We're having twins - help!

SmileyMiley_2

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Chunters_a_lot

Congratulations:j

My twins turned 2 the day before their little brother was born:eek: I missed out on having 3 under 2 by 24 hours.

My twins tips:

You don't need two of everything. My twins were premmie and small but they shared a Moses basket for months - the second basket just sat in a corner! By the time they were too big to share they could have gone into a cot. Same for the cot, they could have shared a cot until it was time to go into toddler beds. Use your sons cot and only invest in a second if you need to.

Wake the other twin to feed - best advice I ever got.

Where you need to buy more than one this website discounts if you buy two or more of the same thing - www.kiddicare.com

Side by side pram worked best for me but hang on to your single as well, there will probably be many times when just you and 1 child are out and about.

Congratulations again and good luck:T

samarnesen

congratulations

twins are great mine are now 2 a good tip for buying clothes if they are the same sex are the packs of 2 items tesco do quite a few and are cheap
buggies have been my biggest expense if you speak to most parents of twins they will tell you they have used several different prams ive used 5 its a case of finding one to suit your needs much harder than just 1 baby
as for a car i have an 8 seater but im sure you will manage in a smaller car
i agree with other posters freecycle and ebay are great for things
but i think i can beat the other posters cos my twins are part of 7 children i had another baby when my twins were 19mths as well as having 4 elder children at one stage i had 4 kids under the age of 3:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
good luck

kew13

Hello... congrats on your twins.

We have a 7 yr old and 3yr old twins. Now they are fantastic, the 1st year is hard. Some things that were useful for me:

Buy a buggy with the biggest wheels possible, by the time your little ones are 18months or so you could be pushing round 3stone! We first bought a nice light one with really small wheels (to fit in our Yaris, so you can do 3 kids in small car for about 6 months) by the time they were a year it was really difficult to push. That was w/o another child on buggy board. Try looking at US web sites for a 'jogging' style buggy - mine came from mystrollers.com. cost £89 then about £60 to ship.

Have nappies and changing stuff on each level of your house, then you dont end up running up and down all day!

Good luck!
Karen

morganlefay

This is of no practical help whatsoever but I have identical girls who are now 32. It was incredibly hard when they were little, but it didn't last long (and now there's so much good and kind advice on here to support you) but they are the best thing in my life. They have left home now, and one has married, but they have been and continue to be an absolute delight. What is more they are such good friends, and that's a joy to see. Try to see past the nappies, feeds and sleep deprivation and take a few moments every day to have a quiet cuddle with one , all alone if possible, and then with the other and try to enjoy them as much as you can. Do you know, I envy you !!
I wish you good luck, good nights, and much happiness with them :T

wsn

Hello

Well - Congratulations!! I have 7 year old twin boys and a 21 year old daughter (at one point we had toddler tantrums and teenage tantrums at the sametime - nightmare)11 That said - it is a joy and I wish you all the happiness we have had!

So - money saving:

Do you live near a Sure Start / Childrens centre - they often do clothes swaps - if they don't - suggest one - they are very open to feedback and suggestions. Unfortunately, I don't live near one but do work in one.

I buy mini boden clothes from e-by, They wear and wear / wash and wash and are often sstill in great condition to sell on once mine have grown out of them (in you case you could start with your two yearold and pass down from there)

Car boot sales in the summer are great for prams and baby equipment - look for a little local one with no dealers and you get clean, good quality stuff from local people.

Ask your Health Visitor or google local groups who are for twins and multipul births - good advice and often sell equipment.

Visit netmums.co.uk - same.

try https://www.freecycle.co.uk for great way of picking stuff other people have finished with and don't want to send to landfill - (This ranges from prams to plant pots)!!up or getting rid of stuff you dont want to send to landfill.

Finally - I always pass on any good quality stuff which doesn't go onto e-bay (Toys etc) to friends and neighbours in the hope that what goes around comes around!

I have just read this and realise I sound like a right scruff but we are a clean well dressed family - honest !! : )

Good luck and congratulations again

Wendy

p.s. when they are older, get them to do something to send to Blue Peter, If they get a badge as mine did, this gives you free entry to loads of british attractions from Legoland to the tower of London - it is great and mine are really proud of themselves when they go for days out with it.

blondepoledancer

I have 2 words for anyone.... WASHABLE NAPPIES!
I know, extra washing, drying, yada yada yada. Honestly, when your waashing machine seems to be constantly running is an extra load every 2-3 days really a problem? You only need to wash them at 40 degrees anyway. Buy the right ones and they dry fast too, and don't use fabric conditioner either!
I have spent in total about £250 on nappies (including wraps and accessories bucket, flushable liners etc)and my son is now 20 months old. I intend to have another and the council will give me £30 for using the ones i've already got.
For anything good quality 2nd hand try your local NCT sale, or preloved.co.uk. I've bought some of my nappies 2nd hand but unfortunately eBay have stopped the sale of them, shame it's a big market! Maybe i should set something up??

lucycan

Firstly congratulations - its very scary thinking about it but not as bad when they eventually arrive! My twin girls are now 5 months and when they were born my son was not even 2! Hard work but they are really lovely and exciting to watch them begin to notice eachother and play.
Some things l def recommend - rockers have been a fantastic buy (Fisher Price - Linkadoos - from Argos) (ask people to buy 2 for presents!). Its much harder with 2 babies and another child and you can't hold them all the time!
Changing unit with bath (we got one 2nd hand) you have so much more nappies, wipes, towels etc, good storage
Buggies/prams are a minefield, we bought 2nd hand (again) but wish l had bought new but make sure it fits in car without the air turning blue and fits through your front door and internal doors!
We have a Rover 216 and bit of a nightmare with everyone in the car - my toddler has to sit in the front as can't fit 3 car seats in the back - l have been relegated to the small space on the back seat. Lastly ebay has a section for twins/multiples which is good for clothes etc.

Good luck

AMANDA62

Hi we have twins (they were 9 yesterday 13/08) and i found the national childbirth trust sales a great help and some of the charity shops have baby clothes for sale with the labels still attached.!!! Ebay wasn't around when i had my 2 but when you see a sale in the shops use them to get plain clothes for when they are older ie when expecting buy for 12mths etc and don't buy too many new born. Although Tesco and Asda basic body siuts and all in ones are cheap enough without being in the sale. When my daughter was born she was tiny (4lb) and then she dropped some weight so some of the larger dolls clothes fitted her the nappies were the most fun Boots pre-term nappies fell off her sometimes and had to resort to sticky tape. When the supermarkets have deals on nappies and wet wipes baby food etc stock up just watch the sell by dates on food.My son was ok he weighed 5.14 and the small stuff fitted him for a while but couldn't pass most of his clothes on to his sister. Have to say i agree about a side by side buggy is better. I would recommend Tamba although i never did get around to joining my friend did and they got some great deals on days out etc. most of all enjoy them they are not little for long. I used to have a sleep in the day when they were asleep but this may be a problem with your other child and may i suggest that the new arrivals bring a little present for their BIG brother:j

trink

Congratulations :j

First of all I want to say is 'don't panic' followed by ignore all the double trouble comments which you are bound to get. My little lot are 4, 3, 2 year old twins and a 2 1/2 month old - so yes, 5 under 5 and we also had 4 under 3 at one point.

There hasn't really been much more extra cost in having twins compared to having 2 singletons. Probably the biggest expense would've been getting another cot (though we already had two from the first two) but I would say wait as our twins ending up sharing a cot until about a year and then were in beds at about 14/15 months. Obviously this all depends on your little ones - I had Tiddlers so they both fitted comfortably (they were two last month and still get away with 9-12 month clothes).

I would suggest trying your local twins club and toddler groups. I've found that we get loads of clothes given to us because twins are a magnet for other parents. NCT sales can be good but beware - some seem to want almost full cost.

Also bfing is possible with twins and save a fortune in formula but obviously doesn't work with everyone.

As for buggies - I also prefer the side by side and my two do love being together. We didn't have much choice due to limited space in the car (we have a Zafira but with 4 in car seats (well 5 now!) all the seats were used and only one fitted - luckily it was one of the cheapest. I did start of with a buggy board until my daughter reached two and half and then she had to walk - meanie that I am but it was useful in the early days.

Also try and drop into conversation about expecting twins - dh got a discount on his tyres of all things!

Anyway good luck - and can't be that hard as I was slightly disappointed that this time around there was only one!