Twin Gear for the 1st Year

I've been thinking about writing this post for a while now! I know when I was pregnant, I had a lot of questions about what I should buy and register for. What did I need 2 of, and what could I just get away with 1? I'm sure I'll be adding to this post as I think of things, but for now here is a list of what I found helpful during that 1st year. I'll try to go chronologically from newborn - 1 year, but a lot of things overlap!

-Sound Machine that PLUGS IN. A lot of sound machines (the seahorse, turtle, sheep, etc.) are marketed quite a bit and they sure are cute, but when the music goes off after 5 minutes and the wailing begins, they don't seem so cute anymore! You need a sound machine that plugs in and can stay on ALL night. I have used ours every day since we've gotten it without fail. For naps and all night! We have this one and it's worth every penny!!!!

-Miracle Blankets - We got a lot of "swaddleme's" from my showers, and I started off using them. But as the girls started getting older, they were very easy to bust out of. I purchased the miracle blankets from the advice of some twin moms, and was glad I did! They were wonderful and hard to break out of. And you really only need 2, 1 for each baby.

-Receiving Blankets - You do not need many of these! I wasn't sure when I was first registering. They are great little cover ups for when they are in their car seats, or to use as burp cloths, but really I never actually used them to swaddle. You probably need 4-6 at most. 

-Medela Pump in Style Advance - I love my pump! I still use it every day as my girls are still getting breastmilk. To be honest I started out with the Avent Dual Electric and it was fine at first, but after a while my rigorous pump schedule was just too much for it. It was also loud and didn't have the option of different size breast shields. I ended up buying the PISA (pump in style advance) and am so happy with my purchase! I ABSOLUTELY needed bigger breast shields! The pump is quiet and medela's customer service is amazing. A few weeks ago my pump started making this really loud clanking sound and they sent me a BRAND NEW PUMP. How's that for customer service?!

-2 sets of crib sheets - When I was pregnant I heard horror stories about waking up in the middle of the night to find soaked and dirty crib sheets, and that you should layer the sheets so you can just peel one off during the night. Ok, that has never happened. Maybe it's because I CD, but I don't know why I got so many crib sheets - what a waste it was! Honestly you need one for the crib, and a back up set for when you're washing the other set. That's it.

-2 Dishwasher Baskets and at least 16 bottles - if you EP or Formula feed, you are going to have a LOT of bottles! The top rack of my dishwasher is pretty much exclusively reserved for baby stuff! I have this dishwasher basket and it does a great job!

-2 Boppy Pillows - hands down my MOST used baby item. I don't care of you breast or bottle feed, you need these pillows and you need 2 of them. My girls still get fed their nighttime bottle in their boppies.

-2 infant seats and a stroller that will accommodate them. - I ended up with the Chicco System. I got 2 Chicco Keyfit 30's, and the Cortina Together stroller. The seats fold down and the infant seats snap in. When the twins are too big for the infant seats, the stroller can still be used for a very long time! The stroller IS heavy and to be honest I'm not sure it would fit in a small car (I have an SUV). But for our family, it was great!  And another note about carseats - make sure you find two that will accommodate a baby 5lbs+. Some infant seats are for bigger babies only, but keep in mind that twins DO tend to be small. Even though my girls were full term, they were still only 5lbs and 5lbs3oz and I don't know what we would have done if our carseats wouldn't have been safe for them!!!

-1 Rock N Play Sleeper and 1 bouncy Seat - Ok, I ended up with SO many bouncy seats! I got like 3 at my shower then my mom kept finding some ("ohhhh but this one vibrates! This one has a net!") and I kept telling her to take them back. You really only need 1 of each. For us, Emily liked the Rock N Play and Catherine liked a bouncy seat. Anything more just takes up space.

-1 Swing - My girls were never a fan of the swing to be honest, so I'm REALLY glad we just got one! But some babies really like them I hear, so it really just depends on your babies. My advice is to start out with one, and then get another one later if you find that both babies really love the swing!

-1 Activity Mat - Your babies will only really enjoy this when they are small, and 2 babies can EASILY fit under this! We had this one and thought that the music was really cute. They girls enjoyed the lights, sounds and toys. And again, you really only need 1. 

-2 bumbo seats - my girls loved the bumbo before they could sit up on their own and I definitely needed two! I actually started with one but promptly bought a second. I'd bring them in the kitchen with me while I cooked and they loved it! I also bought the trays that go with them which sort of acted as a seat belt when they got older!

-1 exersaucer and 1 jumparoo - Cate's physical therapist said these actually aren't great for babies (something about alignment?!) but when you're a busy parent of twins, sometimes you just NEED to sit your babies somewhere so they are happy and can't escape! :) They do take up a lot of room, but sometimes it's the only way you can get anything done!

-2 high chairs - self explanatory! You just need two!

-2 Sleep Sacks (1 per baby) - When the babies outgrow their swaddles, sleep sacks are a must. Our girls still use theirs. It's like a blanket that can't get tangled up so it poses no suffocation hazard. Of course, you want them to fit the seasons too. In the winter our girls wore footy fleece jammies and a fleece sleep sack. In the summer, they wear lightweight cotton short sleeve or tank top style jammies and a cotton sleep sack. 

-1 Learning Table - when baby first learns to pull up to standing, these little tables are wonderful! My girls would stand at either side and play with each other while pressing buttons and listening to the music. We have this one.

- 2 Walkers - These are a must when baby first learns to walk! My girls loved whirling around with these before they could walk on their own. I say two, because they loved racing each other! :) You could probably get away with one, though! We have this one and another one that my mom picked up at a garage sale.

-2 Portable Placemats - This is something I just received recently. My mother in law got this for our girls birthday and it is WONDERFUL for when you take your kids out to eat!  It rolls up very small so it fits easily in your diaper bag, and then makes for a perfect placemat when you get to the restaurant. I don't find that the suction cups work very well, but my girls are far more interested in their food than the placemat. We have 2 of these and again, they are wonderful!



Well I think that's about it! If I think of more things I'll update this post. But I hope this helps some of the pregnant mama's!

1st Birthday Party

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything! 1st my computer broke the morning of the girls birthday party, and the computer people had to order a part that took a week to come in! Also, I got some pretty crazy publicity with my crochet hats on buzzfeed (http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/pug-hats-for-babies) which was amazing! I'm still crocheting my fingers to the bone getting caught up on all the orders that came in!

Anyways, the girls 1st birthday party was on June 30th and was wonderful! The girls had a blast and of course so did mommy and daddy! We had a "tea party" theme....but the theme was very loose indeed! No one really felt like hot tea on an 80 degree day, so we had iced tea and tea party decorations! I made cucumber and egg tea sandwiches, and made a cake with a tea cup on top! The girls wore lovely little dresses. Their favorite part was opening ALL their presents! They got an entire wardrobe, no joke! They also got lots of fun new toys. It was wonderful to see so many people that we only see a few times a year, as well.

And now for the pictures!