Twin Parent Hacks: Tips to Make Life with Twins Easier
We parents of multiples are pretty amazing, right??! I mean, every day we manage to keep our kids alive (#goals) and are adept at accomplishing most of our daily tasks with one hand (multitasking, anyone?). But raising multiples can also be seriously overwhelming.
I get it. I really do. And so do all of you. When you’re a PoM (Parent of Multiples), you need all the help you can get. And who better to learn from than each other? So we asked you, our awesome readers, for your most clever secret weapons and tricks — the hacks that make your lives with multiples less stressful (see full list here) and more efficient.
Are you with us on FB? Follow our Lucie’s List Multiples Page.
The Greatest Twin Parent Hacks:
Kathleen Belknap on Feeding:
“I used to kill three birds with one stone by pumping while giving them bottles at the same time in their Baby Bjorn bouncers. Even my 4-year-old daughter could feed help them this way.”
Ashley Welch Janis on Staying One Step Ahead:
“Preparation. Preparation. Preparation. In the morning, I set out bath towels next to the tub and jammies/lotion/diapers in my daughter’s room. I’ll set out plates/dry foods (like apple sauce pouches or crackers) for lunch. At nap time, I’ll prepare dinner (crock-pot, bake the casserole, etc). At night time, I set out everyone’s clothes for the next day. After the kids are in bed, I’ll set out everything for the next morning’s breakfast: bowls, spoons, cups, cereal box, etc. (including my coffee cup in the coffee maker!). Then I’ll make lunches and set out water bottles and my blender/protein powder for my morning smoothie.
“I’ll also re-pack my bag with snacks, diapers, etc. and my clothes/toiletries for getting ready at the gym. I’ve found being prepared and just being able to pick up whatever I need at the exact moment I need it with little fuss makes life so much easier!! 2-year-old twins are not the best at patience…so I *try* to set myself up for success! I also enlist my almost 5-year-old to help out with whatever he can — teamwork makes the dream work!”
Kacey Schneider on a Stroller Hack:
Jane Fox on Sleep Training:
“Sleep train as soon as possible and be consistent whenever there’s a regression. We did sleep training at 4 months. At 27 months, they’re still awesome sleepers and we have our freedom in the evening. We applied the same logic to our bedtime routine…always two songs, two books, lights out.”
Lizzie Frein on Bathing:
Samantha Michalski Planas on Formula:
Courtney Allen on a Play Corral, like this one from Evenflo, or this one from Skip Hop:
“This was also one of my best ideas, and now that they are toddlers, we have taken the panels of the gate apart to block other things throughout the house!”
Andrea Lai on Labels:
“If they each have the same toy or blankie etc., put little labels on them with a picture (I used Oliver’s Labels). They learn very young to remember which is theirs and there is a lot less fighting!”
Shea Smith on Duplicates:
“I swore when I was pregnant that we’d just have ONE of everything and they’d ‘have to learn to share.’ HA! It’s much easier to just get TWO and have peace.
Wendy Weiss Melton on Improvising:
“This worked great when we were on vacation and they could not quite sit up on their own. It also keeps their toys close by.”
Andrea Kane on Tooth Brushing:
“Brush their teeth in their high chairs after breakfast and dinner before they’re 2 (and need to spit). Sooo much easier than trying to hold them and do the teeth!”
Maria Gillespie on Warming Bottles:
“For efficient bottle warming: keep a pot of water simmering on low on the stove 24/7, and just stick the two bottles in the pot for a couple minutes. It’s always ready and has no cool down period!”
Thank you so much, parents, for your fantastic tips.
Hopefully they will serve many of you well (myself included!). If you have any other hacks, please share them in the comments. We’d all love to hear!
Take care!
~ Marissa
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Best article on twins baby. You have done a great work to show how to manage twins easier. Love your article👶🍼
I’m going ot be a PoM (love the name!) soon and my biggest fear is the sleep training. I used HWL sleep training (from http://www.parental-love.com) with the first-born and it went just great! 3-4 nights and we forgot the whole thing and she’s a sleeping angel now. But how do I manage two kids falling asleep separately? I’ve read that the method works for twins but I just cannot imagine…
Check out the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. This helped me tremendously!
My twins just turned three. I read a lot before I had them and while trying to solve problems. I thought that having two of everything was a great solution until I had them. With my twins no matter how many of the same thing I had they still both wanted the same one. Having two just cluttered up our NYC apartment and frustrated me. So, before telling you whole family to get two of everything, test it out on your twins. More stuff does not equal a peaceful environment.
Yes! This is so true! Thank you for your comment.