What baby gear do you get for twins? Get ideas for your essential must haves on your twin baby registry, from an experienced twin mom. Do you need double of everything? What should be on your registry? Learn from me as I take you through my registry and recommendations now that my twins in kindergarten.
Our Story
My husband and I were newly married all of two months when (surprise!) I was expecting. We joked that it would be neat to have twins, but never thought that would happen.
There were no twins in either of our families.
None.
It was the biggest surprise when at our twelve week ultrasound we saw TWO babies!
You might be finding yourself in the same position we were in with lots of questions.
How do I take care of two babies at once?
How do I keep up with everything else?
Do I need REALLY need two of everything?
It seems scary and daunting at first. I searched google, but it didn’t result in a lot of ideas for our registry.
I grew up fairly minimalist and knew I we didn’t need or want every possible seat, gadget, or monitor. Figuring out our twins’ registry took a little time, and I will share my thought process on how I put my registry together and my recommendations to new twin parents.
Eight Months Later…
Our son and daughter were born at 36 weeks at 7 lbs and 5 lbs via C-section.
We have been figuring out how to parent two at the same time ever since then. It is a unique and wonderful experience! Embrace the time to you have to do this!
Twin Registry Starter Suggestions
Before you start, here are my suggestions of my thought process behind my essential must have registry:
- Choose to make your registry someplace that is easily accessible. I chose to do a Amazon Baby Registry because I knew it was easily accessible for ordering for anyone giving us a gift. This could be a local store too if you’re family and friends are close by, but choose something that’s easy for you and them.
- Keep it as minimal as possible. That sounds hard, doesn’t it? What I mean is to choose things to add that you really care about getting, and/or brands you particular want. It gives others an idea what you view as essentials.
What should I put on my twin registry?
Many of the things I got for my twins, I would get over again! I was also gifted some items that I would truly recommend to others and include them in my list of essential must haves.
Here my breakdown of truly essentials for your twin registry.
- Transportation items – Carseats, strollers, and carriers
- Furniture items – Cribs, Mattresses, Changing Table, Highchairs, Baby Seats, and Playpen
- Diaper Supplies – Diapers, Wipes, Diaper Cream
- Baby Supplies – Clothing, Burp cloths, Blankets, Bath
- Feeding Supplies – Bottles, Nursing Pillow, Nursing Cover
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Do you have to get two of everything for twins?
No, you do not! There are definitely things you will want two of for twins, but you don’t have to buy two of everything. I found especially later on in their development, two of everything made our house very cluttered.
As they grow, you will find that your twins are two different people. They will have slightly different interests.
Two of everything is not essential. As I got through the registry, I will list what you may or may not need two of.
Transportation Items
Carseats (2) – I got the Chicco Keyfit carseats for our twins, and loved them! The Chicco brand is a little more pricey than some others, but I felt their newborn supports were much better in comparison to other carseats.
Carriers – Before my twins were big enough for a stroller, I used the Weego twin carrier. It was easy, comfortable, and great to use to go on walks and get out of the house. My Weego was a gift from a friend, and I loved it! If just soothing or carrying one twin, a baby wrap is very easy and lightweight to get things done around the house.
Stroller – I highly recommend a Baby Trend Double Jogging Stroller. My priority is ease when it comes to strollers, and a jogging stroller encompasses this for me. Whether I’m on solid pavement or mud and gravel on the farm, I can get around and put away the stroller on my own easily.
Furniture Items
Cribs (2) – We got a convertible crib for our twins. You simply have to take off one side, and it functions as a toddler bed too. Our twins used them until almost four years old; they definitely last!
Crib Mattresses (2) – For crib mattresses, I recommend the Serta Perfect Start mattress. If you go with a cheaper option, that is fine too. For our third child, I got an upgrade from the first two and can definitely tell the difference! To me, it’s worth a little more to have a better mattress that will last over a long period of time from baby to toddler. I recommend about four crib sheets to go with them.
Changing Table (1) – We purchased only one changing table for our twins, and I do not recommend getting two. More than likely, you’ll be changing other places around the house as well.
High Chairs (2) – Our high chair criteria was that they had to be able to fold up easily at the end of each meal, if needed. We have a smaller house and two high chairs can take up a lot of room.
Baby Seats/Chairs (2) – Originally, we didn’t put baby chairs on our registry and we simply got them at a garage sale. If you can’t find them cheaply, definitely add them to your registry. They allowed me to get back to cooking in the kitchen a lot faster as they got too big for my Weego carrier.
Playpen (1) – If you are going to someone else’s home a playpen is great to have for playing or naps! Again, we did not add this to our registry because we got one at a garage sale, but they very nice to have.
I will say we never put our twins to sleep in a playpen and they slept right away in their cribs, so if you prefer one they can sleep in first, I would suggest a this Baby Trend Playpen.
Diaper Supplies
Diapers & Wipes – For conventional diapers and wipes, I recommend Seventh Generation diapers and wipes or ones very similar to them. I never had diaper rash using them.
I also chose to do cloth diapers because we were on a very tight budget at the time. It is not hard, and much more sustainable because you can keep reusing them.
For cloth diapering, my preferences are Best Bottoms and their bamboo inserts, or cotton prefolds.
Cotton and bamboo are natural fibers and will let your skin breathe. Since microfiber is not a natural fiber, it does not let skin breathe. When using microfiber, I never felt I got the inserts clean enough (even after doing everything recommended to clean them) and it caused a lot of diaper rash before I realized the problem.
Diaper Cream – This wasn’t on my registry, but as I’ve used diaper creams I can say that if looking for a recommendation, I would get Aquaphor. It works really well and doesn’t leave a white paste on your baby’s butt.
Baby Supplies
Clothing – I had generally anticipated that people for a baby shower would get me clothes, right? I did not register for anything at first, but I will tell you to get sleepers (like these) for their first 1-3 months. The cute baby clothes can be put on for special occasions or pictures, but sleepers are what my babies usually lived in.
I recommend to plan on having about three sleepers per day for twins at first. I would do my wash at least every couple of days, and it gave me 1-2 extra outfits in case of accidents.
Burp Cloths (2 per baby) – After getting a lot of experience with burp cloths having two, I will tell you my favorite are the Muslin burp cloths or the Flannel burp cloths with the reinforced center. Both of these kinds have more coverage for burping, which I preferred.
I also used them in their beds under their heads as they started to drool and spit up, and when they were doing longer tummy times. They have multiple uses – not just when burping!
Blankets (2 per baby) – Flannel receiving blankets and Muslin blankets were a must for me to swaddle my twins in when they first came home!
To cover my twins as they got older, I would recommend a baby blanket like this Burt’s Bees blanket. I was very fortunate to have quilters in my family and as friends so I received a couple beautiful handmade baby quilts for my showers.
Bath supplies – This category, I feel, often gets left out at times on registries but it is essential! For my twins, I usually did baths on my own when my husband was finishing chores on the farm. I recommend one bath and two baby towels. I just had one baby on the floor or in their baby chair while I bathed the other and then switched.
For soap, I liked to use a more natural line and one that was fragrance free like Burt’s Bees. My husband has very sensitive skin, and we figured that our twins would probably inherit some of that (which we were right!)
With our third baby, my sister-in-law started making soap herself from my family’s goat milk. I love it and have been using hers ever since! You can purchase soap from her on Etsy here.
Feeding Supplies
Bottles (1-2 per baby) – I registered for these Mason bottles and really enjoyed them! I liked the idea of being able to have more bottles already in my house as I have tons of small half pints of mason jars, and it also meant I didn’t have to purchase any special bottle cleaning equipment.
Nursing Pillow (1) – I exclusively nursed my twins until they were beginning to eat solids, and My Brest Nursing Pillow was great for me to nurse both twins at once!
Nursing Cover (1-2) – I didn’t often need to nurse in public, and would recommend that your nursing cover could be dual purpose. It’s nice to have another purpose for something, if you are not sure how much you will be using it.
What about the other things?
You might be looking at my list and wonder about other things that are not on my essential must have list for you and were not on my registry. Monitors, bottle warmers, diaper pails…the list can go on and on because there is a LOT of baby items out there!
Are they convenient and nice? Yes.
The truth is I didn’t register for those things and my twins were just fine. I was just fine. My twins did not lack, and I did not feel at all like I couldn’t manage.
That doesn’t mean I did NOT get other things than what was listed on my registry. And you will get other things too.
I just did not put specifically put any of them on my registry and really didn’t use the other things to care for my twins.
However, if those things are important for you to cope, make life easier, and keep your baby safe – by all means put them down for people to get you!
BUT if you don’t know for sure and are overwhelmed, I give you permission to look at my list and use that as a guideline for the essentials. Use your resources and borrow something from another mom if you don’t know if you’ll use it or not. Baby things don’t have to come into your house permanently to live.
Ready?!
You are going to be great taking care of your twins!
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