To want a double pram

[mumwhatnothing]

I am expecting a baby in December. My DD will be 2 years 8months when the new baby will be born. I think I will need a double pram and want the Uppababy Vista but DH is adamant we won't need a double pram. I think he has no bloody clue just how much a 2 year old will need to sit or nap or be strapped in when going around town. This will be the closest in age our children are. We have 19 year old DS, 7 year old DD and 2 year old DD.

I want and think we will need a double pram. Is he being an unrealistic tight arse?

no, not unreasonable if you do a lot of walking. I had a similar gap and DD1 would get very jealous if she was expected to walk while DD2 got to go in the single buggy (even though she was a tiny baby, lots of sibling jealousy . ICandy pear solved all our problems....

I have a 2.3 year gap and managed well mainly with the single pram/ stroller and slings/ wraps/ carriers. I'd alternate whoever was sleeping. If they both needed to sleep, baby slept fine in the carrier. I managed to carry DS1 until he was 4 and DS2 until he was 3 (bigger child) and my strength grew as they grew.

Initially I also put a babydan seat on the hard body of my pram which worked until DS2 needed to sit, but by that point DS1 was 2.9 and had more stamina than 6 months earlier.

I used a buggy board the summer that DS1 was 3 when he wanted to hop on/ hop off on little breaks, but I found the weight and small wheels dragged a lot and I found I had to shuffle behind it and not stride out.

There's not a definitive answer!

I agree with a PP about having more say if you are the default parent. You'll cop greater consequences to an inappropriate choice.

I've found DH more idealistic in his expectations of how the DCs will manage. We went to London this year and were planning a busy weekend. I suspected that DS2 (4) would get tired and thought a wrap would be useful... DH in his great superior wisdom () said he'd be fine... DH ended up with a very tired back and shoulders from lots of piggy backs over the weekend

We have the same gap and I wish I had got one. We have managed without with using the sling, but DD1 still (at 3.5) naps sometimes and loathed the buggy board.

We don't have a car, walk loads, and are in London. DD2 is enormous though and carrying her and pushing the buggy is quite a workout. DD1 couldn't walk until she was 2 either, so didn't have heaps of stamina by the time her sister was born.

It would have made the first six months much easier. I wish I had just done it rather than getting caught up in DD1 'should' be walking everywhere.

I posted earlier and just wanted to add about the buggy board as a lot of people suggest them. It didn't work for us on so many levels not least because my pram was so heavy with it on that I couldn't get up a kerb. I have an Armadillo Flip XT (and a few other buggies to be fair) and I thought the suspension was going to snap and DS is a very light toddler....it would be fine for a 10 min journey on a flat road but other than that nope.

It all depends on how far you walk , if your child will walk.. I am a childminder and some are better at walking than not.As your child is 2 now..How much walking do you do outside. I do take pushchiar and build them up but we do 2 schools runs a day so asking a toddler to walk 50 minute round trip twice a day is too much for many.

I would look at second hand though as it will be very short term you need it.. I would also wait a few months with it been summer you will be out more , but do increase distance DC walks now while you don't have another DC to deal with.

We're going to have a 23 month gap. I'm planning to sell my running buggy and buy an Out n About Nipper double when DC2 arrives in February. It's not the bulkiest double and my son is only barely starting to walk now so he's still not going to be massively confident.

Ha. We had exactly the same age gap. I bought an icandy because it can be converted from single to double and back again. So I had DC1 in the buggy seat and DC2 in car seat till they were both big enough to swap DC2 into the buggy seat and got rid of attachments, put a buggy board on for DC1. Only just weaned him off the buggy board though and he's 5!
I would say yes, get one, ours was really really useful. Youngest is now 2.5 and I can't imagine saying in a couple of months, right, no more buggy for you! IMO a buggy is useful till they're almost 4 .

Oh yes and everyone told me not to get the double - that DC1 'should' be walking! You gotta work with what you've got not some weird idealised version of what a toddler 'should' be ha ha!

Re "can't sleep on a buggy board", see attached (older child then 2y9m) for the final straw and why we got the inline double shortly thereafter ...

I had 2y 9m between mine and didn't get a double, wanted to see how DS1 coped. He decided he was a big boy now so didn't need a pushchair and has never sat in one since. I did have a sling for baby as well in case he changed his mind but never did.
I'd be inclined to wait and see how Dc1 gets on first before investing in a double.

You can't force your toddler to walk so it basically depends on how much walking you do and whether your toddler will manage it!

Oh bless them misshathaway !

Totally depends on child. I'd get a 2nd hand double buggy if I were you.

Mine were just over 2 years apart and we used one initially but dd hated going underneath and just wanted to walk everywhere. She'd given up naps by that age as well. Got a buggy board and used that for a bit but soon got bored!

Basically don't spend too much money on something that may not get used much!

I haven't used a buggy with my twins since they were about 1. We walk everywhere and I carry a sling if one of them gets tired and needs lifted for a while. They're 2.5 now. Honestly double buggies are a faff! You can have mine, it's been in the garage gathering dust for the past year and a half 😂

Jealous of all your 1yr olds that obediently hold your hand and walk miles and don't dart off to look at some interesting flower or stick or something.

My 20m old will just sit down if she's tired and refuses to hold my hand. I can't cope with the fear of her running into the road personally.

I hate my double buggy, my two youngest are 13.5 months apart so for the first 6 months I used a sling & put the bigger one in a single buggy but now my baby is too heavy so use the double out of necessity but it's impossible to steer, or get in a shop door & I cannot wait until my son is old enough for a buggy board so I can use my lovely single buggy again.

With the age gap between your two, I'd opt for the buggy board from the off!

Hathaway, that is adorable!

I'm due with a 25month gap and not planning it. I have a pram that goes from newborn so baby in when toddler wants to walk. Toddler in pram and baby in sling when toddlers tired. That's the plan. If I get desperate I'll look at it but can't see much of a problem.

So much depends on variables - your lifestyle, your children's development and likes/dislikes. Ours are 2.7 years apart, and whilst within normal limits both are long, well built and frankly heavy. The elder goes to a child minder two days a week and is used to being pushed miles back and forth on the school run. He will walk, but is so slow, and then will suddenly tire and want to ride. We have a lot of slings (I like the Connecta too) but it was a matter of weeks before the baby was too heavy to carry. He is on the 110 centile so very long - my friend's baby is a tiny, elegant little girl, so our needs were both so different. I first tried a tandem - the Britax b dual which I already had (the older version) with a tandem seat, but toddler( if I can call a 3 year old that!) refused to get in it with the carrycot on. Frankly I don't blame him, there was hardly any space for him, and no view. It was a pain to push up kerbs too, even with just the toddler in the main seat, and his feet were in the shopping basket if he was in the rumble seat. We then got a Mountain Buggy Plus 1 which was great, as the baby lay in the back, and toddler up front as usual. However once the baby outgrew his space at the rear, it, ( which he did very quickly) it wasn't so practical. In any case toddler was so jealous of the baby that we were having to make adjustments so he didn't feel displaced. So having tried - and disliked immensely- the tandem set up, we looked at side by side so both had equal space. We wanted the MB duet, but couldn't afford it even second hand, so in the end went for an almost new, v4 (separate hoods) Out and About Nipper. It's light, a dream to push, and both children love it. However the triangular footrest meant toddler had one leg hanging to the side, and it's shopping basket is non existent. When we realised Out n About had a new one out, the Little Nipper, we went for it. Tyres that don't puncture, squarer front, 4 wheels, basket, a really easy fold, and so light - it's great. It's been - and still is - fantastic. It goes up to 5 years weightwise. Even when toddler wants to walk - and he's 3.5 now - his seat nicely takes a shopping bag and holds a ton of stuff. I was so glad of it the other day when he had a meltdown in a store, ( over a chocolate bar) as I'd somewhere to strap him in and corral him. Don't know what I'd have done otherwise. It's narrow enough to go through doors too, ( haven't got stuck yet) and I now realise that the duet would have been too tight for them given their sizes .For me it's a no brainer. I plan to keep it for another year at least given it's so great for days out - well for any trip really. The Uppababy is great - and if you get it for child 1 makes sense - but otherwise I'd go for the Little Nipper. But it really is horses for courses, and only you can make that decision. It really is what suits you

I have a double vista and it's really awkward to push. I stopped using the bassinet really early on because you can't see it easily if it's on the bottom, and the baby is stuck looking at the back of the seat. It doesn't work with the top seat flat and the bottom facing out. It's just so heavy and awkward with 20kg of kids in it. I don't really use it on my own and rely on slings or letting the older one walk instead.

We had a double city mini on holiday and it was so easy in comparison. I would look for a side by side buggy if I was to do it again.

If you don't drive and walk everywhere like I do then yes I would get one.

My DD1 is 2.5 and still naps for a couple of hours which often starts on our way home from a morning activity.

If you drive and are have to justify spending that money then maybe not.

I will add that I am about to purchase a buggy board though because some activities end earlier than others and so she will be awake on the journey home and I know she would enjoy the buggy board more.

Just to add I have the bugaboo donkey duo and I love it.

Once I get the buggy board then I will convert it back to a mono pram and add the side basket it comes with.

Very expensive all in but as I don't drive it is basically my car!

Both DC can face me which I love and I can push it with one hand on even roads!

Ooo I could've written your post 2littlemoos! I love mine too. I find it's not as wide as it looks either and can fit through most doors. And I love being able to see them both and talk to them.

DS2 used the buggy quite a lot until he was almost 4. But that was because I had no car and we had to walk 2 miles each way to school and back twice a day, plus walk to town, ASDA, or wherever else we were going. He did walk a lot too, but his little legs could only go so far when he was tired! Plus the buggy was really handy for stashing shopping underneath/on handles/in the seat if DS was walking.

When DS1 was little, I did have a car. He barely used a buggy after the age of 2 really.

So it really does depend on your transport situation and how much you'll be using the pram anyway. If it's going to be a lot I would go for a double, but if it's just for a short period of time, it will end up being a pain having to cart a double pram around when your older child rarely uses it.