To insist on a parent facing pram with carrycots.

[user1487755366]

I am prepared for you all to tell me that I'm being unreasonable. Currently pregnant with twins - a few weeks ago DP started looking at pram options and measured up the boots of our cars. I have a Nissan Micra (new style) he has a Mini Cooper (ridiculously small boot size).
He found a pram he thinks will fit. Today I said I've been thinking and like a different brand because I want them to be parent facing and also in carrycots when they're tiny. He asked 'can you have it without carry cots' and I said no because they're part of the model and I'd want the other model with optional carrycots he said it categorically won't fit in his car and we'd just have to accept that we couldn't drive the babies anywhere....

I'm really upset about this. Does anyone have either of these cars and have a double buggy with carrycots? How important is parent facing - it's something I really want when they're tiny.

My eldest is 13 now but she hated the carry cot and was barely in it. We ended up pushing an empty carry cot and carrying her. We sat her up at about 4 months.

@bubbleup

Like I said, have a day off.

OP isn't getting a pram with 2 carrycots plus 2 car seats and the rest of the paraphernalia you need in a Nissan Micra. And it's practical to get one that fits in both cars if possible surely

Why don't you have a day off from being so rude

You don't need to take 55 tones of stuff in a car so if the car seats fit in the back, the pram in the boot and the changing back in the footwell either front or back she's sorted.

The comment that unless the pram fits in his car they can't go anywhere could be completely innocuous, but it could also be an important one.

If you don't agree then just fucking ignore it, but given we know how shit some men are it deserves flagging up

*changing bag

We had a Jané twin 3 wheeler based on the ease of getting them in and out of buggy frame and the collapsing it. The baby seats were forward facing.
I don't know of any twin parents with cars with small boots. The smallest was a Golf and that got traded in sharpish.

I had twins after a singleton, I was the same as you when I had my first. Parent facing carry cot only. When I had the twins we went for a more practical option and got a baby jogger city mini double. They went in happily from birth and we are still using it now at 2.5. They would have grown out of anything else by now!

I had a much loved mini, it had to go when I had twins and we still needed a roof box to go on holiday anywhere.
Regardless of the pram a mini and baby twins is daft.
A friend with twins put both of her dc in the same pram when they were small, I rather wished I had thought of doing that.

You could get a normal double buggy that folds well then use a Phil and ted or similar soft carrycot in the seat flat. Those would probably fit squish up in the foot well under car seats.

We had a carry cot and parent facing etc. Not sure it was needed as lo slept in the buggy and so wasn’t bothered if I was looking or not! It’s such a short period of time. As long as they lie flat or almost flat it’s fine I’d say.

I made several expensive pram mistakes, including a Dutch carrycot system.
In the end I had a maclaren for town and a mountain buggy all terrain for everywhere else.

I'd just go for a double push chair that lies flat.

I was the same but I only used the carry cot about 2 times and then had them in the regular seat. Still parent facing but I had an insert so they could still lay flat. I didn't like how they couldn't be strapped into the carrycot either. I don't drive so on the bus I did not feel he was very safe and when walking and crossing roads he seemed so much safer in the normal seats (layed back with the insert) I had the uppababy vista.

I had a Suzuki swift chopped it in for a bigger car just after DS was born (mainly because the swift died but I'm really glad I had to). My single pram, parent facing just fit in the boot of the swift with the parcel shelf off with the carry cot (cosatto wow), a second wouldn't have. I'd make the same choice again, DS is eighteen months and I still parent face him sometimes because we like to chat and we got plenty of use out of the carry cot but we live by the sea and walk a lot even in winter so he had some lovely outdoor naps. My SIL had a bugaboo and didn't use the carry cot because it was higher and she drives everywhere and would just always used the car seat on the buggy frame (not my preference for more than a quick pop into a shop etc) , so it also depends on your lifestyle.

I’d get one with carrycots and car seat adaptors - when you go out in the car take the frame and adaptors and when you go for walks from home you can put them in the carrycots.
If you go out for a while in the car and don’t want them in car seats for that long then perhaps make sure you take a sling for you and DH? And if dh isn’t with you then you could put the carrycots in the passenger seat!

The mountain buggy nano twin folds up beautifully.

The duet folds flat but is wide, we have an X5 and it takes up the whole footprint of the boot.

In carrycots baby generally sleep or are lying down so you can’t really see much of them anyway when you are walking along. It’s not like when the pushchair adaptor goes on and they can be sat up facing you but generally babies like facing forwards to look at what is going on around them.

If you get a double buggy, like the Mountain Duet or Out n About, even though they are forward facing the carrycots so face towards the parent. I would consider something like that over anything else. Don’t forget that with twins each other will often be the focus rather than you.

@lifesnotaspectatorsport
Was there any need for the !!? Made you sound like a bully. An angry one.

I agree with pp - buy a bigger car

Parents facing yes, my daughter hated the carry cot with a passion and screamed every time in it, thankfully it converted into a sort of hammock seat which she loved. Ours was a travel system so for quick trips we just put the car seat on the pushchair using adapters. Unless you're wanting the carrycots that can be used like a Moses basket at home i wouldn't bother

Don't spend loads of money on a massive pram, they weigh a ton, don't fit in the boot & within a few months most parents then buy a buggy type. Unless it's the middle of winter, a lightweight pram is perfectly adequate & if you both have cars, you won't be walking for miles with it.

We went for a bugaboo donkey for the same reasons as you, it folds down quite compactly. I also didn’t want the babies just in the car seats because it isn’t really good for them and with them being twins they will probably be smaller, so it’s even worse for them to be in car seats for long periods Of time. I think sit down with your DH and go through the issues of just having car seats rather than carrycots

Ye really need a new car, even thinking of when they are out of infant car seats and in proper ones, a small double buggy in the boot, there's going to be no room.
Your cars aren't practical at all.

I had a Bugaboo for walks directly from the house and a Maclaren lie flat that I kept in the car. Both second hand. You will go mental loading and unloading the chassis and 2 carrycots every time I promise you. Then moving it from house to car and back.

In case you are counting votes I would say Baby jogger city mini double and instead of carry cots, we had a pair of awesome bunting bags which had two layers and strapped into the buggy and worked from when the babies were tiny.

And please don't get a roof box to put the buggy in every time you go out.. away for the weekend.. yes but do find a buggy that will fit in the boot.

I'm gatecrashing to say that of the -6- buggies I had including a bugaboo, the Out n About Nipper was my favourite. Shamelessly I didn't even have twins. -just lazy children- Absolutely brilliant for hooking random laufrader and micro scooters and slinging all sorts of shopping underneath. It collapsed really easily, travelled through many an airport and every kind of terrain. What I would say, is that what you want for the first 6 months and afterwards is very different. So bear in mind that you will likely want to swop. Wheels matter a lot (especially as babies get heavier and heavier) as does the frame (don't go for some epic bulky thing) Everyone always swears that they will get 1 pram/buggy but the reality is usually multiples!

Really the carrycot stage is so short that I wouldn't prioritise that. I'm not sure many parent-facing doubles even exist. I don't recall seeing any when we were shopping for ours. I also think you'll need at least one bigger car, particularly of you ever planning on taking them away overnight and need to carry luggage as well. Double buggies are huge even when they're folded, ours nearly half fills the boot of our estate (although granted we didn't choose one that folded particularly small)

Definitely world facing and I would go for carrycots if possible even though mine hated it- I did get a few good lunches out with him sleeping 2-3 hours in when tiny.

However there is no chance you will fit 2x full size carrycots, a chassis and 2x car seats in either of those cars safely. I have a compact travel system and the carrycot had to go in the backseat of car. You might be better taking 2 cars everywhere.

Are you aware infant car seats should have a gap of 2-4 inches between them and the front seat? So many people drive with them rammed against each other- this dramatically increases the impact in a crash. You won't have that gap in a mini unless you are very short.