Getting out/going in- with newborn twins..

[ithappened]

Can anyone help suggest some solutions for the logistics we're about to face once the twins come?

I'm sort of in a panic how to do this (esp. before they have head control!!!)

Our situation is this- we have no car and we live in an apartment which has 2 flights of stairs to climb to get to our apartment.

We also have a toddler who is 2.5 (but can walk up/down alone fine) and a VERY hyper 80lb dog who often goes/comes with us (and my husband is married to the dog, we cannot get rid of her).

I am wondering how to get in and out of the apartment if its just me with the twins? Esp. during the newborn phase when I have to contend with all the stairs and carry the twins/gear/etc down with us....?

Second, any suggestions for the best way for us to all leave might be? and once we're out the best way to get around (strollers/ergo etc)

I am really panicked about how we will even get home from the hospital right now

[queenofchaos]

I can see why you are panicking, is it possible to move???

It is an extreme safety hazard to carry two babies down (or up) a flight of stairs.  If both of your hands are full you have no way of stopping a fall if you stumble unless you drop one.  Leaving a twin at either the top or bottom unattended in unimaginable.  and then you have the dog and toddler, eeeek! 

is it possible to store the stroller down stairs somewhere close by  (u don't need it in the house anyway).  In order to get everyone out you will need another adult helper.  Is there a neighbor that you could coordinate to help (requires planning of course)?  I think you could manage to get you, the twins and the toddler downstairs if you wear a baby and carry the other, provided the toddler won't need assistance and is cooperating.  You could probably even wear both (with the right kind of carrier), at least until you get down the stairs, then use a stroller.  Then have one twin and toddler in stroller, wear other twin. Or stroller for both twins. 

Getting everyone home from the hospital you are simply going to need two adult helpers as you shouldn't be carrying a baby (let alone 2) upstairs, esp if you have a c-section. 

I can't think of any other options.  You really do need a way to get everyone out of the house and down the stairs by yourself, just in case there is an emergency and you are home alone.  Living in a ground floor apartment would really be the best and safest arrangement.  But I understand this may be difficult or even impossible for you at this time.

I hope someone else has better ideas that I do!  

[ithappened]

- moving: not an option. at all- at least for the next 6-9 months (and thats if we are lucky).

- It would be an option to leave the stroller in the 'bike room' which is near the main entrance. my toddler likes his kick bike and for the most part rides that when we go places, he refuses the stroller anyway.. .

- my husband will be around the first month after the birth but we will not have any other help for the first 1.5 months with the twins/toddler or dog (and hiring here is impossible, as everyone leaves for holiday then, the town shuts down)

- if there was an emergency the dog would just have to stay in the apartment or be set free, she is extremely strong and a manic puller--  there is no way I could manage all 4 of them. . .

- twin carrier suggestions? I have had zero luck finding anything that looks comfortable or would work.

[BellyBean]

No "experience" here yet, but when I read the other reply, I thought perhaps a Moby would work for the first month or so to carry both infants and be hands free (to hold your toddler's hand, or the stair rail).  I have a Moby that I plan to use in the beginning with both, but then I hear they get to heavy for the Moby and it's uncomfortable.  I love my Ergo, so the suggestion of carrying one in a carrier and one in your arms sounds like it might work too.  I have a twin mommy friend that gave me a second carrier that she said she could wear with a Bjorn to carry both at the same time.  It wasn't meant for this use, but she said it worked well for her...it's called a playtex hip hammock.  Although the bjorn isn't my favorite carrier, while they are still small (after the moby before the ergo) I think it works well, and I guess she positioned the second carrier over the Bjorn and to the side.  She said she tried tons of options and this was the only thing that worked.

Keeping a double stroller in the bike room sounds like a great idea, and if you are just going up or down the stairs I bet you can use the Moby a lot longer since you wont be carrying them both very far (just to the stroller).  There are several "twin" you tube videos so you can see how it's done.

Good Luck!  I am still trying to figure out how we are going to get out of the house too :)  3 under 3 can be a little overwhelming to think about!

[IsaFrench]

a backpack for diappers etc & two slings carriers, one for each of the babies

i remember years ago reading in a LLL magazines about how moms of multiples would do exactly that & there were a few photos, one of a mom with 2 slings, one on each shoulder (she wasn't living in a flat going up and down stairs but wrote that she was taking walks and runnig errands carrying her twins ...now that I think of it, maybe it was the mom living as an expat in Africa but miles from anywhere else so going to her "local" shop on dirt roads with potholes & no stroller ...)

[Emma Bryan Fuller]

sorry not much advice but just wanted to add that if you store your stroller in the bike room(a great idea) a rain cover comes in handy. I stored mine in the garage and always felt like it was clean as I just took off the cover, especially when they are newbies:)

[QMtwins]

I second the moby for up and down the stairs.  We did not use one for our first set of twins and I struggled with carrying one and not being able to easily carry the other.  We are almost done with the 1st trimester of my second pregnancy (and a second set of twins!) and I'm planning to purchase a Moby wrap for these next two, as we will have the 2.5 year old twins to coordinate too (which sounds like it could contend with your stairs, toddler and dog!)  Holy moly!!

Our first two did not like their slings.  I hope to have more luck with the Moby this next time around!

Can't wait to hear how you do!

[gozal]

I'm going to need to walk my DS to kindergarten with the twins, which involves a dirt path through the wooded area behind our house. I am going to be on my own after the first 1-2 weeks, depending on how much time off DH is approved for (don't even get me started) and we cannot afford any help. So my tentative solution is to use a wrap (the Boba, I think) to carry them both with a large coat around me. I've watched videos on YouTube of how to do this, and I hope I can manage it. As others have said, our friends who live in walk-ups the city store their stroller on the ground floor, and then for supplies, I would go with a backpack. Maybe you can also keep some basics with your stroller. Personally, I'd have nothing to do with the dog (and I love dogs). If your DH wants to keep the dog, he needs to do all the caretaking for her. I really do understand that pets are part of the family, but sometimes, keeping them is simply not possible or in their best interest, as heartbreaking as that is. If you're going to feel badly about not being able to take the dog out (I would), then I would ask DH to hire a dog walker and give up something else in the budget. Sorry about your difficult situation, I would be freaking out too! It is a tough one. 

[rinap]

For tiny babies, I would wear both in one moby wrap. At least down the stairs. (but be careful with your body. Use the stroller when you need it) When they're a little bigger, you can wear two moby wraps, one over the other, with the babies each shifted to the side, or two Mei Tais (also shifted to the sides). Once they're big enough, you can wear one on your back one on your front. But I found it a bit too hard to get them wrapped up often (it just took too long).

I would suggest getting a baby bucket car seat (I suppose you could use a Moses basket early on. I was able to manage carrying one and carrying the other in the car seat bucket much more securely than I could carry two. (and a used bucket car seat is fine, because you're not worrying about impact, and you could leave it at the bottom of the stairs for the trip back up) I would also carry one in the sling and the other in arms for short distances.

Stroller wise, with very small twins, we had a single lay-flat stroller that the girls went in side-by-side.

Baby gear should go in a backpack (can wear that on your back with arms full of babies, with no chance that it will fall).

My inclination might be putting your toddler in a sling when they are not walking. Because that's probably quicker than doing the same with the babies, and a double stroller is enough of a pain that I would skip the triple stroller if possible. But you should also look at triple strollers or double strollers with a standing board.

[ithappened]

thanks everyone for the suggestions!

Re: the moby's... how do those work in the summer when its 90-105 out? We have NO air conditioning and really no where here does so part of my concern is the heat with those (I remember with DS it was insanely hot even in winter). Would you just use the moby to get them downstairs then put them in a stroller which lays flat until they have head control?

rinap  we have no car, just public transport (bus) or bike/walking everywhere.

[rinap]

I would use the moby to get down the stairs, then pop them into the stroller.

On the baby bucket, it was something to use as a carrier down the stairs to the stroller for one baby (because it's easier to hold a handle than a squirming baby). A moses basket would probably do the same, if the handle were good enough to hold with one hand.

[ithappened]

rinap the basket is a great idea.. I will look into that.

We just found out the stroller with the flat laying bassinet attachment we can no longer borrow as promised which means we now dont have a stroller as planned..

I am feeling really overwhelmed right now and we haven't even had the twins yet.

crap!!