Hellobee

The Babies Blue will be one month old in just a few days–time flies when you are living your life in three-hour repeating cycles! Having survived the first month of being first-time parents to twins, here is what we have deemed our “essentials.”  Yes, I’m sure we could have lived without some of these, but they have made life much more efficient and smooth, which in my world makes them life savers.

1.  Lovey Duds wrap – I always planned to babywear occasionally, but with two newborns, my Lovey Duds wrap is a lifesaver.  I don’t wear both babies at the same time, but being able to wear one frees up my hands to take care of the other, or to get laundry done, bottles washed, etc. when I have one baby that is rejecting sleep or is having some tummy issues and needs to be upright after a feeding.  For instance, as I type, I have a fussy baby in the wrap while his marginally fussy brother is laying beside me as I frantically type a sentence or two before I have to stop and soothe one or the other.  Life as a twin mom . . .  :)

2.  Gerber pre-fold diapers – Hands down, these are the absolute best burp cloths.  They are way more absorbent than the burp cloths that are sold as such.  I honestly think it would be impossible to have too many.

3.  Olive Oil – I had never heard of using olive oil for diaper rash, but my brother and sister-in-law use it so when F developed a mean diaper rash at the end of our hospital stay, I tried it when we came home.  It worked like a charm, and I like that I’m not having to use anything stronger.  Note: The cheap stuff works fine!  No need to bust out the good kind for your baby’s bum.

4.  White Noise machines – Our boys LOVE white noise, so we have white noise from multiple sources.  We love our Marparc white noise machine for our bedroom, a white noise app and these Gentle Giraffes because they’re cute, portable, and have various other sounds the boys can enjoy.

5.  Bouncer & swing – I think the most critical items for parents of twins are various “baby containers.”  It’s vital to have a safe place to set one baby while you’re hands are full with the other baby.  It’s just an added benefit if your baby happens to love said baby containers.  We didn’t buy two of everything until we brought the boys home and learned what they both liked.  They tolerate a bouncy seat for short periods of time, but both really like the swing, so we eventually bought another swing.

7.  Receiving blankets – I love the Aiden & Anais blankets, but when we first came home from the hospital, they were just way, way to big to use to swaddle our little peanuts.  It just ended up with tons of fabric in their faces.  I used a few receiving blankets that we were gifted for the first few weeks.

8. Rock ‘n’ Play – We have two Rock ‘n’ Plays, and they are some of our favorite baby items.  They serve as our bassinets that move from room to room.  In the middle of the night, it’s awesome to be able to reach out with one sleepy hand and give a little rock to buy a few more minutes of precious sleep.

9. Snap front gowns – In the early days, snap-front gowns were our absolute hands down favorite clothes to put the boys in.  It’s easy access for diaper changes, and they are much easier to quickly put on when both of your boys spit up, pee, poo all over their clothes during a midnight feeding, especially as a new parent when you’re still mastering the art of dressing little bits.  Also, if you think there is any chance at all of your babies ending up in NICU, these are the best thing you can dress them in because the snap front allows wires and cords to be threaded through the gap between snaps.

10.  Medela Breast pump – Trying to breastfeed twins is not for the faint of heart, and I couldn’t live without a great breast pump.  First, I had to pump a lot while we were in the NICU, so a good pump really helped.  I pump every day at various points both to help increase my supply and to have enough pumped milk to let Mr. Blue take a feeding or two and give this mama a break.

11. My Brest Friend Twin Pillow – If you intend to try to tandem breast feed twins, I absolutely recommend the My Brest Friend Twin Pillow.  It holds both babies comfortably, so I have both hands free to help with latch, burp one baby, etc.

12.  Pack ‘n’ Play – While our boys often sleep in the Rock ‘n’ Plays, they really love to snuggle and often sleep better together.  I’m not ready to have them in their nursery, so when we want them to sleep together, we use a Pack ‘n’ Play.  As cumbersome as PNPs can be, we’ll probably also use it as a crib to take to grandparents’ houses, etc. for a few months.

13. Dr. Brown’s bottles  – We have to supplement with a high-calorie preemie formula, and we also feed the boys pumped breast milk at least one feeding a day to give me a little break.  We’ve tried several bottles, and these are my favorite, even though they have a million little pieces to wash.  The boys seem to have less spit ups and fussy tummies when we use the Dr. Brown’s bottles.

What were your newborn essentials?  If you have multiples, what did you have two of?