Will I really need a double buggy?

[pickly]

Dc2 due soon and dc1 will be approx 20 months when baby arrives and I'm really not sure if I need to get a double buggy?? Can anyone with 2 under 2 advise?!

DC1 refuses the buggy unless really tired, most of the time and would rather be running about everywhere on reins. Also the ones I've looked at all seem a bit of an odd set up where one child faces the back of a chair or they are virtually on the ground and DC1 is already in aged 3 clothes with huge legs so not sure how long it would last! The bugaboo double is the only one that really looks good but also £1,150 and seems wasteful if I can make do without.

Plus the narrow pavements around here are already a problem and I think I'd struggle with a double and would be better off with a good baby carrier and my current buggy.

Any help would be appreciated

MOst people I know find a double invaluable, for the 15% of the time their dc is sleepy /poorly or their on a day trip etc. But pointless for the other 85% - what about a second hand double?

I’ve got a 2 1/2 year gap between my last two DC. We’ve got an Uppababy Vista which has been used a lot. It’s SO heavy, but I couldn’t have managed without it. Having said that, I’ve got the laziest three year old I’ve ever met. If he would have entertained walking anywhere, I would have tried to manage with a single for baby, and carried a sling that baby could go in if toddler needed the wheels. Having a whopping double buggy in the Hall gives me rage.

I have 2 17 months apart and have only used a single. Baby in sling for first however long and now youngest can walk they take it in turns hopping in and out if they want.
Oldest is 3 soon and wants to get out the second he sees a ladybird/stick/stone so a double would've been a waste for us!

I'm in the same situation as you but my 20 month old is actually rather happy in his pushchair so I can't help on that front.
But I'm looking at the silver cross wave. Its It's got loads of different seat arrangements/ combinations and it looks like the bottom child can actually see stuff instead of the top child's backside.
Have you had a look at that one?

I would probably use it in the left configuration the most

We have 2yrs 4months between our kids and I wouldn’t have been without a double buggy. We inherited a Phil and teds one where the toddler went on the top facing forward and the baby slotted in underneath in a cocoon thingy. That was great for playgroups, I could just slide her out of it and plonk her somewhere safe and in sight without having to bring the whole buggy through. It converted to a different attachment as she got older. And when she was just in a normal mcclaren we got a buggy board for DS. A short lived phase but very handy without needing to have a big buggy anymore.

I'd get a 2nd hand Phil and ted it will do the job.

We did without a double. Kids 19 months apart. Carried baby in sling and older in buggie. Worked well. Just couldn't face negotiating a double one everywhere

I never did. I had my baby in a sling and the toddler in the buggy. When he started getting too heavy for the sling at around 1 (I used a buckles carrier so I could carry him past the newborn phase) I bought a buggy board for the oldest and the baby went in the buggy. It still works really well now.

Get one. I have a 19 month gap and paid £80 for a Phil and Teds off e bay. It's been fantastic. We don't drive so rely on public transport and also really enjoy long walks and the Phil and Teds has been great for both.

There are 26 months between my 2 and I used a double for 9 months. A second hand baby Jogger city mini. It was invaluable, could not have done without it as there were times (like when my son broke his leg!) that I just needed both of them in a pram. I gradually moved over to a single with buggy board and now use that every day.
I’m actually selling my buggy if you are interested?

I think it depends on your lifestyle. If you drive a lot and only walk short distances then probably not however I walk everywhere and never drive and so a double was a godsend. I tried to get by with a sling and a single but there are times when you just need to be able to have both hands free. There’s 2 years and 5 months between my two and we were still using the buggy on very long walks when the eldest was 5. I tried several doubles but the best for me was the Mountain Buggy Duet.

I have 3 and when they were little (aged 3, 1 and newborn) we had a single buggy with one on a buggyboard and one in a sling.
I borrowed a friends double and I hated it, it was so wide it wouldn’t fit through a doorway.
But we didn’t do huge amounts of walking, mainly around the park or out shopping.

usernametaken2
I also work in a pram shop and if you are looking at new I love the Silver Cross Wave and iCandy Orange for their flexibility. The Orange has a built in buggy board too which is just perfect

I wouldn’t in your situation. I’d just use a sling for the odd time DS wants to be in the buggy and IF he gets baby-buggy-jealous I’d get a buggy board.

We have a Phil and teds which we got from the birth of DD1. Our children are 2 years 9 months apart and we held off buying the second seat for the buggy before DD2 arrived because DD1 preferred to walk. It got to the point that we stopped taking the buggy with us. Then DD2 arrived and that all changed. The buggy was back in use and all of a sudden DD1 wanted to be in the buggy, and why? Because DD2 was in it. I think I lasted 4 weeks before I ordered the second seat! Phil and teds are great because they aren't side by side. Ours is still going strong 5 years later and is probably the best investment we made.

Mine were 18 months apart and i used a double buggy for at least a year. It was invaluable for everything- baby slept in it while i played with toddler in the park, went to a cafe for a snack, took toddler to the toilet etc. I certainly would have struggled to do any of those things with a baby in a sling!

I planned to do without (27 months apart) but realised, when I was getting DC1 to practise buggy board before DC2 arrived, that there are times when it's really useful to be able to strap them both in! When you have somewhere you need to be and DC1 refuses to get on buggy board or walk then having double buggy is great. Getting a baby back into a sling (eg after a nappy change whilst out) whilst trying to stop a wriggly toddler running off was also not a skill I ever got the hang of! For first year we did combo of sling/single buggy/ buggy board or double buggy. We had a side by side (both seats could lie flat) so no one sitting on ground and both could see out. But not many of those available these days.

Secondhand is good way to go as you probably won't use it for much longer than a year.

And get a one behind the other one. The side by side ones are a nightmare in shop doorways and narrow pavements!

I had the exact same gap as you and initially didn't get a double. I figured that DS2 would go in the sling and DS1 would walk or use the single buggy.

Fast forward a few months and DS2 hated every sling I tried and screamed his head off, DS1 started running off or just whinging when asked to walk and I caved and bought a second hand baby jogger double. It is hands down the best thing I bought! DS1 is nearly three and walks fine but I still use the double quite a lot because he gets tired sometimes and I like to threaten him with the buggy if he messes around when we are walking. DS1 loves it too. I couldn't recommend it enough. My big uppababy vista that I bought for DS1 has barely been used for DS2. (For info, that also converts to a double but it's really unwieldy and weighs a tonne and I would never recommend it).

I'd highly recommend the Out n about nipper double. Yes it's a side by side but it's barely any bigger than a phil and teds (especially given there is no storage space in a p&t in doubles mode so you have to hang bags off the sides) and it fits through a standard doorway. It is SO much easier to push - literally glides along - and of course both DC can recline, nap, see out and be at a sensible height.

I have had the P&T and the Nipper and the Nipper is so much better.

As to whether you can get away without a double - I'd say no. 1) Many sweet, compliant 18 month olds turn into tantrumming 2 yr olds. Especially after a little usurping sibling arrives. Having somewhere to strap them is priceless. 2) Your DC1 may get ill more often in the future (esp if he starts nursery) or be more tired once he drops his nap, so be less keen to walk 3) Walking and buggyboarding doesn't work so well in heavy rain or snow.

The baby jogger fits through a standard door btw, it's not any wider than the uppabsby single.

Have two dd that are 27 months apart. Bought a baby jogger mini. It's great. Fits through most doors. Seats lie flat so baby can sleep. Will probably use for a year or so then sell it.

I totally agree with the PP who said it depends on your lifestyle. When I had 2 DC with 18 months apart I did not use a car much or have convenient public transport. This meant I needed children in the buggy for shopping, toddler groups, recycling etc. I was always running around with double buggy and wouldn't have been without it( even though it was horribly unwieldy). If I had lived where I am now I would have used sling plus single buggy and used the car for chores. It would have meant having an easy to fold buggy. I lived in a flat when I only had one DC which meant leaving pram folded in the car when I was inside and carrying baby inside and upstairs in my arms.think about your everyday life and buy accordingly.

We have 18 months between our 2. I tried to manage with a sling and the eldest in the single pram as we spent a fortune on our first pram, so I wasn't ready to retire it. I lasted 2 weeks, I just couldn't manage if I was on my own with them both. Our youngest was over 8lb and i have a dodgy back so it just wasn't practical for me.

We went for a mountain buggy duet, I had exactly the same reservations about double prams with the youngest having to stare at the back of a seat and sat on the floor. The duet is a side by side double but is the same width as a single, our front door is narrow and it fits through no problem.

We've had it 9 months now and I love it, our eldest has now started to want to walk a lot more out and about, but she still gets tired if we go for a walk or if I'm in town on my own it's good to be able to contain her or let her nap. It wasn't cheap £600 full price (we got v lucky £150 off in a sale!) but it's been worth it. It isn't "pretty" like my joolz pram and it's quite bulky folded, but it does us. I think we'll still be using it for another 12 months as we like to go for days out with lots of walking.

With no long school runs and a car for shopping etc. Then I think you would be ok without a buggy and with a buggy board only. I had a 3 year gap, so a bit of a difference but I didn't get a double buggy.