A former customer contacted me recently, excited to be expecting twins and wondering if I had any twin insight I'd like to share. At first I thought I wouldn't have very much good advice to offer but then as I typed my response I realized that my experience could help others and so I am happy to share it with you all.
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| Mason & Spencer |
Bouncy Seats...
You need two
bouncy seats, we really got a ton of use out of those, obviously. I was able to figure out a way to where the seats would sort of overlap and I could bounce one with my foot while reading a book to my daughter and it would in turn bounce the other seat as well. No need for the super fancy bouncers, the cheaper ones work fine, plus the babies will enjoy looking at each other more than all those battery operated accessories.
BreastPump...
An electric
dual breastpump if you plan on nursing/pumping. I used the
Medela Pump In Style and loved it, couldn't imagine life without it.
Bumbo Seats...
We had
bumbo seats but I think if you don't teach them from a really young age to like them then you miss the window. I tried too late and my guys hated them and did not like using them at all but I did see how they would have worked awesome had I gotten them used to the seats when they were younger.
Strollers...
I wasn't big on gadgets and baby gear. I went through
double stroller after stroller and finally ended up with a really nice, although bulky,
double jogger. Strollers are just not made to carry two 40lb toddlers even though they claim to be for two, that's like pushing an 80 lb person around. The wheels buckle, give out, and the
strollers are a real pain when they're not working properly. So my advice would be to just skip the rinky dink ones and go for one that will last until they're older and not just one that will work when they're tiny babies.
Babywearing...
What do I regret? I regret not trying to
babywear more,. I didn't realize there were
carriers that you could wear both tiny babies at once so I just wore one at a time and not that often because I always had the other to carry too. There's a ton of info on
Youtube, Try doing a search for "
babywearing twins" or "moby wrap twins" and there you'll find video tutorials on how to do it.
Do I recommend keeping twins on the same schedule?
Yes, I personally think the same schedule is definitely best. Especially if you're
nursing. They nurse, sleep, eat, poop, cry, all at the same time. You get your routine down and still have a "little" time for yourself. If they were on separate schedules I can't even imagine the difficulty. I
co-slept with mine and they slept in the middle. I would lay on my left and nurse one and when the other needed to nurse I'd jump over to the other side and lay on my right. That way I never had to turn my back to either.
Should you "try" to make them independent of each other or individuals? I don't think you have to "try" to make identical twins individual, they are not the same person and they will grow into unique little people just fine without our trying to make them independent of eachother. My little guys are close, I think that twins fraternal or identical, but especially identical, should have their bond nurtured and treated as special as it is. Mine love each other and are inseparable, at age three we told them they had to sleep in their big boy bed (together), instead of co-sleeping with mommy, and they have slept in their bed ever since. They snuggle and cuddle each other and their closeness makes my life easier. Perhaps it would be different if they were boy/girl fraternal twins, but for me, the twin bond is miraculous and I hope that the bond they share and that I've helped nurture lasts them a lifetime.
Wow, so maybe I do know a little about raising twins! Who knew!? I hope this helps some of you. If you have comments to share, please do.