Preparing for Twins: What You Need

Start with the two things that are not negotiable

Twins Trust's guidance on what new twin parents really need is refreshingly blunt about the hierarchy. Some things are genuinely non-negotiable: "You will need a car seat for each baby before you can leave hospital and these are safest bought new so you know their full history." That is one car seat per baby, bought new, no exceptions.

The second is sleep. Twins Trust says safe sleep spaces are key, whether you choose cots, Moses baskets or next-to-me cribs, and adds a specific rule: "It is recommended you buy brand new mattresses for your babies even if the rest of the item is second hand." A borrowed cot with a new mattress is fine. A borrowed mattress is not.

What can be shared, and what cannot

Twins Trust's budgeting guidance is useful precisely because it distinguishes between the two. Some items can safely be shared between babies — it names one play mat and one baby bath as examples. Others cannot: sleep space, car seat and, once they are on solids, seating.

On sleep, the sharing rules are more specific than most lists admit. The Lullaby Trust says that if you choose to co-bed twins, they should be placed on their backs with the tops of their heads facing one another and feet at opposite ends of the cot, or side by side on their backs with feet at the foot of the cot. Twins Trust adds that co-bedding is safest in a full-sized cot, and that smaller spaces — a single Moses basket, a single next-to-me crib, a pram bassinette — "aren't recommended for more than one baby" because there is less room, less airflow and a greater risk of overheating or covering their faces.

Both also say the arrangement is temporary. The Lullaby Trust says that once babies can roll and move about the cot they need separate sleep spaces, because they could roll into each other and block each other's airways or overheat. So a plan that relies on one cot indefinitely will need a second one at some point in the first year.

Buy new, buy used, or borrow

Twins Trust says many families of multiples save hundreds of pounds by using pre-loved items, and names the categories that are ideal to borrow or buy second hand: prams, baby baths, bouncy chairs, baby monitors and changing bags. It contrasts that with the everyday consumables — clothes, blankets, cot sheets, muslins, nappies and wipes — which feel like small purchases but add up quickly with two babies.

Its most practical tip is about spreading cost rather than cutting it: ask friends and family to buy nappies rather than outfits, and pick up a packet of wipes each week during pregnancy so the expense is spread across months rather than landing at once. It also points to baby banks — it names Stripey Stork, Little Village HQ and Baby Basics as starting points — for families whose budget is tight, and mentions that some councils run real nappy incentive voucher schemes.

Feeding kit

Twins Trust makes a sensible point that applies whatever you plan to do: even if you are planning to breastfeed, having some bottles and a simple way to sterilise them can be reassuring. Twins are more likely to arrive early and more likely to need some time in neonatal care, and expressing is often part of the early picture, so kit that supports that is rarely wasted.

A supportive feeding pillow appears on Twins Trust's caesarean preparation list too, for a reason that is easy to overlook: it keeps two babies' weight off an abdominal scar.

The buggy decision

Twins Trust treats this as its own topic, and it is worth thinking about early rather than at 36 weeks. The questions that matter in practice are the ones nobody asks in a showroom: does it fit through your front door, does it fit in your boot, can you fold it one-handed while holding a baby, and how heavy is it when you have to lift it. Side-by-side and tandem layouts trade width for length, and which of those is the problem depends entirely on where you live.

Recovery, and the help you set up in advance

Twins Trust's caesarean guidance carries the practical preparation most people skip. Line up support for driving, lifting and cleaning. Set up a space where you can change and dress your babies at waist height rather than on the floor. Pack plenty of maternity pads. It notes that after a caesarean you will usually be advised not to lift anything heavier than your babies for the first four to six weeks, and to avoid driving and repeated stairs in the first month — which is a very different proposition with two babies than with one, and worth planning around before the birth rather than after it.

Maternity leave and pay: the rule that surprises people

Twins Trust states it plainly: "Maternity leave and pay are worked out per pregnancy, not per baby. This means parents of twins, triplets or more are not automatically entitled to extra leave or pay." Employees in permanent employment are entitled to take up to one year of maternity leave, and Statutory Maternity Pay is usually paid for 39 weeks, although some employers offer enhanced pay on top. GOV.UK sets out the statutory scheme and the rules on when and how to claim.

Two twin-relevant details are worth knowing. First, if your babies arrive earlier than expected while you are still working or on annual or sick leave, your maternity leave begins on the day they are born — which matters more when preterm birth is likely. Second, Twins Trust describes Neonatal Care Leave and Pay: one week of neonatal leave and pay for every seven consecutive days your babies are in hospital, up to a maximum of 12 weeks, taken in addition to maternity leave, with the possibility of claiming separately for babies admitted at different times.

Twins Trust also notes that many parents of multiples plan to stop work earlier than they would with one baby, both because the pregnancy is physically demanding and because the babies are likely to arrive early. Telling your employer in good time gives you more flexibility later.

The list nobody writes down

The most valuable preparation is not equipment. Twins Trust's guidance repeatedly comes back to arranging people: someone to bring babies to you for feeds, someone to wind and change them, someone to cook, someone to look after older children. It suggests asking local clubs and online communities of multiple-birth parents what they actually used, because the answers are usually more specific and less commercial than a shopping list.