Duo pram help please.

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Hi I'm currently 12 weeks pregnant and when the baby comes I will have a toddler who will be 2 and in nursery 3 mornings a week. We have been looking into what prams will suit us best and have narrow it down to the bugaboo donkey duo or the mountain duet both which convert to a single.
I will have other children to take to school so we thought the convertible type would suit our needs best as we wouldn't have to transfer the baby to a single 3 days a week.
The second basket in the space of the second seat is also a bug selling point.
Has anyone used either of these buggies and which would you recommend?
We want the side to side as we have had a tandem in the past and didn't like them very much.

Thank you in advance. If I am slow replying it's because I'm picking dd2 up from nursery.

Hi there! We have two DDs, 21 months and 4 weeks and have the Donkey and I am impressed with it so far.

It's really easy to push with one hand - DD1 is suddenly insisting on walking home from nursery and this week I managed the 1km walk with one hand in the snow and the toddler in the other. The buggy seat is nice and comfy for the toddler (though the straps are a bit tight with a padded winter jacket) and she loves looking at her sister in the bassinet next to her. The recline on the toddler seat is great as DD1 often has her post lunch nap in the buggy if we're out and about at the weekend.

The width of it does take some getting used to but I tend to plan any shopping etc for when I'm just with the newborn as the width is fine in mono mode. I haven't seen the MB in person but it seems a lot narrower in duo mode, which makes me wonder if the seats are really wide enough for a toddler (DD is a big of a chunk!)

If we go out for lunch at the weekend it's also useful to leave the buggy in the entrance and take the baby out in the bassinet to carry on sleeping - I'm not sure if this is possible with the MB as the newborn seems to go in an insert in the toddler seat?

I'm also not keen on the newborn recline on the MB - where you release the straps to lie the seat flat. Personally I would rather rather a proper bassinet for a newborn.

If you have the chance I would go and test them both out with your toddler. We didn't manage this unfortunately as there aren't many shops nearby selling both (an not in the U.K.). If there had been maybe I would have gone for the MB, though I'm happy with the Donkey so far!

Hope that helps!

I have 7 dc so have had a lot of prams/pushchairs over the years. I currently have a bugaboo donkey for my 5 month and 2 year old and I absolutely love it. The boys are really comfy, it's easy to push but still nice and sturdy. It fits through normal doors too.
I wish I had got it years ago tbh.

Thank you both. I will look into if there is anywhere that stocks both to have a try of themy both.

I had the donkey for my twins, it's a great buggy but it is MASSIVE. The chassis on its own is huge and yes you can faff about with taking it down to mono but it's still huge and then you have the separate seat units.

I got rid of it after 9 months for a baby jogger city mini which was brilliant.

We tried both with my then 19 month old, before the birth of dd (21 month age gap). The duet is thinner and will go through a normal door, but as you say that does make the seats very narrow. It is quite heavy though according to a friend who has one.

The donkey lets you keep both of them facing you which I liked and was amazing to push. However, although the seats were wider they are still much shallower and narrower than in a single buggy, so we didn't think we'd get more than 6 months use before DS would just be too big for it and it's expensive for that.

We also looked at the Baby jogger City Double and that was definitely the biggest seats so the that would best suit a toddler but it doesn't take a carseat or carrycot..... I've heard good things about the out n about nipper double but JL didn't have one for us to test.

We decided to wait and see what DD was like and how well DS was walking before buying anything as it felt like we wanted one pushchair until the baby was 6 months and a different one after that. As it happens DD has reflux, and screams if she is put flat so is in a sling all the time anyway so I'm glad we waited!

I did have a look at the city jogger but as ds4 will be going to nursery 3 days a week a couple or months after the baby is born it would mean needing a single for when I take the older children to school. That was the biggest selling point of a duo one as it meant we would only need the 1 buggy if that makes sense. That and ds4 will probably walking a lot more within the next year. He is nearly 2 now and can wask on trips that won't be more then 20 mins there and back any longer and he sits on the floor saying no tired.

I have the 2015 uppababy vista and I can't fault it. Slim as a single, loads of variations for pram top/car seat/main seat configurations as well as a ride on board. I'm expecting #3 (hopefully). My two are 3&1 and will be 4&2 when baby arrives but my older child is still clung to the buggy (lazy bones) so I'm glad to have the ride on board as well.

I would consider a buggy board but I'm not sure if ds4 would be fully out of naps especially after a morning at nursery. He does one morning a week at the minute and will be going up to 2 in the next few weeks he is always really tired when I pick him up. I do plan in getting one at some point as he gets older for just incase but think with his age a double is a safe choice.

I did look at the vista but as it's not side to side hadn't really considered it as we have used tandems in the past and didn't like having to uncover the child at the front tof get to the one in the back. With ds4 and dd2 we started with a graco stadium duo and ended up getting a jolie side by side which I found a lot easier.

The uppababy configuration is different, not like a Phil and teds or similar, they go front and back so both children have a view.
It is a bit heavy at times, I would say a side by side is probably easier to push but I dont mind it

I didn't see all them configurations so I may have been looking at the wrong one. It could be another to have a proper look at and push around a store.

Just chucking another suggestion into the mix - a bit like the Uppababy in terms of configuration of seating but several hundred pounds cheaper - Hauck Duett.

I'll have three DC - one who will be four, one who will be two and a newborn. I looked at the Mb but really wanted the bassinet and parent facing aspect as I'd had a baby jogger with DC1 and 2, and didn't want that this time around. Plus we have a stupidly narrow front door so a double wouldn't fit through. It's around 15kg but feels really light, easy one handed steering and aassive basket which is great when in tandem mode for room for DC2.

A picture would help!

For those of you with a tandem, how do you find the positioning for the newborn? What put me off is that the newborn is generally really low to the floor and you can't see him/her when you're pushing the buggy.

Just ordered the Britax b agile double - you can remove one seat and include any britax car seat with a adapter. Its £225 down from £300 from mother care - offer ends 18th or 21st Jan I think.

We have a Britax single travel system so the car seat will work on the new double one with an adaptor.

chloechloe that's one of the main reasons I bought the uppababy vista because the baby isn't 'under' the big child.

I don't think the baby is meant to be on the bottom, is it? With the Hauck and also the Obaby Zezu, the baby goes in the top bassinet and then the toddler goes in the additional lower seat. Explicitly says on the Hauck that the lower seat is meant for 6m onwards. So not for the baby. Had always assumed younger child would go on upper seat and the older child would go on the lower seat.