So, you're having a baby...or maybe TWO! Congratulations! If you recently found out about it being two babies, I know you might feel overwhelmed, scared, excited, nervous...it's okay to feel ALL the emotions! I sure did. Heck, when we found out about having twins, I was excited for one day and then it hit me and I literally couldn't talk about it for a month-- ha! I needed some time to process the news. I started warming up to the idea and then I got super excited. I still had some fears, but it was a nervous-excitement and I knew God would equip me to tackle all my short-comings and fears. Today I'm here to tell you, it's going to be okay. Actually....it's going to be more than okay.
It's going to be great!
That became my motto after finding out about having two little babies...at one time. Growing together...in my belly. Ha! It brings back all the emotions of finding out, just thinking about it. Having twins is such a unique experience. Yes, it's challenging at times (it is, and it's okay to admit that!), but it's also the most special gift and I wouldn't trade it for anything! I never pictured being a twin mom, but I'm 7 months in and truly loving it. I can't picture my life any other way!
I get a lot of questions about what you need for twins-- do you need two of everything?! -- so I decided to make a list of the items we've used and loved and found the most helpful thus far. These items are all great to add to your registry. We also borrowed some items where I knew I wanted two of something. For example, we registered for one Snuggle Me and then borrowed the second one from a friend. (I was so glad to have two!) Of course, if you're not having twins, you can still get a lot out of this post! Just only buy one of everything ;)
CLOTHING:
Before I link to everything we registered for and loved, I wanted to share a note about clothing for twins. If you're like me, I was very concerned about how many of each size I needed for clothing. I also wanted to make sure I had enough pajamas / sleepers vs. "outfits". I decided early on that until they can tell me otherwise, they will be matching. It keeps it super simple to buy clothes this way-- two of everything! Sometimes I will buy one blue, one green if the outfit comes in two color ways, but usually they just exactly match.
You will get a lot of clothes for your showers, even if you don't register for them (and especially if you know the genders!) So if you're picky about clothes, like me, then you may want to register for some so people see your style / maybe even purchase off the registry. Of course the below suggestions could change based on the season you're having your babies, but hopefully this gives you a good starting place. One thing I've found I've needed in all sizes has been a few plain white, short sleeve bodysuits. In the summer they could wear them alone and in the winter, they've been great to layer under two-piece sweat sets.
Here's what I think would be appropriate to have on hand when your twins are born so you feel prepared:
Preemie size: 6-8 sleepers total
My boys were 6lbs and 6lbs 10oz when then were born and they still wore preemie clothes for probably 4 weeks. I didn't know this would be the case, so we had to go buy preemie clothes. I would suggest having some on hand, but not take the tags off some of the clothes until they're born so you can always return in case you have big babies. I don't think you need outfits in preemie size, unless your twins are very early and small, so you'd be taking them more places. When ours were this little, they were in cute sleepers, knotted gowns, and we mostly stayed home.
Newborn Size: 10 sleepers total, 2-3 sets of outfits (6 total) you'd want them to wear if you go out, and 2-3 "play" outfits like leggings and bodysuits, also consider a few "one-off" pajamas in neutral colors in the case of blow outs where you don't want to change both babies into matching outfits. They will still be in sleepers the majority of the day at this age.
As a quick note, our twins were in newborn size for probably 2 months. They were in preemie for month 1, newborn for months 2-3, then started wearing 0-3 size clothing at 3 months. They're now 7.5 months and wearing 6-9 and 9 month clothing, depending on the brand.
0-3 Months Size: 10 sleepers total, 3-4 outfits (more in this size since you're going more places), 3-4 play/cozy outfits with leggings and body suits.
*I would say that as the months go on, you'll want 8-10 sleepers and then a couple more real outfits at each size. That's what worked for us! The babies are 7 months now, wearing 6-9 month size clothes, and we have about 12 sleepers (5 matching sets, 2 non-matching neutrals), 6 outfits for church/outings, and 3 sweat suit like options for playing at home. You don't want to buy too far ahead in sizing because you don't know what size they'll be in what season.
What We Registered For:
Twin Specific: + Twin Z Pillow and one additional cover (we use this for every feeding, multiple times a day. It's our most-used product by far!)
+ Twin Bassinet (we kept our bassinet in our living room so we could put them down out there and they didn't always have to have them back in the nursery.)
MOM:
+ Diaper Bag (love our diaper bag! It's plenty big for all the things you need for two)
+ Bottles (don't get too many, as you don't know what kind they will like, but I will say our babies took the first bottles we gave them and were fine with them!)
+ Bibs (1 pack is fine, but we now have 3 packs since we have a reflux baby;))
+ Silicone Bibs (2, just to have on hand for when solids start)
+ Burp Cloths (we have a baby with reflux, so we have since ordered more packs, but I'd make sure you have at least 2 packs. I also recommend not getting white, just to hide any stains)
+ Formula Pitcher (this is SO great if you might do formula, it mixes it for you and you can make it in bulk and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours)
SLEEPING:
+ Muslin Blankets (6-8, we really like the cloud island brand from Target. They're the softest ones I have!)
+ Swaddles (2, we swaddled with muslin blankets first, then moved to the Ollie around 8 weeks, then the Merlin Sleep Suit around 4.5 months, and are now in a regular sleep sack.)
+ Sleep Sack (2, but you could hold off on this in case you don't know what brand you want yet)
+ Pacifiers (2, don't get too many incase they don't like that brand, or get 2 of two different brands)
+ Travel Sound Machine (2, one for each car seat. Also nice to have 2 for if we go somewhere other than home for naps and they have to sleep in different rooms)
+ Diaper pail (did tons of research on this and thought this was the best one. A lot of twin parent's say they're not worth it cause you change the bags so often, but for us, it's TOTALLY worth it since our trash can is outside and I'm not going to walk out there every time we have a dirty diaper. We change our pail every other day.)
+ Stroller -- this is very personal choice, but we went with the Mockingbird Single-to-Double Stroller and have liked it a lot! Because we live in snow half the year, if I could go back, we may have splurged on the Uppa Baby Vista stroller for better turn radius and smoothness. Navigating strollers in the snow is tough for me ;) But the Mockingbird is a great stroller and it's a wonderful value.
Let me know if you have any questions! Happy to help answer anything for you.
Well this gift guide sure was fun to put together! This one is for the mamas and the babies, which is pretty much my niche right now ;) Not only would these make fun gifts, but a lot of the items are some of our most-used baby items. I've made little notes about them below.
This year, I think we're just going to get the boys Christmas books since they won't remember it anyways ;) But I'm so excited about the following years' traditions to come!
toki mat (foam, easy to clean, folds up, and comfy to play on!)
vegan leather changing mat (it's so nice to have one of these for changing diapers when you're not at the changing table. We keep it in our room in case we need to change them on our bed.)
My hospital bag packing list started very long, then I asked some friends what they packed and it got shorter. THEN I asked you all on Instagram for your 3 must-haves and got lots of responses that made me remove even more items off my list, so I only brought the essentials. I had a planned c-section, so I knew I would be there for a few days, which is why I might have brought a couple more things than normal.
+ Pajamas: I brought this pair and this pair. I was so glad to have two pairs since I was there for 4 nights. I loved the dark set and the floral print set, since it could hide any unwanted stains if they happened ;) The button up top was key and made breastfeeding so easy.
+ Slippers: I'm a slipper girl at home, so I knew I'd like them in the hospital too. If you don't normally wear slippers, you probably won't wear them there ;)
+ Nursing bra and a bralette: I didn't use the nursing bra (and honestly, I still don't like them to this day...I rarely wear them!) But I do love this bralette and these, too! I used the hospital's underwear and it worked great.
+ Shower / bathroom stuff: Kept this super minimal, which I'm glad for because I only showered once and I only washed my face and did a little makeup one time. I brought face wash, moisturizer, lotion, and my makeup bag, flip flops for showering (essential, in my opinion!), and my travel mirror. I was told to bring a towel, but I didn't end up bringing it and I was fine with the hospital's towel.
+ Headband: You know I love a headband, but I really loved it for the hospital! So many suggested this on Instagram, and I'm glad they did. When you've got a new baby, you spend a lot of time looking down at them, so having your hair back is so helpful. Also it's just a really quick way to feel put together without washing your hair! (PS. These are my favorite headbands-- they don't hurt your head at all!)
+ Long phone charger: number one recommendation from everyone was this! SO glad we had one.
+ Lip balm / chapstick: thank goodness I brought this because my lips have literally never been so dry!! I used vaseline.
+ Our own pillows (The BEST pillows!) and a favorite blanket: it's just so nice to have something that is yours to make you feel more cozy. I could never have slept with the hospital pillow. The hospital blankets are also really thin and not cozy, so having a plush blanket was really great.
+ Going home outfit: I wore a simple loose-fitting dress from Target and it was perfect!
+ Heating Pad: I think this was the most important thing I packed, since I had a c-section. I was so, so sore! I used this electric heating pad almost all day long. It really helped the pain and gave me some extra coziness and comfort.
Things I was recommended to bring but didn't use:
White noise machine, fan, eye mask, nursing bra, robe.
+ I also made cute little signs with their names on them to tape to their bassinets, so everyone would know who was who. (The hospital signs only say "baby boy", so thought this would be helpful, and it was :))
They really have everything you need for baby at the hospital!
Hopefully this is helpful if you're close to having a baby! What were your must-haves?
