This past weekend we met up with some friends from high school, a couple of whom have had kids pretty recently. We made our announcement that we’re expecting twins and instantly we started getting lots of information about what we can expect once they arrive. Basically we’ve been getting two reactions when we tell people we’re expecting twins: “You’re lucky to get two out of the way at once” or “Ooooh. You guys are in trouble.” The latter response coming from, of course, those who already have kids.
One of the things that our friend Jennifer recommended was getting a co-sleeper. A co-sleeper is a small crib that attaches to the side of your bed. In the middle of the night, if the baby (babies in our case) wakes up, you can just roll over and pick them up without getting out of bed. It seems like a great idea for at least the first months while we’re considering breast feeding. It even looks like it would be okay for twins, assuming that their combined weight remains less than the 30 lbs that this sleeper is rated for. That may last us 6 months depending on how quickly they grow. After that, they’re moving out to their own room.
The thing I can’t figure out is if it’ll be a pain to get in and out of the bed with the co-sleeper attached. Also, we have to figure out if we’re going to need the leg extensions to raise this to the height of our bed, which is relatively tall.
The other advice that our friends had for us is to get a breast pump, even if we’re planning on breast feeding. We were told that we need one. Kim said that they didn’t get one at first because they figured they would breast feed the whole time, but apparently one is still useful. She said to get a heavy-duty, hospital grade breast pump and not to skimp by getting something manual (Kim recommended something from Medela). The manual pumps that she saw were a lot of effort to use. I suppose an additional benefit to pumping is that I’ll be able to help out with the feeding. Agnes just can’t be expected to feed both of them throughout the night, every night.
Personally, I think the gear that we need to shop for will be the least of our difficulties in taking care of the babies, but we do need to start looking for what we’ll need. We welcome any recommendations on strollers (for two), car seats, and anything else you can think of.