5 Items I invested in as a mom of newborn twins that were TOTALLY worth every penny

If I had a dime for every time some one told me twins were 'buy one, get one,' our college fund would be set! It is no surprise that twins are expensive - especially since you need two of most items (or at least 1.5x). We do our best to be frugal when it comes to items - like diapers, free toys from our local Mom group, and lots of hand-me-down clothing, but there were 5 things that I look back on that were worth every single penny...and I am sharing those with you:

The Snoo - The Snoo is said to be the safest (and smartest) bassinet ever made. They claim to add 1-2+ hours of sleep per night for babies…and their tired parents! Since our girls only slept in the Snoo for the first 5.5 months, I can't say whether this was actually true, but I can tell you they started sleeping 6+ hour stretches in the first two months, and I can only thank the Snoo + our motto to "Live and Die by the Schedule."

The Snoo has a few different settings, but from 6 weeks onwards, we had ours on "wean mode." This meant the Snoo only rocked if the baby started to cry. We opted to make this shift early on because we had a few local trips planned (where we couldn't fit two Snoos in the car) and wanted to make sure the girls weren't reliant on motion/rocking to sleep.

You have two purchase options. You can buy (flat fee) or rent (daily rate). Although the sticker price is high (at almost $1,400 each), they do occasionally go on sale and the resale market is really strong. I was able to purchase our two Snoos during a sale [and you can select a delayed delivery date closer to your due date] for about $900 each and re-sold them when we were done using them for about $750 each.

We only used the Snoo for nighttime sleep. Naps were always done in different locations around the house (we have several "sleep stations" setup).

Table for Two - You are essentially paying $300 for a large piece of foam with the Table for Two - but it is the only way to feed two babies at the same time easily. You can't put a price on freedom or sanity and it is worth every penny. We moved it from room to room, up and down the stairs (thanks to that nice handle), and if you do the math on the number of times it is used in the first year (6x per day, 365 days) it's $0.13 per use. I was also able to sell mine via Facebook Marketplace for $100ish. I bought ours in pink, but from a resale perspective, I wish I had gone with grey.

I was able to master pumping and feeding at the same time...talk about twin mom productivity!

Picture of my Dad feeding both girls so I could run a few errands:

Twin-Z Pillow - For tandem nursing, the twin-z pillow is a must. It makes it easy to support both babies and gives them a little resting spot while you grab the other one. We also used the twin-z pillow extensively for bottle feedings, especially on the bed and in the middle of the night. We live in a two story house, so once the girls were a bit stronger, we would keep the Table-for-Two downstairs for use during the day and the twin-z for middle of the night and early morning feedings. Bonus - the entire casing comes off and can go in the laundry.

FWIW, we held on to the twin-z pillow for a while. Both girls like to use it to play on, build forts, and snuggle to watch movies with their necks supported even at 2.5 years old.

Picture of Kinsley and Jayna on our bed in the twin-z after a morning bottle:

Baby Brezza Formula Pro - My husband referred to the Baby Brezza as the Keriug for baby bottles and he is not wrong. This little miracle worker makes a perfectly measured, perfectly warm bottle of any size in 30 seconds with just the touch of the button. It was amazing for those MOTN feeds and for those meals where there wasn't enough breastmilk and we needed just a little bit of formula to top them off. We kept ours upstairs in the guest bathroom (since we usually did formula before bed to help them sleep longer).

Mesa Carseat (and the entire Uppa Baby set) - There are way too many carseat and stroller options available to parents (and fortunately for twin parents, there are less...because this is one area that is incredibly overwhelming). We opted for the Uppa Baby Vista Twin Travel System - which came with two carseats, bassinets, and rumble seats (for when the kids get bigger). We still use this is our primary stroller (girls are 2.5)

Twin mom hack: Get two sets of bases (4 total) so you have a set for each car.

Things I loved about Uppa Baby:

• Mesa carseat - I loved the flexibility the Mesa carseat gave that you can "clip in and out" of the car right to the stroller. Especially, when you are solo with the twins, the ease was so worth it. It also has an infant inset for babies that are born on the smaller side (which is really common with twins). We used these as our carseats for the first 14 months.

• Bassinets - Another great snoozing location for the girls. I loved that I could take them for walks and they could sleep, we also traveled with them (which was easier than a pack n play when they were really young). And everything pops out for easy washing.

• Rumble Seats - the toddler adapter to the stroller, with a large sun shade and the ability to face different directions.

• Stroller - I specifically wanted a "front to back" stroller rather than a "side by side" to make sure we could go through tight spaces and use the sidewalk. I am really glad that we made this decision!

Overall, it handles really nicely and has some great accessories available. Definitely worth the money and you can find it on sale and tax free on Strolleria (sometimes).

Ember Coffee Cup - I couldn't keep my coffee or tea warm before I had twins....so it was basically impossible once they were born, until my husband gifted me the Ember Mug. This mug keeps your coffee warm for at least an hour (and will even larger if you keep it on the charging dock). I wish I found this way before I had kids. Bonus! They just came out with a new Ember Tumbler and I totally want to buy one too.

Notable Mentions:

Really Good Breast Pump - Vital if you are going to be pumping! Make sure you get a good one that is portable so you aren't tied to an outlet. I used 3 different pumps. I am partial to the Spectra pumps, but also the Elvie. See my other content on pumping for details