(Part 2) Best products from r/parentsofmultiples

2 sets of twins here, 4 under the age of 3. Here's what's worked for us (by no means exhaustive, but hopefully helpful):

• Buy everything used. Thrift shops and garage sales are the best places to buy children's clothing. Buy in a range of ages for the first year, since I promise you you won't be changing the onesies but every third day.
  
  
• Join a support group; MOMS and The Buy Nothing Project have worked wonders for us. People will come out of the woodwork to help you, it's amazing.
  
  
• Call the various formula/diaper manufacturers and ask them if they have a multiples program. This is huge. For my second set of twins Enfamil alone gave me over 200 oz dried formula and 100 oz liquid formula free just for calling in and sounding plaintive. The other brands do it too, although not to that extreme level of generosity. They also send you manufacturer's coupons and discounts that will be helpful over the first year.
  
  
• For the first 3-4 months you can have 2 to a crib. It's really only when they get big enough to oonch or kick each other that they need their own. Also don't stress about having their own room each - we also have a three bedroom house and all three of my girls are ending up in one together. Bunk beds later, they'll survive.
  
  
• Keep them in sync as much as possible for your own sanity. Feeding 4 at once means you and your wife probably can't tag team, but if at all possible get a family member or really close friend to come help out for a few weeks/months. You ultimately want to be able to do some kind of alternate schedule: 8pm-2am then 2am-8pm so everyone gets 4-6 hours of solid sleep.
  
  
• Swaddlers/Sleep sacks. Life safers.
  
  
• Feeding 4 at a time initially will be logistically interesting. I'd recommend getting [four of these chairs]|(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PAUF3MU/ref=s9_zgift_hd_bw_bBI5ZL_g75_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-11&pf_rd_r=1BZB0Z0F8HEZ7G37MDK3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1307fbbe-6160-5bc1-8cf3-918f57f84e3a&pf_rd_i=166851011) and lining them up with bottles propped up. If your wife wants to breast feed, more power to her - there are twin nursing pillows that will help her, and bottle feeding two is easy (sit on couch, lay one child next to each leg, insert bottle and rest on leg). In any feeding situation you'll have to monitor closely, but that's the nature of multiples.
  
  
• Trust me when I say that using they should be sleeping at least 8 hours a night by 3 months. Seriously. You may need to use the cry it out method a little, but all 4 of my kids were sleeping 8 hours by 3 months and 12 hours by 6 (not including naps). Swaddle them, give them a dark room with some white noise and they'll get there.
  
  When you're counting the number of times you've been up that night, this won't seem reassuring but... this won't last. The first couple months are the hardest, after which it becomes wonderful. I'll add more as I think of it. :)
  
  EDIT:
  
  
• This may not make your decision for you, but there was a [study]|(http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/01/16/want-your-kids-to-succeed-dont-pay-for-their-education/#3030c5d959dc) that found that children whose parents paid for their college did worse in their studies than children who had to study or take out loans - the urgency to succeed was stronger. It may be better for the kids if you don't pay their full way through.
  
  
• As much as possible, make your 2 yr old your helper. Talk up how big of a helper she is for you, have her do little tasks for you and the babies, and praise her efforts. It will encourage her to think outside herself and to see the babies as family, not competition. My older 2 have been fetching diapers and clothes for me since the youngers were born, and are now feeding them (with LOTS of assistance) and gently playing with them. Keeps everyone entertained :)

On the advice of friends, I got a Pack and Play to use as a cosleeper, as well as an extra one for the living area. I'm getting two cribs that can convert to toddler beds, but we plan to only set up one at first. My ideal set up would be to have a non-mini Arm's reach cosleeper in the bedroom, but I haven't yet found one at reasonable price.

Some babies love swings and others dislike them, so I'm starting with one swing, a rock n play, and a vibrator/bouncer and I'm going to see which item is most popular. I've been told that all of those can cause head deformities if the babies are in them for too long, so I have two maya wraps, two slings, and an ergo so we wear them.

I went with the Chicco keyfit car seat wise since it had the highest rating on consumer reports and, after playing with what friends had, I liked it the best. The chicco cortina together is very nice and I loved it when I tried it out, but it wouldn't fit in my car, so I found a used Snap N Go for $25 instead. I decided to get that style instead of the side-by-side because I've heard of people having problems fitting the side-by-side in small doorways.

In addition to the double stroller, I also got a Chicco keyfit caddy because I plan on wear one baby and push the other around.

I decided to get the car seat strollers for when they are young because I want to make things as simple as possible when I'm still new to this whole parenting thing. I also want to try out a single versus a double stroller since I know people who prefer each, and the frame strollers are small enough that I can fit both in my car.

I've been using craigslist, a local message board, and Mothers of Multiples consignment sales to get good deals on a lot of items, so in the end, I expect to spend less on my strollers than many people pay for one new one. I'm buying the crib and carseat new, and I've gotten a few other items as gifts, but everything else is used because I'd rather be overstocked and try out items than find myself lacking something useful later.

As far as books go, I highly recommend When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets and Quads because of its scientific, fact filled approach. Mothering Multiples for breast feeding techniques. I'd also recommend going to your library and checking out various books on raising twins. I can't remember all of the books I found helpful because I read so many. For general child care, Happiest Baby on the Block is a must read (or see, there's a DVD). My friend who had a premature baby said that this book saved her life. At first she thought her daughter just didn't like being swaddled, but it turned out that you are supposed to swaddle premature babies differently than full term ones. Now that her daughter is properly swaddled, she's much calmer. That book also inspired me to spend the money on a sleep sheep which is currently kidnapped by a friend.

Another thing that you may want to consider is cloth diapering. I've attended a few Mother of Multiples groups, and cloth diapering has been repeated many times as a way to save money on diapers. Even though I live in a small town, there are local stores and groups for parents to share techniques and tips on cloth diapering. Mine are due to November, so I haven't personally tried it out, but on the advice of other multiple members, I have a bunch of premature diapers for when they are newborn, and a growing collection of cloth (bought used to save money) for once they are bigger. Since I'm having two boys, I'm also making/buying cloth wipes so I can avoid pee mishaps during changing time. You can also buy wash cloths in bulk that perform a similar function, but I've priced making my own or buying used as cheaper.

Congrats!

From my wife ::

I absolutely feel that everyone's experience is different, especially because every woman and child (or two :)) have different reactions to nursing/breastfeeding, different latches, pace, pain tolerance, appetite, etc. But I will share that my experience with working with a lactation consultant was honestly one of the most valuable experiences of my early post partum experience. My twins were born at 38 weeks, no nicu time, and have been combo (breast milk and formula) fed since day one, and we are still going strong with this at 9.5 months.

We had issues with latch, especially with one of our babies, but this caused significant damage to my nipples and I left the hospital with a crack. I was on a three hour schedule where I would feed one baby, then the next, then pumped while we supplemented. This routine was excruciating and did not allow my nipples to heal and recover properly and just made my pain worse and worse. The LC we saw was absolutely amazing! She helped us with our latches, positions, etc and gave me tons of tips, tricks, and products to help alleviate the pain I was having. She also advocated for me to limit the amount of time I spend nursing and to even exclusively pump for a while in order to let myself heal. She was just so knowledgeable. She also helped to determine that I was getting vasospasms and helped me advocate to get a prescription for this which did help a great deal!

She was also very in tuned to treating our family as a whole (my husband came with the babies and I to every appointment) and was the first person to actually ask how I was dealing with all of this emotionally which was just so validating. She also noticed a very subtle flat spot and tightening in my son's neck and helped us to get very early intervention to treat it! She helped me figure out better positions to nurse him to help address it and her early detection of the matter allowed us to see a specialist and get him a helmet than he only needed for less than 8 weeks! She also helped with various other issues like clogged ducts, our feeding schedule, monitoring our babies weight gain and helping us figure out how to increase feedings appropriately, and a negative reaction I was getting to the double let down with tandem nursing.

As far as supplements for increasing supply.. she was very informative. Basically, she told us that MOST things recommended are only based on anecdotal evidence and not necessarily going to work for everyone. I tried fenugreek but it made me sick (terribly digestive reactions for myself AND I am convinced it also affected my daughter through my milk). I ate tons of oats and flax seed/meal, drank Gatorade and TONS of water. She educated us that many of the teas and products marketed for increasing supply (with elements of fenugreek, thistle, etc) often add mint for flavor, but mint can actually decrease supply! She recommended these two products:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LCFZ5UM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LNIZNZU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I did try both of these products and wasn't convinced either helped significantly. She also advocated to "power pump" (where you pump for 15-20 mins, then rest for 10 mins, pump again for 10 mins, rest for 10 mins, then pump again for 10 mins). I absolutely feel that power pumping helped to increase my supply. I tried to do this every day or every other day during weeks 4-10ish. My supply continued to grow through about 12-14 weeks, and although I was never able to exclusively breast feed, I am SO glad I worked so hard to give them as much milk as possible. Working with our LC gave me the peace of mind that was essential for me to feel like I did everything I could to make our situation work for us. I ended up stopping nursing at 6 weeks and have exclusively pumped ever since. I pumped 6x/day until the babies were ~4.5 months old, at which point I dropped to 4x/day when I returned to work, and at 9 months, I dropped to 3x/day. I have experienced some decreased supply every time I drop a pump, but at my highest, I was producing ~50 oz per day and now I produce ~32 oz per day.

For us, our LC was essential and so helpful in identifying and helping us work through so many various issues (both big and small). I understand the various barriers in your ability to effectively work with an LC, but if you feel like you might benefit, then you probably will. In the meantime, I hope some of this helped and was encouraging! :)

I have the Britax 2015 B-Agile Double Stroller, and I absolutely love it. I was going crazy with all the stroller research too, but after reading the reviews/lucie's list/etc, I just decided to pick this one and be done with it.

It's pretty great. Definitely easy to maneuver in grass/bumpy terrain. I use it almost daily for walks around my neighborhood. Fits through every door I've gone through so far. The handlebar is adjustable, which makes my 6'6" tall husband happy. Super easy to fold up and put in the trunk of my van. My twins love sitting in it. The only con that I can think of is that there's not much room underneath for my huge diaper bag, but that's a common thing with double strollers. I just put the strap of my diaper bag over the handlebar and it's fine.

If you DO purchase this stroller, I highly recommend buying the Britax Stroller Organizer so that you have a place to put drinks/keys/cellphone. It fits perfectly on either side of the handlebar (despite what some Amazon reviewers claim)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007CTPWXW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It differs for every family, I guess, but here's what we did. First, remember that they grow in stages, so you don't need to baby proof everything at once. OTOH, two toddlers can be surprisingly cooperative, so don't be surprised if they figure out how to operate top and bottom locks on a gate, for instance.

So, start with the sudden death stuff. Cover electrical outlets, secure toxic cleaning materials, lock drawers with knives, secure furniture to the wall (you would be amazed how easy it can be to topple a book shelf from the bottom), cover and gate swimming pools and ponds, gate off stairs, put barriers around fireplaces. Look around at floor level, and look for anything you could reach, eat, break, fall on, or otherwise interact with and suffer harm. Securing electronics is not enough - cables are tempting chew targets.

As they toddle, you may want to protect pointy corners on furniture or fixtures. My twins generally pulled off and ate the rubber bumpers on corners, so that only lasted long enough for them to outgrow the likelihood of falling and losing an eye.

Door bumpers that prevent slamming on fingers (inner and outer edge of the jamb) are definitely worth getting because doors are fun and little fingers are very fragile.

Lastly, look for precious things. Safety first, value second. Put precious items up out of reach, but remember they have to learn about fragile things and some breakage is unavoidable. It's not the end of the world.

One other thought: get plenty of spare electrical outlet covers and door bumpers for visiting friends and family. You can take care of the sudden death stuff in most environments with just a quick go-round; don't expect everyone to toddler-proof their homes, and don't expect people with single kids to understand that multiples are different.

This probably all sounds intense - it doesn't have to be. Just start at ground level and grow with your kids, and teach then from an early age that wires and holes in walls, and sharp things in kitchens, are not to be touched. Good luck!

Edit to add some specifics:

• Standard plastic outlet covers. Make sure it's stiff when you insert it (hyuk, hyuk) because kids will fiddle with them otherwise - they'll see you remove them and try to emulate you. This goes for other stuff like gates too.
  
  
• Drawer clips - we used pretty heavy-duty clips (like these but not quite) for kitchen drawers. Don't trust the double-sided tape they come with - I had to screw them to the drawers. Tried various in-drawer latches and magnetic ones, and none worked properly. Then something like this for cupboards with poisons or dangerous appliances - other latches just didn't work reliably - these have been completely toddler-proof for a couple of years now.
  
  
• Gates - we put them on each walkway out of the lounge, and on the nursery door, so they could be kept within one room at a time. Didn't bother with the stairs, but we did make sure the gates were adjustable and removable so we could take them on holiday for blocking staircases.
  
  
• These on any door that can bang in the wind or be played with. Which is to say, nearly every door in the house. I have a colleague whose little girl had a finger severed by a slamming door, so took no chances.
  
  

Very similar to our situation. We got both home on the 3rd after 10 days with just 1. We stuck with the nicu feeding schedule they were on which was bottles on the hours of 3,6,9,12. We have pretty much been able to stick to that, occasionally getting off by a half an hour here or there. I don’t set an alarm for when to wake up to feed them overnight because one of them always lets me know. Even if one is not crying they both get woken up for food and diaper so they stay on the same schedule. I have just recently started occasionally feeding both at once if they both are screaming but i usually just do one after the other. Thankfully our girls eat at a good pace so it’s not an issue if one is crying a little waiting for her meal. During the day our girls like to nap in the fisher price infant to toddler rockers and they go down pretty easy in their cribs at night.

Here is a rundown how my days have been and I should mention we are exclusively formula feeding. I am on maternity leave and my husband works 4 days a week, so those days i do both the 3 am and 6 am feedings by myself and they take around 45 mins between warming bottles, changing diapers, feed and burping. So i sleep between 12-3, 3-6, 6-9, minus the wake time for feeding. I wake him up to help overnight on days he is off. Sometimes we stagger things, for instance I’ll go to bed after 9 pm feeding and hubby will handle the midnight and put the girls down to bed by himself so i can get a more solid chunk of sleep. If they eat every 3 hours and one person can do one by themselves the other person can get a 6 hour stretch of sleep which is all you need to feel like a new person! Anywho days I’m alone...After 9am bottles and diapers they go in their chairs and I get my coffee, this is essential and should never be skipped. Between feeds when they nap or are just hanging out i use the time to restock diaper stations, do some laundry and one time a day i make 24 hours worth of bottles for each girl. Staying organized and on top of little things like always having wipes when you need it can keep you from getting frustrated. My mom has come about once a week to help out, I time her visits with my own dr visits or errands so i can leave the house without the babies.

We have a swing and haven’t even opened the box yet and not sure i want to! They actually go to sleep in their cribs or their little chairs with little to no soothing from us and i’d like to keep it that way. Maybe we will set it up down the road or maybe we will just return it. Here are some things we’ve loved
disposable changing pads to put on our changing pads.
infant to toddler rocker
formula mixer pitcher
flat head boppy pillow
No link for this but cloth diapers have been the best burp cloths, we took a bunch from the hospital and I’m about to order some more, Green Sprouts brand has been pretty good too.
We have been using the app baby tracker to keep track of feedings and diapers.
Time to feed a baby...might add more later!

First of all Congrats! They are a lot of work but will also bring so much joy and happiness. Just remember and focus on the good parts. The bad parts (sleepless nights, etc.) all become a blur at that age.

Here is some tips I sent to my buddy a few weeks ago before he had his first:

1. Instead of sending out email updates to friends/family, I suggest you create a blog. Maybe even start writing it now before the baby comes. Then you can just email out the blog link to everyone after you update it and you and your family will always be able to look back on it and read the blog years later. We love going back and reading our blog posts from when the kids were born.
   
   
2. At the hospital you need to totally take advantage of the nursery and having them watch the baby at night so you guys can sleep. You will have plenty of time to stay up all night with the baby so take advantage of the help while you have it. I slept with the wife in the hospital (hint bring your own pillows and blankets) and wish we had used the nursery service more where they will come and take your baby so you can sleep. Also, try to get to bed as early as possible when staying at the hospital because starting at about 5am all the doctors and nurses start coming in every hour to check on the mother making it impossible to sleep in.
   
   
3. During your first night at home, come up with a schedule of who is going to stay up and who is going to sleep at what time. We made the mistake of keeping the babies in the room with us and neither of us got any sleep and ending up passing out on the bed with both babies. It made us exhausted for the rest of the week and I still have paranoid dreams that one of the babies is in bed with us and we are going to roll onto it. It is far better to let one person sleep and have the other one stay up with the baby in a separate room.
   
   
4. My favorite/most used baby accessories where the swing (something like this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2452297&CAWELAID=107533453&pla=plab&cagpspn=pla) because you can strap the baby into it and don't have to worry about them falling out. They love it and will usually put them to sleep.
   
   Also, get the video on Netflix called The Happiest Baby on the Block (2003) or you might be able to buy it online for cheap. Your are probably in information overload right now so watch it when you get back from the hospital. It really helped us calm and sooth our screeaming babies when we had no idea what to do. You can also use Youtube and search for the "5s method" or "happiest baby on the block"
   
   If you get really desperate and need to do something instead of feeding the baby a bottle, we cheated and used things like this:
   http://www.amazon.com/Bebe-Bottle-Sling-Brown-Monkey/dp/B003Z6AO7U/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1354026564&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=bottle+holder
   and
   http://www.amazon.com/Podee-Baby-Bottle-Handsfree-Feeding/dp/B000GLKA9Y/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1354026611&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=bottle+holder+baby+podie
   
   Also, I wish I saw this video when we had newborns (How to interpret baby sounds)
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv3-74EFtWQ&t=3m44s
   
   GOOD LUCK!

Wow. Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate your input. Thanks for sharing the pics too :)

I'm planning on taking the first two weeks off to help my wife. My wife is taking a full 12 weeks, and I've made it clear to my retired mother-in-law that she's welcome to move in for that first month. She's wonderful and should be a great help.

We're getting there. Picked up a Sony Nex-5N over Christmas to capture all the memories. Also definitely planning to get this Medela and the Miracle blankets.

As for my original question, we did find a recliner we like. It's the Havana recliner from Macy's. It's a bit pricey but we called and it's supposed to go on a one-day sale tomorrow, so we'll see. We're planning to pull the trigger tomorrow. I must say, it's not easy finding a modern recliner with nice, clean lines. They all look like teddy bears.

In our search, we did come across this awesome glider recliner loveseat (8908 style). Both sides independently recline and glide. Amazing if you're prepared to drop $1300.

1. We have Pack n'Plays as travel cribs but not at home so I can't comment. We have whichever my mom found at the kids consignment shop.
   
   
2. We started out in a 1 bedroom apartment with our twins and had to get the second crib at 6 months as one girl would wiggle over and bother her sleeping sister. We tried a foam crib divider but they crawled right over it. Swaddle for as long as they will let you.
   
   
3. The girls shared a bouncer for a bit when they were very small (Adorable proof! They are about a month old in that photo.) When they got too big for that bought one swing and got a second soon after. To save space consider swing frames for your car seats like this http://www.amazon.com/SnugGlider-Infant-Seat-Swing-Frame/dp/B000M4K4BY
   
   
4. Started out with the BabyTend Snap and Go Double which accepts all kinds of different seats: http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Trend-Double-Stroller-Frame/dp/B000LEI82W It was sometimes unweildy for me but my husband liked it. Graduated to a double jogger as soon as we found one on Craigslist that we liked.
   
   As for books we liked Raising Twins from Pregnancy to Preschool http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Twins-From-Pregnancy-Preschool/dp/1581103441
   
   and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Healthy Twins which totally saved our lives living in a small space with twins.
   http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Twins/dp/0345497791
   
   Finally buy yourself at least 4-6 swaddlers in the small size.
   http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dbaby-products&field-keywords=swaddleme
   
   You can pick cotton or fleece depending on what your weather is like in March but we found they were are absolutely essential. You may even need to buy a second round in the larger size but don't get them until it's clear the kids are outgrowing the smaller ones.
   

I have no experience, but I did a ton of looking.
A neat option you can try is a joey attachment for a side by side double stroller. This is like a higher seat that clips in centered over the double.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0041F2CFQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_a_it?qid=1462804233&sr=8-2&keywords=joey+stroller&pi=SY200_QL40

My third is older so I'm just going to get the board for him. :-)

Two wall powered baby swings. You'll thank me later I promise.

Here's a cheap'ish option that will be your sanity saver, you'll get the much better ones at a $120-150/per price point though if you have the money available. Some of these you can spin the baby sideways while swinging so they're swinging front to back instead of swinging side to side. They were worth the extra cost to us.

Graco Simple Sway Baby Swing, Abbington https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PTL15D6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_kf5Ryb80TAMC1

This is the adjustable one, far better, but more expensive. On the plus side you'll easily sell it away when the babies outgrow them.
Fisher-Price My Little Snugabear Cradle 'N Swing https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FF8H5Q8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Ll5RybPMQP7FQ

We have this and love it. The pocket on the side for wipes is the best!
https://www.amazon.com/Organizer-Waterproof-Backpack-Changing-Stroller/dp/B01EW7ROTG/ref=zg_bs_166767011_27?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9V36FRETXCB2HAKVSPZG

We feed ours in this:
https://www.amazon.com/PILLOW-Twin-Breastfeeding-Bottlefeeding-Support/dp/B007VF57C8
I did all night feedings by myself when my husband went back to work. Feed them at the same time in the pillow, in the bed, on the floor, wherever. That pillow is the best thing we own.

Have any of you tried the sink "bloom" things? are these any good?

(like this: https://www.amazon.com/Blooming-Bath-Baby-Canary-Yellow/dp/B007S1T4Q0 )

(twins coming in a few months; terrified)

At 9 weeks, we used two swings, quite a bit. Something like this

I have something similar to this.
Baby Diaper Bag Smart Organizer Waterproof Travel Diaper Backpack with Changing Pad and Stroller Clips (Black Dot) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EW7ROTG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_gWXdzbBRAHGP6

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007VF57C8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1451835322&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=twin+z+nursing+pillow&dpPl=1&dpID=51dpEC0c9nL&ref=plSrch


This is how they fit just sitting on it now:

http://imgur.com/d4HNweG

My problem with those long ones are that they're boats, and no matter how well they're made, they will not collapse to fit into the back of a normal car because the bars are just too long. :/

This is what I was referring to (the link is just the joey seat, but it shows the whole deal). I believe you can also use a conversion kit to put a baby carrier in the joey seat, so it will work for infants as well as toddlers.

With my son, we've got (or were given) three strollers. I think we've used one maybe a half dozen times in his life. We live in suburbia, if we take him somewhere, now he sits in the cart at the store, and he's too little to want to go 'visiting' anywhere we'd need a stroller. With three, that changes, we won't be able to go anywhere without a stroller. Time will tell!