16 mth age gap - did you cope without a double buggy and if so, how?!!

[spongebrainmaternitypants]

Looking for some advice from wise mumsnetters!

I am pg with DC2, due in October, DC1 will be 16 months old.

At the moment we have a Mamas and Papas pram/pushchair and a McClaren pushchair. I had, until recently, set my heart on getting a double buggy (P&T, icandy, zoom, for example), but have recently started to think about whether I really need one. They are so expensive and sooooo huge - can I do without?

I do alot of walking - mainly into town and back which is a 3 mile round trip, but also round the local park, along the seafront, etc. So here are my otions:

• double buggy from the word go

• stick with single buggy for DC1, and carry DC2 in a sling

• DC2 in the pram and DC1 on a buggy board

Lots of my RL friends are wading in with their two penneth but they all have 2 year + age gaps and surely that makes a huge difference?

If I were to use a sling all the time what would be best? I used a babasling and babybjorn with DC1 but he was mainly in his pram, lying flat, when tiny.

And, is DC1, at 16 mths, too young for a buggy board? He's only started walking in the last couple of weeks and is a few weeks away from being a confident walker IMO. Won't he find it really tiring standing and holding on for long walks?

Any help, advice, opinions, gratefully received before I go and blow £600 on something I don't need!

TIA

I think only you know how well your lo can walk, how tired they get, how much walking you do, how well they nap (mine were both rubbish so often slept in the buggy).

Dd hadn't started walking when I had dd1, and in the early days we were out walking a lot ( I found it easier to be out of the house).

These are all such useful responses, thank you.

I think we have been too quick to write off the side-by-side buggies as awkward and cumbersome - we need to take another look, esp at the Mothercare ones that some of you have suggested.

The interaction between the children is also something to consider - although that could go one of two ways with the hair pulling!

And maybe another look at the P&T too - although they do seem to be the Marmite of the buggy world, you either love 'em or hate 'em!

I agree with all the posts on double buggy. I have a 16mo and 8 week old and walk a lot in the park and though DD1 walks well - you need a buggy as there are times when she needs to go in it and though I also use a sling, baby needs to lie down and sleep at times and if dd1 runs off and needs picking up you can't do with a baby strapped to you.

i bought a mothercare for £200 but you could get 2nd hand. for less.

Having a 17 month age gap (dc2 not yet born though) and definitely going to get a double buggy, i think it'll be very difficult without.
Can always sell it on 2nd hand when you are finished and get some of the cost back, but I think spending on a double buggy, something to make your life alot easier, is probably really worth it?
Sling for the baby until dc1 is a stronger walker may be an option, but I personally feel double buggy will be the much easier option?

Yes you need a double, my 16 month old still couldn't walk when number 3 arrived so had no choice. Between 1 and 2 there is 26 months and managed without then. I had a phil and teds and I think it was worth it it is more versatile than other doubles and you can still use it as a single later if you want.

thanks guys - it has now moved to my 'essential' item list!

now, just need to decide which one

I spent 30 quid on a second hand one on the local market (17m age gap here).

We needed one, but not often enough to care about it being any more than functional.

Ooo Sponge- have spent hours considering this very subject!!!! Assume that SPD will rule out using sling and maclaren

I am pondering, partly on the advice of a friend who has twins and has been secretly trying out all the buggies at twis club, the First Wheels City Twin which has a (parent facing)pram attachment and does fit in most shops [super important in my world] Then also getting a smaller lightweight pushchair (Mothercare Hoxton?) for the car.

Will naturally try and get them both on eBay as am being super-indulgent wanting two

Hello! I am finding this thread v useful as have 16mo dd and am expecting dc2 in 6 weeks. I am planning on using single buggy/sling combo and also getting a kid-sit www.revelo.co.uk/products_kid-sit.php ... at 70 quid it's not cheap but seeing as a buggy board would cost me 50 quid (we have a Bugaboo) it's not that much more! We walk every day and dd is very good at it but I'm hoping she will love the seat too. I reckon dc2 will be carried in the sling for the first couple of months anyway so dd will be a bit older and bigger when we convert back to carry cot. Great advice on here as always :-)

AvonBarksdale- brilliant name (although bearing in mind the character flaws am not sure that's a good thing )

Gutted I can't use the sling combo as I am sure that it is logistically brilliant and needs no extra purchases, but I has SPD last time that meant I wsn't allowed to carry DD in a sling and am likely to get it this time too.....ho-hum, shall just have to spend more money on baby stuff!!

I had just under 15 months between mine. No way I would have managed without a double buggy.

Did swap to single buggy and buggy board once toddler could handle that.

P&Ts have bought out a new all dancing model so I imagine the second hand ones of the old models would be alot chaper now. (Sport/E3). I have a 30 month age gap and love my P&Ts.

I have one of these....tis amazing, basically a proper lie flat pram but with a seat on tgop for toddler. My ds1 loved it as he was up high.

Was also good as the toddler seat just unclipped easily leaving a normal pram so i could drop ds1 at nursery and then have a normal pram until i picked him up, not 1 baby in a double.

Best features are that it faces forwards or back and is a dream to push.

I still use mine now, ds2 now 22 moths as a rear facing pushchair and i can push it one handed even though he's a good size now.

Totally recommend! I got mine from ebay for £180 2 years nago so they seem to hold value too looking at this one.

here

21 month gap here, DH wasn't convinced we needed a double but DD still tends to sleep in a buggy and a buggy board is too reliant on cooperation for my little monster darling.

Initially got a side by side (Obaby?) off freecycle but it was very wide and I didn't fancy it much, ended up getting a P&T sport on a v good deal from kiddicare. DS now 7mo and it's great, bit scruffy from all the food and muck on the fabric but adjustable handle height and nice to push. It fits in the boot of my fiesta too (need to be stingy with how much shopping you try to squeeze in as well though) OTOH the basket is crap and air filled tyres are nice and bouncy but a pain when punctured.

22 month gap, got a double buggy (m&p twin aria) and thanked my flippin stars every day we went out with it

I had a 15 month age gap, had a double buggy I'm afraid- it was 3rd hand, passed down from 2 people in our village with twins- bloody massive thing it was. Anyway, after that I got a smaller double one. It's probably worth it, to be honest, I found it was anyway. Hope it all goes well

p.s ours is for sale if anyone interested

18 month gap between 1 and 2 here and i manged without a double buggy - sling and pushchair or DS1 walked - he walked early but I really should have gone for a cheap double, there were loads of times when it would have been really useful, and i struggled on with the pair of them. i'm still all for not buying loads of unnecessary baby items but i think i definately took it too far in that respect.

Have scanned over the thread, but looking for similar advice with a 2.2 year age gap. I thought sling and buggy but not sure how long they stay in the sling?

I dithered about this with a 21 month age gap but decided it was necessary. Online, the Oxford Pram Centre seems to do quite good deals on P&T. Or for secondhand, it might be worth looking at local classified ads and avoid bidding up inflation and postage issues - we got an older model P&T through an ad in a local parents' organisation newsletter for £200, ebay ones seem to go for £250-£300. I recently discovered that Netmums has a good local classified section. If you turn out not to use it that much, it has a good resale value. Re tyres, P&Ts have standard sized tyres/inner tubes and my mum's local bike shop fixed ours for £10.

hollyoaks, we did - ds1 to ds2 was 2.9yrs and I was still grateful of having somewhere to strap the reluctant ds1 when he either ran off or refused to walk (no happy medium with this little horror ) Our other gap was 22mo, defo needed the double buggy. Til he was about 3.9 iirc.

have 2y age-gap here and thought i would manage with single+sling. gave up after just two trips to toddler group down the road, as ds1 was very fiddely in buggy and ds2 very heavy in sling (10lbs) and they made it a near impossible task to push the buggy and not be completely exhasuted by the time i arrived at the toddler group.

we replaced the unsuccessful single+sling combo with a babydan side-by-side buggy (i think not all models lie flat, but mine did). light to walk and lift, easily manouvered around, and folds ot fit the boot of the car. i did try a tandem (graco?) on loan from a neighbour, but gave up because it was impossible to lift onto the curb with ds1 in the front.