This is NOT a sponsored post, I just really like these items
1. Use toy straps to assign each car seat. I always loved using the the Pippalily Toy Strap with my older kids to keep Sophie in place but I attached different straps to each car seat before our girls were born. Thankfully I did! Our girls are fraternal twins and completely different lengths which means their car seat straps are at different levels and they can’t swap car seats.
2. Get a high chair that you can tilt back. I’ve always started using our Peg Perego Prima Pappa Diner high chair way before our babies were ready to eat solids. I have found it so handy to put our twins in their’s reclined so they can watch me while I prepare meals in our kitchen.
3. Invest in a twin size diaper bag. I had a very hard time convincing my husband that we needed to replace our standard size diaper bag with a larger one made for twins while I was pregnant with our girls. Thankfully my incredible mommy friends pitched in and bought me the Patunia Pickle Bottom Abundance Boxy Backpack – my dream diaper bag! We don’t know what we would do without a bigger bag today! Don’t worry there are also some more budget friendly options too, like the Skip Hop Dual Double Diaper Bag.
4. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. This is a rule in our home. Whoever is crying gets the attention first. Because you are not an octopus and don’t have eight arms there will be many times you have to see to one twin while the other one waits. Pick whoever is fussiest to see to them first. Twins tend to be very patient babies because they learn to wait their turn from a very early age.
5. Assign cribs with each twin’s name. While pregnant with our twins I debated if I should add each twin’s initial or name to the decor over their crib and in the end decided to go for a pretty decal. Although I did it for aesthetic reasons at first, it sure has come in handy. Not only is it helpful for others to know who goes where but on more than one occasion I have sleepily almost put a twin in the wrong crib only to look up to read the name and remember which baby I was holding before correcting myself… oh sleep deprivation, the mean games you play on me!
6. A Blender Bottle makes for great formula storage. You know those protein shake Blender Bottles that are collecting dust in your cupboard because you don’t have time to work out anymore? Well thanks to my husband’s genius idea (yes honey I am giving you credit) they are great for pre-making a batch of baby formula to have stored in your fridge. We will make up two jugs the night before and it saves so much time the next day.
7. Use a pacifier that will stay put. I am a pacifier believer. When our twin’s pacifiers kept falling out when they were teeny tiny I found it was very frustrating putting them back in all the time because I was having to do it twice as much. Solution: WubbaNub pacifiers. They have a stuffed animal on the end that weighs it down and you can tuck into under their swaddler blanket to hold it in place.
8. Use a small white board to let people know what they can help with. We initially had a white board in our kitchen to record the twin’s feedings but I quickly added a section with a list of chores that family members and guests could help with. You will probably have so many visitors wanting to pitch in and help, but when you are so busy and sleep deprived it can be a little hard to delegate. Take a minute each day to write a list on the board and just direct your guests to that list. For example: empty the dishwasher, play with the older kids, fold baby’s laundry, walk the dog etc…
9. Only do baths every few days and sponge baths in between. Bathing 2 babies is an exhausting and time consuming task. Don’t worry about bathing them every day. Today I still only give our six month old twins baths every 3 or 4 days. I get a wet warm cloth and soap and wash their faces, necks and hands every day (bottoms are cleaned every diaper change) and then give them a full bath a couple times a week. Trust me, your back will thank you.
10. Buy two Boppy Pillows. When you have twins Boppy Pillows quickly become that extra set of arms you don’t have. They can help hold a baby when tandem feeding, assist your little ones when learning to sit and even help with tummy time.
11. MamaRoos, better than a nanny. When we had our older kids we used those massive swings that were battery operated. One day I watched in awe as my friend placed her swaddled newborn into this pod-like machine from the future. The MamaRoo is almost a better helper than your husband… I said ALMOST! They are sleek, can be reclined or sit up-right, you can plug your iPod into it to play your music, or you can listed to the sound machine built in. You can set the speed or type of motion, like a car-ride for example. It also has a small foot print and plugs into the wall for power so no worrying about replacing the batteries… amazing!
12. Assign a colour to each twin. Before our twins were born I started to sort out who would get what and I found it very helpful to assign a colour to each of them. Things like pacifiers and pacifier clips would typically come in packs of purple and pink, so Everly got purple and Mia got pink. It even worked well with the toy straps identifying their car seats. This would also work well for boys with green and blue.
13. Designate a laundry area. There’s a good chance that you will never again have every piece of laundry washed, folded and put away. Or at least not in the near future. I have sacrificed our dining room table for our laundry area. This way it is all in one spot and not on the floor in piles. When you have a family member wanting to pitch in and help fold laundry you can direct them to that area and let them get to work.
14. Wake the sleeping baby. Contradictory to the rule don’t wake a sleeping baby, when you have two you have to throw that rule out the window. I would recommend waking the sleeping baby at night so you can get everyone fed at once. Any night I haven’t done that I am kicking myself an hour later when I am up once again. I let our girls nap off of each other’s schedules during the day but get them back onto the same schedule for nighttime.
15. Get a small portable bottle cooler. Anytime we know we are going to be out longer than a quick trip to the store, I pack two large full bottles in the diaper bag and then one of the Blender Bottles in the cooler for refills. This works very well instead of packing six separate bottles. The JJ Cole Collections cooler is a great option.
16. Use cloth bibs to reduce your laundry. We have been blessed with four spitter-uppers… insert sarcasm. I swap out dirty cloth bibs every couple hours instead of getting into the big process of changing them constantly. This also reduces my dirty laundry pile significantly.
17. Keep an open buttonless sweater where you nurse your twins at night. Because it is a lot easier to tandem nurse while topless it is nice to have sweater to throw on to stay warm. A comfortable knit that is open at the front is a perfect option. Try to find one that is buttonless so you are not having to worry about hard buttons pressing against your little one’s faces. This open front sweater from Old Navy would be an ideal option.
18. Call ahead to organize parking arrangements. It is daunting enough trying to get out of the house with your newborn twins without help and the last thing you need is to arrive at your friend’s house and realize there is no room in their driveway or no parking spot close to their home. Call ahead and ask them to leave a space for you and to help you bring everyone and everything in. That little phone call makes a HUGE difference.
19. Set up a second change station near your kitchen. If your twin’s nursery is upstairs it makes life so much easier to set up a second change station near the busiest part of your home: the kitchen. Keep some extra outfits, bibs and lots of diapers there. This is a sanity saver.
20. Don’t forget, your twins can help soothe each other. Right from day one I have noticed a special bond between our girls. If one is being a little fussy try laying her/him down right next to her/his brother/sister with their bodies touching. You may be surprised. Their breathing slows and they become very peaceful.
Don’t forget to follow Nesting Story on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest and like Nesting Story on Facebook!
