14 and half months between DC (DC2 due Oct 2012) - do I REALLY need a double buggy?

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They look huge and unwieldy! Can I get away without having one? Is it feasible to cope with just single pushchair (for DC1 who is very active, so I'm hoping might be very into walking by the time she is 14 and a half months) and have DC2 carried in a baby bjorn? Has anyone else done this and felt it was ok? Or am I insane to even think about going without a double buggy? Thanks in advance for all opinions!

I'd definitely get a double. 14 and a half months is pretty young to be expecting significant distances being walked IMO and a little too young for a buggy board. Also I thought baby Bjorns weren't suitable from birth necessarily - depends on weight/size.

We had 26 month difference between dc1 and 2 and got away with a buggy board on the pram pretty quickly but there is no way that when dc1 was 14 months it would have been practical for her to walk long enough distances at a normal pace and also she would have been pretty livid if she was being made to do so while the baby hogged her pushchair!

DS started walking at 10 months.

By 14.5 months, there's no way he'd have been walking on the pavement! He was too young and difficult to get to walk in a straight line

A baby bjorn is ok for the first few months but I found it useless when ds got bigger.

At the moment I carry DD in a sling (3 months) and DS, 2.5 years, either goes in the maclaren or walks for a bit but not far and not for long. He's a bolter! We have a double too - DS still naps in the day so useful for that (I've just started putting her in it).

Your DD will hopefully still be napping even your second gets to be in the pushchair. So you may want a double at some point.

You could stick with a sling/single buggy then buy a double if you think you need one once dc2 arrives?

Incidentally, dd was 12 months when she started walking, albeit slowly and slightly unpredictably. But several of her lively/active friends from the post natal group were only crawling/bottom shuffling until 14-16 months.

when baby 3 comes along theres going to be 21 months between my 2 youngest and I am going to get a double buggy at the minute he's 15 months old and I've started getting him out of the pushchair after the school run to just walk down our road, It takes 20 minutes with alot of stopping, directing and picking up after falls!! So my advice is get one :)

Unless you are a very hardcore sling wearer and happy to use a sling exclusively for your youngest child for about a year, yes you need a double buggy. Sorry

I had a Graco when mine were small, and used to recline the seat flat and put DC2 laid in the back with DC1 sat up in front, holding the "table". It worked pretty well, and when DC2 got old enough to sit up, DC1 was big enough to walk alongside the buggy.
It depends how biddable your DC1 is.

I had the same plan but with a wrap sling which is 1000 times more comfortable. But I found the main problem was that with a toddler you are constantly bending over to them and lifting them, on and off buses up and down steps etc. It was just too much like hard work

I've got a phil and teds. I LOATHE it but it meets our needs albeit in a cumbersome way

Congratulations!

I have 2 boys 22 mo apart. I used a sling (I forget the brand name ) for my baby as the baby bjorn was only suitable from 4.5kg, and ds2 was 2.6kg at birth. Sling worked beautifully til he was about 5 mo, then my back just got too sore.

So I recommend buying the sling/ carrier after the baby is born when you know how big he/she is, and put off buying the double buggy til a little later so you can see how good a walker the elder kid is. Buggy boards can be a challenge, and intimidating. This way at least you can minimise the length of time you need to deal with the double buggy.

DD1 walked at 9 months, and was 20 months when DD2 arrived, but there is NO way I could have been without a double. I do use slings quite a lot (Moby wrap at first, now Rose & Rebellion) but having the ability for them both to lie down for a nap/restrain DD1 has been invaluable. It's not their ability to walk that is an issue, it's your ability to keep them safe around traffic/get anywhere remotely in the timescale you were hoping for that will lead to a need for a double.

Rod for your own back, and all that. If you try to manage without, I mean. You don't even know if your 14 month old will be a bolter, and will likely still need naps when out, too.

Lots of people are around pushing double buggies so they can't be that tough.
I know some people don't like them, but the Phil & Ted (think that's right) double deckers look the very best to me, of modern choices. Shorter, easier to steer, etc. Good 2nd hand value, too.

You COULD do sling and pushchair for the first few months, then pushchair and buggy board? I reckon DS would be OK on a buggy board now at 20 months, but probably not confident or competent enough at 15.

I'm due in 4 weeks and my DD 2.5 who has been walking since 12 months and happily walked everywhere with me has now decided the buggy is very comfortable and she would prefer to be pushed, so it looks like i may buggy and sling after all. i think you may struggle without a buggy, could you get one that has a doubles kit so you can make it into a single when the time comes.

I had 16 months between mine and managed without one. We also don't have a car and walked everywhere and it was fine.

Here's how we managed it: Sling, pushchair that was suitable for either baby or toddler with no conversion needed (I had a bee) and buggy board. That way, whichever child needed it most could go in the buggy and the other was either on the sling/ buggy board.

It was totally fine and my eldest is the least agile child in the world so if we can manage it...

I've got exactly that gap between mine (14 months, 2 weeks - congrats).

The short answer is yes, you would be insane to try to cope without a double buggy.

Yes.

Unless you particularly enjoy slow walking with a tantrumming toddler, when you're sleep deprived, carrying shopping bags in the rain / snow / wind .

I had a double for a 2yr age gap and used it for over 2yrs. Well worth it IME.

My boys are 25 months apart and I tried to do without a double, using a mixture of sling for the little one or buggy board for the big one but after about 3 months I gave up and got a double. With baby in a sling on the front it was hard pushing the pram and bending over/lifting toddler etc. and with either option, one of them gets wet if it rains. And at just over 2 ds1 got too tired for the buggy board on long journeys even though I got on he could sit on. I got the baby jogger city select which was expensive even on eBay but much better than a Phil and teds IMHO. HTH

23 months between my DS1 and 2, no way could I have done without a double buggy.
DS2 was also a 10lber so I didn't carry him in a carrier too far, or too often.
DC3 arriving in Sept when DS2 will be 2.8 so I'll mainly cope with pushchair and buggy board but won't be giving up the double even so. Useful for long days out, holidays etc.

18 months between mine we got the britax b-dual. Couldn't take both kids out without it by myself. I like the britax because it can be a single or a double and it folds with both seat units attached which other stacked prams don't.if you go for a side by side the baby city jogger (I think it's called) is the narrowest and goes through most doors.

My DD was 17 months when DS2 was born, and in spite of my best intentions to wear DS, he definately had other ideas, and going anywhere with DD walking was painfully slooooow, even though she was a pretty accomplished walker at that age.

After a LOT of research, I grudgingly opted for a P&T as it really was the best of a bad bunch available at the time and the main factors were the fact it was in-line so not much bigger than a standard single and could be either a single or a double. My initial reluctance was soon replaced by grudging respect, and eventually I was sad the day we got rid of it; it was a real workhorse, the toddler seat wad great for extra storage space and it saved me a lot of grief when the snow was bad last winter. I also did some product testing of doubles for a parenting magazine, and my P&T beat the competition hands down.

There are more double to single options out there now though so something else might suit you better. Don't even consider a side by side, unless you are prepared to walk everywhere, and leave the pram outside shops as most are too cluttered with displays to let a side by side through.

And congratulations :) The first couple of years of two under two is tough, but mine are now in reception/nursery and play really well with each other and are really close.

There are 14 months between my first two children as well.

I never had a double buggy - and I don't drive, so I walked absolutely everywhere.

For the first few months I had dc2 in a sling and dc1 in the buggy. Then when she started getting two heavy/ too tiring for me, I would get dc1 to walk for a little while.

When dc2 was about 6 months, my dh made something like a buggy board (he is very handy, good at carpentry and stuff) that clipped nicely on the back of the buggy for dc1 to ride on, but I find that he is quite happy to walk long distances anyway.

Yes you need a double, you'd be mad not to.

I have 18 months between first two and 21 months between second two and the double buggy made life infinitely better.

Nipping out for a pint of milk is a ten minute task with a double buggy, with a baby and a walking 18 month old it's an hour's job.

Well my 17mo dd still isn't really walking (just a few steps) so you never know how long they will take! I had 23 months between my 2 ds and there is no way I would have coped without a double buggy. Unless you use a sling a lot but depends what you find easier.

Brilliant informed and helpful comments everyone - am really grateful. Got quite a while to ponder, but damn it, looks like I might have to bite the bullet!

yes - would say you definitely need a double buggy - i had 14 months between mine and used it a lot - did use sling to start with but got very tiring as they got heavier - then used buggy board at end, but for that 1-2 years in-between double buggy was a saviour for more peaceful journeys.

yes yes yes - when they hit about 18months - 2.5 years and have major tantrums you need to be able to strap them in, that along with all the other things! maybe get a single that can be a double? we have an uppababy vista wich you can get an extra 'rumble' seat for toddler and it is fab! :)