Being a mum to twins myself (born 04/06/07) I have decided to write this guide for all those parents who are expecting twins, but need some advice on how to save money.

We made the mistake of buying more than we needed, and ended up giving away or selling the extra bits.


The essentials-

(if not breast feeding) Baby bottles - we purchased 12 but you only need 8.  We use 6 for the milk and the other 2 for water, as they are now going onto solids they will get more thirsty.

Steraliser- You will only need 1 of these, you can easily fit 6 bottles into ours. We use Lindam Steam steraliser, and its brilliant (we used the same make for our first daughter, who is now school age..and we can recommend it very highly)

Bibs-Now this is one thing we did buy a lot of, and thankful for that. Especially when they start weaning, those big plastic bibs which curl up at the end-not recommended.  Best to buy a few of the ones that have plastic coating on, that wipe down. Be prepared to feel like your washing machine has nothing but bibs in.

Muslin Cloths - Now I thought these were a waste of money, until my sister bought some for me. My little girl use to throw a bit of her milk up after every bottle, so believe me..these saved my sofa, floor, our clothes... They are also very handy for putting them out whole under your babies head (making sure they stretch across the cot) That way if your babies a bit sickly in the night, it saves washing the bedding every day.

Cots-Now we purchased a cot bed, as its generally big and they share (lying feet to feet with each other) At the date of writing this 08-10-07, they are still sharing. We have just purchased another cot bed (we got this at a bargain price on Ebay) for when they get a little bigger. (we are very short of space in a 2 bedroom house, so they will be sharing right up until they move in with their big sister...until we move house again)

Blankets- I found 4 sheets were suffice, as once one lot of bedding went in the cot..the other lot went in the wash.

Other Bedding-I use to swaddle them in blankets when they were tiny babies, but my where my little girl would stay nice and cosy..my little boy wriggled out of his. (I still have no idea how he managed to do this so quickly) Now I have purchased sleeping bags, or gro bags as they usually call them. I find my twins sleep so much better in these, and don't tend to wriggle so much in bed any more.

Baby Bouncers-I did purchase two of these, but they loved to share them when they were tiny babies. They dozed off in them, when I placed them together as they loved to snuggle up close to one another.

Clothes-Mmm was can I say, well in my case its the thing of take my advice on what I say...not what I do! These were my last babies, and we had a little more money then when we had my first daughter..I kind of went mad with the clothes. Unfortunately, so did everyone else.  We have one of those canvas wardrobes (you know the ones with the shelves on the side) well its crammed full of clothes..eeek! They have clothes now up until they are 1 yrs old, and yes I still love to buy them cute things to wear. (I blame the dreaded Ebay/Car Boot Sale curse!!)
Babygrows~Always needed, and vests (both long and short sleeved) We purchased 7 of each to start with (cotton ones for the summer, and velour ones when the weather starts getting colder.
Outfits~Its always nice to have a few nice outfits for say....visiting, or going out somewhere nice.

Pushchair-We purchased the Jane Twin from Ebay, I cannot recommend it highly enough! Its wonderful, easy to steer..can get in 99% of doorways (1% being when people put things behind the door so you cant get through the thing properly) Its quite light for a double pushchair, there's a big basket underneath (which is very sturdy for heavy items) Its a chunky pushchair as well, where the frame is concerned..so it will last for quite some time.

Baby bath-Not worth it! Our twins didn't like the big bath until they were 4 months old, up until that point we bought a normal plastic bowl (like you do the washing up in) and put them in there. They liked to feel the sides, and feel like they are secure..in the big bath they don't feel safe.

Car Seats-We purchased two of the Fisher Price rear facing car seats from Argos (but you can buy these from Ebay now) They come with head huggers for when your baby is small, and they go up to the weight of 13kg. You can now get the Stage 3 Booster Seat, and that's from 9 months to 11yrs. Must admit we only use our seats every so often, as both neither my hubby or I can drive..we use them mainly in my parents car when they visit.

Baby Monitor-We purchased ours from a car boot sale (as some can be so pricey) Ours is the Tony walkabout portable, which is perfect for when you need to say, hang the washing out.

Baby towels, the ones with the hood- We actually had two of these given to us as presents, and we only used them a few times. Lovely towels from the Disney shop, but I found they didn't wrap around my babies too well. (Saying that if your babies are going to be quite small, then these would be perfect) Our two were quite good sizes when born, (6lb 7 and 7lb) so in the end I just used normal towels.

Cot Mobile-I actually just purchased one of these and stuck it in the middle where they both can see it. In my opinion its not worth buying 2, they only use it until they learn to sit up unaided,..after that I will probably buy two cot toys.

Bottle Brush -Only one needed, but thought I would  mention it. We have been through that many of the things (cheap ones you get from the likes of Poundstretcher etc.....) Then I bought the Tommee Tippee one, perfect! Doesn't fall apart, cleans the bottles really well...and it even has a tip (bottom of the handle comes apart) to clean the teats with.

Bath Seats-Not advisable to buy 2 of them (as I did, thinking I could bath them together) Talking about the support bath seats, that lay at an angle..not the ring ones. I wish I had waited, as my little boy has bad eczema ..so he cant have the same bath stuff that my little girl has in her bath.

Dummy's - This was a big NO NO! for us...well that didn't last long.  Its a necessity for twins believe me, when your feeding one its easy to put a dummy in the others mouth. They usually end up falling back to sleep, until you are ready to feed them their bottle.  I have spoken to a few mum that agree, Dummy's are essential items for twins!

Well I think that's it, your very welcome to message me if I have missed anything out. Or you need advice on something, or you just need to talk..its always nice to meet other mums of twins.:)