Twin newborn essentials?

[LunaBear26]

I am due to have twins in early September and thinking about what I might need to buy for them. I already have an almost 3 year old, so have basic things for 1 baby, but not 2.

So far I have a double buggy and car seat situation is (almost) sorted - trying to get 3 in a row is a challenge!

Is a double feeding pillow a good idea? I've seen loads online about how helpful this is.

Also, what kind of thing did you have for sleeping? We have a snuzpod (that my son hated - but he hated all sleep tbh...!) but it won't fit both of them! I'm thinking about getting one of those double next to me cots, maybe.

What kind of things were a lifesaver for you with your twins? Any advice is appreciated! 😁

congratulations! Twin life is amazing.
get yourself a VW van, was a life saver for us after trying multiple people carriers with 3 small children and car seats.

We've just got a Peugeot 5008 which has a huge boot (I had a corsa before) and so glad for the extra space!

Were there any particular items that you bought that you found helpful for twins?

You need a twin pillow. My twins are one and we’ve used the twin pillow every day several times. I have the bellochi one and it’s stayed plump and full. My two go and lie down on their specific side of the pillow now when due naps etc as they are so used to it! Good luck with everything

A sling is helpful to keep under the buggy. Them if your toddler gets tired or refuses to walk, you can stick a baby in the sling and the toddler into the buggy

I had a playpen downstairs, one that I could raise the base up on so it wasn’t too hard to lean into to put a baby down/pick them up (crucial if you’ve had a c section). This was a life saver as you’ll inevitably have moments where you’ll have to briefly leave a baby alone with the toddler, so it’s safer to put them out of the way

You asked about sleeping, mine shared a Moses basket initially then had two Moses baskets side by side. You can get twin Moses basket stands. Then when they went into a cot they shared one, they slept widthways across the cot so there plenty of space between the two of them. Then once my toddler was into a bed we then had a second cot available and the twins had one each. Good luck

I loved my sling with my first! This is a great idea, thanks!

We've got a spare cot bed that I was thinking about putting in the living room for a bit (not enough space for a full playpen in there) as I definitely want a safe space for them from my toddler!! He's very... energetic! 😂

Congratulations, much of this will be trial and error and what suits one is not always right for another.
I bf dt for 12 months could never get on with the pillows.
They slept in a moses basket together then a cot bed till 21 months when they went in separate beds. A good tip a midwife who'd had twins gave me was never rock them to sleep because it becomes impossible with two, always put them down awake. It worked for mine they got used to me just putting them down.
Bouncy chair things were great if they needed to be kept up right after a feed or one finished earlier than the other.
A sheet over the sofa, when two babies decide to deposit their lunch at the same time you cant catch it all!
A sling for having a free hand for third child, one baby in sling, one under arm and one for older child. Also helpful getting from car to nursery or into someone's house.
You dont need two/double of everything. Mine probably didn't have much more clothes than dc1 combined at first. I just had a few more vests/baby grows etc.

This one’s going to sound a bit random but bear with me!
Shoes that are easy to get on and off. The number of times you find yourself having to take your shoes off is insane! I practically lived in a pair of slip on converse, the ones with the fake laces. You’re constantly in and out of the house carrying car seats, shopping, etc.

Thanks! My first was rocked to sleep for ages and had terrible sleep in general! I'm going to try really hard not to start this as I know it's not that sustainable, especially with 2!!

That's such a good idea! I don't have anything like that at the moment, but already thinking I need something easier to put on as the belly is starting to get in the way! 😂 I'll be in and out doing the nursery run and think I'll probably go to my parents a lot for support so that's a great idea!

I don’t have twins (apologies for chipping in) but I have seen numerous people in a breastfeeding twins group that I’m a member of on Facebook (I’m a breastfeeding peer supporter) say how useful they find their feeding pillow.
If you want to breastfeed your babies I would recommend following Kathryn Stagg IBCLC on Facebook/insta and joining the group I mentioned above which she is an admin for - Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets UK. There are courses that are advertised in the group specifically for mums to be of multiples that discusses the unique challenges of breastfeeding more than one baby.
I’ve also seen other twin mums talk about how they made a normal sized cot into a side car cot and then both twins shared that for a long time which worked better and was more cost effective.
congratulations on your twins!

Mine shared a sidecar cot for ages. I skipped Moses baskets etc.
Feeding pillow definitely. Bellochi is good. Some are rubbish at staying plump so get a good one. We used it daily for a good while. Helped to prop them up too when they were trying to sit up.
I combi fed. Used the feeding pillow for bottle and breastfeeding.
Two bouncers. So you can sit on the couch,.put them in front of you and pedal your feet to settle them both at the same time when they're grumpy. Or bottle feed them at the same time when they're getting too big for the pillow.
Not much else you need to double up on. I thought I'd need lots of clothes but actually didn't.
Definitely join Kathryn Stagg's group if you want to breastfeed. So useful!
I joined a twins club early on and it was an absolute godsend. Lovely playgroup for the boys. Lovely friendly twin parents, always with spare hands to help out. Lots of hand-me-downs and always someone to hand stuff down to when you need to clear stuff out. Definitely recommend.
I found my local Home start was brilliant too if you need extra support. I had a volunteer one morning a week and we went to groups or out for coffee. She was brilliant .
Good luck

@nbvxsefc @SquirrelBlue thanks! Will definitely look into the group! I would like to breastfeed them (tried with my son but he had tongue tie issues that weren't resolved for ages!) but also want to be realistic.

@SquirrelBlue can I ask, when you combi fed yours, was it formula or expressed milk? And did you start from day 1? I'd like to combi feed if possible so DH can do some feeding (especially as I have a toddler as well) but it's hard to know what to do! :)

Twin feeding pillow was the most useful item by far! Other than that it’s mainly just 2 of the items you’d have for a single baby. Two bouncy chairs definitely.

Bouncy chairs and yes a feeding pillow. There will come a point, every hour of the day they you will need to set one or both down. Bouncy chairs in every room were a lifeline. They also tended to have synchronised feeding schedules so the feeding pillow was god as it allowed me to give both bottles at the same time.