What To Buy When You Are Expecting Twins

You find out you’re having twins and you type into Google what to buy when you’re expecting and it’s all catered towards people having a singleton. Don’t worry, we’ve been there and it can be a bit overwhelming initially! This drove us into creating a blog that shares products and tips for people having twins.

As parents of twins (two beautiful 13-month-old boys!), we wanted to share 5 products which we found really useful in the first 12 months as parents of twins. Maybe some of these products will work great for you while others might not as at the end of the day, all babies are different and have differing needs.

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchase made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Boppy Pillow

There’s a variety of different breastfeeding pillows on the market but nothing quite like the Boppy Pillow range. Basically, they’re more than just a breastfeeding pillow and can be used for a range of uses as your child grows. During the first 12 months, we used our Boppy Pillow for:

Feeding – Helpful if you’re feeding one child at once. We prefer to use a proper twin breastfeeding pillow if feeding both as they provide greater support for your twins and are more comfortable for mom.
Propping – Great for those early days at around the 3+ month mark when your baby isn’t yet crawling and still spending time on their back but you need somewhere to securely and comfortably place them. We’d often take our Boppy Pillows when visiting friends so we knew the boys would have somewhere comfortable to lay.
Tummy Time – Best around the 3-6 month mark when you’re trying to encourage your baby into more tummy time. The Boppy Pillow helps support your baby’s torso and arms as they begin to practice moving their head and neck around.
Sitting – Basically what we use the Boppy Pillows for now. We’ll often sit the boys up on the couch on top of a Boppy Pillow while they’re having their milk. The pillow helps support them and provides a little security.

Twin Breastfeeding Pillow

We mentioned how much we love our Boppy Pillow for the range of uses it provides but when having twins, it doesn’t quite cut it when it comes to being a breastfeeding pillow. Sure, it works great if you’re breastfeeding one baby but if you’re having twins, you need something with better back support for you, the mom, and a secure place for your baby to lay as they feed. There are so many different breastfeeding pillows on the market now for people breastfeeding twins and we tried a few. Our best experience was with the My Brest Friend Twin Pillow which provides great back support, includes a zipper on the pillow to store small items and most importantly your babies will be both comfortable and secure as they feed.

Twin Friendly Diaper Bag

Having twins means you’ll end up carrying a lot of stuff! When we venture out with our twins we’ll generally carry multiple nappies, wipes, changes of clothes, diaper rash cream, pre-made milk and that’s not even including the things we carry for ourselves!

For this reason, we recommend investing in a big and sturdy diaper bag. It’s best to carry something that’s a bit bigger than your needs as this will avoid the bag bursting at the seams and also give you the option of being able to carry more things (like toys) when needed.

We personally recommend the Baby K’tan Weekender Bag which is both stylish while providing plenty of space to fit all your baby needs.

Twin Stroller

Buying a twin stroller was one of the best investments we made. We ended up spending quite a bit and investing in the Bugaboo Donkey 2. The Bugaboo Donkey 2 is easily maneuverable for its size and works great during the newborn phase all the way up to when your twins are 1 year+ thanks to the included bassinet and regular seats.

We’ve written about buying a twin stroller in great detail but here are a few things we’d recommend considering if buying a twin stroller:

Do you have narrow door openings you’ll need to be careful with? If so, we recommend getting a tandem seating twin stroller like the Graco DuoGlider Double Stroller or JOOVY Caboose Stroller which are more narrow and allow your children to still have a view from the stroller.
What kind of terrain will you be taking the stroller on? If offroad, be sure to look for a stroller with wheels that inflate and suspension to help provide a gentle ride for your little ones.
Will you need to be able to see your babies as you are walking? We found not all twin strollers offer this with some only positioning the babies front-facing rather than rear-facing.
Do you plan on keeping the stroller for some time? In that case, we’d recommend investing in a twin stroller like the Bugaboo Donkey 2 which includes a bassinet for the newborn phase while also including seats for when your twins grow older.
Try before you buy! We had our hearts set on the Baby Jogger City Mini twin stroller but when we tried it in the shops, we didn’t like the maneuverability of the stroller compared to the Bugaboo Donkey 2.

Twin Carrier

Sometimes you’ll want to venture outside but perhaps the terrain isn’t quite suitable for your chunky twin stroller. For this reason, we invested in the TwinGo Original Baby Carrier which allows us to carry both babies (one on the front and one on the back). This was particularly useful for those days when I’d be at home with the boys and need to go out to quickly pick up a few groceries for dinner.

Conclusion

I hope this brief guide on things to buy when you’re expecting twins has been useful for you! While some days have their challenges, having twins is one of the most amazing times of your life and you’re in for a fun ride ahead!

Author Bio

Alex is a dad to two identical beautiful twin boys from Melbourne, Australia. He’s sharing some of his favorite twin related products and tips over on his blog Help I’m Having Twins to help guide new twin parents.