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?

I had a 24 month gap between mine and bought a double pushchair but it was such a faff as soon as the little one was old enough I bought a lightweight pushchair and buggyboard and it's so much easier. So a double pushchair was a waste of money in my experience but it depends on the child. If they still nap in the day and you're out a lot, for example, you will probably need one.

Just a thought, but maybe sell yours and buy a second hand one? won't be much differenc then form what you make off first and what you pay for second?

I also have a 22 month gap between my two. I used the sling a bit in the beginning but I continue to use a buggy with a buggyboard. My DS is very tall for his age so doesn't really fit into our Bugaboo Bee anymore. We trek everywhere as we are in central London and don't use a car if we can avoid it.

But talking of kit you can't afford, have you seen the Bugaboo Donkey- a new nifty tandem that converts to a single? (salivate emoticon)

Sausage there is an excellent second hand market for slings and you should be able to get most of your money back for the ergo, should you wish to - might even solve your buggy problem if you still want one.

You could always experiment with a wrap now with DS, at 17mo you've still got years left to carry him.

Have you considered using the ergo for DS and the buggy for the baby?

If you can't get one then you will survive, but if you see one on Freecycle or get the offer of a loan then I'd leap at it if I were you.

yabu! Although I'd be impressed if you managed it .

Think of walking everywhere in the rain, snow, illness, tantrums, shopping bags, running late etc.

We still use the double (phil & teds) at 4yrs and 2yrs. But I walk very fast and we don't use the car much.

It depends on the toddler imo.

I had a Nipper Double and it was great. I loved it.

DS2 was my second section and it was too uncomfortable to carry him in a sling and DS1 was a bolter. For ages.

He wouldn't have stayed on a buggy board. I had to use a wrist strap until he was gone 3.

As I said, it depends. If you have a compliant toddler and no section scars to deal with you'll be fine.

I couldn't manage without mine. Age gap is 15 months.
I walk for around 2 hours a day. On school days i would collapse from exhaustion carrying in a sling as well as pushing a heavy toddler.
I also found the baby in the sling wash squished against the pushchair i was pushing and if i want to get the toddler out the baby was in the way constantly on my front,
I use the sling if i am going somewhere In a car but it woukd be awful walking a long distance in bad weather or something,

I can't belive you're contempleting not having a double buggy with only a 20 month age gap!

Like others have said, you might be ok for the first few months but when your kids are older you might need to walk a lot more to ferry them to playgroup, pre-school, etc.

I'd definitely say get something like this which are virtually the same size as a single buggy although heavier to push.

Do you know any one who works in airline baggage or train/bus depot lost and found the amount of buggies found is ridiculous and every few weeks they off load them to a local charity, so they could tell you when and where to go for a cheap reasonably priced buggy. Both of my buggies came from charity shops, and are perfect except missing the extra's ie rain cover/ foot muff but I bought a universal one which was fine.

Sausage where do you live? I might be able to help with a very old P&T.

i had a 22 month gap and absolutely could not have coped without a double buggy but then we walk everywhere. I guess if you're in the car a lot it's less important but I still couldn't manage without one (and I carried DD2 in an ergo til she was 18 months). Pushing a buggy with a baby in a sling is very hard on the back.

I've done it!

It is much easier if you don't have porky babies that breastfeed like it's going out of fashion and zoom up the centiles. On the other hand, I still managed it, and I got very fit carrying my little Buddha around.

I also walked everywhere but didn´t have a double.

But as I put, places were fairly close!

Might the older one go to nursery so that you could do "long distance" stuff then?

Hi staranise - I live in Oxfordshire but as I said before my main issue with getting a P&T (apart from the price new) is getting it in the house and storing it. We have quite a small house with only 1 downstairs room and have to park a distance away, so no chance of keeping it in the boot of the car etc.

I'm beginning to think we may well have to get something in the end, but it's probably still better to wait until No.2 arrives. Whether/how long I'll be able to manage with a sling depends so much on how big the baby is and what sort of delivery I have, and what arrangement is best after that will probably be affected by how DS1 reacts to the baby and how keen he is to walk places then. I'm still a bit reluctant to commit myself in advance.

Thanks for all your advice/suggestions. Very helpful!

sausgae, i will have a 25month old and a newborn. i have a double but apart from the first few weeks when i wont be able to carry either child, (after dd4 i felt i had been hit my truck) i will be going back to slinging wither dd4 or baby and pushing the other in the buggy. and hopefully after that can ditch the buggy almost completely and tandem carry the pair of them/

I might be able to help - how do I give you my email anonymously? You could fold a P&T up in the house though it's still not tiny.

We're in south west London so not too far away.

We had something similar to the Buggypod and it was brilliant.

For short distances I could do without but for longer walks, or when you want to get there without your older DC stopping to turn over every second stone and jump in puddles, it is not really practical.

Although in theory I really like the idea of tandem carrying, in practice I am a puny shortarse with a mildly dodgy back. I already struggle to carry DS1 more than a few feet (though admittedly I am quite pregnant at the moment).

Part of the reason I'm reluctant to give up our existing buggy is that it has a really good size shopping basket. I am almost always on foot, so carrying shopping as well as two kids doesn't appeal greatly. I reckon I'll manage ok with carrying a newborn (I did last time in spite of the episiotomy from hell which didn't heal for 5 months), but I seriously doubt I'll be able to manage both!

16 months between DS2 and DD, never had a double buggy. So entirely do-able for somepeople.

Sling and buggy when baby was little, then buggy board a bit later on.

DS2 is 2.7 now and a fantastic little walker. He trots along happily holding the buggy on the school-run, trips to the park, days out etc and stands on the back of the pushchair in town when its busy and I dont want him running off getting knocked by people.

Yes, I think you will. A sling and a pushchair when you've just given birth and are breastfeeding really isn't great.

You could try getting one on ebay or freecycle.

sausage-good size shopping basket-I do remember now my toddler sitting in the shopping basket a couple of times

Seat on the pram?

I've got a buggypod! they are really good. my dd is a good walker, was 26 months when my ds was born, but I still don't know how I would have coped without it, especially through her tantrums.

I think you're right to wait until number 2 arrives. I had a 26 month age gap and did the sling/buggy thing for a while, then buggy/buggy board. There were times I wished I had a double, but these were outnumbered by the times I was glad that I didn't have a big thing to push around.

It does depend on your lifestyle, the toddler, your health etc, so wait and see. I found a sling (Ergo) with buggy fine, as you've got somewhere to put your shopping etc.

Merrymonsters, I used to zip DD up inside my coat and walk around breastfeeding her while she was in the sling

diddle how completely appalling, that is borderline child abuse I would never have let my DS do that it was only a couple of times for fun

sausagedoesnotroll, you said size was the main issue and price the next. We had a Jusonne Othello and it was fab -- £160 and it takes up barely more room than a single buggy, and is very light for a double, too. It happily fits on buses, tubes, taxis etc. £160 is not cheap but is at the cheaper end of prices for a double.

www.jusonne.co.uk/jusonne-faux-leather-twin-buggy-othellotandem-blue-white-747-p.asp