Car Seats for Twins
Hands down, one of the best pieces of advice I received while pregnant with twins was to make sure to get car seats that started at 4 lbs. Most infant car seats are for babies 5 lbs. and up (to a specific weight, depending on the brand and model). You might not think that this is an important detail- whether the car seat is for a 4 or 5 pounder baby- but when you are expecting twins, there is greater potential for premature birth and lower birth weight. Therefore, you will want a car seat that will accommodate potentially smaller babies.
I was lucky to go 38 weeks before giving birth, and my babies were 5 lbs 2 oz and 6 lbs 1 oz. My daughter, the 5 pounder, dropped below 5 pounds in the days we were in the hospital. Weighing only 4 lbs, 10 oz, I was told that it was hospital protocol that she be subjected to a “seat belt test” before I would be permitted to bring her home. The test required me to bring in the car seat and the baby was placed in it for an hour to make sure she was able to breathe properly. I wasn’t worried about the test because I had purchased the Graco Snugride 30, which is for babies 4-30 lbs, and easily accommodated my tiny newborn. She passed the test, and we were able to bring her home in her car seat, rather than being required to get a car bed. I was so glad I listened to the advice of another new mother of twins, because it likely spared us additional worry in the frazzled first few days of my babies’ life.
