Do I need a double buggy? Experiences please!

[Poppytime]

DD will be just over 2 when DC2 is born (currently 12 weeks). DH is convicned we don't need a double buggy. To be fair we already are tight for space with two strollers (one big one we for when DD was born and a cheaper fold up one we now use for nursery and travelling). I'm worried though that even though DD walks well, she will have the inevitable meltdown when out and won't want to walk and is DC2 is in the buggy, what do you do? He think a a buggy board will suffice, but I can see her refusing to get on it at times! She is pretty forceful at times, like most toddlers! Any experience with similar age gaps? And if I need one (which I think I do) any recommendations for ones which aren't enormous? Side by side look huge so I think I'd prefer the other type, although I always feel a bit sorry for the kid underneath!! Thanks in advance

Our twins were 21 months when 3rd arrived. We ditched double and got a single. They were fine walking and we got a buggy board for them to take turns on for really long days out (trips to seaside etc).

I managed in London without, but had 3.5yr age gap. I'd had to go back to using the buggy when heavily pregnant, then for first 6 weeks used a sling for dd while weaning ds off the buggy again, then hid it for a couple weeks then brought it out lying flat with a muff and swore ds had never seen it before. I thought I'd need a buggy board but never got one - did use a Little Life backpack and leash to restrain ds sometimes, looping him to a lamppost while I sorted the sling out.

A Phil&Teds type buggy where one is almost over the other fits on buses quite well, so if you do need a double I'd recommend that.

i had a year gap and i used a phil & teds which was brilliant because not much bigger than a normal pram (obv bigger than a stroller though) and easy to push even with 2 children in it.
very easy to just remove the back seat to convert to a single if necessary, although it didnt really get in the way and most people just appreciate it as an XL shopping basket/storage space.
Also when toddling, whichever child was in the back, wpuld often not be strapped in so could get out and walk whenever they or I wanted, and they could hop back in when tired.

I did also have a stroller at one point with buggy board which was a complete pain with kicking the buggy board as we walked. Theyre completely horrible to use.
The p&t is designed so you can walk normally.

Im expecting no2 soon and will have 21m gap. We were hoping to avoid double- don't walk long distances and for if we go out on a family mission we do have two singles (if we can manage to fit them in the car). I am hoping to mostly cope with baby in sling initially, then when he's a bit older, baby in buggy and toddler on Board or walking. However, though toddler walks well we're now realising that he's not very good at walking where we want him to walk.
Going to not buy a double and hope for the best but probably get a babyjogger double on ebay if necessary. Don't want to spend loads because I would not expect to use it for long.

I have a P&T style Hauck double buggy, (I am a childminder)
I was under £200 3 years ago and is still going strong.
I love it and sling all my shopping, all the lunch boxes and the picnic blankets in the lower seat if I only have a baby to look after.
I couldn't manage to wrangle a toddler and a baby, I worry too much about them bolting into the road.

OP toy mentioned a bit up thread that you had a Baby Bjorn last time and it hurt your back. You might find more ergonomic carrier help you overcome this. Stretchy wraps (e.g Mobys)/ close caboo/ ergos etc are all much more comfy for both parent and baby and may be enabling if you don't want a double buggy.

Thanks all for the recommendations. Re sling - what is an easy way to try one out without a baby to put in it?! Doll?! I like the sound of a stretchy one - DH might not wear it but he can have the baby bjorn!

im not sure why so many people are against double buggies.

Why make life harder for yourself when its probably already going to be a tough time.

Its not the fact that 2 year olds cant walk, but they dont walk lomg distances theyre slow, they stop all the time and a lot of them randomly run off.
You might get away with a sling and a buggy for the first couple of months but if your 2 year old is a runner, how fast are you going to chase him with a baby in a sling?

Certain doubles more than others have really good resale value.

I got so much use out of mine

Like you we had two buggies, big pram and a smaller umbrella (that was suitable from birth) For the first two I got a buggy board for the pram, it was horrible and I soon gave up on it and used the sling and umbrella buggy or just let my son walk. On long outings that I was going to be by myself and knew the older one needed to sleep or rest I took the umbrella and the carrier/later sling. I would swap the baby into the carrier if the older one wanted to sleep or ride. On days when we went out together we would take both (one for baby and one for toddler and both push them or carry the umbrella and/or use it for the picnic/bags/shopping) or on short trips I would use the pram and let the toddler walk. I have four (2y 6m, 3y8m and 2y10m gaps). If it was less than 2y6m I would possibly think a double might be necessary. I borrowed a maclaren double once on a holiday and it was actually pretty good, fitted on London buses quite well and meant I could treck all over london with my 6m baby and 3 year old son or use the spare seat for bags and not topple the baby.

if youve got a buggy board, its not like you can easily just take it off to fold the buggy up, or get on buses. It just is a contraption that makes a stroller as big and unfoldable as a larger pram, but less comfortably designed.
Ok for occasional use at best

I have a 2.1 mo age gap between my two and found a double buggy essential. I have an oyster max and it is really compact and easy to steer, now the oldest is 3.3 I put the 1yo old in it and use the second seat for my shopping

2.1 year, not 2.1 month

19 month age gap here, I got a double purely for nap time :) of we had a bad night (which happened a few times a week) I would load them into the buggy then go for a huge long walk so they both fell asleep and I got a break, fresh air and exercise. I didn't spend much, got a second hand one and sold it on after about 6 months. It was worth it's weight in gold.

Congrats on your pregnancy btw.

Artandco - we're in London with no car, I use my double on buses, trains and tubes all the time. I don't usually have to wait too long to get on anything - only the occasional miss with a bus or rush hour tube.

We do a lot of days leaving the house at 10am and getting home after dinner, wandering around in town. It's a 12 month gap between my two, though, so a double was essential at first. They are 3.5 and 4.5 now and we're only just starting to not bring ours everywhere now.

What - I suppose it depends on where in London. We are in zone 1, so it's fairly hard to avoid rush hour at least once a day, plus tourists. Hence we often had to miss buses and asap I was slinging baby and walking toddler to avoid pram at all costs. 15 month gap.

Def. get a good, decent sling. Find a sling website/forum and ask on there. Get a board for your bugaboo AND a double pushchair, I still found phil & ted the best out the many, many I tried!

You'll have a local sling library where you can try out different options with a weighted doll, or you could go back once LO is born. If you google "Sling libraries" you'll be able to locate lne (sorry can't link - on phone).

Stretchies are lovely; I had a Moby and Hana baby wrap (bamboo material so cooler). They take a little geting used to in terms of putting on because you have to wrap the material around your body. I could do it in 30 seconds eventually though. They are extremely comfy as they spread the weight of the baby across your torso.

Carriers with buckles are good too. Things like Baby Bjorns don't spread the weight and often are uncomfy for the baby too. We have Ergo carriers and had the newborn inserts - easy to put on, very comfy and can go on back once have good head control. We used from four months with our twins when a bit too heavy for stretchies.

You can get lots of slings Preloved too. Look for "Affordable Baby slings for sale or trade" on facebook.

We also have Baby Jogger City Mini and its a brilliant buggy. Suitable from birth, but you can get carrycots (again, loads available secondhand - £80ish new but got ours for £60 for two and sold on for same).

It collapses very easily and is a dream to push; not small folded though.

Someone who can help you put on a stretchy wrap sling a few times is invaluable - the South London sling library is great and there are others, but I had a friend help me. An advantage of a sling is that the baby then keeps you nice and warm while you spend much of the winter taking child 1 to playgrounds as a treat and you slump on a bench. Small friendly soft play places where you can doze are also invaluable.

Check your local bus routes - I often walked a few 100 yards back to the previous stop to hugely increase chances of getting on with buggy, especially when I had two toddlers and a side-by-side. Do you have outdoor space where you could put a buggy/bike shed and stock up on second-hand buggies? Local FB groups seem to be good sources.

20 months between my two and i had a buggy board and a sling. This worked well as my eldest hated the buggy and prefered to walk or ride.

Your situation sounds similar to ours. We live in London, not central but close to central, we walk almost everywhere, got a slightly larger pram for PFB then bought a lightweight umbrella fold later on, and the age gap between DC1 and DC2 is 2 years. For trickiest journeys we did sling (Caboo) for DC2 and DC1 in the umbrella fold. For walking journeys/big days together we took both buggies with DC2 in the larger pram. And various combinations inbetween Eg DC1 and DC2 can 'share' the larger pram and take sling with us, so DC1 can walk with DC2 in pram, DC1 can go in the pram and DC2 in sling, etc.

However, we still found that we wanted a double. We waited until after the birth to see how we went with the above. There are just times you want a double, especially if you're on your own, and particularly if you do lots of walking. It doesn't matter if DC1 hops out for a bit of a walk for some of it, we walk so much he will definitely use the buggy for some of it, and he is a confident walker. We got a side by side Maclaren, was the lightest and most practical we could find (limited space here too!), fits through standard doors, but gave both DCs a decent amount of space. DC1 is 99th percentile for height, DC2 is already a big baby, and before DC2 was born when trying out Phil & Ted's etc in stores DC1 was already very cramped.

It depends on what you do and what your DCs are like, and if they're tall or big, to really determine the type of double you might find most useful, but we're happy with the side by side and we still have our other buggies and sling for other options (it's not like you only get to use the double once you have it!).