Help! Need Baby Gear Advice! Espeically TWIN Moms!

My husband and I got the stroller with infant seat included and an older car seat for after. We have two cars, however, and needed another seat because we couldn't switch the seat every day. I went on www.freecycle.org and requested a carseat and I got one for free! It was in very good condition, and it works great! I would recommend it even if you only use it for this one item. You never know what you can get for free! Good luck!

I don't know about twins as I have only one son, but I do know that I was very sad the day he outgrew the infant carseat as it was sooooo much easier to carry him around in it, go from car to car, travel, etc.

One thing I would consider based on friend's experiences is that amount of space you have in the backseat. Carseats take up a lot of space, especially if you need two! I understand the Radian 80 by Sunshine kids is very good for space, though it is a regular carseat.

I have twin boys who are now 4 1/2. While it is tempting to just buy a convertible car seat from the beginning and forego the infant car seats, I wouldn't recommend doing that.

The infant carrier baby seats are essential when the babies are little. They will fall asleep in the seats and then you just click the seat out of the car and can bring them inside without waking them up. If you put them in a convertible car seat, you need to unstrap them, carry them in, get them into a crib or some other thing while you run out and get the other twin. It is just really difficult and you don't want to risk waking the babies up.

Second, the infant carrier seats can fit into a double snap n go, which I HIGHLY recommend for the few months. Yes, it is an extra expense, but boy, it was a life saver. If we took the boys anywhere in the car, we'd just click out the car seats, snap them onto the metal snap n go frame and be done. No lifting them out of the car seats to put them in a separate stroller. It's just so easy. And easy is what you want with twins.

Ultimately, around a year (or when they reach the max. weight requirement), you'll need the convertible car seat. I highly recommend the Britax Marathons (in case you are registering for those). We have them and they have lasted very well for the past 4 years. My daughter, who is 6, still has hers and barely any wear and tear....

Good luck with the rest of the pregnancy. Drink LOTS of water and stay off your feet as much as possible!

J.,

You mentioned not using a travel system. The one GREAT piece of advice I got from Mom's while trying to create my registery was to foget the travel system and go with the infant carrier and the snap and go frame!! It was the best piece of advice I got. It is light weight and has a basket beneath it to run into the store to pick up a couple of things.

Here is a link to check it out as they make a double too for twins.

http://www.toysrus.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=s...

It saves your back in the beginning until you decide to use a double stroller when they can sit up better. As stated also by other Mom's there will be many times that the babies will fall asleep in the carrier and it is a saver to just move them to and from the car in it. I also used it up until my daughter was about 1 ( she was tiny) when she was sick with a cold as it would prop her up just enough to relieve her congestion (i did not have a swing to use). I am prego myself with my second due in May and will be getting a swing for those long nights that come along with baby colds. Congrats and best of luck!!

I do not have twins but I have done the convertible car seat way and the infant carrier one. I would ABSOLUTELY suggest going the infant carrier and switching to the convertible when they're older (and pushing it in the carrier for as long as they safely fit). Here's why:

First, the convertible car seats are BULKY. For my last son, I used the carrier first and my two teen sons were able to sit comfortably in the back of my Grand Am. Now with the convertible, it's a TIGHT uncomfortable fit.

Next, and more importantly, you'll have TWINS. You do NOT want to take the babies out of the convertible and put them into the stroller or carry them into the house and HOPE they go back to sleep. They WON'T! Been there, done that with my older two. It was awful when they'd fall asleep for 10 minutes then refuse to take a nap because it gave them just enough energy to stay awake and be miserable. So get the carriers and you can snap them in and out of the carrier bases without waking up the babies. They can sleep in their car seats if they fell asleep in the car and get a good nap. You get to keep your sanity. It's a WONDERFUL trade off. Yes, it's a tad more expensive going this route but there IS a reason why the carriers are so darn popular and it's what I've just mentioned. Good luck!

Hi,
Congrats on the twins, they are a lot of fun! Sorry to be late on the response but I have 3 yr old twins and a 7 month girl. We got the infant car seats (we got the graco ones) and the snap n go and it was one of those great purchases we made. Our twins were born early and therefore were small (4.8 each). The infant car seats were best bc they recline and they have head positioners to help give more support for their head (we still had to put receiving blankets around them bc otherwise their heads would tilt to odd positions so the nurses in nicu rec. that). Also particularly with twins my rule was and still is never wake a sleeping baby- when ever they were sleeping i wouldnt worry abt them waking up bc i would have to transfer them to a stroller from the car seat bc the whole thing comes off. Also as other ppl have said you can use the car seat as a place to let the babies sit/recline inside (we used it at friends or relatives houses bc they wouldnt have a bouncy seat or other baby gear) and also at home (particularly if i needed to give them both bottles at the same time). My twins were long so they grew out of their infant seats prob around 9 months old and i was very upset bc my children always fell asleep in the car in their car seats (britax- which we love) and switching them then to the double stroller (baby jogger) usu woke them up. My 7 month old still uses her snap-n-go and infant car seat and loves it... i havent switched her to the mcclaren stroller bc she likes facing whoever is pushing her and talking and playing with them (she is very social). the infant car seats arent so big but when they switch to older car seats it will be bigger/tighter. We used to have a honda accord I was always able to fit in between the car seats but I am thin (though we have friends who fit 3 car seats in the back so it could be how u position them). Good luck!

Hi - not a mom of twins, but DEFINITELY buy the infant car seats rather than the convertible ones. Babies sleep ALOT, especially when then get into a car, and you don't want to be waking them up to get them into a stroller every time you want to get out of the car. Plus, it's great to be able to just keep them in the infant car seat when you go inside too - they can nap in there, or just hang out in there. You'll need it for restaurants too, because most will not be able to accomodate a stroller in the aisle of the restaurant, so you'll need to either place the car seat on the seat beside you or on a upside-down high chair.

And my own personal experience - my daughter would not sleep at all (even at night, fully swaddled) if she was not in her car seat for the 1st month of her life - something about being really snug, like the womb. Her pediatrician said that was quite common.

We have the Graco Snugride, which we really liked, but I know nothing about it's bulkiness compared to others, since that was not a concern for us.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!! Hope everything goes well.

I am losing my knowledge base a little in the baby gear area, but still (and btw I a have a singlet but my cousin had 1 year old twins) -- for a low cost carseat we purchased a Graco model (don't recall the name but it is a 3-in-1 baby, convertible, and booster seat, and it's black and silver, came out in 2008, strangely it has a cup holder, and first I thought it was silly but I find it's actually very useful) for our second car and it works great. It's comfortable and incredibly sturdy. As for the baby seat vs. convertible seat battle, I can tell you that I opted for 2 separate seats, as did my cousin. A friend of mine opted for the convertible and did not like it at all; it was too difficult to pull the baby out of the seat and transfer to a stroller all the time (or carry in arms). She eventually borrowed a seat and base from a friend and then returned it when baby was about 7 months old. So, with that in mind, do you have a friend you can borrow items from? If not, try your local consignment shops. Of course, remember to borrow or buy used carseats with extreme caution (no damaged seats, no seats that have been in accidents before). Good luck.

J.,

I don't have twins, but I wished I had researched car seats a little more thoroughly before registering. I have to say that being able to lift the car seat and baby out all at once was convenient, however those seats only last about 15 months. I wish I had bought the car seat we are currently using from the start. Its a Britax and can be used for children from 5 to 65 pounds. I think the infant seats only go up to 25 pounds.

It really depends on how you plan on using the car and car seats, but I hope my 2 cents helped.

Congratulations on your new arrivals.
R.

I have 21 month old twin boys. They are now in convertible seats. However, I think you have to go the infant seat route first. With the infant seats you can just lift the whole seat out of the car (and not disturb sleeping babies, and make shopping easier). I do not think they will be big enough to go straight from infant seat to booster. When my boys outgrew the infant seats (i think around 1 year) we switched to convertible seats. We used the graco snugride infant seats along with the graco duoglider. I was happy with both. Now they are in britax marathon convertible seats, and I am also very happy with them. If you pick the right convertible seat, they can be in them for a very long time (up to 65 lbs).

Hey, J.,
My twins are now 3. I agree with all the other moms here who recommend infant seats and a Snap-n-Go. Babies fall asleep so easily in the car, and believe me, you will *not* want to wake them up to transition them to another carrier or stroller! We used the Baby Trend Flex-Loc seats, which are recommended by Comsumer Reports, and liked them. There was room in my Corolla for me to sit in between the car seats on the ride home from the hospital (when I was still pretty huge!), so I'm sure your 11-year-old stepdaughter would be fine.

I put together a list of other gear and baby registry suggestions for a friend who was having twins, and if you're interested, I can send it to you privately.

Good luck, and take it as easily as you can!
A.

Joanne:

I found having the infant seats easiest, especially if I was by myself and the weather was inclement.
Roe my 2 singletons, I never had the infant seats and loved the Eddie Bauer seats and of course the Britax.

Hope this helps, Good Luck!

I am with you. Go for the convertible. I find those
portable car seats a big pain in the tush. They are
heavy and clumsy. For years and years before these
were created, people took babies from their car seats
and put them in carriages or even, carried them.
Hope this help.s

Hi,
I do not want to imply anything, but please consider that there is always a chance that twin babies are born premature. Then they are smaller when you get them home from the hospital. The infant seats are then the much better option in this case than the convertible seats, as they adjust better to small babies.

Congratulations on your twins! Babies are such a blessing especially when it has taken awhile to become pregnant.

As far as the car seats go I would suggest you get the infant seats for a few reasons. First, they are very convenient. If you go to a restaurant,store or church etc and they are not able to sit up on their own yet it is nice to have something to take them in with. Also if they fall asleep in the car you can easily move them from one place to another without waking them (you will appreciate this).

Also, the convertible seats do not recline enough for my liking. I tried switching my neice to a convertible seat at 4 months and she was flopping over too much.

I have a 7 month old and he is still in the infant seat and will be until he meets the weight limit. I know it is an extra expense but you will get your money's worth.

When I was pg we researched and found that the Chicco car seats are rated very high for their safety. That is what we purchased along with the matching stroller and have been very happy with it.

Good luck with your babies!

I had both a convertible seat and infant seat for both my kids. The infant seat is truely the best in the beginning. Because they real are reclined the best for them. However, my kids both outgrow it well before 1 and they were facing backwards in their convertible seats. Next, you say that you will remove them from their seats and put them in a stroller. Believe me that will change quickly when they are constantly falling asleep in the car and you don't want to wake them. More times then I can count my kids fell asleep in their carrier and all I did was take it out and sit it on the livingroom floor while they napped. Get the carrier, you won't regret it.

I have to say that I could not have survived with my twins without the infant carseat carriers! It is so great to be able to have them in the house set to go and fastened into their seats. Then you can run each seat to your car one at a time if you are alone and each baby is safely contained. I also fully agree that it is the only way to remove a sleeping baby from a car to transfer into a stroller and preserve the sleep. Also there were many late nights in the first few months where one or both twins started the night in a bed and ended up being transferred to sleep the rest of the night in the carseat carrier because it is more of a reclined position. My babies actually stayed in their infant seats for awhile as they were both under 20 lbs at one year old. I seriously can't imagine functioning without those seats!

I would definitely advise you to get the infant car seats. When your babies are tiny, it makes life so much easier (for you and the babies) to be able to just lift the seat out. Infant seats are easy to hook onto grocery carts before your little ones can sit on their own. I have a just turned 2 year old and a 9 month old, and I definitely wouldn't have used anything but an infant seat for either of them when they were newborns. Convertible seats are good in theory (and fine when babies are older), but they honestly aren't very practical for new little ones. I, myself, wouldn't be comfortable using one until babies are at least steady sitting up (6 months or so). I didn't switch my children out of their infant seats until they outgrew them weight-wise. You don't have to carry them in the seat when they get older though! Good luck!