What You Really Need for Newborn Twins

Like everything else that I have tried to do since the twins were born, this post took me way longer than I had planned. I initially started writing this for a friend who was pregnant with twins. I wanted to give her a succinct list of what she would really need for newborn twins before they were born. Now, so much time has passed, that her twins are already two-months-old. In any case, I am finally getting around to it.

I also made an easy-to-shop page that has direct links to everything that I’ll mention below, here’s the link: Must-Have Items for Twins.

Now that I’ve been around the “new mama” block a few times, I have a good idea about what is necessary. Of course this go-round was my first time having twins, but what I learned during my first two pregnancies held true–you don’t need much for newborns! During my first pregnancy, I made the mistake of putting everything on my baby registry. It’s a mistake that many first-time moms make. You believe that you will need so much stuff for your tiny babe and you go overboard. You end up with more than you could ever hope to need or use.

The reality is that newborns are simple creatures. They eat, sleep, and fill diapers. That’s the extent of it. And while twins are a bit more complicated because you need two of many things, there is still no need to go crazy. When I became pregnant the second time, I kept things very simple. Here is my old post of what you really need for a newborn and it’s still accurate if you are having a singleton. For the soon-to-be twin mamas, the list is slightly different. So let’s get to it.

(One final note before I proceed. This is not a sponsored or a partner post. I purchased all of these items myself or was given them by fellow mamas. We used them, loved them, and I wholeheartedly recommend everything I am about to share.)

1. Twin Z Pillow

Okay, the this pillow is at the top of my list. It was invaluable for the first 5 months of the twins lives. If ever I am looking for a gift for a twin mama to-be, this will be it. As all new mamas know, you send a lot of time in bed with a newborn. The whole affair is a bit more complicated when there are 2 of them, but this thing made it so easy for me. We used it for bottle feeding, breastfeeding, naps, but mainly I used it for everything else. Naps, hanging out, pictures, you name it. The twins were in this pillow all of the time and it was worth its weight in gold to me.

We had this pillow with a cream cover. I cannot recommend it enough.

2. Snuggle Me Loungers

I came across these loungers on Instagram and I fell in love with everything about them. However, the price point was a bit high and I had tried a lot of loungers for my previous 2 babies and I was hesitant. Something told me to just go for it, so I did. It was the best decision I ever made. The twins adored these loungers. They slept in them all of the time for the first 5 months. I was never able to get my previous babies to sleep in their cribs. I was terrified that would happen with the twins, and if it hadn’t been for these loungers, it would have.

However there is something about these loungers that put the twins right to sleep. They loved them. They each had their own lounger. We would put them in the crib or on the couch and they would sleep so soundly in them. It felt like a miracle. I don’t know if it would work as well for all babies, but it worked for both of our twins. These loungers sort of hold the baby on all sides and I often wondered if it somehow mimicked the closeness that they felt in the womb. (It had to be crowded in there!) In any case, it was a life saver for us and I highly recommend these for twins.

We had the original loungers and we also had the slate cover and gum drop cover. The covers are so easy to wash, making the inevitable spit up messes stress-free.

3. Double Stroller

This is the one area that I have always splurged in. The thing is that I am a walker. I walk a lot, typically about 6-12 miles per week. So having good strollers has always been important to me. I was gifted a City Mini double jogging stroller by a fellow twin mom. Even though it is second hand, it is incredible. It truly handles any terrain with ease and I absolutely adore it. It’s just impossible to go any kind of distance with most double strollers. It’s too much work and it kills your shoulders and back. However, this thing glides like a breeze. It has made our walks such a pleasure. Plus it has canopies that go overhead to protect the babies from the sun and light rain. It’s got an amazing storage basket underneath too. I can’t say enough good things about it. Totally worth the price in my opinion.

That said, I couldn’t put the twins in that stroller until they were about 4 months old. They need to be able to hold their heads up easily, so you can’t put a newborn in there. So, while I waited for them to get strong enough for that, I got a double click connect stroller that allowed us to pop their infant car seats in. Let me just say, this is not ideal. These things are very bulky, they don’t do well on anything other than smooth terrain. It’s rather heavy and it’s not easy to push for any distance. The good thing is that it allowed me to start walking when the babies were tiny, which I desperately needed for my emotional and physical health.

And lastly, yes I’ve had 3 strollers for the twins (eek) I also have a double umbrella stroller. I don’t use the click connect anymore, no need, but the jogging stroller is quite big and heavy. So I keep this little umbrella stroller in the trunk of my car for when we go out and I need a stroller. It’s nothing fancy, it just works and it’s super light and easy to get in and out of the car. Again, not good for distance or anything other than smooth terrain, but lightweight, small and convenient.

4. Onesies

When it comes to clothing there is so much to say. Admittedly I am a fan of all of the cute little baby clothing and I do have my favorites. But I’m not talking about that today. I am talking about necessities. And when I consider all 4 of my babies, I can honestly say that they spent 99% of the first year+ of their lives in onesies and sleepers. So with that said, if you really want to keep things simple (which you should), ditch all of the other stuff and just get a bunch of onesies. Of all of the onesies that we have tried, 4 babies over, Carter’s have always been the best, softest, most durable, and long-lasting. They have an organic line called Little Planet and I just adored it for the twins.

Take into account how many months old your little ones will be at each season and get an appropriate number of onesies for each baby. I recommend about 6 short sleeve onesies each and when the cooler months come, another 6 long sleeve onesies–depending how often you do laundry.

5. 2-Way Zipper Sleepers

The other thing that all of my babies lived in were footed sleepers or pajamas. When the twins were tiny for the first 5 months, at night, I always put a short sleeved onesie on them with a sleeper over top. This ensured that their core was nice and warm and their feet were covered too. This is important to me since you’re not supposed to put blankets on them for awhile.

During the warm months, I keep them in cotton sleepers and then in the cooler months I switch to fleece. Again, we always keep them in Carter’s because the quality just can’t be beat. And here is the most critical piece of information for twin mamas when it comes to pajamas: GET DOUBLE ZIPPERS. If the sleeper has a 2-way zipper it makes changing diapers (which you will do a lot of) a hundred times easier. Trust me on this! Do not mess with anything that has snaps, buttons or a single zipper. Just get the double zippers/2-way zippers and you can thank me later.

6. Cribs

This is one of those things that will vary from family to family. I have heard of twins sleeping together in the same crib. In our case, we didn’t do this. Our twins simply liked to have their own space. We tried sleeping them together a few times and they were uncomfortable and woke each other up. So as I mentioned above, we put them in their snuggle loungers and they slept in their individual cribs. We purchased 2 cribs from the start and it worked well for us.

7. Pack n Play

When it comes to a pack n play, a bassinet, and all of the rest of the alternative sleeping options, I say keep it simple. People have asked me if they should get the pack n play that has the double bassinet on top, and my answer is, you don’t need it. We have a regular single pack n play and it works for us. We’ve only used it a few times when we’ve spent the day at the lake and things like that. They play together nicely in there. So if you do find that you will be doing a lot of outings or travel, it is nice to have. Do you need 2 of them? I don’t think so. One has been sufficient for us.

8. Highchairs

Highchairs can be really big and bulky and when you have 2 babies big and bulky just doesn’t work. If you have a ton of space, it may be okay for your family. But we don’t have a lot of space in our home, so we needed something smaller and sleek. I am so grateful that I learned about the IKEA Antilop high chair from a fellow twin mom. It has been perfect for the twins. It is small, sleek but totally gets the job done and they fit nicely into our small kitchen. You will want to make sure to get the optional inflatable cushion for when they are little. You can also dress these things up with so many adorable accessories which I had so much fun doing with ours.

9. White Noise Machine

I am sharing this because I have this white noise machine in all of my kids bedrooms. It happens that all of my kids are light sleepers like me and when you have twins, you can imagine that they are really good at waking each other up. The white noise machine helps so much with this. We use it at night and during naps.

10. Bouncy Chairs

Last but not least, if you have twins, you will need bouncy chairs. The reality of having twins is that you cannot hold them both at the same time. The conundrum is that they will often want to be held at the same time, especially when they are tiny. Honestly, this has been one of the hardest parts of twin motherhood for me. It is in our nature as mothers to want to hold our babies as often as they want to be held, and as a twin mom, you just can’t and it can be heartbreaking all around. It’s also difficult when the babies are hungry, if you are giving a bottle or nursing one baby, what do you do with the other? You won’t always have help. This is where a bouncy chair really came in handy for me. I tried tandem nursing once in awhile but that is a logistical circus.

When both babies were fussing, my solution was to nurse one baby in my rocking chair and bounce the other in the bouncy chair with my foot. This usually worked like a charm and I was able to settle them both. I would always alternate who got to nurse first. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it worked and got me through a lot of the hard times. I would often put them to sleep in the bouncy chairs too. Again, when they were very tired and fussy, I couldn’t rock them both to sleep in my arms, so I would give my arms a break and bounce them both in their bouncy chairs. We had 2, this bouncy chair and this bouncy chair and I highly recommend having 2 of these if you have twins.

Although the babies were in the bouncy chairs often, most of the footage I have of this is video. But here is a snap of Roman feeding Jonah in one of the chairs that was a lifesaver for us.

Okay, that’s about it! Those are my 10 recommendations about what you really need for newborn twins. I told you it would be simple. There are certainly many other things that you may think of along the way, but this will get you started. Remember, keep it simple! The “baby sleep” industry rakes in more than $325 million a year. They will try to sell you everything and anything when you are sleep deprived and desperate for some rest. But remember that your babies really just need you. You can try every sleep gizmo and gadget but in the end, it is your love that they crave. Remember that your best is enough and keep it all as simple as you can.

Once again, here is the easy-to-shop list: Must-Have Items for Twins. If you have any questions about twin motherhood, please reach out to me on Instagram at @live.love.simple.