Double the Gear

With two babies come lots of sleepless nights, tons of dirty diapers, and many bottles. Everyone knows to expect that. What you don't think about when you find out you are having twins is how your house is about to be converted from respectable living quarters to a baby store overflowing with two of everything!

My husband and I were unbelievably blessed with amazing gifts from both people close to us and people we didn't know well. It was awe inspiring to be 'showered' by so many people! Here are a few things that, as parents of twins, we couldn't have lived without! (Note: this is strickly my opinion and I'm definitely not being paid to say any of this.)

Must Haves:

Boppy pillows - I hear they are great for nursing, but since my girls had zero interest in that they were absolutely necessary for bottle feeding two babies at once.

They fit into one Boppy for almost a month. How sweet is that??

Bumbo seats - Our bumbo seats have not only just been used all over our house, but literally all over the country. We've used them to help our girls learn to sit, talk pictures in, seats for inside their wagon, toothbrushing seats, and now they are used for sitting while I do the girls' hair. They have traveled with us and made makeshift high chairs (we purchased the trays as well) when the girls were too small for restaurant high chairs. We have even used them once or twice as seats for in the bathtub. Which brings me to my next must-have...

Bath tub seats - These were hard to find I hear, but they are seats with a thin plastic bottom for using during bath time. When our girls out grew the infant tub (which we used at the kitchen sink) we decided to move them straight to the big tub. Dada was training in Texas at the time so this Mommy flew solo during bath time (except for Grammie!). These seats were so nice to have when the girls were sitting, but not sturdy enough to be trusted in water. Now I always tell people they are kinda like doggy gates. You know when gigantic dogs stay behind flimsy little gates...they could definitely get out, but don't think they can. That is how our girls are now in these seats. :)

So I realize this picture is of the seats, but not in the tub. You get the idea though.

Play-tex bottles and liners - My experience is that bottles with liners may be more expensive, but are 200 times worth the saved time. And when you do everything twice already, who wants to wash 24 bottles a day (yes we did go through that many at one point).

I should mention that our girls hated most all bottles. It was a fight to get them to take enough milk/formula from the very beginning. I wish we could have just started them out on Play-tex sippy cups because they like those much better! Afterall, bottles are for babies...

Exersaucer and jumperoo - Lifesavers! We had two exersaucers and one jumperoo, all of which were purchased either at a garage sale or on Craig's list. They were great for entertaining the girls so I could get a meal ready or get myself ready. I have read all those twin books that say to only buy one of each thing and rotate the babies in and out, but I disagree. Our girls would not have stood for only one sister getting to stand and jump . The math is easy people...if you can afford it, two babies equals two saucers!

Pack'n'Play - Another must have! Because we wanted our girls to sleep together when they first came home, we opted for one pack n play instead of two bassinetts. The weight limit is reached much faster when you think about doubling the weight of a newborn! So, our girls slept in the top of the pack n play for 6 weeks. Now we use it everyday as a place for Lilly to nap. We found that our girls do not nap well in the same room. Lilly always naps in the pack n play because the girl is like her father and can sleep anywhere, literally. We've used it all over the house. I would suggest investing in a pack n play sheet and some soft bedding. We put the blankets down and then covered them with the sheet that tucks around the bottom padding. I just couldn't stand the thought of that girl sleeping on something so hard!

Large receiving blankets - Our girls LOVED being swaddled. We swaddled them until they were...cough...4...cough....months old...ahem...They loved it and it wasn't until I decided it was time they learn to use their arms and hands that I stopped. They were burrito babies, what can I say?

Infant car seat/stroller system - Our gigantic stroller, with we have named Cadillac (because it is as close as Shaun is ever getting to an Escalade) has been used probably every day since we had the girls. The carseat stroller system can be expensive, but it is so worth it. I get to thinking about what it would have been like to have to take my little babies our regular carseats every time we went out and I just get overwhelmed! It was so convenient to just transfer the infant seat in and out of the car and stroller. I should also mention that our girls did not fit into any stroller safely until they were about 4 months old. They were just too small. My experience as a mom who tried to get out and about with the kiddos is to invest in a double stroller (tandem) that is easy to push and manuever. We chose a Graco duo glide stroller in chocolate and green and then covered it with pink and brown, of course! And don't worry about the size...people are going to gawk at your family anyway and with two little bundles with you, they won't even notice your 18 foot stroller/trailer combo! :)

Could Have Lived Withouts:
There just isn't much to write in this category. We tried to use everything we could to make our life simpler. Trust me, you are willing to try lots and lots of things when you are doubly desperate! :)