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Original poster

Two-year age gap - do I need a double buggy?

35 replies

Minty82 · 19/11/2013 14:24

DC2 is due in April, a month after DD turns two. She'll presumably still need the buggy pretty regularly for another year or so, so a buggy board for our current buggy doesn't seem like it would work as we walk a lot and she'll need to sit down sometimes…

Alternative that some friends have managed is to have the baby in a sling all the time and the older child in the buggy, but surely sometimes you just need to strap them both into something so you can gather nappy bags, snacks etc and actually leave the house with everything you need?

A double buggy seems like the most practical option, but they're so big! And so expensive! Just wondering how other people have managed with the same gap?

---------------------

Hi,

This thread is a little old and some of the product recommendations are out of date. We recently tested the UK's top double buggies, you can read our reviews of the best double buggies here. Or, if you're considering using a sling for your LO, you might be interested in taking a look at our top slings and baby carrier reviews here.

MNHQ

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Nevercan · 19/11/2013 14:30

I got a second hand Maclaren buggy from my local NCT sale for 40 quid. It was worth every penny for me.

DGLLB · 19/11/2013 14:32

i had a 2 years 2 month gap between dd and ds and my dd still needed the buggy for a good year, id invest in a double.

BeanoNoir · 19/11/2013 14:32

I've got 2 years between mine and have definitely needed a double. Have got a phil and teds which, while not perfect, has been good for me. At the moment I have 3 month old ds in the front, with 2 yr old dd walking and then hopping in the back seat as needed. It doesn't look that comfy to me but she regularly falls asleep in there. I wouldn't recommend if you use the car a lot though as it's heavy lugging it in and out of the boot is a pain.

I also have a cheap umbrella fold and a sling. Ds needs to be 6 months before he can go in this but when he is I'll get a buggy board for dd for shorter journeys/bus trips into town.

Dd definitely not ready to give up her pushchair yet, but we walk everywhere and shops are a brisk 15 min walk away and town at least half an hour. If we went at her pace all the time we'd never get anywhere!

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Artandco · 19/11/2013 14:34

We had a much smaller gap ( 16 months) and survived the way suggested. Ie sling/ board. For us a huge pram would have just been a pain. Stairs/ buses/ taxis/ flying all easier with single.

2.5 year old only uses pram now if sick/ day trips. But would happily just stand on board like elder one did ( but obviously being youngest we have no younger to put in pram). So if we had a baby a few months ago again we would har jug used board

I recommend the beco Gemini sling. We loved so much we often slinged baby and walked eldest on summer walks so completely pram free

Middleagedmotheroftwo · 19/11/2013 14:34

Similar age gap with my DDs. I either had DD1 in back pack and DD2 in pram/pushchair, or DD1 in buggy and DD2 in sling on front.

IMO double buggies are unwielddy and expensive, and you only need them for a very short time so not worth the money.

DD1 was pretty good at walking for short distances too. And it did wonders for my figure!!

Original poster

Minty82 · 19/11/2013 14:48

Thanks all - I'm torn! It does seem like it would make life easier, but then we have to find somewhere to store the existing buggy, and it was expensive enough to start with so buying another would really grate... We wouldn't buy new though, I'd look for a secondhand option. Doubles do seem massive though, and I'm not sure about the stacking design they all seem to have now; I always feel sorry for the child underneath!

More perspectives very gratefully received...

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UntamedShrew · 19/11/2013 14:52

I'd go with a board. We had 2y5m after our twins before DD came along, and I knew the twins would fight over who got to go in a double, and was desperate to get rid of it so I could fit through doorways etc, so we just made do without one and bought a single pram instead.

They very soon got used to walking or scooting everywhere - and we didn't venture far! Occasionally I had to squash them in and put the baby in a sling but only once or twice. I think it depends what sort of distance you are doing, but for a 2 year old I think a buggy board would be fine.

Parliamo · 19/11/2013 15:01

I wouldn't be without my double pram, age gap 25 months between dd1 and 2 and then 22 months between dd2 & dd3. I always thought we would have the 3rd quite close so a double would be worth the investment. I love it (bugaboo donkey) because its side by side, even if it does fell a bit ostentatious. But then I walk miles every day, rarely go in the car apart from weekends with dh to hulk the pram in and out of the car. How much walking do you do? My three were too heavy to carry in a sling all day, and a buggy board is tiring for a little one. At 2 and a half mine would nap in their pram out for the day.

Original poster

Minty82 · 19/11/2013 15:10

At the moment I do a huge amount of walking because I don't drive - nearest shops are 20 mins away, nursery's 25, town centre, station etc half an hour. I've finally signed up for an intensive driving course (never felt necessary before as I always lived in cities - suddenly find myself living in the country with almost two children and it feels pretty urgent!) so the plan is that by the time the baby's born car will at least be an option. Can't see it ever being my default setting though.

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BikeRunSki · 19/11/2013 15:26

When the toddler is tantruming and the baby is crying and you just need to get out, you will be grateful of a double buggy.

I have a 3 years and a month difference. Everyone thought I was crazy getting a double buggy. Dc2 was an autumn baby and the double was v handy for getting her big brother to nursery on cold, dark, wet mornings. Just because he could walk, doesn't mean he would.... It was also handy the following summer for days out.

I bought a double Phil and Teds on eBay, used it for a year and sold it for eight pounds less than I paid for it.

Norfolknway · 19/11/2013 15:31

2.4 gap - yes!

We have phill and teds sport. £150 eBay. It's fab

rrreow · 19/11/2013 15:39

Sling for us here, same age gap. Most of the time I have DS2 in the sling, but DS1 also likes going in it sometimes in which case DS2 is in the buggy. DS1 is 14kg and DS2 is 9kg. Try out a few from a sling library and get something you get on with (when DS1 was little I had a Babybjorn and by 2mo I couldn't carry him anymore. I always thought it was simply that he'd got too heavy, but it was just that the carrier was not suitable for me).

CuriosityCola · 19/11/2013 15:58

I have had a p&t second hand. Ds was too big/tall for it at 2years and both kids screamed in it. I then purchased a city mini jogger double. It's too wide for some doors but meets my needs and the kids like it.

Most used is the maclaren/ buggy board and sling. Ds1 walks while I push ds2. If ds1 needs a rest or nap or I need to be fast I put him in buggy and sling ds2. Lots of options out of these two pushchairs. I sold my original travel system on gumtree to fund the double purchase. Not worth buying new.

MummyLuce · 19/11/2013 16:00

20 month gap, sling and buggy board alternating. Don't really like sticking a fully running around 2 year old in a buggy anyway unless sleeping tbh. xx

SoonToBeSix · 19/11/2013 16:18

No , get a buggy board with a seat like an easy x rider. Double prams are a pain.

PeanutPatty · 19/11/2013 16:24

Double buggy. Had 21mth gap. Eldest was not reliable enough to stay on the buggy board. Would leg it at any/every opportunity. I did manage for awhile with a sling and a single buggy until the baby turned sling refusenik.

SlitheenInADwerfSkin · 19/11/2013 16:27

My kids are in two pairs, my older two have 2.4 years between them and I managed with a single and a sling. Dd1 was a great walker but I walked everywhere an I often had to resort to putting her in the buggy and ds in the sling, or standing her on the back of the pram.

With dd2 and dd3 (two year gap) I had a double buggy for a year. Much easier.

MsGazelle · 19/11/2013 16:36

2 years 2 months gap between mine and no double buggy. My toddler doean't nap during the day anymore so needing to nap in the buggy was never an issue. We have used the buggy board and slings. I have a Bugaboo Bee which, as it doesn't have a carry cot, is easy to switch between toddler/newborn setting. If we were out for ages and my toddler was tired I could pop her in the buggy and sling the baby. That was very handy.

If you do a lot of walking over long distances then a double buggy becomes more useful I think. I have the option of a car, although I don't use it every day. If I was doing lots of shopping on foot I think I would have got a Phil & Teds type double.

Fifibluebell · 19/11/2013 16:40

Can you put new baby in a sling and continue using your existing pushchair then just get a buggy board for older one to jump on when new baby is say 4/5 months and starting to get heavy to save on costs of buying a new double? Or I got a really good double on a local Prams and pushchairs selling page on Facebook for £25

oscarwilde · 19/11/2013 17:09

We skipped the double buggy and I wish we hadn't. It would have made life a lot easier to pop our older child in and make a dash for it when her legs were tired out. We are still having issues with a 3.5yr old falling asleep while out and about so I wish I hadn't taken notice of my DH when he wittered on about it only being for months.
I would sell your existing pram and go for the P&T style rather than side by side. Much more practical and the older child can tuck in underneath. They'll be out of the pram more than in. We had a Maclaren for a nanny share for one year and it was a beast to steer, store and get through doors/hallways etc.

youretoastmildred · 19/11/2013 17:18

If you weren't a babywearer anyway, don't think now is the time to get used to it, with a newborn and a cross toddler.
I wasn't sure and got a second hand P&T and it has been a lifesaver many times. dc1 was still napping in the day when dc2 was a baby and just couldn't be on her feet the whole time we were out. Some people don't seem to mind slings etc but for a whole day I just get too tired.

P&Ts are light and foldable (relatively - nothing is as easy as a light single Maclaren, but you know what I mean) and nice and narrow for doorways, buses etc. The bottom child can see you and can see a lot out of the sides, I used to think "poor thing" but they don't seem to mind.

Make things as easy as possible for yourself. You can manage without a double buggy but why look at things you can "manage" when you are about to go into the hardest and most intense period of your parenting life? [encouraging]

MsGazelle · 19/11/2013 17:27

I agree that if you weren't much of a sling fan first time round, trying to get into it full time for the second might be a bit much. I didn't use a buggy much at all for my first so I was really used to it.

Of course you don't have to decide now. You could try sling and single and see if you get on with it. And if it is a disaster go find a double. That was my intention. I was fairly sure I could make it work with a single, sling and a buggy board. But had it been a disaster I would have been straight off looking for a double.

Hadeda · 19/11/2013 17:32

Agree with youretoastmildred.
I have an 18 month age gap and I could not have survived without my double buggy. I carried DD2 in a sling as well at times but it was hot in summer and in winter made it hard for me to put on a coat. I so agree with youretoastmildred that now is now the time to make enormous changes when you are entering a really stressful parenting period. If buggies work for you then stick with it.
We used the double for about 18 months, obviously tapering off to the end. But continued when DD1 was big enough to walk by using it just as a single for DD2. It was an icandy pear so long but skinny. I could push it around shops very easily. And it had adapters for the car seat so in the beginning I could just slot that in if DD2 was sleeping. It was expensive but worth every single penny. Sold it for about half the purchase price once we'd finished with it.

RosebudTheCat · 19/11/2013 17:33

I have a Joovy Caboose Ultralight with a 2y4m age gap between DS and DD. Love it. You do need to use a car seat for very young babies but I was happy to as we don't own a car (so DD rarely in car seat for its proper purpose) and generally only went out for shorter trips while she was tiny.

Also got the extra rear seat for it. DD now 7m old and DS nearly three, so he mainly walks but occasionally sleeps in back seat, or is restrained in difficult moments, e.g. not wanting to go home from park. It is only as big as a lot of the expensive single travel systems.

Original poster

Minty82 · 19/11/2013 18:55

Ha, thanks youretoastmildred! I'm inclined to agree - it does seem like any alternative to a double would be a bit of a juggling act. We did have a sling for DD and used it quite a lot, but I'm not sure I can imagine having it as the only option - too tiring, and you need more freedom of movement than the sling allows sometimes! I guess the buggy board/sling combo does allow you to mix and match which child goes in the buggy but am wondering if biting the bullet and shelling out for something I can plonk them both in would just make it all a bit easier...

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