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JennGM
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| Posted: Feb 05 2007 at 10:17am | IP Logged
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I have a short notice for a baby shower for a mom with twins. These babies will make it number 5 (under the age of 6). She's hoping to nurse the twins, also.
For those that have "been there, done that" or have friend or family, any suggestions for practical or helpful gifts? Luxury/pampering items for moms or specifically for mother of twins? Slings? Books, nursing helps?
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Angel
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| Posted: Feb 05 2007 at 11:29am | IP Logged
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Off the top of my head... I think I would have appreciated a collection of frozen, kid-friendly meals above all else. My husband's coworkers provided us with hot meals for a while, but oh, I could have so used the frozen meals for later!
Another thing which just costs time and effort: a voucher for housecleaning or help with laundry.
Things you can buy... having 2 of those Fisher-Price portable swings saved us numerous times.
A tandem umbrella stroller, if you can find one.
I was only able to nurse my twins about 3 weeks, but a nursing pillow specifically made for twins would have helped, I think. Other people will have better opinions on this than me, though.
If I ever have it to do over again, I will buy two pouches to carry the babies in when they are small.
Clothes. Does she know the sex of the babies? With twin boys, we found we didn't have enough baby clothes, even with 2 boys before them. (I don't know how close she is to her due date, but having some preemie clothes on hand might be a good idea.)
Things to occupy the other kids while Mom nurses, particularly in the early weeks. It's really hard to read a book to the other kids if you're tandem nursing, so books on tape or CD help fill the gap.
My babies are imploding right now, but I'll revisit this topic if I think of anything else!
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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Betsy
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+JMJ+
What about a cleaning lady for the first few months?
Mother's helpers/baby sitters for the older kids for the first few weeks/months?
I have always had back labor, so a nice back massage might be a big slurge sort of gift?
Betsy
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Feb 05 2007 at 1:31pm | IP Logged
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Angel wrote:
A tandem umbrella stroller, if you can find one.
I was only able to nurse my twins about 3 weeks, but a nursing pillow specifically made for twins would have helped, I think. |
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I think they sell clips now that will hook 2 umbrella strollers together so they can be detached when you have two people to push.
I loved my twin nursing pillow. Mine was like a Boppy on steroids, not much different from this. I would say a nursing stool would be the perfect compliment to it.
One of my favorite gifts was a list of all those things that people will say to you with funny/not quite charitable  responses. Whenever I was having a day, I would read it and laugh and be thankful for not having used any. A quick favorite was:
"Are your twins natural?" Response: "Do you mean did I have *** with my husband?" The imagined face of my inquisitor when confronted by their rudeness was great. (BTW I had friends with IVF triplets who really did use this line  . )
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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Mare
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I’ll second the indoor swings and the 2 umbrella strollers with the clip to keep them together. We kept the swings in the dining room so that the girls could “eat meals” with us. We used the umbrella stroller when we went out to appts. or traveling since our triplet stroller wouldn’t fit in our car.
We also had lots of onesies and extra burp clothes. We went through those very quickly. We were also very thankful for all the packages of diapers and wipes that we received.
My favorite gift was the gift card. In the beginning, there are so many newborn items but as the babies got bigger, I found I needed more onesies, diapers and clothes in sizes that I didn’t have. Having those gift cards allowed me to get out by myself, get a cup of coffee and spend money on the children without it affecting our bank account.
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Maryan
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Jenn,
On a local note: I read in the Bull Run observer that Haymarket just opened a "dinner done" type company. You know they make a bunch of meals in advance. It had a website, but I can't remember the name of it!
Anyhow... someone had recommended for a present for Erin for twins having a group of people going in on meals from this company because that's what they got when they had twins.
I never followed up with it. 
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
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MarilynW
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If I were to have twins again I would love the following:
1) Dinners. I second Maryan's idea - here in Herndon we have Take Out Taxi - delivers from a selection of restaurants - gift vouchers for something like this would be awesome.
2) Cleaning help vouchers
3) Babysitting help for the older kids
4) Soothing vibrating bouncy chairs - worked better for us than the swings (because we had preemies)
5) Diapers - one can never have too many
5) One of those double strollers for car seats - so you can just put the carseats in and not wake babies up. They only had the single stroller ones when my twins were born
6) A MobyD or other sling that can carry two babies at once
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Marilyn
Blessed with 6 gifts from God
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Angel
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| Posted: Feb 06 2007 at 8:03am | IP Logged
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MarilynW wrote:
5) Diapers - one can never have too many
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I forgot about diapers. A friend of mine once gave me a diaper shower -- not for my twins, we'd moved by then -- but what a great idea! It really helped having those packages around.
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Feb 06 2007 at 8:12am | IP Logged
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I just went to a baby shower for twins last night. Besides lots of clothes the new mom was given a huge box of diapers which I thought was very practical. Another really neat gift were "diaper bags" made for each of the other kids so they could carry the "stuff" while Mom carries the babies. (Her other kids are girls so the "big-sister" bags will be a big hit.)
She was also given a "Boppy" nursing pillow for twins. This is something she had expressed a desire for.
Of course, as when any of us has a baby, all the other mom's will supply meals for the first 2-3 weeks. In this case of twins I imagine it will be 3 weeks at the least. (Plus, delivering the dinners gives us all an excuse to just stop in for a minute and see the new babies!)
Oh one other thing. She got a bag of lollipops. She asked if it was for labor, and the mom giving it to her said "no, they were for when the other kids come to visit the new baby. Nothing like a sucker to keep them calm and quite for a bit!"
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Feb 06 2007 at 1:43pm | IP Logged
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Someone once made me a diaper cake. Any the sock bouquet my friend made got me lots of visitors on my 44 day hospital stay.
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Mom of Twins Baby Shower Ideas
