Double stroller or not?

[MissDolly95]

I'm pregnant with my second baby and I currently have a 20 month old who will be 2 years and 2 months old when baby is here. She is very independent already and the pram is being used less and less unless I want to be quick and she goes in it.

But I'm thinking do I bother getting a double pram when the time comes incase it doesn't get used as much? I'm thinking a single pram for the baby and getting a buggy board for the back for my toddler. Also a baby sling for the baby to be on my chest and my toddler in her pram when I want to be somewhere quick. I just don't want a double pram to go to waste and also storing it because they are big! I'm also clueless on being a mum of 2, so advice please😂

People will have lots of different opinions on this, but I have 4 children (2 under 2 twice) and I wouldn’t have survived without the double. You need to be able to strap someone down occasionally so they don’t move unpredictably!

Ive had the same double (out and about) for 8 years and I bought it second hand. It’s an absolute workhorse!

DD is 31 mo and DS is 6 weeks and we've not bothered with a double pram. Usually I sling DS and DD goes in the pushchair or sometimes DS will go in the pram with DD on the buggy board and it's working well for us. We live rurally so a double pram was never going to work particular well for us (very narrow pavements etc round here) and my thinking was we'd try out the sling/ buggy board and if need be we could always get a double pram at a later date but so far we have been fine as we are

I have the same age gap between my two, my youngest is 6 months now. I never really used the buggy or pram with my first as she was always walking or in the sling so I didn't get a double buggy but I did get a double bike trailer and got a newborn insert so that I could use that if I ever needed to. To be honest I'm so glad that I did as it has been a godsend being able to take them both out in it together and they just fall asleep and have a nap. Now the youngest is old enough I'm going to start cycling and running with them in it too. Obviously it's quite a personal thing and you get what suits your needs and lifestyle best but this works for me.

You can also get prams/buggies that will expand, I think there is a bugaboo pram that does that so it can either be one or two which would give you some flexibility but also mean it can be smaller for storage.

@Nix99 that sounds exactly like us! We've just bought a house that is on a huge new build estate and there is a retail park right next to us so if I was to walk anywhere it would just be there and around the estate to the parks ect. Otherwise everything is so far out. I'm swaying more towards the single pram, a baby sling and a buggy board for the time being and if it doesn't work for me it doesn't work

@Bluedabidee completely off topic, but how have you found/finding the age gap? Second pregnancy was a total surprise, we were going to try later into 2024 but here we are a little early😂

Los fall asleep, fall over, have tantrums, get ill etc I'd invest in a second hand double you can get suitable ones like the jole twin for £50 or an out and about for a bit more ...save your back.

I wouldn’t have survived without a double. Kids were just under 2 years apart.

It was essentially a toddler jail. And also I couldn’t deal with the lollygagging involved in how my toddler walked. I’d never have got anything accomplished.

ETA I hate the buggy boards. I am a childcare provider and my most recent family had a buggy board after baby #2 was born and I chose never to allow big brother to use it because he’d be hopping off when he felt like it and also I couldn’t walk properly with him on it.

Bedtimes are tough, my partner works away so it's me doing them myself and we have had periods where I thought I had it sussed and was managing to get them both down but then it would just change.
The house is a tip as well because I'm constantly tidying after the toddler who is into and climbing everything! If I try to tidy or make dinner or entertain or change the baby, I will turn back round to carnage somewhere. I've resorted to using the TV far more than I would like, which she barely ever got to watch before the baby was born.

But I am so glad that we have the age gap we have because it's tough but doable and they have the most beautiful bond. They sometimes just sit looking at each other laughing and giggling for ages.

Oh, and ours was also a surprise! We also have my 2 stepkids full time so had been planning on giving it a bit more time before having any more but I'm so glad that she came along when she did. The house is total chaos sometimes though.

@Nix99 without chaos it wouldn't be worth it. So special to hear of their little bond. My little girl is so loving with her dolls so I just know she won't leave the new baby alone. I've got my work cut out for sure, but it'll be work it in a couple years. But I am so done after 2 and I haven't even experienced it yet

I bought one with a similar age gap and never used it. They're great for the first 2-3 months, but that's when you can easily use a carrier with the newborn., By the time the older one is 2 and a half they often walk well enough, or use a buggy board when they get tired.

I didn't go for a double. I have 2 years just under between all mine. When no2 came along, DD1 was on reins beside me and in the early months I used a sling on the rare occasion she needed a ride - I didn't bother with a buggy board etc either.

When dts came along, dd1 was nearly 4, ds1 nearly 2. A triple buggy was insane so I did the same, although had a double for dts. So if ds1 needed a ride, I popped one of the twins in the baby sling.

Ultimately do what you need to do. I drive so walking wasn't miles and miles and I didn't rely on buses either. Had I have done, I might had considered a double when no2 came along.

Instead, I just walked as fast as the slowest child and we got places when we did. If I had appointments, I allowed extra time for slow walking.

21 month gap here and I would have been lost without the double. Don't underestimate the challenge of trying to support a toddler in meltdown with a baby in a sling. What worked for us at the time was the Uppababy Vista with a toddler seat attachment that I could pop on when needed.

I'd definitely get a double sometimes the older child regress a little when a new baby comes also you may be glad to put both of them in there for a nap to try to get them both asleep together.
The mountain buggy duet is the best double on the market.

I couldn't have managed without a double (2 yrs 1 month apart) unless you drive everywhere it's essential to keep your sanity, I couldn't drive at that point

The two year old will likely need a day nap still so a double would be handy so they can both nap at the same time.

It wouldn’t have worked for me. A single was a massive faff and limited the places we could go so much it never got used, a double would have been even worse.

The only time we could reasonably take the pushchair anywhere was if we were going out in a car with a friend and they happened to have enough boot space for a pushchair/didn’t mind the muddy wheels/me installing a car seat in their car/they would drive us home again. So that usually meant they didn’t have their own car seats and pushchairs etc in the car. AND we would have to be going to one of a few very specific, flat parks or the out of town shopping centre. Literally anywhere else - the local parks, dog walks, the local high street, the city centre, buses, trains, most of the local shops and cafes, it was a total non starter.

So what did you do pram wise then? What is the age gap between the 2?

How did you get out out then?

I have 3 DC and the smallest age gap is 2.3y

Prams weren’t an option so it was always carrier or walk for all DC. We might have used a pram more if we had a car or the buses were accessible with a pushchair.

You can get a double in a bus

@KThnxBye more power to you, because I don't think I could do no pram at all as an option for either children

You couldn’t take a single or a double on our local buses then. All pushchairs had to be folded and placed in the luggage bay for short journeys or into the hold space underneath by the driver for longer ones. The fastest and safest way out of our house to town started with many steps down to the muddy public footpath and then along the river - a lovely walk. Or you could choose a half mile down a no pavement, narrow B road with blind corners. The parks are hilly, the paths are cobbled, or hilly. The streets are small, the shops are small, the cafes are tightly packed esp in tourist season and there’s no space to manoeuvre, so it’s highly frowned upon to take one in. Several sections of commonly used public areas are tidal or regularly flooded. The library and the childrens centre do not allow prams inside (but they do provide you with a small roofed area to leave them in whilst you are outside). The primary school does not allow pushchairs inside and does not provide you with anywhere to put them (and simultaneously requires you to accompany your child right the way into the classroom every morning until year 3, as well as attend for fairs, plays, parents evening etc.)

It was a non starter for us :))) So it’s just more a matter of thinking through all the scenarios you might need to use a pushchair in - so for walks? Or holidays? How does that work? Where does one Dc go whilst you are strapping the other one in? Do they fit through doors? Can you get them up and down the steps by yourself, can you manage all the lifting, Etc.

I will have 2 under 2 (just) oldest is a good walker and refuses the buggy unless exhausted.

I FULLY expect a u-turn when no 2 arrives just out of jealousy.

we currently have a lightweight pram and I love it.
my plan is a sling, reigns and pram combo.

I’m short and have road tested a few buggy boards on my friends buggies. I’m not convinced they are for me they are always in my way and inconvenient I think if you are tall maybe???

if it all goes tits up I’ll get a 2nd hand out and about. But I think I will be okay.