Congratulations, the stick has turned blue and shock – it’s TWINS! Let’s not panic. Twins are a big surprise when you plan for one baby and you got another one for free. Nearly every set of parents are thrilled when they find out that they have a set of twins on the way; after all, it’s twice the love and you could possibly choose to complete your family in one go. There’s a good chance though, that you are feeling utterly overwhelmed. You only planned for one baby. Your finances only planned for one baby. Your maternity leave and plans only factored in the one baby. The idea of trying to juggle the needs of your instant family, plus other children you may have and the housework – it’s okay, stop hyperventilating. You can feel overwhelmed and underprepared, but you would feel the exact same way with just one baby. One baby is demanding and takes your time away from you. One baby still takes your money and you still have to financially plan for one child. Getting creative to sort out twins is the only way forward.

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Getting in contact with other parents of multiples via social media, parenting forums and blogging platforms is a great way to get live feedback from people in your exact situation. It can help the overwhelming feeling that you are alone and handling this. We can promise you, you aren’t. There are plenty of parents around with twins and even triplets, handling it like a boss. They can tell you reviews on the best prams, what to expect when it comes to feeding and sleep schedules, and you could even arrange to meet up with them and form a whole new social circle. One thing that they will all tell you about, is the nursery that you need to start planning far enough in advance so that your wallet can handle all the new purchases you’re about to make. It’s nice to plan a nursery for a baby, but it’s twice as nice to plan a nursery for twins on the way. If you get that lucky, you’ll soon learn that planning a baby nursery for twins isn’t twice the work – just twice the fun!

Making room for a baby is a completely different ball game when you are expecting twins. The idea of putting two newborns into one room can be daunting, especially if your house has a nursery perfect for one baby but not big enough for two at the same time. Of course, the guidelines for safe sleep – which you can read in more detail on this website – state that a baby should be in the same room as its parents for the first six months. This is because babies regulate their breathing with their parents breathing, and being in the same room is also far easier during the night feeds. Don’t worry though, you can create an absolutely beautiful and functional space for two babies without much more effort than what you would have put in for one baby. So, let’s all take a nice deep breath and look at how you can start planning the perfect twin nursery.

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Beginning early is the absolute key when it comes to putting together a nursery for twins. A normal singleton pregnancy takes anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks for a fully developed baby. Twins are a success if they reach 36 weeks, and that means you have less time to get things together. It’s likely you only found out at your first ultrasound that you have twins on board, and if that ultrasound was at the standard 12-week mark, then you really only have 25 weeks to get your nursery ready. This is the reason that an early start is a good idea. If you find out the gender of the twins, you can then decide whether you want to plan a neutral nursery, like the ideas you can find here, or make it more personalised. If you choose to personalise a nursery, then you can use merchandise from Makaboo.com/ and make it a monogrammed haven for your babies. Don’t be drawn in by convention; a boy’s nursery doesn’t have to be powder blue, and a girl’s nursery doesn’t have to look like it has been hosed down with Pepto Bismol. You can choose any colour you want for your nursery and you can hang any accessories that you want. Finishing the new nursery will be the last thing on your mind when the babies arrive, so you need to start early so you have time to budget and shop. The last thing you want to do when you are heavily pregnant with two babies is decorate a nursery. You could choose to hire in a design and painting company to paint and decorate your nursery for you, but half the fun of setting up a nursery comes from doing it yourself.

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One of the most tempting things about having twins on the way, is the chance of doubling up on everything you need. This is probably the last thing that you should do, because you only have one pair of hands. Are you really going to use two sets of wardrobes and clothes chests when you are changing the babies? How about two baby baths and two changing tables? It’s not only an expensive concept, it’s one that just doesn’t play out. Instead, have one set of everything – except the crib. Use drawer separators like these ones to separate clothes, and use one changing table. You can’t physically change both babies at once, so there’s really no need for two changing tables. We mentioned that the crib is the one thing you should buy two of, and the reason there is an obvious one. You have two babies, and you can’t put them both down in the same crib unsupervised! It’s fine for newborns to share a crib, as they cannot roll into each other and disturb each other. Choosing small, simple cribs is the best option, especially with sharing your room at the beginning. You can still put both cribs together, but you don’t have to worry about babies disturbing each other.

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When it comes to decorating your nursery, keep it simple. Neutral colours with bolder accessories is the best idea than trying to theme your nursery. You can get easily tired of a nursery theme, but a neutral colour is far better because if you get a little bored or want to change the theme, it’s just the accessories that you have to change out. Keep it simple with your colours, and avoid busy patterns. The nursery is a space for sleep, and so keeping it light, calm and pretty is exactly what your babies will need. Don’t go nuts on the accessories, even though every cell of your body will be screaming at you to buy the bunting for the wall. You don’t need it and you don’t want the nursery to be too busy. Check out some of these lovely ideas for a simple nursery and make a point of comparing prices of wallpaper and paint online. You can have a lot of fun with the décor for a nursery. Mixed gender twins is even more fun, as you can choose a neutral colour throughout the room and for furniture, but have different accents for each gender. Check out these ideas for mixed gender bedrooms.

More babies equal a lot more stuff. Toys, clothes, blankets and even diapers and changing accessories will be a bigger amount. You need some sound storage in the nursery and this IKEA Kallax unit is a cheap and cheerful way to keep things organised. You can choose different colour boxes to go into the unit, meaning you can coordinate with the nursery accessories that you’ve bought. You could even choose to install hooks into the closet for things like coats and towels, and you can buy canvas storage bags to hang from them for easy-grab wipes, diapers and cream. You’ll also need to think about lullaby machines – buying two instead of just one is going to be a good idea as small babies cannot see very far away from themselves at first.

When you raise multiples, you can feel completely outnumbered, as if you’re in the middle of a circus. Don’t panic though, because you are a parent and you are built to adjust. Things will seem harder when you think about them, but once those babies arrive and are in your arms things will just fall into place. Having a good support system around you will make life an awful lot easier for you, so spend your pregnancy rallying the support of family and friends. Make sure that they know that you would appreciate a freezer stocked with easy meals that you can cook, and make sure that they are on your speed dial. A good support system can make a huge difference. Twinning is winning so enjoy your new babies and your new nursery adventure!