Favorite baby items for twins: months 1-3

Swaddles: Our little guys loved being snuggled up tight at night. While you can swaddle with a blanket, we loved the ease of using a specially made swaddle. It's so easy! We started out using SwaddleMes which were given to us by a friend. They worked perfectly and I had no complaints. Once our boys grew out of the size we had, I pulled out the two bigger Aidan and Annais swaddles we had also received. They looked more complicated and they had snaps instead of velcro so I immediately thought they would not be as easy to use or give as good a fit as the SwaddleMes. One use later, however, I changed my mind. These swaddles are fantastic! The snaps are perfectly spaced for a custom fit and once you understand how the swaddle works, it isn't complicated at all. The thing that really makes me think of these swaddles as an "upgrade" however, is the fact that they snap over the shoulders so they can be worn as a swaddle with the baby's arms in or as a sleep sack with the baby's arms out. This is going to be perfect for when our boys start to roll and we have to transition them to sleeping without a swaddle.

Note for twins: As our boys are getting older they are more easily awaken by noises and the snaps are so much better in that respect. There is no loud velcro to undo so we can un-swaddle one twin at 3am without waking the other one!

Baby Lotion: I've been a long time lover of Burt's Bees baby lotion. Some people like to huff Dreft baby laundry detergent; I like to stick my nose right up close to a bottle of Burt's Bee's baby lotion. I slathered that stuff all over Arie well past toddlerhood because I just love love love the scent. I thought I would never find another baby lotion I liked as much, but someone gifted me a bottle of this Shea Moisture Chamomile and Argan Oil Baby Lotion and WOWZA! Move over Burt's Bees! This is my new favorite baby lotion. The texture is creamy and buttery and thick without being pasty or greasy and the scent... the scent! I am not ashamed to say that after using it on myself I went out and bought the adult version. Heavenly. The ingredients are awesome, rating a "1" on the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database. I think this is going to be one of my go-to gifts for baby showers!

Note for twins: Twice the amazing smell.

Owlet Baby Monitors: This is a big ticket item but, to me, worth every penny. When we were in the Special Care Nursery with our twins they "de-stated" a few times which essentially means they stopped breathing and had to be roused to get their oxygen levels up. All the doctors and nurses assured us that this wold be resolved before they sent us home, but you can probably imagine how terrifying the idea of something like that happening at home is to a new mom! I had heard about Owlet baby monitors from other twin moms of preemies before our twins were even born; I never thought I would be worried about my babies enough to purchase them, but hearing those warning alarms go off in the Special Care Nursery made me wonder if I would ever be able to sleep while my babies did.

John and I had received some money as gifts celebrating the boys' arrival so we decided to put that money toward purchasing two Owlets. The monitors go on baby's left foot and use the same pulse oximetry technology they use in the hospital to measure vitals. I even have a phone on my app that I can use to check exactly what the boys' oxygen saturation levels and heart rates are. I sleep soundly knowing I will be awaken if there is ever a problem!

Note for twins: There is a special discount for twins! Buy one get one half off. Be sure to inquire when you purchase yours.

Bassinet Stroller Attachment: The bassinet attachment for our britax stroller was another thing I thought I would never use. We did not even purchase one because we were just going to use the babies' carseats on our stroller right away. However our boys failed their carseat test when they were discharged from the hospital which means they were not able to keep their oxygen levels up while in their carseats for an extended period of time. We were advised to use their carseats as little as possible until they were past their due date which was still a month away. So we purchased the bassinet attachment which allowed them to lay flat when we went on walks together.

Turns out I loved the bassinet attachment! I put them both in the same bassinet, head to toe. It was was less cumbersome to use than fixing the carseats to our stroller base and allowed me to carry them in and out of the house in one trip: something I really appreciate as a twin mom! I also liked that I could put a light blanket over the top (in cooler weather) to hide them from view when I wanted to protect them from the outside world and outside germs! It made me so sad when they no longer fit in it together.

Note for Twins: Nothing too particular to twins with this one other than how adorable it is to have two little babes snuggled in the bassinet!

Slipper Shoes: Some things in life are just hard. Algebra. Poaching the perfect egg. Remembering all your internet passwords. And keeping shoes on tiny baby feet.

Enter these slipper shoes by Snow & Arrow. I caught these out of the corner of my eye when I was checking out of our local cloth diaper store. I could not resist the adorable patterns and bought a pair for each of my boys. They really do stay on! I get compliments every time our boys wear them too. I've been back to that store once already to buy a pair for a shower gift and I'm on the call list for the next shipment because Roman's outgrown his and they were sold out of the 3-6 month size. Waiting not-so-patiently for his next pair! How adorable are these??

Nursing Pillow: I have the My Breast Friend Twin Nursing Pillow. I call this thing my life preserver because I look like I'm about to jump in a pool with a ring around my waist. While it is awfully enormous and very... green... it really is a life preserver in a truer sense of the word: it allows me to tandem nurse my boys which of course preserves their lives but also mine because it I had to nurse them one at a time... I would have no life beyond the couch. I take this pillow with me on trips and I even used it to tandem nurse in our van on a recent road trip! (While parked of course!)

Note for twins: I'd call this a "must-have" for twin moms!

Used my nursing pillow right from the start, even in the hospital!

Baby Wearing Carrier: Baby wearing is an excellent way to both get stuff done with a baby and make it through those fussy periods. In the first few weeks our boys took many naps while being worn! Our twins are like many babies who get fussiest in the evening so we would often strap on a baby during dinner and eat with a napkin covering their little heads! It makes me laugh now to think about it but it was the only way we could eat sometimes! John and I both have a Boba Wrap and a Tula. I preferred the Boba wrap while inside the house because I felt it was less bulky and easier to do housework while wearing. (I also tandem wore both babies as newborns but I believe the weight limit for that is something like 15lbs so they quickly outgrew that.) The Tula was and is what I wear when we are out to the park or on a "hike" (I use that word generously) with out six year old. John prefers the Tula both in and out of the house.

Note for twins: Many twin moms tandem wear their newborns with woven wraps and/or ring slings. In hindsight I wish I would have done more research on tandem wearing while I was pregnant so I could have done it more! I do have two ring slings but I have not mastered wearing both yet. I think I would have done well to figure out how to wear them both with a woven wrap or buy a special twin carrier. Now they are almost big enough to tandem wear with two Tulas so I am not going to invest in another carrier but I would advise an expectant twin mom to do more research than I did so she could tandem wear when she is alone!

Wearing Ira up at a cottage this summer.

Milestone Cards: A dear friend of mine gave me twin Milestone cards when our boys were born and I love them! It is such a special and easy way to document their milestones. So much of the first year parenting is a blur of survival mode so having a very quick and fun way to document is perfect.  All you have to do is grab the card and snap a picture when your baby meets a milestone moment. I know I will look back on these picture fondly.

Note for twins: These cards come in singleton and twin form so purchase the twin ones for your twins!

Those were my favorite items for months 1-3! What were yours? Agree or disagree with mine? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Let me know if you enjoyed this post and would like to see another one for months 3-6!

xo