As design-minded expectant parents ready their homes for new babies, the question of seating is bound to come up. Here at Ohdeedoh we have questioned the necessity of a rocker or glider, but most standard options get blown out of the water when parents learn that they are expecting multiples.
When baby decides to bring a friend (or more) there is an automatic squeeze on space, and that extends to seating. There is no way to hold two infants comfortably in a standard issue glider or rocker, and moms who intend to nurse face even greater challenges. The ideal seating for breastfeeding multiples would have sufficient room to put down each baby along with arm and back support for mama.
My twins are due in two weeks and I have spent much of this pregnancy absolutely stymied by the seating question. There are a handful of double gliders, mostly overstuffed with big rolled arms and staggering price tags. I attended breastfeeding for twins class where the lactation consultant said that most parents of multiples end up on a couch or bed for feedings. We have a fair amount of space in the new nursery and will be using an IKEA Tromsö daybed that we already have, piled with cushions and bolsters for support. We also considered a loveseat or a chair and a half. What have other parents of multiples done for seating?
(Image of daybed seating option: Project Nursery)
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We got a loveseat for the boys' nursery. It also opens into a twin size bed, which was perfect for when my mom came to visit. (Now it's in the playroom, not their room, which is much better for guests!)
I wouldn't have minded something bigger, but the nursery wasn't big enough. And with twins, you shouldn't need more than two adults anyway!
We use the Studio Day Sofa from World Market. We used the chair function during the day for nursing and reading, then lowered the arms at night so I could sleep in the babies' room to make night feedings easier. Since the sofa is only available in not particularly baby-friendly white, I used a twin fitted sheet as a slipcover and ordered custom sized pillow covers from an Etsy vendor to add brightness and an (essential) extra layer of protection.
I'm not a mom of twins, but i did put a twin size bed (from IKEA) in our nursery. We have a glider too, but if I were to give one up it would be the glider. I slept in the twin bed for the first couple of months, but even now (baby is 6mo), I'm far more comfortable nursing in the bed with the boppy - more room to move around, adjust, sit cross legged, or to put baby down and grab a pillow...
We use the glider for daytime rocking, reading a story and bottle feeders (grandparents).
You are smart to think about this now. I breastfed a single baby for 16 months and then twins for 12 months - it isn't fun most of the time (for me anyway), but it is doable and really worth it. So here is my advice for twins. First, the EZ2Nurse pillow is a necessity. Don't try to do it without one. You definitely don't need a large rocker or recliner. Frankly, arms of any sort just get in the way. In the beginning, you want a place that is 1) in the same room as their primary sleeping area, 2) wide enough for you to set babies safely beside you as you "adjust" the first baby, 3) high enough off the ground for you to get in and out easily, 4) accessible to another person so they can hand you babies and take them from you, and 5) with a table or basket nearby so you have water, ointment, diapers and wipes, and reading material (get a kindle!). I think a loveseat or daybed is the best idea if you have room in the nursery. Later on, as the babies start to wiggle and roll, you might find that only the floor or a big bed works. For me, it was our kind-sized bed - it was the only place I felt safe and comfortable and able to did it on my own. You might also start feeding them at different times, in which case you'll have more flexibility (but WAY less time).
For reading, I think you'll find that you become very adept at balancing both of them on your lap as they get bigger. We snuggle and read before bed either on big sisters' twin bed or on the floor with pillows to support my back. I bend my knees and one twin straddles each knee, leaning back against my shoulders. Arms come around the outside to hold the books.
Good luck!!
Should have mentioned - I didn't have room in the nursery for anything other than a regular rocker, so I fed my twins either on the couch in the family room or on my bed in the beginning. Both worked great.
We have triplets. We bring them into our room and feed them on our bed. Two are placed with a pillow under their backs and one of us feds them and the other holds the 3rd one and feds him/her.
Then we go back to the nursery and rock them back to sleep in our glider and rocker. The two chairs do take up a lot of space especially since we have 3 cribs in there as well. Our trips are only 5 weeks old and this has been working thus far.
We got a sofa/love seat at IKEA for our twins bedroom, and I fed them with the use of boppies. It is much easier than trying to squeeze everyone in a glider. Plus it also let my husband and I feed the babies together if we wanted.
A pix of their nursery is on this blog, just search for LEMON TWIST (that is the yellow color of their room).
The EZ2Nurse pillow was an absolute lifesaver for me! It's tapered inwards so babies will naturally face towards you. I didn't bother with a rocker or glider in their room as I mainly fed them on our bed or the sofa. It was also easier to have someone help hand/take a baby as I was tandem nursing.
I have a comfy single chair in their bedroom for when I had to deal with them during night wakings. Nowadays, it gets more use as a clothes hanger.
i couldn't agree more. my babies are almost 7 months old. i started out on the couch, but now that they've gotten bigger, i had to move to the queen bed in our guest room. we didn't have space to put a bed in their room, but i would have wanted/needed something bigger than a twin bed anyways.
the ez2nurse pillow is the BEST!
We have a love seat which worked fine when I used my EZ2 nurse pillow, but I since I had to supplement with formula from the beginning and ended up only nursing for 3 months, I fed my twins in two bouncers. If you end up formula feeding, the best way to do this if you are by yourself (my husband and I took shifts at night) is to place 2 bouncers near a wall or sofa with space in between for you. This will give you back support while you sit on the floor and make it easy for you to feed them both at the same time. My twins are almost 6 months old and we still feed them like this if there aren't 2 adults available.
Have twins - agree with the EZ2nurse recommendations. I used it with my twins and it was a lifesaver...just wish they made cuter covers for it! I also either nursed on the couch (daytime) or in our bed (nighttime). My husband would go and get the babies as I set up the pillows (a ton of them around me) and then I would nurse both at once. Who ever would stop first my husband would burp and then I would burp the second one - all would go back to bed until the next hungry baby awoke! : )
If we'd had room in the nursery, I would've gotten the Pottery Barn loveseat rocker I fawned over. But with a 100 square foot room, we got a very comfy over-sized rocker recliner from Best chairs. I nursed in bed, but the three of us can rock in it before bedtime.
Where are the daybed sheets from?
What is the wall color? Love it!