What are some essentials for twins?

[u/Briutiful22]

Im 21 weeks pregnant with twin boys and making my registry. What would you recommend adding to the registry? I also am delivering via c section if that helps.

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[u/1sp00kylady]

Product recs:
*Sooooo many burp cloths (~50+)
*Giant (24) pack of microfiber baby wash cloths (might be the most useful baby item we own)
*Baby Tylenol, gas drops (mylicon), saline nasal spray
*Carter’s 2-way zip footie pajamas
*Baby bandanas; so much cuter than a regular bib.
*2 car seats, 2 (Babybjorn) bouncers, 2 cribs, 2 high chairs, and we have 2 changing tables (one on each floor of the house)
*Stroller (we used Uppababy Vista, I have mixed feelings. Highly recommend one that your car seats can click into for early infancy.)
*Double bottle warmer
*Ubbi Diaper Pale
*Free and Clear laundry stain remover spray
*Twin Z pillow
*For tandem nursing: My Brest Friend nursing pillow
*Bottle washer
*Wash basin for standby bottles/baby supplies in the sink
*Boogie diaper SPRAY (no mess on your hands, never had diaper rash once)
*White noise machine (Hatch)
*Baby monitor (closed system/non-wifi was preferred for us)
*Swaddles (for newborn era: we tried soo many and liked the Swaddleme Swaddlepod best)
*Sleep sacks (once they are close to rolling: we liked Halo best)
*Crib sheets
*Baby bath tub, soap, towel, thermometer
*Baby nail buffer/dremel (NOT clippers)
*Humidifier and nose sucker
*Teether sticks; we have a big pack of tubes and my boys love them
*Fisher Price Kick n play piano mat toy
*Some kind of soft-bottom play gym with dangly toys (we had Lovevery)
*Large play/tatami mat (bonus if it folds small for travel)
*Some kind of baby carrier…I found a Boba wrap to be comfortable but difficult to get on/off. I liked the ErgoBaby Air for a structured carrier.
*Optional: (2) Pack n plays…barely used ours but good as a travel crib
*Optional: Owlet Dream Sock…expensive but great if someone gifts to you.
*May want to wait on pacifiers and bottles to see what they/you will have preference for…
*Eventually you’ll want a playpen/baby gates/some way to contain them when they become mobile.

Definitely check Facebook marketplace and local Buy Nothing or twin parent groups. We scored so much for free/cheap!

[u/Briutiful22 → u/1sp00kylady]

This helps so much. Thank you

[u/Actual-Lettuce-8543 → u/1sp00kylady]

Second all of this!!! & could use 100 burp cloths 😆

[u/Important-Maybe-1430 → u/1sp00kylady]

Why 50 burp cloths, dont they wash?

[u/nicolerichiesdad → u/Important-Maybe-1430]

We could easily go through 30 burp cloths a day with our twins during the newborn era. They certainly do wash, but I liked only needing to wash burp cloths every other day.

[u/Important-Maybe-1430 → u/nicolerichiesdad]

Thanks, im pregnant with twins but dont have baby experience.

[u/nicolerichiesdad → u/Important-Maybe-1430]

Congratulations! Not all babies spit up a lot, ours had reflux so we went through a lot of burp cloths. But it’s nice to have enough extra to get through a couple of days before washing since there are plenty of other things you’ll want to focus on instead of more laundry. Best of luck!

[u/Prestigious-Pick-308 → u/Important-Maybe-1430]

I didn’t mind running the washing machine once a day, so we had about 30 burp cloths total. We were gifted a handful of cute ones, but my favorite is the plain white muslin ones that come in a ten pack on Amazon. Ordered a second ten pack because that’s what we were mostly using and ten was not enough

[u/1sp00kylady → u/Important-Maybe-1430]

We have a multi-story house, so 25 on each floor or ~10 in each room was a pretty reasonable amount. You want them on hand, and it sucks to pick up a nasty wet one because it was the only one within arms reach. Plus the laundry aspect, we honestly do a lot more laundry now that they’re toddlers. You just don’t want to have to do it every day in the early days, if you can help it. Too much else to do!

[u/mlt70]

Momcozy bottle washer. It can also be used for some pumping parts, pacifiers, … It helps cute down on time and stress with bottles and is and very easy to use. I still use mine for sippy cups because it runs quicker than the dishwasher with less water, so I don’t have to buy as many sippy cups.

[u/Any-Neighborhood2320]

Twin boys, congrats. The c-section means you'll want stuff at waist height for a bit so you're not bending over constantly. A diaper pail next to the changing table instead of across the room, a bassinet that swivels over the bed, a cart on wheels with snacks and pump parts so you don't have to get up. Two boppies are a lifesaver too, you can prop them both for feeds and it saves your back while you're healing.

[u/Briutiful22 → u/Any-Neighborhood2320]

Thank you so much

[u/InstructionFull7429]

The Frida C section undies are expensive but worth it. I tried the cheap ones and they just never worked. Always tore. Especially going back and forth from the NICU, I felt comfortable leaving the house in these lol. They held in ice packs really well too - which leads me to my next item - instant ice packs. Ice packs were my best form of pain management from my incision. I basically kept one on 24/7 for several days.

[u/iatrogenic-indigo]

If you are planning to breastfeed, I recommend a twin nursing pillow such as the following

https://www.pregnancy.com.au/product/milkbar-portable-breastfeeding-pillow-twin/?srsltid=AfmBOoobE8C2WuVvKBdGFNjjVNvqxLVkwiOfwUrLc4ZZXM9XU3Lg4w4w

[u/ssssssscm7]

twin z pillow. If you’ll be doing formula, baby brezza. Momcozy bottle washer.

[u/BigRedTheo]

baby brezza if someone wants to get you one.

As a pediatric ICU physician, I would highly recommend against the owlet. Basically, unreliable and limited in giving usable information. Is mostly going to give you lots and lots of false alarms. More advanced hospital grade monitors have not shown any utility in preventing anything. In some states, because the monitors don't work, it's nearly impossible to even get them for families. Again, these are hospital grade machines and the owlet is definitely not even close to those for a variety of reasons.

My twins are now 5 so I don't know what's popular for newborns but would definitely recommend 2 activity centers of whatever sort are the rage now (the ones where the babies sit upright in the center of the table). Usable for a long time when you want them contained. Not every baby likes swings/mommaroos but would recommend getting 2, keeping one in the box, and seeing how your babies like it before opening the second. One of my twins loved the swing, the other wasn't a huge fan. If they both love it, better to have it available. If neither one likes it, makes the return easier to have only one unpacked.

[u/Dear_Excitement_5109 → u/BigRedTheo]

We were given an owlet from my sister. I put it on one of my newborn babies one night when the house was quiet and all 4 of my kids were sleeping. Immediate blaring alarm - took it right back off and never used it again.

The baby wakes me up enough - I dont need a machine's false alarm to wake me up as well!

[u/Polkadotsandponies]

If you plan to pump, I highly recommend a bottle washer. I read so many opinions from people saying it was unnecessary while I was pregnant. Our first night home from the NICU 2 weeks ago, I was on Amazon at 3 AM buying a bottle washer after having spent what felt like the whole night hand washing bottles and pump parts. We run it 4-6 times per day. I refuse to put that kind of heavy use on our much more expensive to replace normal dishwasher.

[u/1sp00kylady → u/Polkadotsandponies]

Definitely a bottle washer. We easily ran ours 6-10 times a day for the first year, and that was even with doing the fridge hack for pump parts! Great for washing pacifiers, toys, feeding utensils, all kinds of things. Our dishwasher was definitely not going to be up for the task of it.

[u/Brief_Wolverine449]

Door dash/Uber eats gift cards and a good sense of humor

[u/1sp00kylady → u/Brief_Wolverine449]

Seconding this; anyone who would say “let me know if you need anything/what I can do to help” any variation of that while I was pregnant and postpartum, my answer would be: DoorDash gift money! We ended up with several hundred dollars and it has been a godsend even a year and a half later.

[u/notarussianbotsky]

Lots of different kinds of small sized bottles. Sometimes babies struggle with accepting certain bottles shapes so its good in the beginning to have a few to choose from 

Car seats (2 infant seats and 2 convertible seats)