Having a new baby is a crazy time, when you have two it is even crazier. We went from zero to two babies so we became new parents to two little critters and didn't even know where to begin. It can seem like a daunting task to prepare for the addition of two humans but hopefully this list will help you give you some ideas. These are all items that we found beneficial for having twin newborns. It isn't necessary to buy two of everything for twins, but there are some items that I would recommend having lots of just in case. Some items are just our personal preference and it is important to note that we did not use formula so unfortunately I do not have any recommendations regarding formula use. Our twins are two now so if you have any questions feel free to reach out using our contact form below! Thanks for reading!
Here's my list of items that we found beneficial in starting our twin parenting journey. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to be parent my children. I hope these things will be helpful to you in your journey. You can find a list of my breastfeeding recommendations on my previous blog post here: https://googoogoods.com/blogs/recommendations-for-new-moms/what-helped-me-exclusively-breastfeed-pump-for-twins-product-recommendations
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Our favorite stroller (Bumbleride Indie Twin): https://bumbleride.com/products/indie-twin?variant=31327129862255
Things I liked about this item:
- Lightweight, easy to fold up
- Easy to take apart and wash all fabric pieces in washing machine
- It's my favorite color
- You can get different attachments for it like bassinets and rain covers
- You can lay them or sit them up depending on how you have the seat
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- Kind of pricey
- Wide, can get through a normal doorway though
Our favorite stroller wagon (Wonderfold W4 Luxe): https://amzn.to/3WAPxeB
Things I liked about this item:
- Everything
- Spacious, we had the two seater but decided the four seater was a better option for us
- Community of people who love this and can give you tips and tricks that make owning it even better
- The kids can stand up in this and are seated high up so it's easier for them to see out to their surroundings
- Wheels on the Luxe are huge and can go through sand or off road
- Lots of storage space
- Canopy offers a good bit of shade
- Lots of fun accessories
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- $$$
- Since it is so big it's pretty difficult to pick up and put inside a car. You need a big trunk and a strong back to get it in the back of the car
- Not allowed at Disney
Our favorite baby carrier (Lalabu Kerier): https://amzn.to/3W1M60p
We first started out the Baby Bjorn carriers and our boys did not like them at all. We switched to these are they tolerated this much more. Had it not been the pandemic we would have worn these more often, but since we were at home most of the time we only really used these around the house.
Things I liked about this item:
- Very soft material
- Cute colors
- Super stretchy and it seemed like they felt like they could move around
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- Difficult to tighten while wearing
- In my opinion it was difficult to put on and put your baby in by myself
- Pricey compared to alternatives
Our favorite baby support pillow, I recommend having two of these (Boppy): https://amzn.to/3irRIDk
Things I liked about this item:
- Cute patterns
- Machine washable covers
- Comfortable for baby
- Helped with breastfeeding in football position
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- They could potentially slip out
- Not sleep safe
Another popular option that for some reason we did not try is the Twin Z pillow: https://amzn.to/3j5eDVt
Things I liked about this item:
- I didn't use it but it is would be helpful for tandem nursing
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- Don't actually have experience with it, just positive reviews from other twin moms I have met
Our favorite small high chair (Fisher Price Portable Baby High Chair): https://amzn.to/3De6ODJ
Things I liked about this item:
- Compact and easy to put up
- Removable tray is dishwasher safe
- Safe eating space for trying baby led weaning
- Can be laid back and set up straight, helps if bottle feeding reclined and need to sit them up straight to help with reflux (which we had a LOT of)
- Fabric can be taken off and machine washed
- Can be strapped into a chair and brought to the dining table
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- We actually only had bench seating for a while so we ended up getting high chairs for when they were eating meals
Our favorite high chair (Ikea ANTILOP high chair): https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/antilop-high-chair-with-tray-white-silver-color-s89228434/
Things I liked about this item:
- Dishwasher safe
- Lots of cute accessories available for it
- Inexpensive compared to alternatives
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- Large, couldn't really move it out of the way
- Not super easy to get in the dishwasher (at least for us)
- You have to use a good bit of force to get the tray off (which led to us breaking it off once)
Our favorite portable high chair (Summer Pop N' Sit Portable Booster Chair): https://amzn.to/3Dq20uX
Things I liked about this item:
- Collapsible
- Small and lightweight
- Tray is dishwasher safe
- Inexpensive compared to a normal high chair
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- Fabric rips towards the top easily
- Fabric isn't removable, spot clean only
Our favorite diaper disposal method (Diaper Genie): https://amzn.to/3wv0aFt
Things I liked about this item:
- Tall and slender so it fits in a small space
- You can keep it right beside your changing table so you can immediately dispose of the diaper
- Kept the smell at bay but held a lot of diapers (we needed that!!)
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- You have to get a bunch of refillable things, not expensive but not inexpensive
- You have to repurchase the carbon inserts that absorb the stink
- You need to remember to tie off the bottom of the insert or else you'll have just a pile of dirty diapers (that's our user error haha)
Our favorite Diaper Genie inserts (Amazon brand Mama Bear): https://amzn.to/3JiCXhd
Things I liked about this item:
- Cheaper compared to brand name
- Comes in a big pack so you don't have to repurchase as often
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- I have nothing bad to say
Our preferred newborn/baby bottles (Dr.Brown's bottles): https://amzn.to/3HBjQ0J
Things I liked about this item:
- We could use the preemie nipple when they were first taking bottles so they had a slower flow
- Dishwasher safe
- Lightweight, we used glass bottles a few times but my wrist strength must be really bad haha
- Our babies preferred thin as opposed to wide neck bottles/nipples
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- A lot of parts to clean if you don't have a dishwasher
The preemie nipples: https://amzn.to/3Y1TNVC
Our favorite bottle warmer (Grownsy): https://amzn.to/3XESjB1
Things I liked about this item:
- The water heats up quickly
- Our first two bottle warmers we had the face plates fell off, this one didn't so we liked that haha
- Has different settings depending on what you are using it for
- Can accommodate larger bottles
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- You have to make sure you clean it periodically of any buildup
Our favorite portable milk warmer (Baby's Brew portable warmer): https://amzn.to/402WxUH
Things I liked about this item:
- Has lots of attachments so that it can fit any type of bottle you use
- Portable
- Rechargeable
- Heats the milk to exactly body temp and keeps it there
- Tells you what the temperature of the milk is so you know how close you are to being warmed up
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- It took a long time to warm the milk up slowly, it does this by the warming plate being in direct contact with the milk.
- Since the warming plate is in direct contact with the milk unless you are somewhere where you can wash it I wouldn't feel comfortable using it more than once in public.
Our favorite bed solution, we have two of these (Graco Pack n' Play Playard): https://www.amazon.com/Graco-Pack-Portable-Playard-Carnival/dp/B00Y286FVE?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1
We prefer them having separate sleep places so after we transitioned them out of their bassinets (that we think were more cute than functional) we went to cribs. After a few arm in the slats incidents we decided to go for the Pack n' Play and we are so thankful we did.
Things I liked about this item:
- Inexpensive compared to a crib
- Portable
- Small enough to go in a Slumberpod but big enough to fit a toddler
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- The pad in the bottom is not comfortable so we got a mattress that can fit in the pack n' play that would be comfortable for the babies
Pack n' Play Mattress: https://amzn.to/3kMVXKm
We had the Hiccapop brand mattress but they appear to have discontinued that. This mattress is very similar with the dual sided softness.
Things I liked about this item:
- Dual sided, a firm side for before 9 months and a soft side for after 9 months
- Has a mattress cover that is machine washable
- We actually have four of these!! Two are the foldable ones and two are not. The foldable ones are super easy for travel.
- Makes sleeping in the Pack n' Play comfortable
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- I have nothing bad to say!
Our favorite sleep tool (Slumberpod): https://amzn.to/3Jdxp7H
I literally love these things. We have two to go over each Pack n' Pack. Before the discovery of these we had a blackout shade which I will talk about later in this list. We believe sleep in the most important thing (besides your love and care) in a child's development and overall wellbeing. We protect sleep in our household and believe the best sleep is in a dark environment.
Things I liked about this item:
- Portable & lightweight
- Makes it very dark so it's easier to fall/stay asleep
- You can put your baby monitor in a pouch to watch them from above
- Fits over Pack n' Play or certain cribs
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- $$$
- A little tricky to put together and break down, need a good bit of room in my opinion
Sleep shade we used before Slumberpods (Blackout EZ shade): https://amzn.to/3DiszSQ
You can go to their website for custom sizing to fit your window!
Things I liked about this item:
- Custom fit for our window
- Blacked out the room pretty well, we measured slightly wrong I think but if we had measured a little better it would have been 100% darkness from the window
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- Kind of difficult to put on/take off our window
- If you plan on using that room to play in as well it is a little difficult to be taking the shade on and off multiple times
- Need additional something to put under door to make the room pitch black
Our favorite sound machine (Hatch): https://amzn.to/3HwcZ8y
Things I liked about this item:
- Lots of different sounds, we use the white noise for sleep and the birds for waking up
- Connects to an app so you can control it when not in the room
- When working on a sleep schedule with an older child the colors it makes can be useful to teaching them when it is time to sleep and when it is time to get up and start the day
- Portable
- Can be used if the power goes out for 12ish hours
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- No problems here
Our favorite baby monitor (Infant Optics): https://amzn.to/3XGNiba
We had the Owlet camera that connects to WiFi and it was SO bad. Our Wifi signal was extremely strong in our home and it was never good enough for the Owlet. You want a monitor that is dependable and we would constantly lose connection with the Owlet so we opted for a non Wifi one. We tried two other ones that died but this one (the model with the bigger monitor) has been the best thing ever.
Things I liked about this item:
- Not wifi connected so you don't have to worry about losing signal (except if you go too far away from the camera)
- Has a relatively long charge before you have to plug it up
- You can pair multiple cameras to the same monitor
- Good video quality, not as good as Owlet but still very good
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- A little pricey
Extra camera https://amzn.to/3DlpO35
Our favorite Pack n' Play mattress sheets: https://amzn.to/3JiedFL
Things I liked about this item:
- Inexpensive
- Soft
- Machine washable
- Durable
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- I don't think any of their designs are that cute if we are being honest!
Our favorite play yard: https://amzn.to/3HFkslG
Things I liked about this item:
- The XL version was super big with room for two babies and mom
- We used this mostly because it was easy to wipe up spit up in this rather than on the floor
- Containment for crawling babies if you need that
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- No complaints!
Our favorite baby potty (Baby Potty from Tiny Undies): https://amzn.to/3RhtzMH
I became aware of elimination communication from Andrea Olson's podcast about the subject. We started when they were around 6 months and it was a game changer for us. We started with a different tiny potty and changed to this one because of its smaller size!
Things I liked about this item:
- Perfect size for a 6 month+ baby
- Lightweight and portable
- Easily clean
Things I didn't like as much about this item:
- No complaints here, love it
Thanks for reading, if you have any questions or comments feel free to reach out.
Last edit: January 28th, 2023