There are zillions of baby registries on the web. Why would you want to read this one? Because 99.9% of the baby registries you’ve looked at are irrelevant for more than one baby at once! This was so frustrating for me when I was trying to prepare for my trio. Because of this, I’ve hit the pavement hard to get you a solid list! (and when I say “hit the pavement”….I really mean that I asked other triplet moms on the internet).
Before I get to the list, here are some things to consider:
- When should I have a baby shower? I say it a lot, I know, but things can change so quickly in a multiples’ pregnancy. You may plan the perfect shower and have all of your family and friends joining you. Your party plans are Pinterest-worthy and everything you dreamed. Then, without notice, you could be admitted to the hospital a suddenly OFF the guest list. Talk with your doctor about your expectations but try to have it as early as possible. A large majority of the moms I spoke with had their shower from 24-26 weeks gestation. The next popular time-frame was 27-30 weeks and then 20 weeks gestation. Most of the moms that had the shower at 24 weeks and after planned it that way to be sure that all the babies were “viable” and 24 weeks is that magical number. Also, many moms had their shower AFTER the babies were born…so don’t throw out that idea either.
- Do I even need a shower? This is a legitimate question. For me, I lived across the country from most of my family and I don’t have any family near me. Also, the unpredictability of the pregnancy made me nervous about having any type of scheduled event. BUT, when you are expecting multiples and you are a first-time mom, help with getting needed items is important.
- My personal solution: an online/virtual baby shower. It was so easy and convenient! My sister set up a Facebook event and would post sonograms and funny/interesting things for about a week before the “event” started. Once it started, she posted the registry link.
- I chose an Amazon registry because, let’s face it, Amazon has EVERYTHING and is incredibly easy for people to use. Amazon allows you to add ANY items from another site so you have it all on one registry, 90-day returns on most items, free shipping on orders over $25, THEN the items that you did not receive on your registry are 10% (15% for Prime members) off! Whichever place you decide to register, make sure you check their return policies and see if they offer multiples discounts….or discounts at all.
Okay, let’s get to the GOOD stuff! Start your Amazon registry, come back to this post, and add stuff as you read! After this, you will be WELL prepared.
- Cash/Gift Cards: Let’s face it, cash NEVER goes out of style. Lots of MoMs use their gift cards to get what is left on their registry or use the money to budget a house cleaning service! You deserve it!
- Diapers and wipes: many moms have a diapers and wipes ONLY shower and/or registry and have diapered their triples for over a YEAR! Smart! Also, if you are an Amazon Prime member, get diapers in bulk through Subscribe-and-Save (free) and you’ll get 20% off diapers delivered to your door! You can even select the amount of diapers and how often to send them and they will automatically be ordered and shipped! I did once a month. It was so nice not to have to remember to buy diapers AND have to leave the house to get them!
- Diaper Disposal: Oh dear Lord…the amount of stink. I tried several items and ultimately went back to my original Playtex Diaper Genie. I found that it was the best at containing the stink and fitting the most diapers. Don’t forget to add the refills onto your Subscribe-and-Save Amazon list!
- Bottles: The rule-of-thumb for multiples is that you will need about 6-8 bottles per baby. *Tip- I recommended getting only a couple different bottles at first to see what they like. I went nuts on my registry with a certain brand of bottle and my babies hated them (sigh).
- Bottle Sterilizer: who has time to BOIL bottle parts all day?
- Bottle Brush
- Bottle Props: Sure, it is so nice to be able to hold your baby while you feed him/her. Undortunately, that bonding moment often ends abruptly or is miserable because, more often than not, you will have at least one other baby that is also hungry! Bottle props are typically a no-no and you will get mom-shamed like no other when you utter the words “bottle prop”. Sorry, but, for multiples they are essential! It’s not like you are propping a bottle and then going to take a nap. You are just propping and watching so all of your babies don’t have to wait and can eat at once. It also allows you to stop and burp one at a time as needed. Once your baby can turn his/her head easily, that is the time to try it out. These were my favorite. I fed my babies in bouncers while propped.
- Rock-n-plays: these are AMAZING for babies with reflux; a common issued for premature babies.
- Bouncers: This way, you can coo one baby while you bounce another (or two)! Mine often slept in them!
- Boppys
- Sound machine. Another must have that most triplet mamas agree on. Look into machines that plug-in and play continuously (not stop with a timer). It helps the babes sleep day and night and not wake each other.
- Burp Clothes: and lots of them!
- Bibs: I loves these Waterproof Silicone Bibs that you just rinse off after they eat. Less laundry and simple! Win!
- High Chairs: I got three high chairs from IKEA that I loved..mainly because they weren’t bulky and they were only $20 each! Some MoMs get a single table that seats the babies together. I originally wanted this (because HOW CUTE!?), but I was VERY happy to have the options of separating them when they started to grab each other’s diner and fight. These Fisher-Price SpaceSaver High Chairs are VERY popular with triplet moms as well.
- Seats/swings (swing, bouncer, Bumbo, sit-me-ups, jumper): I cannot stress this enough: get an assortment. I made the mistake of getting three of the most expensive swings and NONE of my babies like them. Get one of something and try it out. If they all like it, THEN get more.
- Baby Travel Gear (car seats, strollers, wraps, carriers): This gets complicated…. which is why it deserves posts of their own! (See the stroller guide here and the car seat guide here and configurations of “stuff” needed for getting out-and-about here.)
- Bath Soap/Shampoo: Try to get some samples of things at first. You don’t know how your baby’s precious skin is going to react to certain things….so try out a few until you find something you, and your babies, like! My babies get pretty bad eczema so I finally settled on Honest Co’s products in Dreamy Lavender found here.
- Wash cloths
- Hooded Towels
- Bath Seats: depending on how you plan to bathe your babies (see my post on navigating that madness here) make sure to get seats that will work for you. I bathed one at a time so I used this Skip Hop Moby Baby Bath Tub that adjusted as they got bigger. *TIP: save your back and use the kitchen sink! Another really popular item for bathing one at a time or all together is the Keter Bath Seat found here. I never did get them but I sure with I did!
- Swaddles and/or sleep sacks: At least 3 per baby. This way one could be in the wash, one could be on the baby, and just incase that one gets soiled, you have a clean one on-hand. It’s never a bad idea to have more swaddle blankets on hand. They come in handy a lot!
- Clothing: Somebody told me “just get a BUNCH of plain, white onesies”. I stocked up on them. WRONG! Anything that I had to get over a baby’s head and squeeze arms through was a major pain in the butt. The best clothing options for me ended up being zip-up sleepers. So easy! Try to avoid buttons if possible. Sure, you want to get them ALLLLL the adorable clothes that are out there and coordinate them. It is adorable. But in the real world, you probably won’t be dressing them up at all for a while. Get a couple of outfits for pictures, meeting family, etc., but you are going to be changing them a lot throughout the day. *Preemie clothes: don’t go overboard on these. In fact, I wouldn’t get ANY until your baby starts to wear clothes in the NICU. They provide some clothing once this happens but I like to bring them a bit of their OWN stuff. Also, they may be ready for newborn size clothing by then as well. Make sure you don’t bring them that keepsake cap that you wore when you were a baby….it may get lost. Only bring items that you don’t care to loose…and label EVERYTHING.
- Tracking: When you have more than one baby, things can get confusing. You are VERY sleep deprived. You are putting toothpaste in the freezer and coffee beans in the dog bowl….how are you supposed to remember how long its been since your babies have each eaten? Do yourself a huge favor and have a way to track all of it. The BabyConnect app is great but I liked a physical book to view (a book is also great for the pediatrician. They can see each baby’s day side-by-side and its easy for you to add up the ounces to make sure they are eating enough each day. Also, my experience shows that husbands/partners are more likely to write things down in a book instead of remembering to use an app). The Triple Time book was my favorite (also comes in Double Time for twins). It has a column for each baby that includes bottles, times, amounts, meds, diapers, and even naps. Find it here.
- Diaper Bag: my FAVE is this backpack! It fits everything I need. I tried the traditional bag but anything that’s not a backpack slides off all the time….and smack babies in the head. FYI.
- Pacifiers: The NICU will usually give you some when you take the babies home, but I could never get my babies to keep them in their mouthes! I called it “Paci-Pong”: when you’re constantly getting up and repositioning a paci. A TON of babies really love Wubbanubs which means you’ll love them too!
- Formula: I only put this on here to tell you to SKIP getting formula. If you are formula feeding, the NICU will most likely put them on formula and it will be important to continue that formula at home. You may have one or more with an allergy or sensitivity. *TIP: ask your pediatrician for samples of the formula they are eating! They will give you small cans that go a long way! *TIP #2: Speaking of “go a long way”, try not to get the pre-made formula. They are much more expensive, expire sooner, and just don’t go the distance that powder formulas do.
- Baby Brezza: This is a Formula Dispenser I would pay a million dollars to have this item. It provides instant, perfect temperature bottles with the push of a button. If you plan on formula feeding, this is a MUST.
- Formula Mixer: LOTS of MoMs use this Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher. They mix the formula and pre-make the bottles for the next day! Mix, pour, fridge!
- Bottle Warmer: If the Brezza isn’t a fit for you, make sure to get at least one bottle warmer. We all know that microwaving bottles is a big no-no (risk of dangerous hot spots) so a bottle warmer is a reliable way to warm them. *TIP: Crock-pots on low also work GREAT for multiple bottles!
- Bottle Labels: Soon, you’ll have a war/zone of bottles around the house. Who’s is who’s? Save yourself the guessing and get some Personalized Bottle Bands like these. These are also helpful in remembering how much each baby drank. You’re going to be frazzled around feeding time. You are making sure they are all eating, burping, etc. and it is way too easy to put the bottle down and forget about it. Once the baby is done being burped and settled, you can go back and look at each bottle to document how much each baby ate. These are really helpful.
- Changing Table: Some MoMs don’t have one. They use ottomans, the floor, …anywhere. Others love having one per floor of their house. Think about your space and where you expect to be the most.
- Diaper Caddy: Whether you have a changing table or not, having a Diaper Caddy will be a huge helper to have anything you need handy for different parts of the house or for travel.
- Snot Suckers: Yes, it’s gross, but when you have screaming, stuffy babies, you need a way to rid the snot! Try a bulb syringe (which I find gross) or my favorite NoseFrida here. It sounds gross and looks worse (do it on an airplane in front of tons of strangers like I did!) And, no, you’re not going to get snot in your mouth. I promise.
- Thermometer
- Infant Meds: Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Gripe Water/Gas Drops (my fave here), and diaper cream.
- First Aid Kit: with nail trimmers, etc.
- Humidifier
- Cribs: You have tons of options here. Once you figure out where they will be sleeping, get your measuring tape and map it out. I chose to go with the space-saving option of mini-cribs. My babes are almost two and STILL sleep in these. Don’t forget a mattress and sheets! I got two sets of sheets for each baby. Mini-crib mattress can be found here, mattress pads here, and sheets here.
- Monitors
- Playpens/playards: Sure, you can try out the Pack-n-Plays. Lots of MoMs do. I found them to be heavy, bulky, and too small for my triplets after a short while. Also, I really did not want to lug around more than one. I opted for the Summer Infant Playard which is really lightweight and portable. This particular one comes with a canopy that is great for shade. This one is a 6-panel but a lot of other moms went with the bigger 8-panel Regalo Playard. Originally, I went with the smaller because of the canopy but now Regalo just released their play yard as a Deluxe version…meaning it now has a canopy. Score!
- Baby Gates: for these, try to plan out where you will have your babies most of the day. Remember: once they become mobile it is extremely hard to keep track of more than one baby….safely. Many MoMs choose to gate off an area for a “Baby Jail” (see how to create a Baby Jail like mine here), gate off a room, or just let them have free-range and use gates to block off dangerous areas as needed. Find gates that work best for the space you will be using.
- Play Mats: Hard floors are all the craze now and newer houses have very little carpet. This poses a problem for our little ones a they tumble and fall. Measure out your space and try to find mats to fit. Lots of moms have the puzzle-piece mats because they are customizable. I found that they didn’t last very long and were impossible to clean. I finally went with the popular Baby Care Play Mat and, let me tell you, are worth every penny!
- Blankets
- Soft Books and Toys
- Teething Rings/Teething Bibs
- Nursing Pillow: the Twin Z Pillow is amazing for breast feeding two at once!
- Hands-free Pumping Bra
- Pump and Pump Parts: Your NICU should provide these things while your babies are there. Make sure you keep what they give you and often ask for more parts. Stash them away so you won’t have to buy more when they go home. Your insurance should cover your pump BUT they often don’t have or cover hospital-grade pumps (which you will NEED with multiples). I rented one from Babies R’ Us when they were still open (tear). Ask your hospital lactation consultant where you would be able to rent a pump.
- Breast Milk Freezing Supplies
These items will be a HUGE start for you! Just remember: every baby is different. What works for one of your babies, may not work for another. Keep this in mind before you go spending your life savings on the newest and “best” stuff. Also, consignment shops will be your best friend! Happy Registering!
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