to think I'll be able to manage with a newborn and a 20 month old without a double buggy?

[sausagedoesnotroll]

This is kind of an academic question, since we can't afford a double buggy and all the ones we've looked at would be far too huge to get into our tiny house anyway. I guess what I'm asking is, has anyone done it and managed ok?

I'm hoping to use a sling and buggy to begin with and then the buggy and a buggy board when they're both a bit bigger. We have a folding buggy too, so when DH is around we can use both and push one each. MIL and various other people seem to think I'm insane, though. Am I?

the trouble with sling and buggy, IMO, is that in order to push a buggy your body is at one angle, which is slightly different from the angle it needs to be to carry a baby in a sling, because both actions change your centre of gravity slightly. Therefore pushing a buggy whilst carrying a baby in a sling is harder than doing either separately, and especially as the baby gets bigger.

If you really can't afford a double buggy you will manage, but it's easier if you have one.

My older 2 are 18 months apart, I struggled on with buggy and sling/backpack till the second child was about 10 months, then got a Phil and Teds (thanks MIL!), and it changed my life - made walking a long way with both dcs so much easier and nicer.

I think MIL would be happy to contribute towards a double, which I suspect is why she was asking, but we looked at the Phil&Teds etc. and they are so big I wouldn't be able to get them into the house unfolded, which would mean leaving it outside in the garden (probably in the rain), putting toddler and newborn and shopping in the house (alone!) and going back out to collapse the buggy. Plus even folded it would fill the hall and make it v. hard to get in/out of the door, up the stairs etc.

So space is perhaps more of an issue for us than price (within reason). I was quite interested by the small foldable one someone linked to. Anyone know of similar designs? All the ones we've seen have been enormous.

I did use a sling a fair bit with DS1 and he is a fairly good walker, though still somewhat reluctant to go where you want, rather than where he does, but I hardly ever use the car (DH needs it for work) so will be on foot a lot, which is what is making me worry.

What slings do you have sausage?

Why don't you rent one? See here as an example. You can then make an informed decision.

It will be fine for now, it's later that I would think you need one. When you have a two and half year old and a 10 month old. Depends if you have a car, how you do your shopping etc.
I had twin and 20 month toddler in a double buggy and one twin in a sling and it was not fun at all, I wish now I'd splashed out on a way of all transporting all three. Most of the time as you say it was fine, but when I needed to chase after the toddler whilst putting him buggy it was difficult to have a sling on simultaneously...Buggy board was not answer until you had a three year old who didn't have tantrums/run into road.
Second hand could be very cheap. People always anxious to offload old ones. Lurk near a primary school perhaps?

there's a mum at preschool that has a very nifty thing, it's an extra seat that clips on the side of a single buggy, with extra wheels etc, and folds up when you're not using it - could work for you? not sure of the name though....

Never a good idea to advise people to lurk near primary schools!

There are some doubles that fold up flat, so that they are like a sheet of hardboard which take up very little space against a wall, ifysim, rather than sideways like a tangled mass of iron bars (Mclarens are guilty of that as are most of the heavy duty trekker ones) My cheap buggy with plastic wheels was much easier to fold up and lighter too, than the proper expensive one...
Unfortunately cannot remember name except of expensive one..

this looks like it.... www.buggypod.com/

loopy

Normality - I have a close sling, from when DS was very little, and an ergobaby which we got about this time last year and I really like. I only stopped using it when DS turned 1 and I discovered I was pregnant (mostly because I really didn't need anything pressing on my bladder at that point). Last time we borrowed a babybjorn from someone, but I wouldn't go back to that having tried the ergo.

Renting is an interesting idea llareggub. I hadn't thought of that - thanks!

I think you'll be OK for the first few months. Can you get a second hand one perhaps?

I think it depends on your lifestyle. My DC are 20 months apart and I couldn't have managed without one but I walk a lot.

I think you also need to consider - what if your toddler gets jealous of baby getting all the "cuddles"? How do you do things like push a toddler in a swing while you have a baby in a sling? What if your toddler throws a tantrum/needs to be restrained from running over the road? I suspect a baby in sling would get in the way.

You might get lucky on freecycle?

I have 20 month and 25 month gaps and despite them being good walkers - they stopped wanting to walk when next baby came along.

Got by for few weeks with first two with eldest in pushchair and LO in sling - but on bad/tired/ somehow hurt my back days it was very hard. Was glad when we got the double then.

Buggy board was not liked by eldest two much so for us a waste of money.

We do not drive so are on and off buses so we found a buggy pod useful.

We were not keen on the phil and teds but looking back it would have been much easier if we had got one.

Ooooh the Buggypod looks good.

they do look fab - was unsure until I saw one in action but they look v comfortable and practical and the mum who had one was singing it's praises.

Buggypod looks v. interesting and there's a stockist just down the road from us. Might have to go and have a look and see if it would work with our existing pram. :)

My Ds1 was 21 months when DS2 was born. I was given a free side by side double buggy by a kind neighbour, but I found going anywhere was so unwieldy and awkward I soon gave up with it. I made DS1 walk. But to be honest we live in the middle of nowhere so have to use the car to get most places to actually do anything anyway. It was ony going to be used around the shops and I couldn't get through half the aisles.

Buggy pod looks like a good idea.

As I said, mine was 22months & it seemed silly to buy a double which would really be for when he got tired rather than full time use.

I hoped to do without a double - DD was 22 months when DS1 was born - but it simply wasn't doable, unfortunately. I barely used a pushchair for DD, but when I had a NB too, I found it very tricky to chase/ wrangle her with him strapped to me.

Once he was back-carry-able, I managed far better, but had a P&T by then.

PM me if you like the buggy pod, I have one for cheapness.

I'd use a woven wrap if it were me, mostly on the front to begin with but they are so tiny then you can't even tell they are there - 110% easier than being pregnant. Then pop little one up on my back here and there if they were likely to get in the way. Of course you can use a woven wrap for your toddler as well for a few years yet, and also use it to carry both, toddler on the back and baby on the front or vice versa. Of course most of the time the toddler will be walking. Got to be easier than carrying a baby in one hand, pushing an empty double with the other and shouting after a toddler disappearing round the corner, right? Get a nice woven wrap and go buggy free

I would say the same as redsky. I got a P&T when dd was born and ds was 2.10 but used sling and buggy for 2 mths then p&t occasionally over next two months. We walk a lot, 20mins to nursery, always to shops, park etc. It was a waste of money.

18mths after dd, ds2 arrived. As I type they are both fast asleep in p&t and I have had lunch in a cafe. Typing/eating would be impossible with sleeping ds in sling-plus it is raining so he would get wet walking home. Prior to falling asleep dd had a 2 yr old mutinous moment , sat on pavement and refused to walk, so I had to strap her in the pushchair (possible but difficult while wearing baby in sling and of course impossible to swap baby onto buggy board!) so with a similar age gap it is invaluable for me.

Dd is 2.6 and ds 10 mths now btw.

Normality - I'm afraid I never mastered carrying DS in a wrap - they always seemed to shift/slide after a short while and leave me uncomfortable and the baby in a funny position. No doubt it's lack of practice on my part, but I'm guessing I won't have a lot of time to experiment this time round. Also, the ergo was expensive, so I ought to try and get some use out of it :o .

The main problem I'm anticipating with using a sling this time is bending down to get DS in and out of the buggy with No. 2 strapped to my front. No.2 is due in Jan. so I'm reckoning I'll have to carry him on the front, inside a coat, rather than on the back, if only because of the weather.

I have a slightly different situation - 20 month old twins. Most of the time I have one in a back carrier and one in a single buggy - sometimes I take just the buggy and a buggy board (but only short trips at the moment).

I do have a double buggy I use it less than once a week and I think I could manage without it. I generally much prefer to take the single. Hard if you have a difficult delivery but that's normally only a couple of months to manage.

One way to go after 6 months (assuming MIL would pay!) might be two identical folding buggies you can use singly and buggy connectors so you have the option, if you really need it, to double them up.