On January 7, 2019, Tegan Natoli found herself in the fairly unique parenting position of having three kids under 13 months. She had just given birth to a baby boy, and her twin girls had turned one just four days prior. Becoming a mum of three in a very short time was the stuff of many blessings and surprises, says Tegan. “The twins were conceived through IVF. We put one embryo in, which split! Giving us identical twins. There’s only a 2% chance of that happening so we consider ourselves very very blessed. Two for the price of one…literally! Banjo was our natural surprise 3.5 months after the girls were born.” While Tegan admits she was in shock for about five days after having her girls, she says having twins is the best, and she wishes more people knew it. “Without sounding too cheesy, it is such an amazing bond to observe. A lot of women contact me freaking out as they’ve just found out they’re having twins, and I did the exact same thing, but it really is so special. Watching my twins bond is beyond anything I could ever imagine having with anyone other than my own children. Don’t get me wrong, there are challenging times, as there is for any parent, but the good far outweighs the bad.”

“I’m a pretty cruisy person, and my approach to motherhood was similar. A twin mum friend told me not to read too much as it can get pretty overwhelming and for me that was the right approach,” says Tegan. “You don’t have to have an exact plan of attack or know exactly how you’ll do things before you do them because you’ll figure it out on the way. I think if more parents were told going into parenthood that it’s OK to not have it all figured out or to have everything from the get go, it would alleviate some of the stress and pressure of uncertainty.”

Tegan says if she’d been told that herself, it might have saved her some money, and space. “I definitely over compensated for the twins. I thought I needed two of absolutely everything before they even arrived.” It meant a few shopping fails, and not inexpensive ones. “I had two bassinets, which were never used because they slept together in one cot before I moved them into their own separate cots. I also had baby carriers which barely got used because it was always so much easier to use the double pram.”

Her other top twin tip: hire the car capsules. “It can be quite expensive, especially when they are only in them for up to six months. So for twins especially (since you’ll be needing two!) I really recommend hiring. There are lots of companies around Australia that have the latest car capsules available for hire. They are in perfect condition and most companies will even install them for you (and remove them when you’re done). You will save hundreds of dollars! Make sure you get a car capsule that is compatible with your double pram. As annoying as it is, the amount of times you will hear “you’ve got your hands full”... it’s true, you do. So instead of having to wake two sleeping babies by moving them from car to pram, just pop your car capsule on your pram for quick trips.

Then there was the stuff that did work. Here, Tegan Natoli shares the products she would absolutely put on her registry if she had her time again.