The Twins Baby Registry You Can Trust
We want to make this process as easy on you as possible. We know, the last time you walked into Babies R Us you almost fainted. Or threw up. It's overwhelming! Listed below is a link to a downloadable Twins Baby Registry You Can Trust which you can print and take right to your nearest baby supply store (no tears this time). THE TWINS BABY REGISTRY YOU CAN TRUST
Below is an exploration into the "why" of the necessity of certain items. We've laid out what are, in our opinions, the must-haves when welcoming multiples. You can always add to the necessities over time, so don't lose sleep over whether or not you have enough pacifiers or onesies.
If you're looking to purchase as few things as possible up front, leave items that won't be needed for a while (like the booster seats or Bumbo Baby Sitters) on the shelves. When it's time for them, a trip to the baby store always makes for a fun outing once your babies are home!
| Registry Items Explored |
| Item |
What We Think |
| Cribs |
You will ultimately need two. Babies often co-sleep in the beginning, but they will soon need their own cribs to keep from sleeping on top of one another (and have the space necessary to move around). Check with your pediatrician to determine if co-sleeping your babies is safe. Their gestational age and weight at birth, among other factors, may make putting them in separate cribs from the beginning a safer choice. If you plan for your babies to co-sleep for the first few months, you don't need to purchase two cribs right away. We purchased our second crib after our babies were born and assembled it when the boys were at a point when we knew they would soon need their own sleeping space. |
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| Changing Table |
A changing table is an optional piece of equipment. It's convenient early on and, in most cases, you can buy one that coordinates with the crib. But we're surprised by women who use them for longer than the first few weeks. To carry one baby to his room (which may be upstairs) every time he needs a new diaper gets tiring, and to do that with two babies is beyond tiring. Many moms buy a changing table and kept it in the family room so they have a convenient place to store all the diaper-changing supplies and can change babies without hiking upstairs. Another idea, if you simply must have a changing table, is to get the kind with a dresser underneath and a diaper-changing component on the top. This way, when you decide you've had it with hiking to change diapers, you simply remove the diaper-changing component and, fancy that, you have a dresser! With this approach, you won't feel the guilt that comes with eliminating an entire piece of new furniture. |
| Rocking Chair/Glider |
Optional but nice to have. You'll need a comfortable and convenient place to rock a baby at 3:00 a.m. If you get one that's aesthetically versatile, it could conceivably find a spot in your bedroom or another room of your house once your nursery becomes a big kids' room. |
| Car Seats |
You can either purchase the kind that snaps into a base in the car and has a handle by which to carry it, or the kind that converts from an infant to a toddler to a booster seat and stays in your car on a permanent basis. Let us make this decision very easy for you. Get the seats that snap into the seat base and allow you to carry the babies in them. They are convenient, especially to snap into stroller seats during shopping trips. |
| Swings |
If you don't receive two as gifts, buy or borrow one and wait to see if you will need another. Frequently, one baby loves the swing and the other hates it. Or, one loves it on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the other wants it Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and every other Sunday. Swings take up enough space (no matter how big your house might be) that it makes sense to determine if you really need two before cluttering your home any more than necessary. |
| Bouncy Seats |
You definitely need two. If you get lucky at garage sales or have a lot of generous friends, opt for four. Many moms keep two upstairs and two downstairs (or two in the family room and two in the master bedroom if they lived in a ranch-style home), so when they go upstairs to shower, fold laundry, or whatever, the seats were already there. |
| Front-pack Carrier/Sling |
Front-pack carriers and slings are wonderful. They allow you to carry one baby hands-free in grocery stores. They allow you to carry a baby who simply has to be held while keeping your hands free to do something else at the same time, such as, eat! In our experience, the only downside to front-pack carriers is that babies cannot safely be held in them until they reach approximately eight pounds. Many slings accommodate children who weigh less than that. We recommend the Baby K'Tan and the Ergo Baby Carrier most often; moms have success with others, but these are the ones we hear the most praise for when multiples are involved. |
| Baby Monitor |
A baby monitor is about as necessary as a crib. When you want to work in your basement while the babies nap on the second floor, a monitor allows you to hear them if they need you. When you want some peace while the babies sleep at night, you can watch television with the receiver on vibrate and know if the babies are making noise simply by the vibration (or, hopefully, lack thereof). If the babies initially sleep in your room, a monitor provides peace of mind when you move the babies to their own rooms, and are concerned that you might not hear them cry. You don't need a video monitor, but if you want one so you can watch the babies as well as listen to them, that's completely up to you. |
| Stroller |
This topic is way too loaded to give it full airtime in this short space. You can start with a Snap 'n Go which allows you to put your babies' infant car seats in it and is lightweight and then move up to a full-fledged double stroller. Front-back often works better through doorways. Jogging strollers are fun for the athletic. Talk to others who have multiples, see what's out there, think about what you'll use it for. If all else fails, sell it on eBay and go with Plan B! |
| Pack 'n Play |
Pack 'n Plays are a great investment; however, they are not small. We recommend getting one, but if you aren't given two, hold off on purchasing the second one just in case you don't need it. The only time you definitely need two is during a trip away from home (when you need one for each baby to sleep in). If this is the only time you need a second one, consider borrowing from a friend instead of making the double investment just for those outings. |
| Highchairs |
A wonderful piece of equipment has come on the market: the booster-type feeding seat. Not the type intended for use by a toddler, but one that reclines and can be used for a baby or a toddler. It's basically a highchair that straps to an adult chair so it doesn't take up extra room in your kitchen. And you can unstrap it and take it to friends' houses when you are going there for a meal, which you can't do with those huge highchairs. The best photos often emerge from lining them up in a row--sometimes there are about fourteen of them--at play outings! |
| Exersaucers |
An exersaucer can be a true lifesaver. Like highchairs and swings, they take up loads of space. The ones with the most bells and whistles are also expensive. Follow the "gift" rule. If you are blessed enough to receive two, fantastic. Put one together and wait to assemble the other until you absolutely need it. If you don't receive two, purchase one and, if your babies are fighting over it day in and day out, you can buy or borrow another one. |
| Crib Sheets |
You need at least two per crib. Three is better. Some moms layer crib sheets and mattress pads two or three sets thick, so when the top sheet is dirty, they pull off the sheet and accompanying mattress pad (that has prevented the layer-two sheet from getting wet), and voilà, they have a freshly made crib. |
| Mattress Protector |
There is a type of vinyl mattress protector that fits more like a pillowcase than a sheet. You slip the mattress into it and zip it up. This way, when you go to put on the sheet - or more importantly, take it off - the whole mattress pad does not come off with it. It's a godsend. I have only seen it at Target, but other stores likely carry it as well. Buy one for each mattress. |
| Bathtubs |
You need only one baby bathtub, and you may not even need that, depending on how you bathe your babies. You don't need a lot of "extras" with the bathtub, but drain spouts and slots to hold shampoo, washcloths, and a rinsing cup are nice. The baby bathtubs are inexpensive so it's wise to get one, but you definitely don't need two because you probably won't be able to fit two babies in the tub at the same time. |
| Boppy Pillows |
Many parents expecting multiples don't think to purchase a Boppy Pillow because they are often touted primarily as a breastfeeding support. But Boppy Pillows are invaluable for parents of twins. If you are breastfeeding, they provide value by holding the baby (or babies) at breast height without your having to hold the babies there yourself. They are also great for simultaneous bottle feedings - one kid in each Boppy, one bottle in each mouth. As the babies get bigger, the pillows help them sit up, and they are wonderful for supporting the babies as they lie on their stomachs, which helps them gain neck strength (under constant adult supervision). |
| Breastfeeding Pillow |
If you plan to breastfeed, there are several breastfeeding pillows that moms of twins have found valuable. For more information on breastfeeding pillows moms of twins recommend, refer to the Breastfeeding Must-Haves in the Sanity Savers section under The First Year. |
| Feeding Helper |
I'll put this here even though, at the outset, you'll think there's no way you'll want or need this product. But in case you change your mind, here's the info. At some point, both your babies will need to eat at the same time, and if you are bottle-feeding, any strategies you previously developed to simultaneously accommodate them will no longer work?either because the babies are bigger, or squirmier, or because they decide at that moment that they don't want to be next to one another. There are various models to choose from; most are advertised in twin or multiples' magazines or on Internet sites that sell products for multiples. Many of us have had success with the Bottle Bundle from Little Wonders. The Podee Hands-Free Baby Bottle also works well for many moms. |
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| Diaper Bag |
Most diaper bags on the market are not the best choice for a mother of twins. They are simply not meant to accommodate two of everything. You need a bag that can be carried hands-free and not bang against your hip and/or hang from (and then fall off) your shoulder as you push around your Cadillac-size stroller. Our recommendation is to purchase a well-outfitted backpack, one likely meant for outdoor excursions where you need the lightest, smallest bag possible. It needs to accommodate water bottles, keys, and possibly a day's worth of other necessities. Look for one with a mesh water bottle holder on each side, where you could easily fit two bottles. For great dad diaper bags, see our Daddy Must-Haves section under Sanity Savers in the First Year section. |
| Powdered Formula Container |
If you feed your babies formula, we highly recommend the purchase of two formula-measuring containers. These containers are often overlooked because they are sometimes called "Powdered Milk Containers," making their purpose somewhat unclear. Often sold near the bottles, the containers are small and divided into three or four compartments, each meant to hold one feeding's worth of powdered formula. If away from home during a feeding, fill the compartments with the amount of powdered formula you will need for each feeding. |
| Halo Sleep Sack |
This product is reminiscent of the "wearable blankets" you are likely familiar with that are made of fleece and zipper up the front. But, the SleepSack is made of lightweight cotton and it's sleeveless. It carries the recommendation seal from the First Candle/SIDS alliance because it reduces the risk of a baby covering his face with a blanket and inhaling carbon dioxide. With the arrival of the Halo SleepSack, putting a baby to sleep in a onesie -- or a pair of footed pajamas if it's cooler out -- and then putting him inside the SleepSack makes for easy diaper changes and far fewer worries over the baby's safety. |
| Headset Phone |
This is a very important staple. During the first few months, you'll want to have conversations with other adults (possibly even telemarketers) just to keep in touch with the outside world. It's hard to do that while juggling one baby, let alone two. Invest in a headset for your current phone, or a headset phone if your current phone doesn't accommodate a headset attachment. You will be able to do whatever you would otherwise be doing, plus talk at the same time. |
| Voice Recorder |
Even before you were expecting twins, how many times did you drive down the highway and suddenly think, "Oh, I have to call so-and-so tonight," or instantaneously recall some piece of information you couldn't remember when you needed it three hours earlier? Then, how many times did you--let's face it, unsafely--reached over with your right hand to rummage through your purse for a pen and scrap of paper while keeping one eye on the road and your left hand on the wheel? When you have babies in the car, you really want to avoid risking a wreck while trying to find a pencil to jot down "Motley Crüe -- Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)." A wonderful product to have handy at such time is a voice recorder. Inexpensive and small, it's easy to use without having to look at it. I keep mine in my purse (or in the cup holder if I'm driving), and when I think of something I need to do, I record it. This is also a great way to quickly record a baby's first smile, first roll, first attempt at rolling over, etc. You won't always have time to go running for the baby book, and this approach ensures that you have the date (and maybe even the time) noted so that you can record it later. |
| Cute, Comfy PJs (for Mom) |
Invest in a few of these prior to giving birth. You'll wear them a lot, and you should enjoy them and feel cute and comfy in them. Discount stores such as T.J. Maxx or Marshalls are great places to purchase pajamas, particularly if you are still waiting for your uterus to return to pre-pregnancy size (which doesn't happen overnight), and don't want to spend a fortune on clothing until you're sure it'll fit for at least six months. |
| Ear Plugs |
When your children are simultaneously pitching fits and you'd like to take the edge off the noise, ear plugs work wonders. When you're driving, they're a godsend. You can still hear, but the noise grows dull so you can drive and lose that "my-head-is-going-to-explode-with-the-next-shriek" feeling. Disposable ear plugs are inexpensive, and I keep a bag of them in the front seat console. |
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Related Articles You Might Enjoy:
Ten Ways to Save Big on Baby Gear, thecradle.com
Eco, Green, Organic, Healthy, What's the Difference? by Ali Wing (founder of Giggle), thecradle.com
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