For MOMs by MOMs: Baby Gear

Time for another MOMs linkup! This time the topic is baby gear. I've recently had a refresher course in baby gear as my beautiful niece was born less than a week ago! I don't have a ton of photos to share, so I'll just give my top picks for gear in bullets with links.

• Zippered sleepers - trust me, you don't want to deal with all those snaps.
• Boppy pillows - it's nice to have a place to set down a kid. We even used ours for daytime naps while they were swaddled (not officially recommended - could be a smothering risk)
• Swaddle blankets - A nice tight swaddle kept our kids sleeping for hours at a time. Most of the best ones we used were sewn by my mom.
• Infant carrier carseats - I was skeptical at first, but infant carrier carseats are boss for twins. You can just pick up and go from car to house and back again. Very handy. Ours are Graco something or other. Almost any kind is great.
• Baby Trend Double Snap N Go stroller - light weight and great for use with the infant carriers. My awesome friend Kirsten passed hers down to me. Worked like a charm for the first 6 months.
• Jeep double umbrella stroller - my mom picked this up used for us, and it is so boss. We still use it today. It folds up small, so it's great for a small car like our Prius, and also great for air travel.
• Graco Pack 'N Play playard with twin bassinet - This worked AWESOME for the first few months. The boys got to sleep close together but without the chance of smothering each other. Bonus is that this Pack N Play is HUGE - much larger than a standard sized one, so you can use it for travel well into the second year.
• KidCo Peapod - We got this as a gift and it is so cool for travel. It's a splurge, so I wouldn't probably pick it up for myself, but it is really neat for a family on the go.
• "Stealing" from the hospital - there is a lot of baby gear given to you at the hospital - especially if your twins have any length of NICU stay. We got the typical nose bulb syringe (see more below), diapers, wipes, ointment, hair scrubbers, shirts, pacifiers, milk storage bottles, nipples, blankets, hats, formula, and probably more. TAKE IT ALL HOME. Technically you're probably not supposed to take their blankets and shirts, but our nurses let us have them. No harm asking. Another top tip - they will give you the pump parts for Medela breast pumps. If you're going to pump at home and buy a pump used, just wait until you're home from the hospital to buy/open new pump parts because chances are you'll get some for FREE at the hospital.
• Little Noses Nasal Aspirator - The only kind that works AT ALL besides the one you get at the hospital. DO NOT waste your money on any bulb kind of aspirator besides this one. I hear Nose Frida is also good, but I haven't personally tried it.
• Aquafor - Best stuff on earth for diaper rash, cradle cap, scrapes, baby acne. LOVE IT.
• Writing to diaper and formula companies - write a short letter to the diaper and formula companies that you want to use and tell them you had twins. Include copies of their birth certificates if possible. They will send you coupons for FREE STUFF as well as high value coupons. I think you can even do this with singletons.
• Baby Jail - Okay, that's just our affectionate nickname for the Dream On Me Babytown Playard. This gated playard will become a sanity saver once you have two on the move. We used it as advertized for a few months, then broke it open and used it as the longest baby gate ever. We still use it today to fence off Nick's desk area. It's a lot easier than baby proofing with all those cords.

I hope this helps any expectant moms or MOMs out there. Did I miss anything that was a must have for you? Leave it in the comments!