Do we need a double buggy if we have a newborn and a 2yr old

[Horehound]

Currently pregnant with #2 due in November. By then our son will be 2.
Just looking at prams that can hold a carry cot and a toddler and they are coming in at over £1k.

What do other people do? We currently just have one pram that was able to hold rlthe carry cot then turned into a stroller but obviously don't want to push two strollers when #2 is a bit older.

Hmm ok
We moved to my hometown recently from country living and now everything is on our doorstep so we are out and about using the pram lots more than we did in the country.
DS does still nap in the pram.
I have a sling although I didn't use it much when Ds was younger, I preferred the pram with the carry cot. I actually have a bad back and I can definitely feel it if I've been lugging DS around.
We do a fair amount of driving too though

We got a £20 joie evalite and used it about 4 times. We now have a buggy board with a seat on.

We never took the double buggy in the car as usually there were 2 parents for 2 DC so the smaller fold up pram plus sling was enough. The double was just a lifesaver for managing 2 by myself - as a PP says, picking up a tantrumming toddler with nowhere to put the baby except a sling is tricky!

You can get a new P&T double for less than £600. And loads of secondhand available too.

Yes I think we would just have it for going around the town and. It in the car. We do have a carrier for DS if we are going out for walks in the forest etc so could use that with single pram if going away somewhere

1.5 years between my dc and I definitely needed my double pushchair.
Used a one in front of other style (newborn could lie flat in the back- nearest me).
It was Graco and it wasn't the prettiest or lightest but it did it's job and couldn't afford much more. It was around £250 10years ago.

My Phil and Ted's saved my sanity with two under two. Freedom to get out of the house and have some exercise without the car (which was a nightmare getting them both in and out and then from the car park to activities). We had a second hand one so wasn't extortionate and I sold it for the same as I paid two years later. Some friends used a sling and a single buggy but my DD2 hated any kind of sling and I couldn't have walked with it after my section as had quite a long recovery. We also had a buggy board which was good for short trips but is hard on 2 year old who is tired, we used it more when she was 3. The magic of a double buggy is those amazing moments when they are both relaxed or even asleep being pushed. The only time I had to myself was when they both slept in the buggy...it was rare but still remember how precious that time was when I was exhausted!

I’d definitely get one, but 2nd hand, not at the ludicrous new price.

Double buggy, don't bother with a big one, get a reclining umbrella buggy, usually suitable from 3 months and use a sling before that

They start at £140 from Argos, suitable from birth in fact

We had a sling and buggy board and I moved them around as appropriate. Somebody gave us a one in front of the other buggy and it was so heavy and cumbersome I didn’t bother than often. That said DS1 was a great walker and rule follower. I may have adopted a different set up if it was DS2 and DS3.

(They are all preteens/teens now bye)

I was given a lovely little side by side pram and pushchair. Was so useful in the early days (22 month gap) Sometimes used sling for newborn and the original pushchair for the toddler too. The current double buggy models look fantastic but so expensive. Once younger one was big enough I just used an umbrella style double buggy. They aren't supportive enough for tinies (or maybe they are - I'm a good 25 years out of date!)
Congratulations and good luck!

I had the same age gap and bought a second hand Phil and Ted’s. Worth its weight in gold when they napped at the same time and I had an hour of peace and quiet. Best decision I ever made 😄

22 month gap for my two and I definitely needed a double.

And reading your updates it sounds like you will too. Also it is very hard work keeping hold of a toddler and deal with a baby. Much easier if the toddler is strapped into a pram.

Don't scrimp on a pram youll need and make yourself and your toddler miserable.

I live in a city with narrow pavements, small shops with narrow doorways and busy public transport so a double buggy was out of the question for me. I got a buggy board with a comfy seat similar to this www.google.com/search?q=buggy+board+with+seat+bcool&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiiu7LFlODwAhXR34UKHX3HCEwQ2-cCegQIABAB&oq=buggy+board+with+seat+bcool&gs_lcp=ChJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWcQAzIECB4QCjoECCMQJzoCCAA6BggAEAcQHjoECAAQHjoGCAAQBRAeOgYIABAIEB46BAgAEBhQsBFYwCRg4iZoAHAAeACAAXOIAaEFkgEDNS4ymAEAoAEBwAEB&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-img&ei=TXqqYOLgDNG_lwT9jqPgBA&bih=577&biw=360&client=ms-android-samsung-rev2&prmd=sivn#imgrc=xwrlHJY5j1Q6eM. A child can still nap in it but would lay their head on the end of the pushchair/pram seat. We've even taken it abroad and airlines have accepted it as part of the pushchair. When I had my third, the eldest would hop on the back if they were tired so I'd be pushing all 3 sometimes!

Here is a pic of it (even now strangers stop me in the street to ask me where I got it from. I've even seen one with flashing lights on the wheels):

2.5y gap here - we walk a lot and older DC likes to be carried when tired so the double buggy is easier than pushing one and carrying a toddler!

Have you considered a second hand buggy? Lots on Facebook marketplace. We got an Out n About Nipper for £100, scrubbed it up so it looks almost new and bought a new carrycot. Figure we can sell it at the end again and overall won’t have cost much so no stress if it’s not used loads (though love it so far!)

Dd had dc2 when dc1 was 2y 2m. Bought very expensive add ins to the buggy she already had. She’s used the carry cot a few times, but the double buggy part only once as the weather wasn’t great so she didn’t feel ok putting the baby in the underneath bit.

No you don't need one. Buggy board and sling are fine. I couldn't be bothered with buying another buggy when we already had a good one, and encouraging lots of walking is a good thing (we do a lot of walking)

Baby will probably be happy in a sling for a few weeks or months. If you can start dc1 used to walking short stretches in the next few months that will help.
But £1k is madness, definitely worth trying sling + buggy and buggy + buggyboard and looking 2nd hand before spending that much.

I had 3 years between my dc, and dc1 had a balance bike from about 2 1/2. In the very early days, I left the buggy at home and wore dc2 in a sling while dc2 was on his bike. If we went a longer distance (more than a mile say) we might walk there and get the bus home.Or take the buggy with dc2 in on the way out and dc1 on the way home (with dc2 in sling, and bike balanced on the bars of the buggy).

By the time dc2 needed the buggy for longer stretches, dc1 no longer saw it as his.

In a similar position we got a double, but bought it from eBay for less than £100.

2 under 2 here. We used sling, buggy board. But we live in country. They were really only in it when out shopping. If we walked it was in the country and baby in sling. If we lived in town and walked a lot I'd buy the double buggy.

Oh good lord yes.
You should be able to find something cheaper second hand though, or new just not such a big brand.
Proper seat for toddler and somewhere for the baby to lay. I am short with super short legs and even I found any sort of attachment like a buggy board resulted in instant back ache due to trying to avoid kicking it.

I got a second hand uppababy vista when I had number 2. We had the same age gap as you.

I love it, wish I'd got one first time round.

When baby was 6 months, my eldest was able to use the buggy board. Before then he was a bit unsteady on it.

I had a 2 year age gap, almost to the day. I got a cheap Joie twin pushchair (the side by side version) and it lay flat enough for a newborn but I wedged a phil and teds newborn coccoon on one side for the little one, just for the first two months or so. Cost under £200 for both and I used the double loads for about a year then hardly at all once DC1 turned 3. Sold the items on though so felt it was really good value.

I did a mix of single pram, buggy board and sling in various combinations.
I had 3 under 4 and never bothered with a double, I didn’t feel the need. My friend with similar aged kids loved her double pram and hated wearing a sling. Whatever suits you and your lifestyle.