Babywearing Solutions with Twins

When I was pregnant, I was super excited to wear my baby.  Then I found out I was having twins.  I wondered if it was possible to wear them both.  It is.  My babies are three months old now, but I haven't tried to wear them at the same time.

Options for wearing two babies:

A quick Google search will show you that you can wear two newborns in a Moby wrap, which is essentially a reeaaalllly long stretchy piece of fabric that is easy to get tangled in.  You tie yourself in it then slip the babies in the pockets.  I never got it to work, and I never even enjoyed wearing one baby in the Moby.  It was too stretchy, and I didn't feel good enough support to keep correct posture. 

The Twin Trexx from www.trendsintwos.com

There are also a couple of carriers marketed for twins.  The ones I have seen have either pouches or harnesses on the front, so it looks like you are wearing an octopus in a front-pack.  I was not keen on the idea.  For what it's worth,  I've never personally heard a good review about one of these things.  

Once the babies get older, you could wear one on your back and one on your front in two different carriers.  Since mine are still too small for a back carry, I haven't tried this.

How we wear our twins:

EJ and I both have Baby Bjorns.  One we bought new, and one was bought used from craigslist.  If you don't mind, then I would recommend that because they are pretty expensive and not the best type of carrier for your baby.  The position it forces the baby into is not ergonomic.  The baby basically dangles from the crotch (same as in the picture above), when the best position for them is to sit with their knees higher than their bum, in a kind of sitting froggy pose.  We didn't know this until after we bought these, though.  Also, depending on the model (we have the classic), you may not get great back support from the Bjorns.  They're pretty top-heavy.  And they can't be worn on the back.  

That said, I like it.  Probably if I had been introduced to another brand of this type carrier (buckle carrier), I would prefer that.  But it is pretty easy to strap them in and be hands-free.  We each wear a baby and it's great! They usually sleep the whole time.  So far, we've worn the babies to the mall, car shopping, to Costco, and to a castle.  Yeah, a castle!  There were a lot of stairs--quite a workout!  It has also been extremely useful to wear them at the grocery store so we don't have to deal with the gargantuan stroller.

It's so much fun to wear a baby.  It gives you so much freedom!  That's not something I feel very often these days.  It's easy to imagine all the things I could do with only one baby.  You could wear her/him and go anywhere!  We definitely need to start having one-on-one dates with each baby. 

Baby's first castle!

Last but not least, I have a ring sling.  It is dreamy.  The kind I fell in love with are expensive but I found a used one and convinced EJ I needed it.  Girasol wraps are beautiful stripey woven fabric and my ring sling is made from a piece of one.  It's beautiful.  It's not that comfortable, though.  And the babies seem to get fussy after a few minutes in there (one at a time, of course).  I try to wear someone in it several times a week, if only for a few minutes, to get them (and me) used to it.  I don't love wearing it as much as I love looking at it, and browsing the other patterns available.  I'm the same way with scarves.  It might be a sickness.  Anyway, I have always felt like I wasn't broad enough or something to wear a baby and have the rings on my shoulder ("corsage" position, they call it!)  I just can't get comfortable.  But today, I actually felt pretty good!  I found this Youtube video from PaxBaby (that's also where I bought the sling) and her suggestion of wearing the rings on the back really helped.  

Suggestions for Babywearing Hopefuls:

If you are interested in babywearing, I definitely recommend PaxBaby's youtube channel.  They give a lot of great advice and demos.  

Try before you buy!  And act quickly!  I was too pregnant to try the carriers on by the time we decided to get some.  Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby have a couple of different carriers that you can try out.  PaxBaby also does a "sling exchange" so you can basically rent a carrier for two weeks and see if you like it.  I wish I had known about this in my first trimester!  

Start with one.  Baby, that is!  (If you can afford buying multiple carriers, I'm envious! I wish I could buy a dozen).  Anyway, now that my babies are here and reality has set in, I'm just concerned with wearing one at a time.  Although, I have worn one and carried the other, that is actually pretty helpful.  

Don't give up!  This is what I tell myself.  Just try for a few minutes each day until you and baby get accustomed to it. 

Me and Cupcake trying out the ring sling today

Other resources:

The Babywearer: Chatrooms, forums, reviews, instructions and more

Sleeping Baby Productions:  Custom made slings

Exclusive Girasol: Eye candy for serious window shopping all the Girasol patterns and colorways.  

What do you think of babywearing?