Supplies

So…you’re having TWO babies! Will you need 2 of everything? What do you absolutely NEED, and what is a nice to have? Well, everyone’s definition of “need” is different. After you have that chat with your partner about how you want to approach the parenting thing, and after you read some books and talk to some people, and after you take a look around and decide how much space you are willing to re-allocate to babies, AND after you take a look at your finances, you will probably have a better idea of what you want to have and what you need to have. Here is a list of what we got before the babies were born (and we did such a good job that you’ll notice that at 8 months, the list of what we purchased AFTER they were born, is pretty small):

• 2 Car Seats (we got the Maxi Cosi “Mico”-it is small and lightweight and with 2 kids to lug around, the lighter the better)
• A Double Stroller with a car seat converter (we went with a side by side-the Bugaboo “Donkey”-yes it’s pricey but I love love love it; it has transitioned from bassinet to holding both car seats to stroller seats with lots of extras, and it’s easy to set up and manoeuvre)
• 2 play yards (play pens) with bassinets-and play yard sheets
• 2 cribs
• 2 mattresses (if there is anywhere you want to splurge,this is it. Your baby will spend the majority of his or her first year of life sleeping on this mattress-go organic if you can-we went with the Nook) and several changes of sheets as well as waterproof mattress protectors
• 1 change table (we actually got an Ikea chest of drawers and put a change pad on top-functional in more ways than one) and several change table covers
• LOTS of diapers (chances are good they’ll start out in preemie sizes)
• An electric breast pump (Ameda and Medela both make great hospital grade, portable pumps)-even if you plan to breast feed-there is a good chance you will need to pump at some point
• LOTS of bottles (even if you tandem breast feed, it’s always nice to have bottles on hand just in case you need to pump, plus it’s nice to be able to have help with feedings)
• Receiving/Swaddle Blankets
• 2 Bouncy Chairs
• A baby bathtub
• Wash Cloths
• Head to Toe Baby Wash
• Coconut Oil (fantastic for eczema, diaper rash and just all over moisturizing)
• Baby Monitor
• A sturdy, roomy diaper bag
• A few toques and scratch mittens for the early days
• Some onesies-preemie sizes

It’s tempting to buy all the very cute clothes, but trust me, you will end up with stuff you may never use, because your friends and family are going to go overboard on the clothes.

After the babies were born:

• 2 Bumbos-with trays (I don’t care what anybody says, these are amazing once they show some semblance of holding their head up and we still use them at 8 months in place of high chairs at feeding time-they are easy to clean, portable, and cute)
• Pacifiers
• Extra Nipples (age appropriate)
• Ipod with docking station-we use it to play lullabies in their room at bedtime-it changes colours and doubles as a night light
• White Noise machine (absolutely amazing what you can do when this thing is on. We even vaccuum when they are sleeping)
• 2 Baby Bjorns-obviously these don’t get as much use as they would with a singleton because you need 2 people with 2 babies, but when we do use them, they are AWESOME. I highly recommend these for family vacations and any time that you will have your partner or a second person around
• An Exersaucer and a Jolly jumper
• A JJ Cole waterproof beach blanket-not just for the beach this is great for playtime, tummy time, etc