Double pram - 2 under 2

[SarahB88]

We’ve just found out that I’m pregnant again which is extremely exciting but this does mean that we will need a double pram as our daughter will only be about 15 months old when number two comes along. Totally planned so we knew this would be a necessary expense, shame we didn’t think we wanted them so close together before getting pram for the first 😂

Don’t really have a budget in mind as have been looking at the bugaboo donkey and will pay full price for it if needed. So my question is, what double prams do you recommend for this sort of age gap? I’ve only looked at:
Bugaboo donkey
Outnabout double nipper

Would prefer sitting next to each other rather than the icandy sort of set up but open to hearing feedback on all options. Think I’m leaning towards the donkey has baby can face me and toddler can face out but maybe there’s other prams with this set up that I’m not aware of?

We like to go for walks around national trust areas which can sometimes mean going slightly off road on a forest trial. We’ve currently got a noordi fjordi which does the off road job brilliantly but can’t be adapted to double. Also need to be able to walk well on pavements and navigate the supermarket well so large under storage is a plus. I am probably going to upgrade my car to a Tiguan so needs to fit in the boot of that too. Hopefully I’m not looking for a unicorn!

100% nipper.

Best pram I ever had. 14 month gap, used from newborn with insert. It was recommended by so many people and they were all right 😄

Baby jogger city mini double. Loved it so much I bought it both times I had 2 under 2.

Where do you live? I lived in a village when my twins were little I needed the tandem type just to get into the local shops. Look around where you'd go regularly and see what type of buggy you'd need to get around.

Congratulations OP!
I have a 14m gap with mine and loved it (for the most part!).

I had the joolz geo so bought the bottom seat. I loved it, BUT, I'd suggest not to underestimate how quickly the eldest can be out of the pushchair. I probably used it as a double for 9 months at most. Then it wasn't right for us as the youngest wasn't happy being lumped in the bottom! By the time he was 2, I'd sold it and we hadn't used it in ages.

I bought a second hand mountain buggy and it was fantastic. I'd highly recommend it, particularly for longevity.

Another vote for baby jogger City mini. That thing was a work horse. I was so sad when we sold it on. Good basket, fully reclines, fits through almost every doorway, loved the hoods and that they were separate and longer than most, rain cover with flaps to easily sort the kiddos.

I had the bugaboo donkey and I did love it. I loved having the baby face me and toddler face out if she wanted, really loved that on my toddler free mornings I could just use it as a single. Very easy to push, big wheels, really lovely.

My only con is the bulk of the thing! Folding it down to go in the car was massive, the seats don’t fold so it was a faff and we didn’t have a massive boot. I would probably still get it again, but I did envy friends with the out and about double/mountain buggy duet, easier to fold down!

I’m in a town so would just be visiting the likes of M&S, Tesco and Aldi who all have the big sliding doors.

That’s really good to know about folding it down as that’s probably my biggest concern about it. I do like the flexibility to slide it down to a single but in reality we’ll probably keep the noordi as it was a gift for when we just need a single. Was it easy to attach the car seat on? I’ve got a cybex cloud which we’ll just use again for new baby and get our daughter the next size up.

For those that had the baby jogger, was it easy to attach a car seat on to? I’ve not heard of this brand but it looks like a great option and a good price! Can the younger one only face you whilst they are in the bassinet or car seat?

I had a slightly bigger age gap and we had an iCandy Orange. We never used it as a proper double but I can't recommend it enough for a baby and toddler, the built in ride on board was brilliant for us and we had the option of setting it up as a double if we'd needed to. It was great on all terrains too.

Mountain buggy duet is great! You can get a parent facing seat for it, though I never bothered. Car seat is easy to attach. It's really good off road and fits through a normal internal door.

I also have a 15 month gap between my two dds l... Although our second wasn't planned 😂

We bought the uppababy vista and it was a great pram! Highly recommend it. It has so many configurations and a huge basket at the bottom which we found really useful, especially on days out.

My friend had the bugaboo donkey and said it was a pain to push around shops and things because of how wide it was.

I have 4 children. I highly recommend the out and about nipper. I bought it 9 years ago, 2nd hand for £150 and it has been used almost constantly since then. It’s an absolute beast!

You can’t attach a car seat though.

I’m still happy to consider the nipper as I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve transferred the car seat on to the pram. We tend to walk everywhere and if we do drive I would just pop my daughter in the bassinet but use the pram seat now.

Unlike a pp, I actually wouldn't recommend the uppababy vista. If you already have one, then it works fine as a double (although unwieldy going up and down kerbs). But if you are buying new, I'd go for something else. (Caveat - I had a much bigger age gap so probably felt the uneven weight distribution more). Uppababy are releasing a side by side double next year (minu duo) but if it's based on the minu single, I doubt it will do well off road and will be more for in cities, so probably not worth you looking at.

I bought the carry cot attachment for my newborn which we used for the first couple of months. He then had an insert in the main seat when he outgrew that. It worked well. I'd recommend that buggy a million times over. We used it until they were 3&4 with plenty of space left. I wish we still had it!

I also had a Phil and Ted for when the side by side would have been too bulky which was also brilliant but wasn't used for too long as neither wanted to be down below after a while. Fab for newborn and toddler ages though!

Love my bugaboo. Bought it second hand on eBay (not much wear). Used it every day for my twins for 2 years and for on the go naps until they were 3. Love it so much I still use it now for DC4 even though there's only one of her.

But as others have said - it's fairly big in the back of your car. I've never found that to be an issue as we've got a 7 seater (as you might expect with 4 kids!), but if you're getting it up and down lots I imagine it could be a bit of a pain.

I had the Mountain Buggy Duet. It's a side by side by slim enough to go through all single doors and onto buses easily

Very easy, we just bought adapters. Rarely used it for that though we never really transferred the car seat out of the car tbh.

Unfortunately that is the downside, once they are out of the bassinet they will face outwards. My youngest was always a nosey Parker so was much happier watching the world anyway. There are viewing windows in the hood though so you can keep an eye.

Mountain buggy does a carrycot for the duet which can convert into a parent-facing seat. However, it's worth checking the reviews as I think it is quite small so they outgrow it quickly. Also I think parent-facing seats normally need to be removed to fold the pram up, so it's extra faff. I've seen the out n about double nipper, and I'd say the thing that gives the MB Duet the edge is that it's slightly narrower - it doesn't look it, but you can squeeze through smaller spaces because the wheels are inset under the frame, so you don't have a double frame with back wheels sticking out of the side, if that makes sense.

That’s really good to know! My current pram has back wheels like that so that’s good to know as that would be a pain in a double.

I am truly, madly, deeply in love with my mountain buggy duet, and didn't find the parent facing seat a problem with my absolutely huge 'baby' boy. You can go up to 15kgs in that seat (up to 18kgs in the outward facing ones) and my son was in it until he was 15 months, at which point he was already in age 2-3 clothing (he's huge!). Him and his elder sister are now very comfortable side by side in the joint outward facing mode (I have a 28 month gap).

It is insanely narrow for its size. I'm based in London and am on and off buses with the thing daily with absolutely no problems. It turns and manoeuvres so easily. I honestly love it. It is very large when folded, but does fold easily enough (that's when in the double outward facing mode - when using the parent facing, you need to unclip that separately, which is easy when you're used to it, though if you're car based it could get annoying doing it daily).

It is my favourite thing about having 2 kids (maybe don’t tell my two kids that! 🤣) I promise you won't regret buying one!!

Baby jogger! Bought for a reasonable price, kept it in really great condition as it washed well. Sold second had after 2 years and hardly lost any money. A great double buggy, the newborn could lie down, the toddler sitting up, really easy to manoeuvre, light, and not too wide.

I had both the Mountain Buggy Duet and the Out and About, on the whole I preferred the Out and About, it was easier to fold, the seats seemed bigger for once they are older and felt more stable than the MB (which I think was probably the slightly off set back wheels to be honest) but we did a lot of rough terrain walking, I found there was very little in it when negotiating shop doorways etc.