Twins... what do I need?

[Mantha9871]

Hello!

I'm 18 weeks pregnant with twins and I'm starting to get to that point where I need to start buying things.
It's already getting expensive as you mostly need two of everything but is anyone out there who can recommend what I genuinely need so I don't waste money on rubbish gadgets!!

Thank you x

I would recommend joining Britains Parents of Twins on Facebook and posting there, as it's a lot more active than mumsnet. This would what I would recommend:

If you're bottle feeding then definitely get a perfect prep it will save your sanity.
About 10 bottles, just get the larger size ones as they grow out of the small ones quickly.
Steriliser.
If you're planning on breastfeeding you may ultimately want a twin feeding pillow and a double breast pump, but these are very expensive and ultimately it doesn't work out for a lot of twin mums, so I would hold off until after they're born.
Two bouncy chairs.
They can share one cot to start with, but you'll need a second one at some point.
A decent pram. People will be able to give you recommemdations on the fb page.
At my local twin group (find yours) everyone has maxi cosy car seats with the isofix bases.
A play gym with arches.
Don't buy any "normal" pregnancy books, as they'll have a parahraph (if you're lucky) on twins. Go straight for a twin book.
The Tamba antenatal classes are great.

Thank you for your reply! I've just requested to join group and your advice is much appreciated!

Also, I would recommend having a list, or giving people a rough idea of what you would like as gifts. I got a tonne of clothes and a lot of them never got used as a) they were matching and I've never had them in matching outfits (too confusing), b) they were overly fussy, or c) they were the wrong season (I had mine in August and was given loads of stuff in 0-3 months which they didn't fit into until November).

I agree, you will feel the need to be organised but other than a pram, nothing really has much of a lead in time. Someone can pop out to the shops for you if you need something urgently.

I would second buying a pillow and 2 bouncy chairs. I agree too with car seats and isofix base (and ideally your pram should be compatible with the car seats you choose so for quick errands in the pram they can stay in their car seats). With number 3 I loved the Baby Bjorn carrier (so did she!) and wished we'd used 2 of those in the early days with the twins but that's something you can think about later.

Don't get clothes, just babygrows and lots of nappies. Maybe think of logistics, get your freezer packed as its hard going to start with (but so worth it!) Good luck!

Find out if there is a local twins' group (look on Tamba website or ask your midwife). There is no subsititute for advice from people who have been there! Mine also has an active Facebook selling site where new twin parents can pick up pairs of things (bouncers, clothes etc) cheaply.

The most useful things I bought were:

Bouncers (I have two upstairs and two downstairs)
Perfect Prep machine
Side by side double buggy

Oh, Aldi nappies and formula, will save you a fortune!

Aldi nappies
I breastfed for 11 months, the Facebook group 'breastfeeding twins and triplets U.K.' Is great
Did use a perfect prep for a bit and that was great
Big tommee tippee bottles