Double buggy or sling?

[Supercherry]

My DS will be 21mths when his sibling arrives in November. Do I save the money and get a sling for the newborn and just use the existing pushchair or will I need a double buggy?

Not sure where to post this.

I had same gap and used a sling for a long time but eventually got a double buggy as the distances were sometimes just too long for me - esp if I was stopping off along way and needed somewhere to put the baby and buggy was already occupied. see how you go though, def get a sling for the early days (I loved my slings! but baby is nearly 3 now )

I haven't tried this, only having one DS, but I did manage to carry him a lot when he was tiny. The main things I struggled with were the nappy bag and having somewhere to put DS down when I occasionally retied my stretchy wrap. Having your older DS in a puschair would solve both of these.

What I would do is get a lightweight pushchair that is suitable from birth and then you can use it for either DC as I imagine your 21 month DS will walk sometimes.

I agree with ramona re the early days - and if you leave it a few months you can get a more lightweight double.

I have a 23 month age gap. I have a P&T, but am also a sling fan.

I would say that the double buggy is a luxury, but it is one that I have been very glad of a number of times.

In the early days it was great, but then we walk a lot.

When I had to rush dd to A&E, and ds was only a few weeks old, as far as I'm concerned the double paid for itself that day. Don't know how on earth I'd have managed without it. But of course I would have done.

I feel very lucky that I get to shove my sling under my double and have lots of options.

Now ds is nearly one. We don't really need a double any more. I still use it though, and it's a bonus.

Thank you for the advice- I bought so much for my first and in hindsight I didn't need half of it so this time I want to be more frugal.

I'm definitley buying a Calin Bleu sling then and maybe see how it goes with regards to a double buggy.

as for no where to put the baby sometimes, I just ask a sensible looking woman to hold the baby for me for a short time. everyone has jumped at the chance to do so so far.

dd2 is nearly 7mos old and has never been in a buggy.

Wow Foxytocin, so you've literally carried him everywhere! I was planning on carrying the new baby in a sling while newborn but then as DS1 gets older and can walk a bit further putting new baby in pushchair sometimes.

DS1 didn't really like being in the pushchair when he was tiny so I would often end up carrying him and pushing the pushchair. I figured if DC2 is going to be the same I may aswell just go for the sling but obviously I don't know how realistic I'm being.

I have a 20 month gap between DS1 and DS2 (who is 6 weeks old) - I'm using a sling now, but I am considering getting a buggy board in a few months time, so I won't have to push a cumbersome double buggy around.

Has anyone tried this? How old should a toddler be to use a buggy board? Do they escape? Is it dangerous?

I didnot get a double buggy as my ds1 was older but I found that as I walked alot it was really difficult once the lo was too heavy to carry for long walks in the sling and ds1 wanted to sit in the buggy too in heinsight I would have bought a double but saying that the sligh was handy too as it is not always easy to fit doubles into small spaces etc and gettinga round tight corners etc.

Yes, I carry her everywhere. I drive as we live in a small village with no shops etc. But, I carry her in the sling a lot while at home doing my chores: dishes, cooking, hanging laundry, ironing, even sweeping and mopping. She sleeps on my back as well.

We went to Abu Dhabi for 3 months when she was nearly 3 months and forgot to take the pushchair but with the sling it was easier to manage without it, in hindsight.

Last week I carried her for 7 hrs straight while out in town except when we stopped for a meal and on the bus. I still have SPD from pregnancy and I find pushing the pushchair makes it worse but not using the sling.

I think it is partly because I have carried her everyday from day one that my muscles and back is used to it. a good sling and a well positioned sling should not hurt at all.

there is a website calls naturalmamas which has a forum for die hard dedicated sling users and by lurking you can learn a lot about slings before your baby gets here.

oh,

my 3yo is the only child who has sat in the pushchair i bought for this baby.

Both. Sling + single for short trips, P & T for longer ones. I have 23mths between DS's and was going to go just for the sling but my mum bought us the P & T and I'm soooo glad she did, I love it!

I have an 18 month age gap between by 2. I got a double pushchair straight away. I do find that it means ds1 is in it more often than not and I'm not encouraging him to walk as much as I should iyswim. If he'd been over 2, I think I may have just got a buggy board. You can get ones that are like a little seat. Let me pop off to find a link.........will be back

No, can't find it atm. Will look later when I have more time

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful. Foxytocin, I meant 'her' not 'him', sorry.

I am a big, big fan of slings and have traveled all over the world with them. I would recommend them over any other type of conveyance for many reasons that I won't go into now. Because when my dd was a babe I was at a party with another new mom who had her babe with her in a sling. Maybe because I was missing my own dd I kind of went on and on and on and on about the virtues of the sling. Finally, she said to me, "Perhaps you'd like to meet my husband," and introduced me to Dr. William Sears.

I have similar gaps and have never had a double buggy, just used a sling. Don't forget that by the time you new dc is 6 months your older one will be almost always walking (at least that is how it was with mine)

There were a couple of occasions when I made them take turns, 'you get out and walk for a while and I'll lie the baby down' Or later, when the older one got tired, putting the younger one in the sling and the letting the older one ride. (you can also get a buggy board at this stage)

The big thing is your lifestyle, How much walking do you do, do you use a car a lot or buses, do you need to be doing a lot of shopping with dcs in the buggy? Do you walk long distances? (as opposed to frequent short spurts) If you mainly use the buggy for going to the park, the older one will jump out anyway. I am a great believer in getting kids to walk, so both my older ones walked most of the time from 2.5.

Also have you carried a baby in a sling before? I have had 3 slings, first 2 borrowed and they both gave me back ache after a while, or once the baby was bigger. Then we bought a babybjorn sport, this is fantastic, was still using it at 1 year, even though she hardly squeezed in it in her snowsuit. Could have climbed everest with the baby in it.