While all babies need some items when they get home from the hospital, triplets need so many more! From diapers to bottles to strollers, you will be shocked to find out just how much baby gear for triplets you will need to keep your three babies happy, healthy, and safe. Please check out my guide below if you are looking for help on how to set up your home for the arrival of your triplets!
Note: due to the uncertainty and high risks involved in a triplet pregnancy, some baby items can wait to be arranged until the last minute before the triplets arrive. You can buy, hire, or borrow depend on your preferences and finances. Here is a guide to your initial basic needs, and what you need to know.
Triplet Nursery and Equipment
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Clothing and Bedding for Triplets
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Preparing for Triplets – A Closer Look
Crib
You can put your triplets in separate cribs from the beginning. Because Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) can be a real risk, learn how to safely put your babies down for sleep. It is recommended that toes go to the ends of the crib. However, many triplets will sleep happily together in one crib for some months, until they get bigger and start to disturb one another.
Timber cribs with slat sides that drop for convenience are a great choice. Try to choose a crib that is adjustable. A crib that can go from a high to low position, and then eventually be converted into a toddler bed, is a great choice. Four lockable castors are great for easy manoeuvrability.
After the c-section, you may also want to consider using bassinets since bassinets are typically more compact and have lower sides, picking up and placing your babies is less strain than when using a crib. Read our baby bassinets review here.
Related post: Mastering the Nursery: Best Baby Cribs for Triplets
Changing Table
You will be changing lots of nappies every day, so set up a changing area that is comfortable, easy to clean, and conveniently located.
You can buy a changing table with a mat on top and shelving underneath to store nappies and clothing. A change mat set up on a table will work just fine too. Check the height to save you from a possible backache!
It’s very handy to use a chest of drawers, or keep a bench close by, for holding baby wipes, cotton balls, tissues, and nappy rash cream. A hook attached to the change table to hang the rubbish bag, or a small pedal operated rubbish bin nearby, is also useful.
To buy a change table, make sure you choose something sturdy and strong. Shelving underneath that is partially glued or held with velcro sometimes won’t do the job well ( as you can see in the picture).
Related post: The 5 Best Changing Table of 2018
Bathing
Young babies don’t need a bath everyday, as long as their bottoms are cleaned well and their hands and faces are washed. In the beginning you can choose to bathe only one baby per day, which may make it more convenient and not too much of daunting task.
A change table that include a bath is space saving and convenient. Make sure it is easy to operate, from bathing to drying and getting the baby dressed. It will be awkward if you have to pull the change mat up or down with one hand, while also holding a wet and slippery baby in the other. That is too tricky and not safe.
You can use a kitchen sink when the babies are very small, and even a laundry sink when they are bigger. Then can move to the en suite bath and shower when they grow up a bit and can sit on their own.
Related post: Best Baby Bath Tub to Buy: 5 Incredible Options
Rocker
A rocker/bouncer seat is a lifesaver. You can rock two whilst you’re feeding one, or rock them all whilst you eat your own dinner.
You will be able to feed your triplets with just one adult using three rockers. If it’s just two of you, this will let one of you have a long solid night of sleep!
For example, you may have to feed your triplets every 4 hours; 8, 12, 4 morning and night. Let’s say at night you do the 8pm feed alone, then go to bed and wake up for the 4am feed. Your partner would wake up for the 12am feed, then sleep, and wake up for 8am feed. This way you both have at least 6-7 hours of sleep! You can use pillows/blankets/bunny rugs to support the bottle with your supervision.
Once your triplets are on solid food, you can use the rockers for feeding, before they move on to high chairs. There are so many brands out there, and some even come with music and a fun toy bar.
Triple Pram/Triple Stroller
I will share with you the triple stroller we use. It’s personal choice, but let me tell you- with triplets our options are limited.
We love our ABC stroller, and couldn’t live without it. In my opinion, it is the best stroller for triplets. It has 2 seats at the front and one on top. I didn’t want my stroller to look like a train coming through, and also didn’t like the triple wide version.
This stroller has great space underneath for going to the shops, and lots of little storage compartments. It fits through a standard sized doorway. This stroller is good when they are newborns as all seats recline, and it’s easy to manoeuver (it turns corners well, and has a small turning circle). It’s great when I want to get out alone as well!
The con is, it’s quite large when folded up- so check the dimensions in your boot! We have a Holden Calais and it fits in the boot. It’s a heavy stroller, but that is to be expected with a stroller of that size!
When you are pushing the stroller, it’s very easy to stear and surprisingly, it feels light. It’s only when you put it in or take it out of the boot that you feel the weight. Also, I’m not tall (5′ 3″ or 162cm), so I struggle a bit to see over the top of it. While slightly inconvenient, it has not been a major problem. Other than that it’s a great triple pram/stroller.
We used it from newborn age until about two years, as the kids eventually grew out of it. At that point we switched to a twin and a single stroller. It’s easy to manage and great if you have your partner with you, or other available help. It’s quite an investment but we could easily sell all the equipment when finished. This stroller is still in demand for mothers with three kids or more.
Check with your local multiple birth club to see if you can hire a pram. This is usually available at quite a reasonable cost, and can be a good way of test driving different models before you decide what you would like to purchase. Think of what you will mainly use your pram/stroller for- just in and out of the car, or maybe for jogging? Don’t forget to consider a second hand model if price is an issue!
Related post: The 4 Best Strollers For Triplets
Child Restraint/Car Seat
We hired baby capsules at the beginning as they were convenient to use. They can be carried by one person for a short distance, like when you go to see a doctor or to a friend’s house. Then we changed to car seats.
We have “Safe-n-Sound” Britax COMPAQ Convertible Car Seats. They are designed for small cars, or 3 across the back. We have a Holden Calais and it fits well. We got them to discount the quote ,since we needed to buy three at once! We purchased the seats, and had them fitted by their approved Restraint Fitting.
Also see:
- Which is The Safest Convertible Car Seat?
- The Best Convertible Car Seats for Small Cars
- The Best Narrow High Back Booster Seat with 5 Point Harness
Breast Pump
I rented the Hospital-grade Medela Symphony breast pump. I also needed to buy a personal pumping kit to use with it, which I used for about 6 months.
Sterilizer
We used a Philips 3 in 1 electric steam sterilizer. It fits different sized bottles, and it’s easy to use and fast. It also doesn’t take up much space in the kitchen.
Feeding Bottles
You don’t need to buy expensive brands, as these cheap ones also do the job well. You will need 12-21 bottles (depend on your feeding method) so it can get quite expensive. We used Dymple brand bottles from Big W. They are all BPA-Free, cheap, and come in packs with a teat. The nurse at the hospital recommended these to us, as they were the first teat the triplets used in the nursery.
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Playmats
Our family friends loaned us the playmats, rockers, and some toys. Once the babies started to move and crawl, they would no longer stay on these playmats as they wanted to explore! Since you will likely only use them for a short time, hiring or borrowing these items is a good idea.
Toys
Toys are unnecessary when they are so small. All they need at first are a brightly colored mobile over their cot or changing table, and a few small rattles to hold and chew.
Clothing
When buying clothing, keep your choices simple. Keep a couple of nice outfits for showing the babies off, and otherwise go for practicality. Choosing items that can be machine washed, tumble dried, and do not require ironing will help make your life easier. Remember, items like hand knitted clothes often need to be hand washed, which you probably won’t have time for!
Baby clothes sizing depends on the brands but normally run from:
- Preemie
- New Born
- 0-3 months
- 3-6 months
- 6-9 months
- 9-12 months
- 12-18 months
- 18-24 months
I bought size preemie as a start and it was still too big for my triplets. But I didn’t mind, as they wore them only for a short time and I knew they would grow into them soon enough.
Size Preemie is a smallest size you can buy from many stores. If you want to buy a smaller size than this, you might have to do some research or maybe order online. There are several websites that sell premature or small baby clothing, where sizing can start at the baby weight of 800 grams.
I didn’t buy any baby clothes until the triplets were born. The nursery provided some clothes for the first few days. My husband went shopping for baby clothes while I was recovering from delivery in the hospital.
If I could go back, I would have just ordered the baby clothes online, as it’s so easy and I could do it while still on bed rest! I would use my last ultrasound as a guide for the baby size.
I find the all-in-one suit to be very useful and efficient. When you use it, you don’t need pants and socks, and it can be used as both day clothes and pajamas.
If your babies are going to be born in summer, when they are home they only need singlets and nappies. I wouldn’t buy too much because they grow so quickly. Many people will give you clothing as a gift, and you might have a chance to borrow or buy second-hand items, which will only be used for a short time.
The triplets stayed in the nursery for about 4 weeks (or until their due date). What they wore were nappies, short sleeve bodysuits, and then long sleeve bodysuit on top. They were then wrapped with bunny rugs and covered with hospital blankets. There were so many layers to keep them warm. No one saw what they wore except for their wraps, so it’s better to save money to spend on something else!
Nappies
For triplets, expect to use an absolute minimum of 18 nappies per day. Check with your hospital to see if they supply nappies throughout your stay.
Bunny Rugs
Bunny rugs are very useful as they can be used as floor mats, blankets, and wraps. Buy a thick and a thin one (seasonal).
Swaddles
The hospital staff taught us how to wrap the babies, but when the triplets were home it didn’t matter how tight we wrapped them… they’d wriggle out of their swaddles and wake themselves up so often! The zip swaddle is a good way of keeping them securely wrapped, which will help keep their startle reflexes contained.
It helps the baby feel snug and secure. When they have a good night sleep, you will too!
Conclusion
This list covers everything that we initially needed to care for our triplet babies. What about you, have you bought anything for your triplets yet? What did you buy? Do you have anything to add to our list? I will be looking forward to your questions and comments below!
