Halfway There (the needs)
Sing it with me, “Wo-ah, we're halfway there. Wo-ah, livin' on a prayer. Take my hand, we'll make it I swear.
Wo-ah, livin' on a prayer.” Although I have no idea what comes next, those lines from Bon Jovi’s song, Livin’ On A Prayer, could not be more true for us!
We are six months into the twin life. Six months into learning life as a family of six. Half a year has gone by which is truly just insane to me. But the saying, “it goes so fast,” didn’t come out of thin air.
Twin life really is a sorority. When we were pregnant with the twins so many other twin parents would approach us in excitement and encouragement saying, “you can do this!” Now I get why.
You know the three finger salute Katniss Everdeen does from the Hunger Games? That’s what I feel like twin families are giving us when we are in public. We have the ones that busily walk by saying, “Oh I remember those days, I have twins myself,” as they look back over their shoulder. Or you have the ones that stop you, show you their twins on their phone or go get them to introduce to you.
It really is a small world…more people have twins than I realized. And since joining this sorority, I have had several soon-to-be twin moms ask what they need. Just as I did with my cousin Jessica who had identical twin boys with her third pregnancy.
So I wanted to compile a list of things that we have found so helpful in the first six months of twin-life:
The brest-friend
twin nursing pillow. LIFE SAVER. It has great support for you and the twins and is firm enough so that it doesn’t lose it’s form over time. The material doesn’t get too hot. The cover is washable and has a little pocket on one side. I tried the twinsie pillow and I was so uncomfortable and the material got terribly hot.
Two carseats, obviously :) Our’s were gifted to us and we have been so thankful for them!! And if your twinners (that’s what we call our twins) will be in carseats during the winter you will need two winter covers for them.
Two carseat covers. We’ve actually used these more than I thought we would. They are great when it’s raining or really windy and for when they are first born to keep unwanted hands from touching them when you’re in public!
Two swings. We have the 4moms original swing. It’s gone through all of our kiddos, been jumped in and the thing still works. It’s super durable, lightweight, compact, and easily moves. We borrowed the more high tech one and a lot of people like that because of all the swinging options it gives, but I am a little partial to simplicity.
Two high chairs.
You will never have enough burp cloths. My favorites are the cloth diapers with some cute fabric down the middle that my Aunt Tammy has made me for every kid!
… or “The Twin Train” as we call it. This is a MUST! It’s lightweight, easy to steer and can adapt to multiple carseats. We have Britax carseats and bought an adapter for them to fit the stroller.
Pacifier clips. When you are holding two babies you can’t keep picking up the dropped paci. I had never used these before the twins but they have come in clutch!
Two bouncers. We got the cheapest one from walmart back with Trey and our other one is a hand-me-down. We have a bumbo and an exersaucer as well. Honestly, if our house had the room we would probably have two exersaucers but between the three of those things you can move the twins around to keep them entertained if you don’t have the space like us.
I registered for one with Casen and I scored another the summer before the twins were born at a garage sale for $3!!!! I was so pumped. I knew we would use two based on how much I wore my other two boys. Brock was never into wearing the babes, but having the twins got him over that real quick. The hour before bedtime you will be singing the Ergo’s praises as it helps calm them down and helps your arms not feel like they will fall off. It also provides free hands when you have other kiddos to tend to.
Two cribs. Although this isn’t a necessity to begin with. The twins were sleeping in the same crib until about 5 months.
A big comfy rocking chair in the twins room. Our nursery is quite a small room, so trust me when I say you can fit your rocking chair in your nursery. It is a necessity when you have to rock your two babies at the same time and if you are breastfeeding them you need a big enough chair to be able to fit your nursing pillow plus the two babies!
Notice most of my double items were borrowed, bought at a garage sale/second-hand store, or given to us. Don’t buy double unless it’s for necessary things!! You will have enough expense with diapers/wipes and laundry detergent. Buying new of everything is not necessary!
Hopefully this is helpful to all you future twin mamas! May the odds be ever in your favor :)