Aug 23

Aug 23 Baby Registry Tips for Twins

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One of the very first things I did in my first trimester (besides puke my guts out) was start a massive spreadsheet re: babies and twins. I found out I was pregnant with twins around 7 weeks, so I knew fairly early on, which I think is what set me on my research journey that early. Well, that and the fact that if I was going to have a baby shower in Texas (where I’m from), I would have to have it fairly early due to my flying cut off and my registry would have to be live around the time one might typically just begin on such a task.

Keep reading for the bulk of what I registered for and why!

Baby Registry Tips for Twins, lments of style, la blogger, twin mom, twin pregnancy, nontoxic spectrum green clean natural organic baby registry items, what to register for, di di twins, boy girl twins

I’ll say that a filling out a baby registry is like a full time job. I spent hours, even days on the task. It is much different than a wedding registry (at least for me), because a wedding registry is more look “ooh this is pretty” and “I’d like this”, whereas a baby registry meant lots of articles and price comparisons. I’ll be honest and say that I got overwhelmed with our wedding registry and I pretty much let Nick take over. I got overwhelmed with our baby registry, but pretty much built it by myself along with Nick’s input here and there one everything had been compiled. Not for lack of caring on his part., I just had stronger opinions in this area I would suggest building a list (I used AirTable so Nick could access it to, but you could use Excel or a Google Doc) of brands and items you like, along with prices and go from there. This was increasingly helpful regarding items like diapers, wipes, and things you continually purchase.

If you don’t want to go through that trouble, below is my list of twin items I registered for. I built our registry based on the fact that I wanted to be more on the nontoxic spectrum, so more natural materials and less plastics. Basically I wanted no synthetic flame retardants and preferred natural fibers and materials (wood, cotton, wool, etc), organic if possible, no fragrance, no petroleum, no preservatives when possible. I also built this mainly with twins in mind. If you have a singleton, you could likely benefit from my list too, but know that you may not need as many things. I also built this list knowing that I live in Los Angeles with a fairly small amount of space AND the fact that I don’t have in-unit laundry. For example, I always thought I would at least try cloth diapering for both environmental and financial reasons. Once I found out it was twins, this thought dwindled, but the guiding factor is that I have to lug all my laundry out of the apartment and pay $1.75 per laundry load. Also the washing machine is on the smaller side, doesn’t clean very well, and constantly rips my clothes. I digress… disposable diapers it is! I follow a lot of people on social media who suggest things like “no baby containers” and “on demand feeding / no real schedule”. I haven’t heard any of these things come out of then mouths of twin parents. With twins a lot of these “better baby” ideals just aren’t possible. All that to say, here’s my list. Take it with a grain of salt. Also I know the twins aren’t actually here yet, so I will likely do a registry update post on what we actually like and use. Enjoy!!

Side note - I wrote this post for my friends at Colgate mattress on the 3 things to look for when registering if you want to see those guidelines more in-depth.

SOURCES I USED

I generally knew what I was looking for re: natural items and such thanks to my apparel merchandising background. I registered for organic where I could, at the very least natural fibers (ie 100% cotton vs polyester, rayon, spandex, etc or wood versus plastic). I looked for greenguard certified furniture and lack of flame retardant (often used in car seats, mattresses, and kids pajamas). The biggest resource I leaned on for twins was / is Twiniversity. They have tons of resources, twin discount lists, how many to get of this and that, and review items based on safety alone, not trendiness. I’ve looked at a couple other twin guides and they don’t compare in this aspect. Twiniversity never works with a company they haven’t tried and approve of prior to any sponsored work (if any). Babylist also has a concierge service that not only helped with questions I had, but gave twin specific advice and even more nontoxic options too. I also leaned on stores I knew aligned with what I wanted like The Tot. A lot of popular brands also have organic / more nontoxic lines within their main offering so look for those too. Gerber, H&M, and even Amazon and Walmart have these to name a few. If you want specific source examples, I liked reading over these posts: Babylist Green Registry, Gentle Nursery Nontoxic Registry Guide, Branch Basics Nontoxic Registry, and a Simple Approach to Natural Baby Items.

WHERE I REGISTERED

I used Babylist. I liked that I could link everything in one place even if they didn’t have a traditional registry or are sold at stores that have registries. The gift tracker is also really helpful. I received a lot of gifts straight to my home and sometimes they lacked gift messaging. If the buyer used Babylist, I could find out who it was from. It took a lot of the guesswork out of it! I also added things to an Amazon registry to receive the discount. If you want to do that first, you can actually merge the Amazon registry into the Babylist one.

WHAT I REGISTERED FOR

Everything is done by category. I really only included big things, not super specific items. I didn’t put books and toys, etc on here because those are personal decisions and you probably don’t need my help for those. If you do need some direction regarding toys I tried to go for non-plastic items, so wood, silicone, nontoxic paints, and so on.

NURSERY

I feel like this is the section I feel the most confident in. Will elaborate with my nursery reveal post - coming soon!

Milk Street Baby Convertible Branch Crib (2, will write about these beds soon!)
Colgate Mattress Eco Classic III (2, wrote about them here, also considered Avocado and Naturepedic)
Colgate Mattress Eco Cover Organic Cotton Fitted Crib Mattress Cover (4)
Nursery Works Sleepytime Rocker (1, this is wider than average chair allowing to fit 2 babies better)
Ubbi Diaper Pail (2, doesn’t require special bags, some twin sites say that pails aren’t worth it since it will fill up so quickly, but as I live in an apartment, we kept them and went with 2 instead of 1)
Colgate Eco 2 Sided Contour Changing Pad (1, considered others like Keekaroo or Hatch, but was told urine slides all around and gets messier…)
Colgate Changing Pad Cover (2, Colgate has been sold out, so I got some Naturepedic ones)
Shelving (2, leftover from our office, painted cream here’s a similar option you wouldn’t have to paint)
Modern Lamp (1, leftover from our office, painted black base cream, option you wouldn’t have to paint)
Changing Table (1)
Wipes Dispenser (1)
Organizing Baskets (9, I bought 3 of each size)
Wicker 3 Drawer Storage (1, this was Nick’s parents’ so I can’t link the exact one, but this is pretty close - we painted the black parts cream)
Large Basket (1, this was Nick’s parents’ so I can’t link the exact one, but this one is similar and so is this one)
Gathre Padded Mat (1)
Fitted Sheets (6, all 100% cotton, some organic, some not, Nordstrom, Mushie, Pehr)
Owlet Double Monitor (1, it includes 2 cameras)
Double Bassinet (1)
Baby Bjorn Bouncer (2, currently only have 1, but will buy another)
Baby Bjorn Pack and Play (1, don’t currently have this, would buy 2 to use as an actual travel crib)
Mobiles (2, I have this one and this one, I don’t really have much other decor and if I do it is personal and you can’t purchase it anywhere)
Other things to consider are humidifiers (1), white noise machine (1-2 depending on loudness, I went for portable so I can put it in the stroller and so on) - I don’t have a brand I’m super passionate about in this area

TRANSPORTATION

This section is kind of confusing because it is a bunch of moving parts that can go together, but don’t always. I decided I wanted a side-by-side stroller after researching and getting recommendations. (Some reasons include that most tandem strollers are really made for two kids that are different ages, it’s hard to get a child in the back once they reach a certain size, the kid in front often feels less safe to the mother, kids might fight over who gets to sit where, and so on.) However, I couldn’t find a side by side stroller that fit the car seats I ended up going with. Car seats are confusing because some people tell you to skip the infant carseat totally and just get the infant insert. This isn’t always smart for twins, as you need to make sure that the weight restriction includes them as they will be on the smaller side. The #1 thing besides safety we looked for in car seats is that it didn’t have a synthetic flame retardant. We ended up getting infant car seats and will get new ones when they outgrow these. We got a tandem stroller to fit the car seats as the list is pretty small and the no flame retardant requirement makes it even smaller. We also got a single stroller which happens to fit the car seat, as this was suggested to us even with twins. Apparently it is good to have a single stroller if you need to just take one somewhere, plus you could baby wear one and just push the one. If you lack space and budget, you could try to find something that fit everything, but it just didn’t work out that way for us.

Britax B-Safe Gen2 Flexfit Infant Car Seat in Twighlight Safewash* (2, I also considered Clek Liing in merino wool, Uppa Mesa in Henry or Jordan merino wool, and Nuna Pipa / Nuna Pipa LITE)
Bumbleride Indie Twin Stroller (1, this is side by side, I also considered the Bugaboo Donkey3 stroller, but was told by more than one person that the Indie Twin was just as high quality and a less money - makes sense considering Bumbleride literally can’t keep this stroller in stock!)
Bumbleride Infant Insert (2, this allows infants to ride in the seats should you not have the bassinets)
Bumbleride Indie Twin Bassinet (2, these can be put in / switched out for the seats it comes with, perfect for infants as is)
Bumbleride Indie Twin Cotton Mattress Covers (2, the bassinet mattress comes with a cover, but I wanted the option), plus it is softer)
Bumbleride Parent Pack Console (1, still need this - it attaches to the stroller handlebar)
Contours Options Elite V2 Tandem Stroller (1, this is tandem and fits the infant car seats - it will live in our car - we wanted to try the Baby Trend Double Snap and Go, but it didn’t fit with our carseats)
Britax B-Free Single Stroller (1)
Baby Carriers (not sure what I will like, so I registered for 3 different ones - I’ve heard that the twin specific ones aren’t great… I registered for 1 Solly Wrap, 1 Boba Wrap, and 1 Cybex Carrier - babies are different so one may even favor one over the other)
Car Seat Covers (4)

** Something else regarding transportation is that if you get the mirrors for the headrest in your car so you can see them in the rear facing car seats, be sure to buy the brand of car seat you get. The car seats are crash tested with that brand of products, so it is the smarter decision. Just something I didn’t think about until someone mentioned it to me!

DIAPERING

As I mentioned, I always thought I would cloth diaper, but that just isn’t feasible for me right now. If I was going to cloth diaper, I’d try Kanga Care cloth diapers. That being said I tried to pick items that were of course more on the non-toxic / chemical free side, but also those that were more eco friendly. Also note some diapering items like pails and changing pads are under the nursery section.

Eco by Naty Diapers (was told to have at least 150 at all times, currently only have newborn size - also considered Dyper, Andy Pandy, and Honest Company - Pampers Pure has been recommended to me as well… basically just wanted diapers without fragrance, petrochemicals, parabens, talc, BHA, and pththalates among other things)
Wipes (still deciding between Eco by Naty and Jackson Reece)
Primally Pure Baby Balm (instead of a traditional diaper rash cream - I actually use this as my facial moisturizer and love it, wrote a review of it here)
Dagne Dover Backpack Diaper Bag (1, Nick and I both have their regular backpacks and love them)
Joey Changing Kit (1, but we were actually gifted 2 - maybe keep one in the car and the other in the stroller? It goes with our diaper bag)
Tote Savvy Organizer (1, got this for if I don’t want to use the diaper bag / use something like my LV Neverfull)

CLOTHES / BLANKETS / CLOTH GOODS LIKE BLANKETS AND BIBS

This section is really up to you and your preferences. Since I not only have 2 babies, but also don’t have a washer or a dryer and pay for laundry, my list may look a little different from yours. Twiniversity has a good list with numbers and an even more detailed one they give with their classes. The biggest thing for me is that I registered for newborn sized clothing. Most people tell you to skip that sizing, but with twins it is smart not to skip this, as they are often born on the smaller side. I made sure to have onesie options (I have a plethora), footless coverall options (3 per baby), and footed coverall options (3 per baby), as well as gowns (2 per baby). When I was chatting with Natalie Diaz from Twiniversity, she was the one who recommended making sure I have footless options, because if they are in the NICU, they often need footless to have the wires and such run through. There are also options out there that are convertible from footless to footed and those obviously stay better than socks! Be sure to consider the time of year they will be born and where you live. I had my baby shower in the heat of summer, but my babies will be born in the fall and will be in Los Angeles, so I need more long sleeve options than short sleeve. It felt weird registering for those items in May / June, but it is what I needed! Here are some brands and stores that offer natural fibers and organic options.

Amazon (they have a ton, but some of my favorites are L’ovedBaby, MakeMake Organics, and T ouched by Nature)
Burt’s Bees Baby
Finn and Emma
Gerber
Hanna Andersson (has an Amazon exclusive label called Moon and Back by Hanna Andersson too)
H&M
Kate Quinn
Maisonette
Pehr
Target
The Tot
Walmart

Re: sleeping I’m going to test out different things. I’m foregoing the arms in swaddle will sleeping because that makes me nervous regarding rolling over. I’ll be trying Love to Dream (covers arms, but they can push up, comes in organic options too), Magic Merlin (long sleeve, arms are separate), Burt’s Bees Baby Beekeepers, and Nested Bean.

FEEDING

This section is the most up in the air for me as I have the most questions in this area. I honestly don’t know what is going to happen. I am going to try to breastfeed, but we shall see what actually occurs. Depending on what happens, I plan on introducing bottles by week 4, though it may happen sooner because of a likely c section. I’m not sure if I will exclusively pump or what, but will at least have some bottles so Nick and other people can feed them too.

Twin Go Nurse and Lounge Pillow (1, unzips to be 2 single “boppy” like pillows)
Twin Z Nursing Pillow (1, could argue we only need one or the above… this one doesn’t unzip but works like a connected “boppy” like pillow too)
Spectra S1 Plus Deluxe Breast Pump (1, didn’t actually put this on my registry, as it was covered my insurance - the S2 was covered fully, but I chose to upgrade to this one as it is portable and it cost me $50)
Haka Manual Breast Pump (1, for overflow)
Breastmilk Storage Bags (1, will need more though - insurance doesn’t cover for me)
Nursing Pads (1)
Nipple Shields (1)
Freezer Nipple Comfort Therapy Pack (1)
Bottles (16+, 8oz size, This is my biggest question mark, I was told not to do any glass and originally I had some I was looking at - I narrowed it down to Como Tomo and Joovy Boob, but have had a ton of recommendations for Dr. Browns despite all the parts and plastic, also registered for level 2 nipples - will have to report back on this… overall I wanted to use a bottle without BPA and none of these I list have it)
Cloth Bibs (10+, I really only registered for Burt’s Bees Baby, plus I got some random ones)
Burp Cloths (10+, got several different brands / not married to one style yet - Copper Pearl, Aden and Anais, Green Sprouts, plus I got some random ones I didn’t register for - all the brands I listed under clothing would work for these)
Receiving / Swaddle Blankets (10+, right now I only have 6 I think? Love these Hanna Andersson ones and these Burt’s Bees Baby ones - all the brands I listed under clothing would work for these)
Mushie Silicone Bibs (4)
Gathre Leather Bibs (2)
EZPZ Silicone Feeding Sets (2, plus their mat plate (2) and play mat (2))
High Chair (2, Not going to lie, I wanted the Stokke Tripp Trapp chair but was advised on multiple accounts that those aren’t good until they are older, as it doesn’t provide good support for infants and smaller babies, was given some Zoe Fold-away high chairs and those are really nice too, though less my aesthetic) **as of 2022, Stokke has an infant seat attachment!
Nursing Bra (4, currently have 3 - Dairy Fairy ((pretty and functional)) and Amazon ((basic and gets the job done)) - made sure to register for CLASPS not pull on since that is what I will need with a C section)
Dishwasher Basket (4, currently have 2)
Drying Rack (1, maybe I should have registered for 2? Not sure yet)
Drying Rack Tree (1, again maybe I should have registered for 2?)
I’m not sure if I will use it, but I was given a Baby Brezza Formula Pro if we go that route

RANDOM THINGS

Everything else that didn’t really fit into the above categories.

Baby Basics Kit (1)
Pacifiers (6+, brands I like are Natursuttun, Doddle + Co, Philips Avent, mind you that there are different sizes for different ages)
Nail Trimmer (1)
Thermometer (1)
Primally Pure Baby Kit (Has baby balm which is diaper cream, baby powder, baby oil, and baby soap bar - also considered re: baby soap trying Eco by Naty body wash, Pipette, and Earth Mama… ultimately looked for items without fragrance, sulfates, parabens, talc, and phthalates, among other things)
Peri Bottle (1 per bathroom)
Bathtub Faucet Cover (1)
Bath Rinser (1)
Baby Bathtub (1)
Blooming Baby (1, for sink baths)
Bath Thermometer (1)
Baby Towels (4, I honestly I didn’t want to register for these because we have so many towels already, but it was recommended that I have some, so I actually have 2 on hand)
Cord Blood (2, I plan on doing a post on this, but cord blood is a newer technology that can be very beneficial to your babies - you can include something like this on your registry and people can donate to this specific need. If you use my link or mention Lauren and Nick Mulenos over the phone should you decide to bank with CBR, you will get special pricing / a discount!)

Okay I * think * that is it, but who knows! These are the basics and should help you get your list started. Again, I didn’t include books or toys, but some of my favorites are this wooden play gym, this wooden walker, and of course Sophie the Giraffe and her friend FanFan the Fawn. Have anything you swear by and think I forgot or want to validate a choice? Please let me know! I’m not an expert, but I’m gaining experience for sure. Will for sure update you on what we actually used and whatnot as soon as I can. At the end of the day, babies really just need love and care. Oh and food. My point being, those are the basic things and notice that they are not on this list. Don’t stress about your registry and gifts you did or didn’t receive. You’ve got this!