Organizing the Nursery and Diaper Bag for Different Size Twins

This question comes to us from Sarah. She says, “I am currently running into a problem that one twin is growing faster than the other in every way. I’m having to have different sized diapers and clothes for each twin. Do you have any tips on how to organize a nursery or a diaper bag so that it is easier for family and friends to match the right size clothes and diapers with the right baby?”

Color Coding for Twins

Now we did something with our twins for about the first year that will likely help you with your different sized twins. We did this to help tell our identical twin girls apart. They were very hard to tell apart, especially in those early months.

We color coded their clothes to help tell them apart. We used warm colors for one girl, like pinks, reds, oranges, and so on, and we used cooler colors for the other girl, like purples, blues, greens, and the like.

Now, perhaps using different color clothes will help family and friends match the right size to the right baby. Of course, this will require that you purchase some new clothes or sort out the clothes that you already have if you’re going to use color schemes on each of the babies.

Labeling for Twins

Avoid writing on the clothes label. You may be tempted to put the name of one baby on one shirt and the other baby’s name on the other shirt. Avoid writing on the clothes label unless you are sure you’re not going to be passing these down to the smaller twin. Perhaps the bigger twin is going to outgrow a certain outfit and you want to pass it down to the other twin. You don’t want to have permanent markings on those clothes that would mess up your system later.

You could label the diapers if you’re using disposable diapers with a permanent marker to help organize your diaper bag. Additionally, you could use different brands or styles of diapers for each child. Maybe one’s diapers are Pampers and the others are Huggies. Or maybe one is Elmo diapers and the other one is Cookie Monster diapers.

One thing you can do is have a clearly labeled basket in the nursery for each child with their diapers in it. Having a laundry hamper for each twin and also washing their clothes separately will help keep everything in order.

Get a gallon-size bag for each twin with their name on it for the diaper bag. You can have one with diapers and a change of clothes for each twin. That way, at a glance, you can reach and grab the right bag or your family and friends can help you.

Remember to keep a camera handy for the times family and friends dress the bigger twin in the smaller twin’s clothes because, despite the best system you have, they’ll still get mixed up occasionally.

This question was originally addressed on the Dad’s Guide to Twins Podcast episode 25: Organizing for Different Size Twins, Guilt Leaving Mom Alone, Twin Baby Monitors.

Picture by Ankur P