When it comes to navigating the first year of being a twin parent, having the right gear can make all the difference. It's all about balancing efficiency with comfort, both for the little ones and for sleep-deprived parents. Trust me, my partner and I spent so much time researching and trying out different baby gear out of desperation for saving time or making things easier. We joke that there’s no better way to battle test and A/B test baby gear than with twins.
Here’s what we found to be some of the most helpful baby gear for twins. Whether it's feeding, sleeping, or getting out of the house, this gear will significantly reduce the stress of caring for your twins and save you valuable time, making it more manageable and less time-consuming.
The Twin Z Pillow is a versatile piece of gear that supports multiple aspects of twin care. This six-sided pillow can help with tandem breastfeeding, double bottle feeding, and even propping twins up for tummy time. When it comes to breastfeeding, its unique design provides back support for the parent, which is crucial during those longer feeding sessions. You can also use it for lounging or as a support pillow as the twins grow. The cover is removable and washable, so it’s easy to clean if you have the inevitable spit up.
The Table for Two was a lifesaver for feeding, starting when the twins were 4 months and wanted to sit up more. The Table for Two is essentially a double feeding station, designed to seat twins side by side in a safe and comfortable manner. The covers are washable and you can wipe the Table for Two down easily. It's a game-changer because it allows one person to feed both babies at the same time. It’s somewhat heavy and there’s straps to buckle the babies in, so it’s a safe place to put the babies when they’re feeding, especially as they roll and get wrigglier (or if you need to run to the bathroom). The Table for Two is large and does take up a decent amount of space and can be very expensive, but for me it was worth every single penny.
Keep an eye on these with your local twin group’s classified postings or Facebook Marketplace. Generally they’re in high demand, but you can save a lot by getting it used. If you’re located in the US, search for your local parents of multiples club on the Multiples of America site.
A double stroller helps you get out and about with twins. Whether you opt for a tandem or side-by-side model, the key is finding one that fits your lifestyle— be it for jogging, checking out a museum, or simply strolling through the neighborhood. Look for features like easy maneuverability, compact folding for storage and transport, and comfortable seating for the twins. Double strollers for twins can be heavy, so if you’re dealing with stairs, make sure you’re taking a close look at weight and compactness.
We actually went with two strollers for two different use cases. We have the Bumbleride Indie Twin for everyday use. We love it because it’s durable, has inflated tires which are great for comfort on all surfaces, easy to push, and maneuverable. We have the Zoe Twin for travel. We love it because it’s so light (23 lbs) and easy to push. It folds down decently compactly and has decent storage. What we don’t love about it is that it can’t handle bumpy roads well, it doesn’t lay as flat as our Bumbleride, and the footrest isn’t as long as our day-to-day stroller.
Learn more about the double strollers that twin parents recommend in our guide.
A split screen monitor is essential for keeping an eye on twins in their cribs, especially in the newborn days when they want more comfort and need more attention. Having a split screen feature makes it easy to monitor both babies simultaneously on a single screen, reducing the need for multiple devices and ensuring peace of mind for parents. If your babies are in the same room, having split screens make it easy to quickly ascertain which of your twins need attention so you can grab them quickly before they wake the other one up. Features such as night vision, temperature sensors, and two-way audio add to the functionality.
The Nanit Pro Smart Baby Monitor is helpful for parents who want to be able to monitor their babies on their cell phones. It’s wifi-enabled, so you can access the video feed from the cell phone app anywhere you have internet service (essentially unlimited range, which was comforting when I was traveling for work). It has a split screen feature, so you’re able to see both babies at once, and set it up so the background sound is on in the background. There’s a temperature sensor, additional breathing monitor features, and stellar night vision features. We got the Nanit wall mount instead of the Nanit floor mount, and we're super happy we did that because our crazy toddlers would definitely try to climb and knock over the floor mount if we had one.
When traveling we use the Nanit multi-stand and sometimes if there’s not a good place to set the stand, we connect the stand to a camera flex goosehead stand that can clip onto the travel crib. The Nanit multi-stand has the same mounting screw insert as any standard camera tripod mount, so almost any inexpensive goosehead camera clip mount (and usually you can find these for <$15 on Amazon) will work. However, we sometimes have issues connecting it to hotel wifi service and couldn’t use it when we had a wifi and power outage, which was very frustrating. It’s also annoying to re-set up the wifi with the Nanit when traveling.
The Infant Optics DXR-8 PRO Video Baby Monitor (you’ll need a second Infant Optics camera for your twins) is another great option for a baby monitor. It has its own dedicated monitor that you can use the split-screen view to monitor each twin’s crib simultaneously. Its camera offers pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities, so you can adjust the view remotely for the best possible view without needing to enter the room. Unlike the Nanit, the Infant Optics DXR-8 PRO Video Baby Monitor operates on a secure, local connection instead of WiFi, which reduces the risk of hacking or issues when your wifi is out. We use the Infant Optics more often when traveling, especially in hotels, since it’s pretty plug and play since it doesn’t require wifi setup.
The Infant Optics Baby Monitor has around a 1000 foot range. It has a rechargeable battery in the parent unit, allowing for portable use around the house without needing to be constantly plugged in. However, for continuous operation it should be plugged into an electrical outlet. This flexibility ensures parents can keep the monitor close by, whether they're on the move at home or want to ensure it stays powered throughout the night.
For families with twins, the Baby Brezza Formula Pro was legitimately a godsend. If you’re formula feeding (or supplementing with formula), it takes the hassle out of preparing formula bottles, especially when you’re dealing with hungry, crying babies. It's essentially a Keurig for formula. You fill one reservoir with formula and the other with water, and program it for your brand of formula. It automatically mixes, heats, and dispenses formula at the perfect temperature and consistency, saving precious time during feedings. This is particularly helpful during night feedings or when juggling the needs of two hungry babies. The convenience of having formula bottles ready at the push of a button will save your sanity.
Pro tip: You need to clean the funnel every 4 bottles made, so buy 1-2 extra Baby Brezza Formula Pro funnels to have on hand. This way you don’t have to stress out when trying to frantically clean a funnel so you can make bottles.
Dr. Brown’s formula mixing pitchers are another helpful solution for making it easier to make formula bottles in bulk for twins quickly. You put the formula and water in, and then press down multiple times to mix the bottles, which creates less gas than shaking formula bottles. You can then pour from the pitcher directly into the bottles and the formula rarely ever clumped. When our twins were a little older and started taking to room temperature or cold formula bottles, this made it so much easier to make big batches of formula bottles for the day for daycare. With twins, we had two pitchers because each pitcher made only 32 oz of formula and we wanted to make sure we always had a clean and dry one on hand.
When it comes to feeding twins, having an ample supply of baby bottles is a real game-changer. This strategy allows you to batch clean bottles once a day and throw the bottles into a sterilizer. The Dr. Brown's Natural Flow Baby Bottles were our go-to because of their anti-colic insert and straw, which help reduce gas and colic symptoms. You’ll start out with the smaller 4 oz bottles and transition to the 8 oz ones as your babies grow. Buy plenty and if you get the glass ones, a few will inevitably break, so just buy a few more than you think you need.
Real talk — the inserts and straws were so so annoying to clean. When the babies were 4 months old (when we didn’t have to worry about perfectly sterilizing everything) , we started washing the bottles, inserts, nipples and straws in the dishwasher on sterilize mode, saving us so much time washing bottles by hand. We tried SO MANY dishwasher baskets to find the one that was easiest to use, could fit the most baby bottle parts, and actually gets everything clean. We ended up getting 2-3 of the Oxo brand baby bottle dishwasher baskets because they’re so much easier to load than all the other ones (including the Dr. Brown one, which fits barely anything) and we needed that many for all the bottles the babies drank.
A few things to note:
The convenience of a sterilizer and bottle dryer combo cannot be overstated. It streamlines the process of preparing bottles for your twins, eliminating the waiting time for bottles to dry after sterilizing. This two-in-one solution not only saves time but also ensures that your bottles are ready to use whenever your twins need them, making it an invaluable addition to your kitchen.
We used the Phiips Avent bottle sterilizer and dryer at home and used the smaller Philips Avent microwave bottle sterilizer when we traveled because the 2 in 1 was too big to bring. I remember they worked just about fine — nothing we didn’t like, nothing we thought was amazing.
Tips about using a sterilizer:
In the last year, Brezza released the Brezza Baby Bottle Washer Pro, which is a bottle washer, sterilizer, and dryer in one, which seems absolutely amazing. I wished it had existed when my twins were using bottles. It’s pretty pricey at almost $300, but in those days of endless bottle washing we might have sprung for it out of desperation. It looks to only fit four bottles though, so I don’t know if we could’ve justified the price.
With twins, the amount of spit-up you'll encounter can be surprising. There’s a lot of fancy, expensive burp cloths out there (but seriously, why?), but I think they’re a waste of money as they’re going to be covered in spit up anyway and you’ll have SO MANY to wash. We used Gerber cloth diapers, which are super absorbent, less costly, and perfectly serve the purpose without the need for fancy designs. Having a generous supply on hand means you're always prepared for spit-ups, reducing the frequency of laundry days. They last forever, and a few years later we’re still using them to clean up spills.
Finding the right bibs can be a trial and error process because for some reason a lot of bibs on the market just get soaked through, which can cause gunk and rashes on your babies’ chest. After a lot of wasted money and trial and error, I found the Diaper Squad Bibs, which I love. They’re durable, super absorbent, and rarely get soaked through, and look like cute bandanas. Especially as your twins start teething around 5 months, you'll find the need for bibs skyrockets. Investing in around 20 bibs per child ensures you're well-prepared for the drool onslaught, minimizing the need for constant laundry and keeping your babies comfortable and dry. They seriously have lasted so much longer than anything else that’s out there.
“Maybe you could be. A purple monkey in a bubblegum tree….” is a song that used to haunt my dreams (kidding, kinda). The Fisher-Price Baby Playmat Deluxe Kick & Play Piano Gym was so great for keeping my babies occupied so I could have a break. It’s a playmat with piano keys they can kick, and it plays music and flashes light with each kick. It keeps babies engaged and aids in the development of motor skills and coordination as babies reach, kick, and play. Our twins loved this playmat, and it gave them a safe place to lie down (with parents watching) while we took a break from holding them. We bought two of them and had our babies lay next to each other in them. We also had them practice tummy time on the mat. The mat is a little bit thin, so we layered a soft blanket or mat under it for more comfort.
Baby bouncers offer safe and comfortable space for infants to relax, play, and observe their surroundings. They provide gentle bouncing movements that can soothe and entertain babies, and can aid in developing a baby's motor skills and balance as they learn to kick and move in response to the bouncer's motion. Bouncers were great for keeping one baby strapped in and contained safely (in reach) when I had to solo bathe the babies.
We used the BabyBjörn Baby Bouncer and the far less expensive Fisher Price bouncer, because we had the BabyBjorn bouncers at home and the Fisher Price bouncers at the grandparents. Both of them were not battery powered, although there are battery powered ones on the market. The BabyBjorn bouncer is great in that it’s washable and folds down easily for travel, but our babies actually preferred the Fisher Price one because of the colorfulness. The BabyBjorn has a higher weight limit and apparently toddlers can use it (although our toddlers never preferred it). If I’d do it again, I’d probably opt for the less expensive version since we didn’t really travel that much or want to bring it in our already-packed car.
The Tinukim Hands-Free Baby Bottle was super helpful for solo night-feeds once the babies were older than 3 months. These hands-free bottles combined with the Twin-Z pillow (and later on the Table for Two) allowed me to feed one twin without interruption while I burped the other twin, or feed both while I pumped. My twins had no patience as babies — they would cry nonstop if I stopped holding the bottles to burp one of them. This also helped me rest my injured carpal-tunnel wrists a little bit more. I did eventually get Milky Mate bottle props (but it looks like the company no longer exists).
Although the hands-free bottles offered a lot of convenience, keep in mind two caveats: (1) they can definitely leak if they’re not assembled correctly and (2) they’re annoying to clean, so we’d only use them for solo night feeds. I’d always make sure that I had some extra burp clothes to soak up leaks. Our babies preferred the Dr. Brown’s nipples and I found that I could switch in the Dr. Brown’s nipples and it still worked.
While I found these to be very helpful for my twins, results may vary. Some twin parents love them, some twin parents hate them. I wouldn’t buy multiple sets until you’ve tried one set with your babies to see if they take to them.
The My Brest Friend Twin Nursing Pillow is support pillow aid for mothers nursing twins. This pillow ensures that both babies are positioned at the ideal height and alignment for breastfeeding, promoting a comfortable and effective latch.The wraparound design secures the pillow to the mother and offers her back and arm support, which is essential for maintaining proper posture during feeding sessions. The cover is machine washable and makes it a lot easier to breastfeed twins.
I bought this and never used it, because my twins never took to breastfeeding (essentially I had a C-section and my milk didn’t come in for a couple weeks despite LOTS of pumping, but that’s a story for another time). I ended up giving it away to another twin mom, and I’ve heard twin moms rave about how easy it makes breastfeeding. It might be worth it to wait to see if you’re able to breastfeed before purchasing one. You also may not need it if you have the Twin-Z pillow, since that can also help with dual breastfeeding twins.
The Snoo Smart Sleeper Bassinet is a bassinet with built in rocking and a sound sensor that responds to a baby's cries with white noise and motion to soothe and comfort them. It was a game-changer for us since it gave us anywhere from 15 minutes to an extra hour for sleep. It was super helpful for solo night shifts since it's pretty much impossible to rock two babies to sleep and every minute of sleep counted. However, it's expensive and results may vary for your twins. Learn more about the pros and cons of the Snoo smart bassinet for twins and tips on buying vs. renting the Snoo in this post.
