I remember the day that we found out we were having twins like it was yesterday. My OB looked at the ultrasound machine and laughed as he said, "Yup there are two in there". It never truly hit me that we were having twins until we got to our car and I realized we would need two carseats. The first thing I did was go home and look up all the YouTube videos and blog post for all the things I would need for having twins. So now that we have 2 year old twin boys, I wanted to make my very own list of things that helped us so much with our twin boys.
Here are my TOP 10 most recommended products for new expecting parents of TWINS!
Sound Machine | Breast & Bottle Feeding Pillow | Twin Bassinet | Stroller | Baby monitors | Activity Chair | Feeding and Tracking Apps | Wagons | Monitoring Devices | Pack’N’Play
1. Hatch Rest or Hatch Rest+ Sound Machine: If you have been following me on Instagram you know that we love our Hatch Rest Sound machine. It was one of the things I bought before the boys were born and we are still using it to this day. This sound machine is great because it really helps drown out the noise that would wake either baby and you can use it as a nightlight when feeding in the middle of the night. This is definitely one of those items we will be using for years with our twins. The main difference between the Rest and the Rest+ is that the Rest+ is: wireless, connects to wifi instead of bluetooth, you can use it to listen in on the room, and it can be controlled with Alexa.
TIP WHEN PUMPING FOR TWINS: If you also plan on pumping I recommend a mini fridge in the bedroom so your not having to get up and go to the kitchen to store your milk after pumping late.
2. TwinZPillow and/or My BreastFriend Twin Nursing pillow: (I have both pillows because we have two stories and it's nice to have one on each floor) The TwinZPillow is great for tandem breastfeeding and simultaneously bottle feeding the twins. The My Breast Friend Pillow is great because it’s a little bit more sturdy for tandem breastfeeding, but you can’t use it to bottle feed. If I had to chose one of them, I would pick the TwinZPillow. The option to be able to breastfeed and bottle feed your twins with this pillow is just the best move.
3. The HaloSleep Twin Bassinet: My loving, most beautiful, sister 😝... gave us this bassinet as a baby shower gift and it is THE BEST. Both babies have their own little space divided by a mesh barrier so they can still see and hear each other. It also spins 360° so you can stay in bed and just turn it to access either baby. After having my C-Section and very little mobility in my core, this bassinet was worth it's weight in GOLD.
I can't think of a better bassinet for a twin parent.
4. Evenflo Pivot Xpand Travel System: So this stroller is still the stroller we use now. We've taken it all over and most recently to Disneyland and the storage is great. Even if you are having a singleton, I would recommend this stroller. The reason it's called the Xpand is because the front of the stroller expands out to hold another seat/carseat. So even for those needing it just for baby #1, there is room for growth into a tandem stroller down the road. When you purchase this stroller it comes with 1 seat and 1 SafeMax carseat; we had to purchase an additional seat and an additional matching carseat. The fact that the carseat connects to the stroller makes it so easy getting in and out of the car without having to unbuckle your, probably sleeping, baby. (The time it takes to load and unload your twins from the car will be what stands between you and getting out of the house on your own.)
5. Motorola Comfort85Connect: This baby monitor has been my absolute favorite so far and I have used about 3 different monitors before settling with this one. This monitor already comes with two cameras, which is perfect if your twins are sleeping separately. My favorite thing is that this monitor connects via Wifi, but still has a separate screen that comes with it. A lot of monitors, these days, really don't do the screen anymore and just connect to your phone. The problem with that is, 9 times out of 10, when your twins are sleeping, you will be on your phone. Naps will become that time to reconnect with friends and family and having to open an app to check in on your twins is just annoying. I love that I can just look over at the screen while still doing whatever I am doing. BUT, I still understand the convenience of being able to pull up the cameras on your phone. If you are not home or left the additional screen upstairs, being able to pull up the feed on your phone is a must. Well, this monitor does that too! You just download the app and you can connect to and check in on your twins from anywhere. You get the best of both worlds with this monitor and I tell you it's worth it.
6. SkipHop Silver Lining Cloud Activity Center: when the boys started moving around more, I wanted something that would keep them busy. What I didn't want though was a activity chair that didn't grow with our boys. What I mean is I didn't want to use it for 3 months and then toss it into storage. The key to this activity center is that it can turn into a table when the seat option is no longer necessary. We use the table set up in our play space now and you can even get the additional 2 matching chairs to go with it! Because there are two of these little guys, I didn't want to buy two of the same activity chairs. The other chair we had was this musical one that you could remove the seat when they are able to walk. It was the called the Fisher-Price 4 in 1 Step n Play Piano and these two activity tables were the perfect duo!
7. The GlowBaby App: This app was my personal assistant those first 12 months of the boys lives. You are able to document almost everything on this app: feeding times, diaper changes, illnesses, milestones, sleeping times, and sooo much more. There is even a whole message board where different women come together to discuss different topics. This app was so helpful when I was pumping and wanted to keep track of how much milk each breast was producing.
8. Evenflo Pivot Xplore Wagon: This is what we call our Adventure Wagon. We've taken this wagon all over: the beach, hiking trails, and the middle of the desert to name a few. It works so well on uneven terrains because the tires are a bit more rugged then your standard wagon. It also has a tray with cup holders in the center for your twins to use when snacking on the go and they get to sit right across from each other. Now you won't use this wagon until your twins are able to sit up on their own, but it's definitely worth mentioning.
9. The Owlet Smart Sock: I recommend the owlet sock especially if your twins come early. Since our boys had a stay in the NICU, having all the different health monitors on the boys was something I was really used to. So when we were able to take the boys home, having that extra security was something I really wanted. I loved being able to check their heart rate and oxygen levels in real time on the app and having this little hub next to my bed that let me know the boys were doing ok. You can also use the sock to track how long they've slept. Having the Owlet Smart Sock really gave me that peace of mind at home. If anything was "off" with their levels, an alarm would go off and the Hub would turn red.You can read all the testimonials on their site on how helpful this sock has been for so many families. I had the older version of the current SmartSock available. The new Smart Sock can now monitor children up to Age 5 which I so wish I had now. I am actually thinking of grabbing them the newer version so I am able to track their current sleep patterns better.
10. Baby Trend Twin Nursery Center: Since we had the HaloSleep Bassinet upstairs next to our bed, having this PackNPlay downstairs was really nice during those first few months. The PackNPlay comes with two removable bassinets that sit on the top of it. The bassinets vibrated and played little sounds which really helped soothe them. Eventually we no longer needed the bassinets and just used the PackNPlay as a play space or a diaper changing station.
So that's it, all 10 items I would recommend to any new expecting twin parent! I hope these recommendations help you on this amazing journey to that #twinlife!
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