what to buy for twins in a small house

Tiffney - posted on 02/17/2010

thank you all for your replies...it makes me fell better now that i know what to by and what isn't important to get since there is so much baby stuff out there...so thanks again.

Iridescent - posted on 02/15/2010

One thing you may not realize, they do make miniature cribs (1/2 size). They're intended for day care and travel, but are another option for small space.
http://www.google.com/products?q=miniatu...

Shannon - posted on 02/15/2010

I had twins in a small house too. The only thing I really need two of were swings and boppy pillows. We made sure everything was collapsable. when it came time for highchairs we got two but both collapsed when not in use to 7" wide (they are made by Graco) and were designed for aparments to fit in the space between the wall and fridge. You can find almost anything that collapses. Look for travel items too. P.S. The boppy pillows store nicely under the pack-n-plays.

Claudia - posted on 02/14/2010

Congrats, first of all. I didn't find out right away that I was having twins either, so I know the feeling. My suggestion to you is that you don't really need 2 of everything. I have 1 crib, 1 small traveling play pin, 1 swing, 1 baby gym and even only 1 boppy. You can alternate them in all the things you decide to buy. Another good thing to this is that you still don't know what your babies are going to like, so sometimes you end up buying things and won't even use them. Oh...very important...DO NOT get them used to things. For example, my husband made the big mistake of getting them used to the swing at night just because it was easier for us to get some sleep. Yea it helped with the resting part, but then they got used to being put in the swing if not they don't sleep and since I only have one, sometimes it gets difficult. At first leave them together when they sleep because that is what they are used to but little by little they will start to have their own personalities. Best of luck.

Liz - posted on 02/13/2010

One of the best things we could have gotten for our twins, is the small travel sized swings. They loved them and were a real life saver. We had very limited space at the time because we were living with my parents. We had bouncy seats but they weren't into them very much. Boppy pillows helped when they were younger. As they got older two play yards were a must because of how active they got, but for a while we were able to get away with just one.

Now we're expecting number 3 in July and our twins will be 2 in June. Need any advice let me know!

Kate - posted on 02/13/2010

l hate baby clothes in a dresser. The drawers are so big it was impossible for me to keep them neat. So for the twins room l got plastic drawers. The kind that have 3 to 5 in one unit. There is different size drawers in the 5 drawer unit which is perfect for onsies, pants, and receiving blankets in the larger drawers. Then bibs and socks in smaller drawers. l put the drawers in the closet and still had plenty enough room to hang sleepers, coats, and going away outfits. Using unused space in the closet will save a lot of space a dresser would take up.

Julia - posted on 02/12/2010

My twins are almost 8 now, so they didn't have bumbos then. I have loved mine this time around, so I would think one for each would be great. You could skip high chairs for quite a while. We had one crib (make sure to get one that has easy up and down with the side rails), and only one toddler bed until the twins turned 3. I would wait to buy swings or bouncer seats. Some of my kids have liked one or the other, but my 10 month-old never liked either. Borrow them from a friend after your twins are born for a week, if they like them, then get them for yourself, if not, you don't have them cluttering your house!

If your twins are in the NICU, they will get pretty used to a routine, and the things they use there. I wish we had waited to get some of the pacifiers, soap, bathing things, etc until after they came home. Most of the things they got used to, and wanted, in the NICU were not what we had at home from the baby shower, and we didn't use them much.

I would skip the changing table, and skip having a dresser for them. I found that the time to fold baby clothes, and try to sort them out, just wasn't realistic. (I had a 2 year-old at the time too.) I had three baskets in our room for baby clothes, one for dirty clothes (as soon as it was full I put it in the wash) and as soon as they came out of the dryer I sorted them into the other two baskets, 1 for one piece outfits that I could just grab easily, and 1 for outfits that had more than one piece. I didn't use the outfits that were more than one piece as much, and so it was nice to be able to get to the one piece ones fast, and not have to sort through them.

Iridescent - posted on 02/12/2010

We had 2 swings (for 3 babies) - a full size and a travel swing. 3 bouncers. 1 highchair (full size), 3 booster seats. 1 playpen with plywood in the bottom to keep it from caving in. A sling! Total lifesaver. No boppies, no door jumpers, 1 exersaucer that converted from a floor play system to the exersaucer to the standing play system. Kid gates that latch together to be variable sizes with play things in each panel (LOVE). 3 cribs (you could certainly use less!). No changing table (used the floor on a towel). 1 sleeping wedge for the baby with health needs. No bumbo seats or anything else really, just a toybox and dresser.

Tiffany - posted on 02/12/2010

I can't live without: two boppies, a bumbo seat, a swing, swaddling blankets, sleeping wedges, highchairs that fold up small, an exersaucer, a jumperoo, and a play gym. Our house is only 1,000 sq ft. so it has been a challenge. We found we did not need two boucy seats, but did have two swings (one is a travel swing, but we could have done with just one) Hope that helps. Good luck!

Tiffany - posted on 02/12/2010

for almost the first year we were in an 800 apt too. Here is what I used

1 crib,1swing, 1 bouncy seat, 1 door jumper, 2 boppies, 1 bouncy seat, 1 bjorn, 1 playmat,1 pack n play, changing table. we rotated the babies when they were little around these items. hth