But where will they sleep?

Arranging our little home for two additional (albeit small) people has required some creativity. Our 860 square foot house is a 1 bed, 1 bath. We do have a "bonus" room which was added (likely illegally) onto the back of the house at some point in time, but we determined that having the kids' bedroom so far from ours seemed really impractical while they're tiny and demanding very frequent attention. Someday the bonus room will be theirs, but for now we've essentially divided our living room and devoted half of it to the boys.

Their crib area (for the more anxious readers of this blog: objects on shelves have museum putty on the bottom to keep them from beaning the kids during an earthquake and yes, I know they shouldn't have stuffed animals in the crib, it's just to look cute for the pictures): 

(Well, the fish pillow is also for scale.)

(Pun very much intended.)

From what I've read, many twins find it soothing to share a crib when they're little, so we're going to give that a shot. They have a dresser for their clothes. The drawers under the crib hold spare bedding and blankets. The giraffe pockets (which Steve modified to hang on the crib edge with over-the-door plastic clothes hangers and attached with rivets) hold burp cloths and blankets for easy grabbing. The orange bed pockets are the "soother stash": pacifiers, teethers (which they won't need for awhile but are safe to suck on should the mood strike them), plush rattles (shark & pirate), and bunny & elephant super-soft plush/blanket hybrids. Steve was a pacifier kid, while I was comforted by my stuffed bear (and sucking my thumb to an embarrassingly ripe old age) so we'll see what these guys like. 

Their play area:

The orange and green bins hold their toys and board books (and have a half-finished art project of mine on the side, which will eventually feature more painted kelp and fish). The cradle (from my grandparents) can be gently pushed by someone sitting on the couch or perched on the toy bin holder. Though space looks tight, the cradle has room for a nice amount of swing. The canvas alligator box holds bulkier blankets (padding for the floor during stomach time and cuddling during eventual cooler weather). The triceratops canvas bin corrals larger toys (like their collapsible activity gym you can see sticking out).

Their transportation: 

The fabric pattern on the Britax car seats is called "cowmooflage." It amuses me. The seats snap easily into bases installed in our car. As demonstrated above, they also snap easily into our twin stroller. We looked at a ton of twin stroller options and liked the Joovy Twin Roo+ the best (for while they're still in infant car seats). It's lightweight and can be folded with one hand. 

Steve installed bicycle hangers on the wall near our front door to hold the stroller while not in use. A hook next to the stroller holds their diaper backpack. 

Their lavatory: 

I read a recommendation on a small space design blog to place the changing table in the bathroom and I thought it was brilliant. Easy sink (or tub, when things get really dire) access for cleanup and a vent fan right there to limit smell (especially important in a tiny house). Made a lot of sense to us... plus we really didn't have anywhere else to put it. It looks a little awkward sticking into the doorway, but even me in my current enormous condition can fit past with plenty of clearance, and we've been living with it there for a couple weeks with no issues. Diapering supplies (including a middle-of-the-night-don't-want-to-take-the-dirty-diaper-out-to-the-trash bucket Steve decorated adorably with safari animal stickers) are stored underneath the changing table and in pockets above. The shelf beneath also stores their washcloths, shampoo + soap, tub toys, and baby-washing sling (basically a hammock made of towel-like material for them to lay in while we wash them until they're big enough to sit up in the tub). 

And there you have it: our small space nursery and infant care layout. Just add mini-humans... sometime in the next four weeks.