Double pram for toddler & baby, is it a necessity?

[AlishaLouise]

Hi all,

I'm pregnant with my second, my first will be 23 months when baby is here in August. I was just wondering if anyone has coped without a double pram?

My parents gifted us a venicci 3 in one pram for my son and this has always worked amazing for us, ideally i'd like to be able to continue using it for the new baby. I'm not sure how possible that will be so was wondering what other people's experiences were?

When baby is small i'd be happy to baby wear if i could find a carrier that worked for me so if you have any recommendations on that it would be super helpful too!

Are buggy boards still a thing?

Any advice welcome, this is all new to me.

Thanks!

Hi,

I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old and don’t have a double buggy. I have 2 fabric carriers I use for little one and this has worked well for us so far. We do have a buggy board but toddler hates it currently - hoping she will come to like it! It is getting harder as baby weighs more but I am hoping to stick with carriers and one buggy…

I haven’t found it a necessity with mine. When baby was small I had him in the sling and toddler in the pushchair.
Now he’s 6mo he tends to be in the pushchair and toddler walks / occasionally perches on the seat between her brothers legs and holds on to the handle (Not hugely recommended I’m sure but has helped a few times when we’ve needed to get a move on!)
I did get a second hand double but have only used it a few times. I expect I’ll get a bit more use out of it in the summer when we’ll have more days out (eg zoo etc) where toddlers legs will get tired but since she dropped her nap she doesn’t really want to be in the pushchair anyway so I’m glad I didn’t spend loads on a new one!

It was a lifesaver. I used it until they were 2&4, eldest is autistic

How much do you walk is the question. If for example you're walking a mile each way to nursery from the September, then hopping on a bus and doing a shop or going to a baby group 45 minutes by bus, I wouldn't want a baby in the carrier all that time.

If you're driving from door to door so it's just for the odd walk around the park, transition from car to buildings etc it's much easier

Hi OP there is almost 2 years beamyween my oldest 2 and when I was expecting DC2 my first one was walking everywhere and so we got a buggy board instead for the back of his pushchair which we then used for DC2.

In all honesty after about 6 months we did then buy a double pushchair as we walk quite a bit and a carrier was no good in the rain, and neither was the buggy board. We then used the double buggy until they were 4 and 2.

It depends. Do you normally drive everywhere and use the buggy for very short walks do you you walk everywhere? I walked everywhere, we could end up walking 2 -3 plus hours hours a day between soft play, shopping, visiting people,school pickup so far to much for a nearly 2 year old.

This is what i was thinking too as i don't think i even walk enough to get enough use out of it. I drive wherever i need to go, have never actually used public transport with my son and his pram so really it's just days out i was thinking of!

I'm thinking i can just wear baby and keep toddler in his pram until baby is older and then just get a lightweight double stroller rather than a whole pram system for long days out.

Thanks for your help!

For a small age gap the issue with a buggy board is whether the older child can safely understand that they have to hold on and not fall/jump off while it's in motion. We have 25 months between ours and DC1 would have just fallen off a lot.

For that reason, we got a double buggy (the Joie Aire double) but kept our snazzy expensive Jane Trider with the big wheels and car seat adaptors, and I just swap between them depending on where we're going and what we're doing. The double buggy in my view is essential for when both of them are napping at the same time and you're out and about as you can lie them flat and let them rest instead of rushing home to get the oldest to somewhere they can sleep.

I also have a £20 Argos umbrella pushchair for when we're travelling really light and I did babywear a bit when each baby was very small but neither of mine really liked being in a sling for more than a few minutes. We live in a top floor flat with no lift so our pushchair collection has to live in the boot of the car.

Think it depends on the toddler. I didn't need one for dd when I had ds she was 2 and literally just started walking everywhere. Had it been the other way around ds would have needed a double. I did use a sling but it wasn't always practical it may be a play it by ear situation.

I have a two year age gap. Was convinced I wouldn’t need one and would just use sling and buggy. But after a few months realised just wasn’t working for us and got a fab double off Marketplace, total game changer. I’m so cross I didn’t get one from the start!

Drive everywhere, only use buggy for days out and short distances. Food shopping toddler goes in trolley and anywhere else we are just popping in he walks. So i'm thinking a whole new double buggy wouldn't be worth it for us?

DS would 100% not stay on the buggy board, he would jump off for the fun of it!

Ill have a look at that one thank you!
Im happy getting a lightweight stroller type one as that would be handy when baby is a bit older! Just don't think a whole double pram system is worth the money when we aren't walking every day!

Thanks

I will have a similar gap and all friends with the same gap have said yes I'll need one

DD is 21 months and doesn't walk for more than 5-10 minutes very slowly and never in the direction I want so I think I'll definitely need one

I've got the bugaboo donkey 5 so I can turn it back to a single pram when DD is walking more

Sounds exactly like my DS. It does sound more convenient having a double, i'll keep an eye out for a second hand one just in case.

Thanks!

I had just 16 months between my two, OP, and I certainly didn’t bother getting a double buggy. I put the 16 month old on toddler reins and got her walking beside the buggy with the baby in it.
Like you, I had a car, so only needed the buggy when going out for a daily walk with the DDs. DD1 soon developed sturdy legs, and I took them up the Perthshire hills from toddlerhood. There’s no way a buggy would work on rough hill tracks anyway!

I was adamant I wouldn't need a doh Leo have a 2.5 year age gap but in reality we walked a lot ( covid baby so lots of outside park trips) but also if I wanted to go in shops was easier if both are in the buggy as could get in and out doing the shopping without watching what the toddler was doing. I would say we had a good year and a bit of use out of it which doesn't seem loads but was a life saver in that time. We had an out and about and actually was smaller folded in the car than our single. Also have a great second hand value so we can sell it and make lots of our money back. I found carrier once they got very big hard as struggle with back pain so that also played a part in our decision making exercise.

I would recommend a double 100%, but wait till your baby is here before you buy one.

For the first 3 months DD2 only liked being in the carrier, so I'd walk with DD1 in the pushchair.

But she's 4.5 months now and settles really nicely in the pram. DD1 is nearly 2 and although she likes walking, I find the double sooo useful for general walks, even short distance and also getting them to nap at the same time.

I have a mountain buggy duet that we bought second hand for £200. You defs don't need a whole travel system. Just a twin buggy with seats that can lie back will do.

17 months between mine and I used a sling and a buggy, then the older one walked or got a piggy back, and the younger one went in the buggy.
We certainly couldn’t afford any new kit!!

I’m currently pregnant with number 2 and number 1 will have just turned 2 years old when number 2 is born. I’ve bought a double buggy - I don’t want to rely on carriers and plan on walking to nursery and back on the days my first is in. Also, the thought of trying to push a single pram and try and contain a toddler by myself on the days my partner is working.. no thank you!!!

I was a big sling user but still loved having a double buggy. DC1 was still napping for 2 hours+ at age 2 when DC2 came and being able to walk around with both of them sleeping not attached to me was great! Used it for a full year.

Do you mind sharing what sling you used? Thanks for your comment!

3 kids here with about 2 years between them all and never had a double buggy

Little baby goes in a stretchy sling (something like a moby or similar from Amazon) and then into a more structured carrier when they are older (manduca or ergo or lillibaby ). It might be worth seeing if you have a sling library near by to see what you prefer, although these are all good recommendations

My babies all lived in re sling so ignore the previous comment from someone saying 45 mins is a long time!

When they were older if the toddler wanted in the pram I'd just take pop the littlier one in the sling to let them have a break.

My 3rd one hated the flat carry cot on the pram and screamed if we put her in it so we didn't even start using it until she could sit up a bit better in the seat bit so double buggy would have been an extra waste of money

I had a 21m gap between my eldest two children. We coped fine without a double pram. In fact it avoided the awkward boot fittings and doorway squeezings that made life tricky for some of our friends!

We had a woven wrap, a structured carrier, a single pram and a buggy board. And my eldest got good at walking!

It was a Beco Gemini. I had a Moby wrap too but after about 2 months I only really used that at home. The Beco was ace, used it from 8 weeks to 3.5 years.

I thought I'd just use our old single and a sling but a friend was selling a Mountain Buggy Duet and it was when she asked if DC1 still napped that I realised how handy it might be. There were some glorious days when they were both asleep in it for 2 hours and I could sit and have multiple coffees and read unencumbered!

We were out every day on foot though.