Baby Gear Recommendations For Twins Source: www.havetwinsfirst.com

Baby Gear Must Haves

Infant Car Seats with Base: We have the Graco click connect car seats and really like them. I went with Graco because they are the lightest car seat and with twins that’s a plus.

Graco SnugRide Click Connect 35

Graco SnugRide Click Connect 35 Car Seat Base

Double Stroller Frame Stroller: For the twins I bought a double convertible stroller. But, if I did it again, I would get a double stroller frame. We bought a stroller frame for our singleton and it is so much lighter! You pay more for a convertible stroller and it’s very heavy. I originally opted for the convertible stroller because I thought we would continue using the stroller as the children grew, but after the twins could sit up around 6 months we used an umbrella stroller because it is smaller and lighter:

Baby Trend Universal Double Snap-N-Go Stroller Frame

OR

Joovy Twin Roo+ Car Seat Stroller

Convertible Car Seats: It is important thing to consider if you might have more children when picking a convertible seat. It could be important to pick convertible seats that will allow you to fit three car seats across in your car. We have tried a variety of car seat brands and I prefer the Graco car seats over Safety 1st and Evenflow.

Graco SlimFit All-In-One Convertible Car Seat

Double Umbrella Stroller: We love our Chicco and it’s still in perfect condition 3 years later.

Chicco Echo Twin Stroller

Cribs: We have purchased cribs from both Graco and DaVinci and we have been very happy with their quality.

Crib Mattress: The Safety 1st crib mattress is a great deal on Amazon and our 3 year olds still sleep on them to this day in their toddler beds.

Safety 1st Heavenly Dreams White Crib Mattress

Nursery Furniture: Again, both the furniture from Graco and DaVinci has worked out well for us. We have the following furniture for the twins. 1 tall dresser with 5 drawers and 1 short dresser with 3 drawers and a side cabinet. Between the 2 dressers and a regular size closet there is plenty of space for clothes, diapers, etc. Additionally, we have a 4 shelf bookcase for books, plus any additional storage that might be required.

Changing Pad: Put a changing pad on top of a short dresser instead of buying a changing table to save space.

Summer Infant Changing Pad

Changing Pad Covers:

Summer Infant Ultra Plush Changing Pad Cover

Waterproof Mattress Pads:

Utopia Bedding Waterproof Crib Mattress Protector

Fitted Crib Sheets: No recommendations because I liked the Babies R Us brand sheets and unfortunately Babies R Us is out of business.

Nightlight: This one is cheap and works well. It is still operating with no problems 3 years later.

Safety 1st LED Nightlight

Hamper: My only recommendation is to check out Homegoods, they always have nice options for kids. I had two from Babies R Us (out of business), but they weren’t great quality anyway.

Diapers: Go with Pampers Swaddlers for size newborn up to size 2. I swear by Huggies from Costco, called Huggies Plus, once babies are in size 3 diapers. I love the Huggies Plus diapers because there is a noticeable difference in absorbency between these diapers and regular Pampers, Huggies, and store brand diapers.

Pampers Swaddlers - Size Newborn

Pampers Swaddlers - Size 1

Wipes: I am very loyal to Huggies Natural Care wipes.

Huggies Natural Care Wipes

Waterproof Changing Pads: These are great for diaper changes on your bed in the middle of the night during the newborn phase and to protect the changing pad cover. When the babies get bigger you can use them if you need to change them on the floor. They also come in various sizes, it’s good to get a few different sizes. I liked the Koala Baby brand from Babies R Us, so I can’t really make a recommendation on brand, but I have left a link below so you can see an example.

Waterproof Changing Pads

Changing Table: I recommend getting a changing table if you have 2 floors in your house. We purchased this one and it has been great. It’s a great price, still in good condition, and has plenty of storage.

Badger Basket Changing Table with Hamper and 3 Baskets

Diaper Bag: I like ours, it’s a good size, even for twins, and my husband wanted a gender neutral bag.

Fisher Price Deluxe Messenger Bag

Diaper Rash Cream: Aquaphor is by far my favorite diaper rash cream. It is good to have big tubs at each diaper changing area and a small tube to keep in the diaper bag.

Aquaphor Baby Advanced Therapy

Hand Sanitizer: Keep a pump at each diaper changing station and a travel hand sanitizer for the diaper bag.

Bassinet: I highly recommend the Fisher Price Rock ‘N Play sleeper. All my kids slept next to our bed in these until 3-6 months of age. I also recommend the deluxe model for the softer, cozier bedding. We had received two of these for the twins. We registered for the regular version and received the deluxe as a gift. There was a big difference in the softness of the padding and we ended up returning our regular model for a deluxe model.

Fisher Price Deluxe Rock ‘N Play Sleeper

Swaddling Blankets: Take as many receiving blankets as you can from the hospital, they are great quality (and free). The hospital blankets are big, so they are great for swaddling, and they also double as a burp cloth. I do not recommend the Gerber receiving blankets, they are too small. My absolute favorite swaddling blankets are the aden+anais muslin blankets. They are big and stretchy, perfect for swaddling. Between the hospital and a pack of aden+anais blankets it should be enough to start. You can always buy more if needed.

aden+anais Swaddleplus Blanket

Pacifiers: I recommend getting a couple different brands to see what the baby prefers. Two of my kids liked the Philips Avent soothies and then switched to the Philips Avent silicone, while one of my kids would only take the Nuk pacifier.

Philips Avent Soothie Pacifier

Philips Avent Freeflow Pacifier

Nuk Puller Silicone Pacifier

Playards: I love playards for traveling, plus you can use it as a portable crib up until 3 years old. I also loved using it as playpen from 6-10 months old. It provides a safe play area, and is especially useful when you need to leave the room for a few minutes (bathroom break anyone?). It is really dependent on your needs whether to get the playard with the bassinet/changing area combo. Since we bought the Twin Pack N Play (see review below), which does not come with a changing station, we opted for a separate changing table on the first level of the house. Even with a singleton, a separate changing table is my preference. After 3-6 months the baby will outgrow the top bassinet of the playard, so where will you change the baby after that? You also need to consider finding space to set up the playard. Lastly, buying the basic playard will save you money because it is cheaper. Walmart has the best deal the basic one for $38.

Graco Pack N Play

Note on the Twin Pack N Play:

If you plan to travel with the twins you will need (2) portable cribs after they are 3 months old. We own the Twin Pack N Play, but I do not recommend it. There is nothing particularly wrong with it, we used it for naps when the twins were newborns. The reason I would not buy it is beyond 3 months old there is no use for the top bassinets. If you will be traveling and taking (2) portable cribs with you, it is bigger than the normal playards. This isn’t great when you will already have limited space in your car. We used it for some naps during the first 6 weeks. That was it, as far as the advantages it gives for allowing two babies to sleep in it. I recommend purchasing other smaller sleeping devices for napping, which appear in other parts of this list.

Burp Cloths: I by far prefer flannel burp cloths. They are the most absorbent ones I have found. Unfortunately, my favorite ones were from Babies R Us, which is now closed. Cloth diapers and receiving blankets from the hospital also work great as burp cloths.

Gerber Flannel Burp Cloths

Bibs: There is a good chance you will receive a lot of bibs for presents. It's best to wait and see what you get first. Personally, I like the cloth bibs that have a waterproof backing. I know the plastic bibs that can be wiped down are popular, but I found them tedious to clean. I think it's easier to use laundry stain remover spray on cloth bibs and wash them in the washing machine.

Bottle Brush: I love this one from OXO.

OXO Bottle Brush

High Chair: We purchased 2 regular sized high chairs for the twins. The Baby Trend high chairs we purchased have held up really well. I definitely recommend them. They are easy to clean and the storage spot for the tray is perfect. The only downside is finding space for two of them

Baby Trend High Chair

Due to the space issue, if I did it all over again I would buy the booster seats you attach to a kitchen chair. If you can spare 2 kitchen chairs, I recommend getting a booster seat with tray. We use the Fisher Price booster seats when traveling. Again, they have held up very well.

Fisher Price Deluxe Booster Seat

Sippy Cups: Make sure to start with the trainer cups. The twins liked these trainer cups the best.

Munchkin Weighted Straw Cup

NUK Silicone Learner Cup

Plastic Spoons: We received a large variety of baby spoons for gifts. I always find myself reaching for these Munchkin ones, they are by far my favorite.

Munchkin Reusable Infant Spoons

Plastic Bowls: I have liked both the Gerber and Munchkin bowls we have. The Gerber ones are nice because they come with lids. IKEA also has nice sets of plastic-ware for kids. A tip for twins, I found it easiest to just share a spoon and bowl when feeding them.

Gerber Graduates Bowls

Munchkin Multi Bowls

Breastfeeding Recommendations

Breastfeeding Pillows: I recommend getting the My Brest Friend and the Twin Z Pillow. There will be times you nurse only one baby and it is much easier to use the pillow built for that. I did not have the Twin Z pillow, but I wish I did. It’s a good pillow to get, even if you are not breastfeeding. It provides a spot to set both babies down when needed. I had the My Brest Friend Twin nursing pillow and it is very bulky. I was never ended up nursing the twins simultaneously because I did very little nursing and mostly pumping with them.

My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow

Twin Z Pillow

Don’t forget to get a cover for each pillow too.

Breast Pads: I recommend the Lansinoh brand. I would start with a box of 60 pads.

Lansinoh Nursing Pads

Lanolin: I prefer the Medela brand over the Lansinoh brand, it flows much easier out of the tube. I only used this during the first few weeks of nursing, but you will need it:

Medela Tender Care Lanolin Tube

Nursing Bra: It’s best to get fitted for a nursing bra during your stay in the hospital, if possible. I think the best place to purchase nursing bras is Target. They are reasonably priced and comfortable.

Breast Pump: It’s easiest to get this during your hospital stay, if possible. The Medela Pump In Style Advanced has worked well for me. I get a lot of milk when I pump and it does not hurt.

Medela Pump In Style Advanced

Your pump will probably come with some bottles. You will not need more than about 4 bottles at this point, but you might need to purchase the nipples for feeding. See below for more information on this.

Buy these items if breastfeeding is going well and you plan to continue with it:

Breastfeeding Cover: This is a personal choice, but if you want a cover I recommend this one. I couldn’t easily use a cover until the baby was around 4-6 weeks old.

Udder Covers Nursing Cover

Medela Bottles: The number of bottles you need might depend on if you are returning to work. If you are returning to work, I recommend purchasing the 2 bottle sets and 2 cooler sets below. The bottle set comes with the nipples you will need for feeding and the cooler set is great for working moms. Hopefully your baby will like the Medela bottles, I found it easiest to use them because all the parts match up with the pump, which makes life much easier.

Medela 5 oz Bottle Set

Medela Breastmilk Cooler Set

Hands Free Pumping Bra: I recommend the Simple Wishes bra. I also have the Medela hands free bra, but the Simple Wishes is far superior. It’s especially worth the investment if you will be pumping a lot.

Simple Wishes Hands Free Pumping Bra

Formula Feeding Recommendations

4 - 5 oz Bottles: I have used both Dr Brown’s and Philips Avent bottles. For ease with cleaning I recommend Avent because it has less parts. Additionally, I found the nipples on those bottles were less likely to leak. However, it’s not always that easy, sometimes you might have to test different brands to see if the baby has a preference. For example, in the first 2 months one of the twins would have a large amount of milk dribble out of her mouth and she did much better with the Dr. Brown's bottles. If you only want to clean bottles once a day you can get more bottles after you know which brand the babies do well with.

Philips Avent Natural Bottle

Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Bottle

8-9 oz bottles: Buy these after the baby is born and you know the brand of bottle you will be using.

Nipples: Purchase the faster flowing nipples as needed. You will notice the baby wanting to drink faster, but not being able to. This is when you can try going up to the next level for nipple flow.

Baby Bath Tub: You don’t need anything fancy, just make sure you get a tub that has an infant insert. We have the Fisher Price infant tub and have no complaints. I will also say we received good customer service from Fisher Price. The first tub we had, had a slow leak and they immediately sent us a brand new one.

Fisher Price Baby Bath Tub

Baby Soap/Shampoo: I have used Johnson & Johnson, Babyganics, and Aveeno. I like Aveeno the best, it cleans well and it is very gentle on the skin. It takes a long time to get through a bottle, so it’s worth the extra cost.

Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo

Baby Lotion: I also recommend Aveeno for baby lotion.

Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion

Nail Clippers: I personally like scissors over nail clippers. This is what I recommend for each type.

Piyo Piyo Baby Nail Scissors

Nail Clipper with Magnifying Glass

Baby Friendly Laundry Detergent: I have always used Dreft because I love the smell and it cleans well. You can also get any brand of free and gentle detergent, which can be useful

if you don’t want to keep track of different detergents for the adults and older kids. Personally, I have had the best luck with Dreft and Tide Free & Gentle for cleaning clothes, while also maintaining their quality.

Dreft Stage 1

Tide Free & Gentle

Laundry Stain Remover: This is an absolute must! OxiClean, Shout, Spray N Wash all work well. You do not need to purchase the baby friendly version for stain remover. I recommend placing a spray bottle at each changing station in the house.

Favorite Nice to Have Baby Gear

The items below are not absolutely necessary, but I still recommend buying them because they will make your life much easier. The Must Haves list includes the bare essentials. I recommend purchasing at least some (if not all) of the items on this list.

Pacifier Clips: We love to have a pacifier permanently clipped to the car seat, that way you never forget it when you go out.

Matimati Pacifier Clips

Video Baby Monitor with 2 Cameras: This is especially convenient if you have 2 floors in the house. We recently purchased the Samsung monitor listed. We picked it because it has the capability to be used through an app on the phone, but it also has a monitor. So far the biggest negative is the monitor battery life is extremely short, but otherwise no complaints. Previously, we had the Levana Jena baby monitor for 3 years. Overall, it worked well for the price. One negative was it beeped when it lost signal, which is okay, but it happened A LOT, especially when connected to two cameras. The second negative was over time the night vision on one of the cameras stopped working.

Samsung Wisenet Babyview Monitor

Levana Jena Baby Video Monitor

Blackout Shades: Getting blackout shades will help your babies sleep later in the morning and to nap longer during the day. We purchased our shades for both nurseries from JCPenney and they have been great.

Sound Machine: We still use it to this day for the twins. This is the one we have and love.

MyBaby Sound Machine

Diaper Pail: Get one diaper pail per changing area. We like both of the diaper pails we have. There are positives and negatives to each brand out there. I recommend reading online reviews and deciding what will work best for you in each changing area.

Playtex Diaper Genie Complete

Baby Trend Diaper Champ

Bouncy Chair: These are great for napping, my kids always slept well in them.

Fisher Price Deluxe Bouncer

Baby Swing: I personally like the glider swing because it’s smaller. We had a 3-4 week period when this is all one of the twins slept in at night and our youngest went through the same phase.

Graco Glider Elite

Velcro Swaddles: I like the Summer Infant velcro swaddles best. These are especially nice to have for first time parents.

SwaddleMe

Baby Merlin Magic Sleepsuit: I absolutely love the Baby Merlin sleepsuit. We used it for transitioning from sleeping in the bassinet to the crib. I recommend getting a second suit if you end up using in case of diaper leaks. We only used the 3-6 month size, because the twins fit in it well past 6 months. Don’t buy the bigger size ahead of time.

Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit

Sleep Sacks: We started using sleep sacks after the babies were out of the Merlin sleepsuit. They loved them. The Halo brand is great and are the best value I have found.

Halo SleepSack 100% Cotton Wearable Blanket

Bottle Drying Rack: The Boon grass drying rack is great. It has gotten a lot of use and it has been a conversation piece when we’ve had visitors.

Boon Grass Drying Rack with Twig and Flower Accessory

Twin Z Pillow: This pillow also made an appearance in the breastfeeding section. I listed it again in case you skipped over that section. Even if you do not breastfeed, this pillow is worth getting. It’s portable and it’s nice to have an easily accessible place for your newborns to hang out. Take note that it is not intended for babies to sleep on this pillow.

Twin Z Pillow

Jumpers: The twins played in this a lot, they loved it! It also lets you get some stuff done while the babies are entertained and safe. I recommend the Fisher Price jumper, it’s very

bouncy. We also have a Baby Einstein jumper, but the Fisher Price one was always more popular in our house.

Fisher-Price Jumperoo

Play mat: These are great for tummy time. It got a lot of use during twins’ first 6 months. Make sure you pick a mat that can fit 2 babies. This is the one we have.

Fisher Price Rainforest Melodies and Lights Deluxe Gym

Teethers: The ones listed here are my kids favorites.

Munchkin Fun Ice Chewy Teether

Ike & Leo Teething Toys

Medicine Kit: This is great to have on hand, especially if it’s 3am and the baby has been screaming for God knows how long.

Little Remedies New Parents Survival Kit

Nasal Aspirator: You will probably get one for free at the hospital. However, I really like the Nosefrida. Does it look gross? YES! But it works so well and there is a filter to prevent any exposure to snot, plus the tube is so long I’ve never had anything come anywhere close the filter.

Nosefrida The Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator

Nice To Have Baby Gear

Crib Mobiles: No specific recommendations. Just get ones that coordinate well with your nursery theme.

Glider Chair: The glider is a comfortable addition to the nursery. For twins, I found it much less necessary than with a singleton. It was convenient to have a spot in our singleton’s nursery to feed or hold him at night. But, with the twins, if one of them was awake during the night, the other one was usually sleeping. We would take the awake baby out of the room in order to not disturb the sleeping baby. If you have a use for it elsewhere in the house after the first 9 months – 1 year then it might be worth it.

Bumbo Seat: Two out of three kids really liked this chair and spent a lot of time in it. It's great practice for sitting up. I recommend trying to buy one used

Crib Skirts: This will depend on the style of your nursery and cribs, but a crib skirt can make the nursery much more inviting.

Stroller and Car Seat Toys: There is a very good chance you will receive a few of these as baby gifts. They are useful to have around to entertain your baby., especially when you are out and about.

Car Seat Mirrors: I recommend just getting mirrors for the car you drive in most often.

Baby Bath Towels: You can always use regular bath towels, as long as you wash them in gentle laundry detergent. But, picking up a few hooded baby bath towels will not hurt. They are the perfect size for your baby.

Baby Washcloths: You can buy special baby sized washcloths if you want. You can also just use wash cloths you already own. For twins, we ended up using the same washcloth for both of them during bath time.

Baby Carrier: Some moms will say this is a necessity, while other moms like will say you do not need this. I recommend borrowing one from a friend or buying one used. If you decide you love the baby carrier then you can always buy one. For twins, I found it too difficult to try to carry one baby and then have the ability to pick the other one up, if needed.

Baby Gear You Do Not Need

Bottle Warmer: If you warm the formula or breast milk, the baby will get used to it and expect it to be warm. This is very inconvenient when you are out. For formula, we found it easiest to make formula on demand with room temperature bottled water or filtered water. We tried to feed the babies breast milk straight from the fridge, but they would not take it. If this is the case for you too, just warm it slightly. We do this by putting hot water straight from the kitchen sink in a pint glass (no need to boil the water). We then let the bottle sit there for a couple minutes.

Wipe Warmer: If you get the baby used to warm wipes, it will be especially inconvenient when you are on the go.

Wipe Holder: Buy the cases of wipes that come with a wipe holder container.

Crib Bumpers and Crib Comforters/Blankets: These are unsafe to have in the crib, especially during the first year.

Diaper Stacker: Put the diapers in a drawer or on top of the changing table.

Car Seat Cover: - we found it easier to just use a blanket for warmth and to protect from weather. I found the car seat covers awkward to use. The JJ Cole cover is very popular to help keep the baby warm, but it just wasn’t for us.

Cart Cover: If you really hate germs this might be for you OR you can wipe down the cart before putting your child in.

Baby Shoes: I know they are so cute, but your babies will not need shoes until they are learning to walk.

Some Tips

If you have two floors, have a changing area upstairs and a changing area downstairs. Also, have a hamper for upstairs and one for downstairs.

Buy gender neutral items. If you have more children, you will be able to reuse these items.

Borrow baby gear items from your family and friends.

Save money by buying some baby gear used. Once Upon a Child is a great place to look, as well as Facebook swap groups.

Last updated: April 23, 2018