Exciting! Babywearing with two babies is quite possible and can make life with two littlies a bit more manageable.
There are carriers designed specifically for using with twins, as well as many 'regular' carriers that can work well for twins too.
You can also decide if you want to use the carriers separately when there are two adults available for carrying or you only want a carrier that carries two babies at once.
Safety Tips
Most baby carriers are safety tested from approx 3.2kg, which is much bigger than many twins are born. So it's important that you choose a carrier suitable for the weight of your babies or wait until they are big enough.
Pay very close attention to your baby's airways - do they have the strength to hold up their heads? Does the carrier you choose offer plenty of spine support so they don't slump down? Can you always see their mouth and nose are clear, chin is off their chest to protect airways?
The TICKS guidelines offer general safety advice which is very relevant for twins:
- TIGHT - carrier should hold babies firmly without moving about
- IN VIEW - you need to be able to SEE baby's mouth and nose are clear
- CLOSE ENOUGH TO KISS - wear babies high on the firm part of your chest, not down in soft squishy breasts.
- KEEP CHIN OFF CHEST - also to protect airways, ensure baby's head isn't held in a position thatcould cut off their airways, (such as in a lying down position in a sling)
- SUPPORTS SPINE - Again to ensure baby is upright, spine is well supported and not slumping in the carrier.
Respiratory illness is one of the most important safety issues for babywearing, especially for babies under 4 months. When babies airways are already compromised with sickness, mucus etc, pay very close attention to their breathing and airways when babywearing. It may be safest to not carry your babies when they are both little and unwell.
Breastfeeding - another risk is feeding babies in a carrier. It is very important to note that feeding in a carrier is not a hands free option. Baby's head should be supported and only lower in the carrier while actively drinking. As soon as baby has finished feeding, lift back to CLOSE ENOUGH TO KISS and retighten the carrier.
Expert help!
Babywearing with twins, especially when they are tiny and likely below the minimum weight for most carriers, means this is an advanced babywearing skill. As a result, we strongly recommend investing in a session with one of New Zealand's professional babywearing consultants, especially one who has twin expertese.
You can find our babywearing consultant listings here
We also highly recommend joping the excellent Facebook Group Twin Sling, which has both international babywearing consultants and multiples families with babywearing experience.
You will also likely find a local family with babywearing experience or a perr to peer educator with experience teaching twin babywearing at your local sling group. See our group listing here.
Twin Specific Carriers in New Zealand
We have a couple of options available in New Zealand that get good reviews and our babywearing consultants are happy to recommend.
MiniMonkey Twin Carrier
This is available from The Sleep Store and has been a very popular option for NZ and Australian twin families for many years. More information is here
LennyLamb Twin Carrier
This is a clever carrier that is basically two separate hip carriers that can be used together or independently. So we love this option for the versatility. Available in various fabrics and colours. Available from The Sleep Store here.
Regular Carriers you can use with twins
Here's a few ideas to get you thinking about how else you can carry your twins without buying a specific twin carrier. This may keep the cost down as you can shop second hand or buy from specialist stores when they have a good sale. Remember we are fully funded by The Sleep Store, New Zealand's leading babywearing retailer, so please shop there if you can!
Ring Slings:
Ring slings are an affordable and very versatile carrier. They can be used separately or one on each shoulder. They are pretty easy to learn from a video or hands on help. We have lots of Ring Sling content on our Tiktok.
Stretchy Wrap
The most affordable option for carrying twins! There are lots of videos online for twin carrying in a stretchy wrap, please ensure you choose one from a trained babywearing educator.
We recommend choosing a high quality, 2-way stretch wrap. We love Boba wraps and also the extremely high quality French wraps from Love radius which are a bit wider and more supportive than other wraps. We don't recommend using basic 1-way stretch wraps as there is no give along the wrap which makes it harder to get babies in and out.
We offer very low cost stretchy wrap rentals here:
Woven Wrap
This is a very versatile carrier for using with twins or individually. We recommend meeting with a babywearing consultant to learn this technique, however many consultants also excellent videos.
Meh Dai
These are soft carriers which have tie waist and tie straps, often made from woven wrap fabric which moulds beautifully around smaller babies. Due to the slim or flat straps, these can often be comfortably worn with one on the front and one on the back, or one on each hip. Meh Dai is one of the carriers that you can use from much younger on the back as they provide excellent support.
More information
Here's some excellent content for more advice and ideas for babywearing with twins:
Carrying Matters - excellent information including video tutorials from Dr Rosie Knowles, one of the world's babywearing gurus!
Didymos - Europe's original babywearing brand and wrap, sling experts. Didymos was actually founded after Erika Hoffman had twins of her own. Didymos wraps and slings are available from The Sleep Store. These techniques can also be used with other slings and woven wraps.
Oscha Wraps - very useful content from Scotland's leading woven wrap and sling brand.