Avoiding a double buggy

[Oysterbabe]

DD is 16 months and DC2 is due on her 2nd Birthday. Can you cope without a double buggy with a newborn and just turned 2 year old? I really love our main buggy and it would be a real shame to get rid of it. We also have a second umbrella fold nursery run buggy. DD was preterm, is not yet walking and doesn't seem anywhere close to it tbh.

My thinking is for the first 6 months, when it's just me, baby can be in a sling and 2 year old in the buggy. When out with DH we can take both buggies if necessary. Once 2 year old is a confident walker we can get a buggy board for short trips around with baby in the pram. Does this sound at all possible? I just haven't seen any doubles that I like and they're so bulky.

I personally couldn't have di e with a double for my 2.5 year gap last time. My toddler was a fast runner and got tired easily.
I did buy an inline pram (icandy peach) did the job nicely, them converted to single once we needed it.
Mountain buggy duet is compact for a double.
Also you could consider a buggy board on your exsisting pram and like you said use a sling-then if you want to put baby in pram and get your toddler out they can ride on it.

It would be fine for me, but I don't do much walking. I have rarely used a pushchair since my big baby turned 2. He's now 2y8m and I've just got the old pushchair with a buggy board. Haven't actually used it yet, we haven't been far yet.

Yep. Totally possible. That is what we did. We're in the city and I couldn't face getting a double on and off buses and tubes, into shops etc.

My gap is 20 months.

I would try your way - sounds like it could work. Great to be able to avoid a double buggy if you can. But after a couple of weeks, you'll soon know if it's working or not - if not, you can buy a double buggy then. I wouldn't buy one in advance.

Depends if your lifestyle includes a lot of walking, main roads and time limits. If walking is as and when you fancy it, when children are on good form and can be avoided if needed, you can do without a buggy. If you need to get to places quickly, every day, far away or along busy roads, I'd get a double. Out and About is great, but not parent facing so would probably go for a Bugaboo Donkey if you are reliant on one for getting around.

I had a 22 month gap. I got a baby jogger city select that can be a single or double. I also kept my icandy cherry. Sometimes i used the single and buggy voard but found when my two year old was tired she wanted to sit down, not stand, so it was pretty useless. I had a sling but by far found it much easier wirh fhe double. Even if the toddler was walking, i had more room for the enormous amount of crap you end up taking everywhere! When i sold the double on ebay i got half the money back, so made it a Bargain. I returend to my cherry for longer days out etc, and then passed that on to my sister. The icandy is currently being used by the third baby and is over 7 years old and going strong.

It really depends on your lifestyle, your children and the spce you have.

I have a 21 month age gap. My older child is a very good walker but i need the double for control! He might randomly lie down on the way to nursery and I'd be stuck. As it is he walks when he wants to then jumps in the bottom of the double (it's an oyster max) when he's tired (or tantrumming!).

We did exactly what you are suggesting and it worked really well (26 month age gap). Baby usually in sling and 2 year old in buggy. On playgroup days once 2 year old had been dropped off then baby went in buggy on way home. We also had the buggy board, so could mix and match all options depending on circumstances, much more flexible than a double buggy!

I've done it twice, just under 2 year and then 22 month gaps. We walk everywhere and just did combinations of pram/ buggy board and pram/ sling. I was convinced that I'd manage without a double but knew that if it didn't work I could buy one at any time. We'd ditched all combinations and just had littlest in a pram before the oldest ones were 3 both times.

My ds was 20 months and not walking when ds 2 was born. I did have a double, the britax b agile side by side double as it was only slightly wider than my first britax and was able to fit through all doors.
Personally I wouldn't have been able to manage without a double and only stopped using it just before ds1 went to school due to ds1 having some sen.

My DD is currently 19 months, has been walking since November and I'm 29 weeks pregnant with DD2. There's no way I'm not getting a double buggy! For long days out, it will be invaluable.

Although DD is a good walker now (although the first few months were hit and miss), she is clumsy when tired and will occasionally decide she just doesn't want to walk any further, particularly if we've been walking for quite some time.

I have bought a double buggy 2nd hand, but am also keeping my single. My plan is to use the single for DD, with DD2 in the sling from time to time; or DD2 in the buggy and DD walking.

I tried for a month. The day my double buggy arrived was one of the best days of my life. But I hate slings. I find them annoying.

My ds will be 2yrs9months when lo arrives and I am contemplating getting a double so that I can go out for walks with them. I might wait to see how I get on though I would want to walk at normal speed not toddler speed. I will probably look on Gumtree for one.

I was the same, love my pram and didn't want to use a different one. I bought a buggy board which i used loads and a second hand double off ebay for times when there would be a lot of walking or if i knew my 2 year old was tired. He was a good walker and 2y3mo when baby was born but he still had a few meltdowns which is why i ended up buying the cheap double. I still used my main pram most of the time though.

I have a 2yo gap exactly. I started using a buggy board from when dc2 was 4.5mths but it took a while before dc1 was mature enough not to be a pita about it. I also carried the sling everywhere (and still do) for the occasional refusal to stand on the board so I can dump dc1 in the pushchair (dc2 is now nearly a year old). My out N about double was necessary before then as we have a lot of walking to do every day and it was hard enough to get anywhere with both kids as it was without dc1 not being strapped in a pushchair.

Your lifestyle is an important factor as previously said. Also the time of year, If its cold or rainy the baby might not like the sling and the toddler might refuse to get wet/cold on a board.

If I were you I'd identify the least objectionable double just in case and order once the baby is here if you need it.

I've never had a buggy just used wraps/slings until they could walk enough so single buggy plus sling must be doable (& have the advantage of having somewhere to put your bags!)

Ds was 22m was ds2 arrived. I wrote off the idea of a double buggy as the pram system we already had couldn't be converted to a double and we didn't want to fork out for a another pram. We looked into double strollers as they're cheaper but most can't accommodate a baby from birth (and the size width-wise put me off).

So we got a buggy board but, despite ds1 being a very good walker and not liking being strapped in to his pram very often, I was worried in case there would be times when he would get tired and need to sit down (plus the control issue too!) So we found a buggy board that has a seat you can attach to it. Has worked really well for me so far (ds2 is 6m).

I also have a sling but had an elcs so was afraid to use it when ds2 was small. It's also a bit of a faff I find and can be hard work if you're walking long distances with a heavy baby plus a toddler to chase after (if you're at the park for example).