Tell me about buggy boards vs doubles vs slings (17.5 month gap)

[18monthapprehension]

I'm about to go back to work - DS will be just over 27 months and DD just under 10 months.

Whilst on mat leave I've been using a second-hand Bugaboo Donkey which has been AMAZING - I do a lot of walking - but it's so bulky it doesn't even fit through our front door in its wide setup - I'm forever taking seats on and off, and we have this massive unfolded pram permanently sitting in our back room. It's not exactly a travel-friendly option either. It'd be nice to get rid of it and have more space/ flexibility etc.

I just can't work out to what degree we're still going to need to put our son in a buggy, and whether a single + buggy board + sling will be fine - and if so, which one.

Normal routine = nursery run morning and night - it's a short walk but when my toddler's in an 'I need to examine every leaf' mood it obviously takes far longer. Longer park works/ trips to central London at weekend. Toddler only ever naps (when he naps) in the buggy but I suspect these will phase out altogether soon. We like wearing the baby in a sling but she's getting bigger and bigger....

Is it ridiculous to have two single buggies, or is that actually the most flexible option here?! We still have our old Cybex Priam, which is a lovely but still quite large pushchair. I was wondering about buying a secondhand Yoyo or similar, with a buggy board, and then swapping between the two of them until the toddler stops needing a buggy altogether (thoughts on when that is likely to be?!) Getting yet another double buggy seems insane, especially as the lighter ones like the Baby Jogger City Tour 2 only go up to 15kg in each seat, and our toddler is already 14kg. Anything bulkier will surely have the same annoyances as the Donkey we already have?

Any insight very welcome!

We have a nuna semi or mixx? I can’t face using it it is so heavy….

so I have gone for two lightweight singles that can clip together if you need them to (ours is the le clerc influencer but same as butterfly yoyo etc)

Would a double out n about be any narrower so that you would fit it through the door?
Mountain buggy duet is one of the narrowest side by side doubles.
It depends on the child I think! The age at which they phase out naps is very variable. Also it is very handy to be able to strap a child into the buggy for restraint purposes especially when both are able to walk....
You can get a good buggy board with a seat on it for single bugaboos. It depends if your child is likely to try and hop off and do a runner or not.

I have the same age gap as you.

If we are walking out from the house - double buggy (outnabout)

Going somewhere by car (like shopping) - small travel pram which takes the baby's car seat and I take the sling too so I can either have baby in sling, toddler in pram or baby in pram/car seat and toddler walking.

I had the baby in the sling all the time for the first 4/5mo though.

I don't think my toddler is ready for a Buggy board yet and I don't think he will be for awhile, he is 23mo and wild.

I totally misread your post so I think mine is useless 😂

You can't trust a child under five to not run away or step off the buggy board when your attention is momentarily somewhere else. Five year olds sometimes need to sleep and should be seat belted in.

With DS1 we stopped using the pram when he was just over 3. He broke it, which was the main reason for stopping, but he could also ride a bike then so we had an alternative way to travel the couple of miles to nursery. He also had given up napping by then. I think some of his friends were still using at 4, but 3 seemed to be when they were last used for most children.

It might be worth going to a sling library and seeing if there's a better option now your baby is bigger? I thought I was going to have to stop carrying DS1 at around 10 months but then moved to a more supportive sling and was still back carrying him at 3.

It depends on the child I think!
Sums it up beautifully!

In my own case, my DD was a bit older at 2.5years/30 months. She'd long dropped her naps by that point, and was an incredibly sensible toddler. We had a Nuna Mixx, and got ourselves a buggy board to attach to it for her to go on. Worked wonderfully. She did want to sit on her brother for a few weeks to start with, but could be readily bribed with Haribo convinced to stay on the board.

It's not daft to have two singles if they do different things. At one point I had three 🤦‍♀️ (travel system, lightweight stroller and heavy weight stroller).

I didn't realise how quickly DC would outgrow the lightweight (also 15kg limit) and sometimes if DH and I were out together, or particularly away on holiday, we'd take the two strollers.

I don't really think buggy boards are a good idea before four years. You need children old enough to be trusted to stay on, IMHO.

In your shoes I'd still want a double. Perhaps find a second hand smaller one? I had a second hand nipper double (I know, I know a fourth pram!) primarily for the nursery run. When you are on a schedule to get the nursery run done and get to work, you just want to strap the, both in and march. We did also take it into London for trips.

Now both are a bit older, we have a buggy board on the original travel system and the heavyweight stroller. I've had no issue selling the others for good money.

Very late to return here but thank you everyone for your input! Depends on the child....got it in one....since posting this our son has stopped napping 80% of the time and has really upped how much he wants to/ how far he can walk...crazy how fast they change...

We've been given an old McLaren umbrella fold thing by a friend so have been trying out different combinations. Going to see how we get on doing the nursery run with baby in the buggy and toddler walking, and sling + single or two singles at the weekends. If that works well we might look to upgrade the McLaren to a second-hand travel stroller - maybe a Yoyo2 or Bugaboo Bee....

I really wouldn’t get a yoyo.

I have one (and I love it) but I keep it in the car and only use it for putting the car seat on and popping into the shops etc.

The wheels are tiny, it can barely get up small kerb (and my baby is only tiny at the moment). I wouldn’t use it for walking anywhere other than round a shop personally - I use my big pram instead if I go for a walk.

I find two compact strollers work great on family days out. Means both kids can have a rest if needed and you aren't having to push a big double pushchair around when one of your children is walking most of the time

Depends on the child. I used a double until my oldest was 2.5years, then he went on the buggy board most of the time. He was pretty wild but liked the buggy board so it worked. We had the city mini which is a v robust pushchair and sometimes i put baby in a back carrier and toddler in the buggy.

We got the Nipper 360 double. It's 77cm wide and just about fits through our single door and onto the bus. DS is now 2.5 and still nowhere near ready for a buggy board - being able to strap him in is essential.

Thanks, this is useful! One of my good friends is still using her Yoyo with her toddler the same age as my DS and it just seems so light and nimble to me...my thinking is that as we move more and more to toddler wanting to walk and we're pushing an empty stroller for when he gets tired, the lighter the better...

The trouble with the big buggies is once you've got a big toddler in them as well the whole thing just feels so chunky! I got the Cybex Priam out again today and was actually disappointed to find that with the toddler in it in some ways it feels less nippy than the Donkey - who knew?!