How essential is a double pushchair?

[SamWidgiz]

So my DD will be 18 months when DC2 is born in November.

I've been struggling to choose a double pushchair and am just wondering how practical it will be to stick to a single pushchair for the toddler, and use the Baby Bjorn for DC2.

What do you think?

I am going to try the same as you...DC2 is due in the next week and DD is 18 months.
I have got a buggy board (which we are yet to try out) because DD is a confident walker and I think she will be fine with it. She also hates being in her buggy and would always prefer to walk.
If I need to get somewhere without faffing around I plan to put DD in the pushchair and carry the baby in a sling.
Wondering what more experienced mums will say though...

I guess it depends on how much you have to walk. We live on the edge of town and so would never drive in but its too far for dd to walk. I love my double buggy (phil n teds) especially as ds is a nightmare to get to sleep so we spend a lot of time walking around so he naps and dd goes to the park, library etc. I bought my double on ebay and although it was still a lot of money it was loads cheaper then new and worth every penny. Also my dd was just over 2 when ds born so bigger gap than yours. I found the sling good initially but now ds is 4 m and a monster so getting really heavy!

Also i just find that sometimes toddler speed just isnt quick enough and we need wheel speed to get anywhere!

I have a bigger age gap than your dc and found a double buggy a lifesaver. Ds wouldn't stay on the buggy board (plus it was cumbersome to manoeuvre). Using a baby Bjorn just isn't always practical - what if you have other stuff to carry, want to wrap baby up for cold weather then go into warm shops, or if you have a longer walk once the baby is slightly older and heavier.

findme dd went through a phase of wanting to walk too but is very over it at the moment! You would be fine with sling initially anyway and can just Good luck with no 2 ladies its definitely fun !

Just have a single and a sling to start with and see whether the need arises.

My two girls are the same age gap and I love my double buggy. It is a maclaren that I got very cheaply at my nearest nct nearly new sale. It helps me get around quickly but dd1 can walk if she wants too. Plus there is two baskets for all the gear you need to carry around.

I'm due no 2 (although no 1 is older) and will use a sling.

However if you plan to use it a lot i really WOULDN'T use a baby bjorn. Most people can't wear them for long periods of time or for that many weeks after the baby is born.

A good newborn sling would be a wrap like a Kari me or a Mobi. Far more comfortable for you and baby.

A good longer term carrier would be an ergo. More expensive than a baby bjorn but I could still carry my daughter at nearly 2 in it!!! I'm not sure its as good for a newborn though, but you can get a newborn insert for it.

I have 16 months between mine, DD1 was not walking yet when baby came along and the double was really useful, I wouldn't be without it to be honest.

If we were just going to the local park I put baby in a stretchy wrap sling (not a BabyBjorn!) and put the older one in the single maclaren and it was great. I'd have my hands free to get DD1 into the swings and things. I did love my sling, now use a Mei Tei instead of a stretchy wrap.

That being said, if we were going on a family day out or doing things where we would be in and out a lot it was so much easier to use the double (a phil&teds). I found that if we were going into town say to meet up with some other mums for library and then coffee it was a faff to get baby in and out of the sling for the library and then again in the cafe or just so I could take my coat off , even worse in the bad weather.

We did quite a few days out to the zoo and that sort of thing too, where I think we would have struggled without the double. Plus, in full torrential rain I think its nicer to be able to get them both warm and snug in the buggy under the oxygen tent, knowing they'll stay warm and dry. I don't have a babywearing coat so baby always got a bit rained on in the sling.

They are now 2.5yrs and 15mo and I still use the double sometimes, the single maclaren and a buggy board sometimes and a Mei Tai sling at other times.

If you can afford one I would get a double, maybe get a secondhand one that you can sell on to recoup your cost if you end up not really using it?

I had 22 months between DDs and didn't consider a double buggy. Thought buggy baord would be enough. We had a spare umbrella buggy which we used when there were two of us. As it was DD1 was a sterling walker although now I feel a bit guilty that she had to be! DD2 as it turned out loved being in a buggy and still used her till she was 3.

I love my P&T and wouldn't be without it, but we do walk a lot and sometimes have tight timings between things so can't cope with a toddler dawdling (sp?). I think you can cope for the first few months without a double but once the baby is about 6 months, you might find you need one.

At the moment DD2 is only 3 months and hasn't been in a buggy. I use a wrap sling for her. But DD1 used it a lot when she was a baby. There was 22 mo between DS and DD1. We used both seats of the double a lot. There is 27 mo between DD1 and DD2, and mostly we just use the second seat for coats, bags, sticks, other random stuff that we have to take home. I'm sure that will change in a few months when DD2 decides she wants to see more of the world or I decide she is too heavy!

Best thing i ever got after having DS2 was the phil and teds. I shudder to how i would have coped with a sling and a stroller. Troublesome toddler AND baby in a sling?? Arghhh no thanks

I did with DDs 1 and 2 as there is only 11 months between them. When DS came along just under two years after DD2 I didn't bother, far too cumbersome and the girls were almost two and three by then so were generally insistent on happy to walk, just used the single.

I think that unless one is embarking on enormous hikes, a single and buggy board should be plent

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In contrast to the person who can't imagine sling +toddler. I can't really picture using a double buggy (but my no 1 is a bit bigger and will walk a lot too )_. Sling means hands free to chase no 1 without needing to push a pushchair/ leave baby somewhere at all!

DD1 was 21mths when DD2 was born. We did without a double buggy and just used a buggy board.
She was a confident early walker and hardly used her buggy before that anyway.

I guess it depends how much walking you will be doing.

20 months between mine. Walked everywhere. Didn't have double pushchair. Used sling and pushchair. Now, combinations of walking, pushchair, and back carrier.

As usingapseudonym said, I really can't imagine double-buggying it. DC2 always felt held and supported and with me, even when I was running round after DC1, and DC1 always felt like he had my attention, and had kept 'his' pushchair (seemed to be important to him in the early days).

Also used buggy-board, which was fine, and definitely good to have there as a fall-back option.

I also had a P&T when I had DS2 (18 months gap between mine). I could not have done without it. Neither of my boys were overly keen on walking at that young age and I really needed the pushchair to use to restrain them at times! Plus my two both had afternoon sleeps until a late age so the pushchair was needed for that too, esp if we were out all day long somewhere.

22 months between mine. I used the P+T from the birth of DC2 until she was 2.8.

It was a lifesaver in the rain / snow / when one of us was ill / had lots of shopping to carry / one of them was tantrumming / we had to get somewhere in a hurry. I only stopped using it 3 months before DS started school.

If you like slings then it is a great option. I only used slings, even with my first as I found them so much easier and I always wanted mine attached from birth. Have never had a double buggy but did use a buggy board from before 18 months with no problems just for when tired.

for me with similar age gaps it was very essential, i wouldnt be without it but depends how confident you are with slings, how much you walk, how good walkers your dc etc. i got a p&t when i had my 2nd, and used it for both of them right up until i had ds3 so had to put it back in baby mode and stop letting ds1 hop in the back, but it had been very handy for him to have that option up until then. so i definitely got a lot of use out of it so far. makes it much esier to get out the house quickly, and enables you to walk far away n get them tired without having to worry too much if their legs can take it, which i really miss now i have 3 yr old ds walking. having double buggy just makes life easy.

Had a phil & teds (gap of 2.1) but didn't put DS2 into much until he was able to sit in the doubles kit at the back, I much preferred having him in the sling especially as he was small and scrawny and I worried about him getting too cold in a buggy (PSecondB alert). Now they are 3.5 and 1.5 I still use P&T for them both if we are walking to town. It's been indispensable.