baby shower to get clothes.
Staying in our little house until I go back to work.
Requesting and getting a pay rise before disclosing my pregnancy.
Second hand parenting books.
NHS antenatal classes.

Ultimately I assume it won't cost anymore than having two children, which we were planning anyway, it's just doing everything at the same time. But they don't need two of everything eg playmats, other toys, can share a cot until 5/6 months.

Good luck with your ivf

I don't have twins, but just wanted to point out something Clare missed out

Nursery fees. In our area, you'd be paying £1k per month per child, if you're planning to work full time.

Breastfed, cloth nappies, shared toys. Got a second hand pram. Lots of baby products are unnecessary anyway.

My best buys were a twin feeding cushion and baby sleeping bags. Also initially only buy one item if it’s an unnecessary item, one twin would settle in a sleepyhead - the other hated it, so I am glad we only bought one to start with.

Buy as much as possible second hand. People will probably fall over themselves to give you clothes and such like. So I would wait to buy any clothes aside from a few packets of baby gros and vests to get you started. Primark and supermarket clothes are fine if you are buying new. ASDA and ALDI nappies are the cheapest and they're better than the more expensive brands in my experience. We can't afford nursery so we are lucky to have family support and flexible workplaces so we can work around each other. Mine are only 18 months and I'm already dreading the cost of school uniforms. We use eBay for buying shoes as first walker shoes from clarks are £35 a pop. Free baby groups (local library is good for this) and going to the park a lot. I didn't do any classes etc while On maternity leave as couldnt afford it and they're all set up for people with one baby anyway and baby twins are very hard to manage on your own. Go through your monthly spending and make cuts now to see if its possible to save any money. We just about make ends meet.

Also in terms of childcare, on the one hand yes it's hard that they will both need the same level of childcare at the same time.

But if you were planning two you would have had this anyway just spread out a bit more.

Plus some places near me offer a sibling discount and with twins you'll always be able to use this, not just when they happen to overlap with their childcare needs.

We also have twins through Ivf, I hope it all goes smoothly.

I think equipment wise it can be as cheap or expensive as you like. We spent a lot on the pram and car seats etc but could have done it a lot cheaper if we had wanted to.

The biggest expense is childcare, paying for 2 children staggered over a few years is a different ballgame as you're usually still bringing in some money.

Paying 2 lots at once meant it would have cost us for me to carry on working, we did try but it just wasn't worth it so I took a couple of years out.

Also, go to play sessions and classes at your local children's centres rather than private places. They're often free or cheap eg mine does swimming for £2 an adult and free for under 5s. Often the instructor will do the class with one of your twins. The centres also have toy and sling libraries for free or token amounts to borrow. (Although I haven't had my babies yet I am a trustee of my local children's centres.)

Join TAMBA for discounts and your local TAMBA group will have second hand sales with twin stuff.

Both usually have a session for bumps as well as babies.

A decent pram is worth spending money on. I've got an inline Phil and ted one and its brilliant. It can be used as a single if you ever take just one baby out eg doctors.

I have twins who are ten next week. The first 12 months was not as costly as I feared as people were so kind with gifts and hand me downs! It was the childcare that crippled us and despite both earning good salaries barely broke even most months. You just learn to adapt to a simpler life style.

The nursery fees are the killer