Twins having twins

[alimmerrick]

Hi, my name is allison. i am 23 and just found out i'm having fraternal twins. hopefully my husband is as excited as i am, so any help would be lovely. my mama pointed out that no one knows better on raising twins then twins, but the fact is that, well its been under 72 hours since i found out i still cant get my head around it and could use some help with learning how to save an budget.
thanks
Allison

[darplocho]

Hi, Allison. Congrats on your twins! My husband and I have fraternal twins boys, 13 months old. I'm not a twin myself (though I have twins on both sides of the family), but my husband has a twin sister. When we found out we were having twins he was so excited...he'd been hoping for it. Haha. He says he feels like he has a little advantage being a twin in that he can understand how ours might interact with each other especially when they're older. As to how you can save some money (and a little time), here a few things we did that helped us.

-First off, if you're having a baby shower ask for things like diapers in various sizes. You'll need them for years and years to come! Or Babies R Us/Toys R Us gift cards are great, also! They have everything there. I also found the onesies all the way up to 18 months were wonderful to have around. I didn't shop for clothes for the boys until they were almost a year old. Other STUFF was nice but not necessary...like wipe warmers (never used them), bottle warmer (never used it), sterilizer (the dishwasher is fine), etc.

-If you're bottle-feeding (I pumped my milk for about 3 months before switching to formula), see if your babies mind it being room-temperature or right out of the fridge. Our babies were a few weeks preemie, and from the beginning in the NICU the nurses gave them their milk chilled or at room-temp, and they took to it just fine and eventually even preferred it that way. It saved a lot of time once we gave up trying to warm the bottles.

-Buy in bulk! And go with the generic brand when possible! Once our babies were able to tolerate normal baby formula, we got the giant cans of store brand formula at the price club (Sam's or Costco). Even buying the store brand at the regular grocery store can save HUNDREDS of dollars a month with twins! We bought bulk diapers, too, usually from Toys R Us or Diapers.com. Both had comparable prices. We actually always bought (and still buy) Pampers because the generic one always leaked when we tried them, but lots of babies do well on generics diapers so I'd definitely give them a try. We also still buy the giant box of store brand wipes at the price club.

Those are the main ways we saved money, and lots of it. I hope it's helpful. Good luck.

[momma2twins]

Congrats on twins!! I have 2 1/2 yr old b/g twins. I was in total shock for a long time when I found out (at 22 weeks) there were 2 babies. Neither my husband nor I have twins in our family. We can't imagine life w/ just one baby. It was a lot of work, heck it still is and will be for the next 16years or so:) But it is SO much fun. I agree about the diapers, get them and stock up!!! I had a few thousand diapers in all different sizes before the babies showed up, (they came early at 29 weeks). I was unable to buy the generic diapers too, my son leaked a lot, not so much w/ my daughter. As far as formula, I was able to get a lot of FREE formula from Enfamil. Grab one of those freebie books and there are a lot of things you can get free for the twins. Ask your pediatrician's office to for formula, they have a stock room full. Anyway, congrats!

[craftyashley]

We shouldn't have been as shocked as we were when we found out it was twins. Identical twin girls. My father is a fraternal twin, but I guess it just runs in some families. All that was going through my mind was buying two of everything!
Here's my advice for a budget:
Everytime you are at the grocery store or target, pick up a medium sized pack of diapers and one pack of wipes. By the time the babies come, you will at least be set on diapers and wipes. Doing it little by little helps.
Use craigslist as much as possible. We got 4 pack n' plays for our house and grandma's house. Each were only 20-50 bucks. We got a double stroller and two carseats (almost unused) for $75 ), and two swings. Buying everything new and double of it is really expensive. Just realize everything doesn't have to match. We had two different swings, but it was nice because it gave the kids variety.
Warehouse stores will be your friend. Especially for formula. Sam's Club has a generic Infamil formula that was half the price. But watch out on the diapers. Sometimes Target has great sales. Target also has generic Desitin for $2. It works just as well.

[bvas81]

Congrats~! It's an amazing feeling! I cried when I found out, I was scared and shocked! lol! But very much happy. They are now 3 years old!
If you register at Babies R Us you get tons of coupons! The clothes isn't crazy expensive either. When I found out I was having twins I went to TJ Maxx and Burlingtons Coat Factory and put some things on lay away. Don't forget to buy a security gate.... they are tricky kids! lol!
One thing that I did buy was a double jogger! The best! I got it at babies r us.. and it was about 180! I know it's a lot but that was the cheapest one i found!

[alimmerrick]

Thanks for all the advice, we found out that they are boys and going to be huge! basicly every thing that you guys have stated i've got some one bugging me about in my family, so hopefully it will be covered. thanks.
Allison