Having a baby is definitely a process. You have all the joys, anxieties, highs and lows as you prepare for an adventure 9 months in the making. For me, one was enough to take in, so when I first met our next mom, I was in awe of her calm, collected, and happy nature, despite following around an active pair of twin girls! As she describes "My husband and I have been together for over a decade. We were married 2 and a half years before we decided it was time to have children. Since we were trying to get pregnant, we found out very early that not only was I pregnant but also having twins. It was a very long and un-eventful pregnancy so I had lot's of time to think things through and cope with not only having 1 but 2 babies!" These two are as unique as they are sweet, and I just had to ask...
Name: My name is Aline. Most people call me Ali.
Baby's Name (and age): I have twin girls (Zoey and Elysse) that are just over a year old.
The Most Important Thing in Your Diaper Bag:
Other then the obvious (food and diapers) the most important thing in my diaper bag is "distraction _________!" Whether it be their pacifier, favourite hand toy on that particular day, a teether toy or their lovie at the very least; 2 of these items must be in the bag! If I don't have them, I'll end up buying more or having a really hard time without them.
Basic Save:
Samples! Everything samples if you can do it. You can re-use the sample containers of your favorite products by refilling them and the bonus is, they take up less room and your have more space for other important items. Another basic save is coupons. They have coupons for almost anything baby related. I have a baggy to keep all of my coupons in one place. There are flyer apps that retailers will let you use if you price match an item. When you go to buy your "staple items" look the [item] up to see if you can get a cheaper price. ** sidebar: this is also applicable for formula! I managed to save huge amounts of money by getting samples/coupons from other moms that either used a different brand or were successfully breast feeding/pumping. There are so many sites and companies that you can register with to receive free "new baby packages" with all types of different samples and goodies.
Essential splurge:
Diapers. Protect that tush! ;) No matter what the price is find the one that works best for baby's bum and your budget. We have done both, cloth and disposable. When the girls were born we had the diaper service. Between both girls we were using over 100 diapers a week, some weeks over 150! Our service was great. No need to rinse, every week you got freshly washed and sanitized cloth diapers. No need to worry about going out to buy diapers, you just had to make sure the dirty ones were at the door when they come to swap. If you have to use disposable then do it. After a while it didn't make sense to keep the service because it was getting more expensive for us than buying diapers (the girls didn't require as many diaper changes during the day). A tip for any Mom of Multiples, sign up for the company's family of multiples programs if they have one. They may send you high value or free product coupons. You have to "prove" you had twins but that's about it. You just add a picture or two.
Best preparedness advice:Having two babies doesn't mean packing 2 of everything. My girls are sisters more then they are twins. I had them at the same time but they are 2 completely different babies! Zoey LOVES her A&A blankets, Elysse couldn't care less what blanket I give her. Elysse is a pacifier baby, Zoey? Not so much, she can live without it. Don't over pack! Make sure you have what you need for that specific trip but save room for some extra toys or distraction whatever! If you forgot something, adjust.
A happy baby is better then a clean clothed baby. With my girls, as long as their bellies are full and their bums clean, they are happy babies regardless of what they are wearing. I try my best to grab an extra outfit, but sometimes it just doesn't make the cut and I end up with messy babies. Oh well! A tip I got from a good friend of mine, if you have a dirty outfit or sleeper (even from just wearing it) fold it inside out. That way you can easily identify which clothes are still clean and what needs to be washed, cause if you're like me, by the time you get home you won't remember.
Final words of wisdom:
Take everybody's advice but only use what works for you and baby! Every one will have what worked for them (and a lot of moms will preach it) but you and baby will only have what works for you guys. It's always great to have options but in the end, 75% of what you will hear from other people may not apply to your situation.
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