Two babies close in age - mammoth pram or make one walk??

[sabbatica]

Hi All,

I'm 23 weeks pregannt with my second baby. My first will be 18 months old when the new baby is due and he started walking at 1 year.

Please can anyone give advice for their own experience about prams in this situation?

I live in a city and will be walking about a lot. I'm not sure if I should buy a huge beast of a pram (e.g. phil &teds one that stacks for 2 kids) or put the new baby in my existing pram and try to get my older son to walk that much.

Based on previous history, I'll probably end up with another c-section and I'm concerned that I won't be able to carry the newborn in a sling and push the elder in the pram when his legs get tired.

How do you manage????

The Revelo Kid-Sit mentioned above is really good, but I'm not sure at 18 months your DC1 would be stable enough on longer journeys? You're the best judge of that, though!

A friend of mine has the UPPAbaby Vista with the 'rumble seat' attachment, and that is fantastic in terms of size and manoeuvrability. You also then have the option of selling on the rumble seat and getting the 'piggy back' board when your first child is a little older?

I had a similar gap and hated the idea of the P&T until I tried it and then I loved it! Kids were both snug and comfortable, both really happy in either seat once the baby was old enough. It was perfect and very very easy to walk around with.

Oh, and also gave me more flexibility than a side by side because if my older one did get out to walk, then the whole thing was still perfectly balanced.

I'd get a double buggy and would go for something like a P&T that can be changed back to a single once DC1 is too old for a buggy. We did that and it worked quite well. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a side by side or tandem buggy that would only be used for a year or two at the most. We went for a P&T as they were the only buggies of that type around at the time and I liked it. The only downside was that the basket doubles as a footwell when in the doubles mode, so I had to buy panniers which made it quite wide. I didn't mind that babies go on that looks a bit like a parcel shelf. In some ways, it was quite nice knowing DS2 was tucked away in there safe and sound and since his head was right in front of me I could keep a close eye on him. Some of the forward facing buggies were designed so that you couldn't actually see your baby when you were walking which I didn't like.

OBaby XI Sport Tandem and Baby weavers tandem buggy look quite similar to P&T but .

Does anyone have these?

.... but cheaper...

I'm really looking forward to having the baby on the "parcel-shelf" of the P&T as I hated people touching (or trying to!) my first son and peering in at him - this way he'll be left alone!

P&T can be expensive - I got mine on ebay though and was less than half price. Can get most of the extras on ebay as well. Mine has now been used daily for 4 years and I expect to get another 3 year use out of it for DC3. Bargain price for that much use! Has worn much better than a Mamas and Papas I had for DC1 - that was used for around 2 years (for DC1 plus a cousin) and was knackered by the end of it.

I hope I'll have another baby at some point, but definitely need a break after this one!!

Thanks for the excellent advice all, I think I may have a look and see if I can get a second hand phil and teds.

My son is already a good walker after 2 months on his feet, but he's hugely excitable and I think it'll take a while to teach him about safety and not tearing off!

It's the safety that's the key issue, I found. DD was only 18 mo but confident on her feet when DS arrived... but just, well, a toddler. You couldn't have trusted her not to run into the road to stroke the hubcaps of a shiny van. Factor in sleep deprivation, too.

Phil and ted's are great. No need to buy new, loads on ebay and gum tree and as they are 'pricey' new they are built to last so will easily cope 2nd or 3rd hand.

My DD1 is just 2 and I would not consider not having a double. She walks well but does not simply have the stamina for walking everywhere all the time plus needs to be on reins with very close supervision for safety.

I'm sure the donkey bugaboo is great but you need a second mortgage to buy one. They are ludicrously expensive. I doubt there are many second hand as it's only been 'out' a very short time.

I've been debating this but I know I'll be getting a double. DS will be 2.8 when baby arrives. He is great at walking, he can run for hours, as long as it's in the opposite direction to which I need him to go. He does understand when he's not allowed to run off, and his approach to dealing with this situation is generally to lie down.

I'm all for toddler training, but sometimes you Just Need To Get Moving.

Hiya!! Another recomendation for getting a double. I found the P&T to be the best tandem I tried as it is light and so easy to steer. I used it for ds2 and 3 and ds3 and 4. For ds4 we purchased the newborn cocoon.

I must say that it's a nightmare on the bus as the back wheels are way too big and on a couplr routes when the yellow bar is in the middle I have to go on through back doors. it also cant fit in some of the buggy spaces with another buggy and I had a horrid time yesterday.
I dont need it as a double this time round but as I have the cocoon I used the P&T but am going to have to find another buggy for the bus.

You NEED a double pushchair. Your toddler will not walk, they will lie on the pavement screeching and refuse to get up. Or so experience has shown me.

DD is going to be 2.7 when DC2 turns up. She's got much better at walking distances recently (so can walk the mile or so back from nursery) and, if we're in town, mainly walks along next to me so I decided I didn't need a double. Then, in the past week, I've been paying more attention to when DD hops into the buggy and have realised I do need one. In the park the other day, there was a large dog running off the lead which scared her so she completely refused to walk & wanted to be carried but compromised on going in the pushchair; today it was quite windy and she hates wind so wanted to be tucked up in the buggy with the hood up; she was feeling poorly after nursery the other day so wanted to sit in the buggy. Then there's when I want to shove her in there and just get moving. So, today at the farm it was raining and she loves running in the rain but I wanted to get inside before we got soaked so I put her in the pram; on Monday we were late for music so had to park miles away and then had to cut through a large car park, cross a busy road etc and it was faster & safer to put her in the buggy to do it.

My new plan is to get a double second hand off ebay, use it for 6 months or so & sell it on & hopefully not lose more than £50 or so.

I've now decided to order Baby Weavers Lynx Tandem Pushchair
www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productdisplayA_859_10751_-1_18104_109587_10001_18101#ReviewHeader

It seems to have good reviews and is half the price of P&T.

Good choice. I might have gone for one of those if they'd existed when I got the P&T!

I have this double and although I've only used it a few times so far I think it's really good, especially for the price. My daughter had just turned 2 when her little sister was born and until then had always loved to walk, I would struggle to get her in a buggy. Then when she saw her baby sister in hers she would ask to get in too so this is perfect. At the moment we have the toddler seat at the front and she loves her "big girls seat". It is quite heavy but then I think any buggy would be with two children in it, hope you like it :)

Double, so you can strap older child in if necessary, and for rests/naps if you're out for the day. I walk/bus/train everywhere, had children with a 22 month age gap, and loved my phil & teds, it was used pretty much every day for 2 years (liked it as a sturdy single too).

I had a 2 years 3 months age gap between DS1 & 2 and I started off with just sling and pushchair but at the time I could not drive so did A LOT of walking. Anyway after about 4 weeks it became a nightmare as didn't have anywhere to put NB down when we went to cafe and back was killing so I opted for a Phil and Teds and it has been BRILL! Am now about to have DD1 with a 21m age gap and am so thankful I invested in the P&T as I know it will be brill again. Plus I know that when DS2 grows out of pushchair I can sell it on ebay for a decent amount.

20 month age gap, used my Phil and Teds for them and again between DD2 & DD3, loved my P&T! Recently dug it out for a mammoth walk, 3 year old on the top seat, bottom seat got well used by the picnic bag, my 7 year old and my 5 year old. Can't rate it highly enough! I had the carrycot underneath for both DD2 & 3 as newborns, absolutely loved it :)

Suzy x

Has anyone tried one of theese:
www.babyonboardonline.co.uk/prams-pushchairs-c1/pram-pushchair-accessories-c17/baby-dan-pram-seat-p927?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=baby-dan-pram-seat&utm_campaign=froogle#5269
I'll have a 19 month gap and am planning on using this followed by a buggy board that has a seat on it as my dd loves walking but can't walk too far.

Buggy boards are not recommended by any pram/pushchair manufacturers and is against their warranty.

Buggy boards are the work of the devil. Make the puschair difficult to push, hell to manoeuvre, impossible to pull backwards and they tip the child off regularly when they go up kerbs, even small ones.

And I had one of the pushchairs that is meant to provide the best fit for buggy boards.

I'd agree with you there Sandra, but the UPPAbaby 'piggyback' for the Vista model is specifically designed and sold by them for that pushchair only.