ADVICE PLEASE... DOUBLE BUGGY OR STROLLER AND BUGGY BOARD?

[spangles]

I am pg with my 3rd child, due in Jan and I am really confused about what sort of bugy to use. I think I have decided on a side by side buggy instead of o tandem but I am not sure if a buggy board would be better. My DS2 will be 20 mths when baby number3 arrives and I like the thought of the children sitting side by side. Somebody tld me that with a bugy board the toddler on it has to get off when you get to a kerb. Please give your oppinions even on tandems aswell as I am totaly confused on how I am going to get around when the next baby arrives.

I have a side by side one when my dd was born and ds was 20 months. It was OK but I found it hard to manover as one side was heavier, I also found getting into doorways a pain and nobody seems to want to help. My ds is now 2.5 and dd is 11 months and ds seems tow an to walk everywhere. Sorry no real advise but for me I would defanatly get one infront of the other buggy. Hope this makes sense bit to early still

hi, i hada tandam buggy 11 years ago when ds1 wasborn as dd was only 2 and it was a nightmare! trying to go up kerbs was impossible! i chopped it in for an old fashioned silver cross coach built pram with toddler seat which was fab, but not practical in carsetc!Emmaljunga do a pishchair with a toddler seat on it so not as long as a tandam and theseat is removable. there are lots of side by sides now that are narrower and lighter. With dd2 who was born last july i bought a buggy board for ds2 and you do often have to ask them to get off to navigate kerbs but it wasnt a prob. you can also get the litaf seat to go which might be more practical for a younger child as they can actually sit down, these attach like buggy boards but higher up on the pushchair frame and only cost around the same as a buggy board

Ive got both, Ds1 was 22 months wgen we had ds2 so was still to young for a buggy board. hes only just (aged 3) started using the buggy board cause before that he'd just jump off and run away. Also i prefered the double cause it meant he couldnt run off in shops or onto the road. His legs used to get tierd standing and he'd moan to sit down. hes not to bad now but i wish i could still squeeze him back into the double. was easier for me and i could fit loads of shopping underneath it.

DD's are 3wks & 21 months & we have the Emmajunga tandem/toddler seat pushchair & its fab.Much lighter & shorter than normal tandems!

I had the mothercare tandem - DD was 2.6 when DS was born. Best thing I ever bought. Did have to lean abit getting up kerbs as she got bigger but knowing they are both on board, strapped in and wrapped up when it's cold was great.

im getting a double side by side - dd will be 15 months when baby born....

My Tandem was a godsend (and quite cheap from MCare) Not as difficult to lift and push as some people make out. Also easier to get through narrow shop doors etc than a side by side.
Tried a buggy board and HATED it. You feel like you are walking miles away from the buggy itself and my DS still moaned about having to stand up! Also you cant hang shopping on the back of your buggy

I've got a Litaf seat to go and think its great!

My DS1 is now 31 months and loves riding along on it, and when his legs start to feel a bit tired he asks if he can sit down, (or when i stop he just sits himself down), and he don't have to get of when getting up and down the pavement. It also comes with lots of different attatchments so it should fit most prams/strollers/pushchairs.

It can be hard work if you dont drive though, (i have to rely on buses), and get a 31 month old and 5 1/2 week old baby on and of the buses, especially when some of the people dont move out of the way so you can pass .

Anyway, you still have a bit of time, maybe you can check out the different styles in the shops so that you have an idea of what you like (John Lewis have a great selection of double buggy but not so great on the boards!)

Hope this has been some help for you!

TC

Have you looked at teh Phil and Ted E3 Explorer? The children don't sit side by side, but it looks much easier to manouver than a tandem.

Message withdrawn

I've said it before and I'll say it again...
sling for newborn until he's too heavy (at least 6 mnths with a Baby Bjorn, I carried mine till 10mo) and thereafter buggy and buggyboard.
Cheap, cheerful, no stupid big buggy you can't get in the car/push thru shop doorways.
Worked for me (my gaps are 24mo and 22 mon btw).

OK I see from reading the thread I am a lone voice in the wilderness here.
I will say that some people don't like buggyboards as the find them tricky to manage. I had no probs but if you are tall it might be tricky.
Is it worth borrowing one from someone to see? or similarly with a double?
I would say that you see more tandems than side by side ones about these days, not sure what that proves. I just never had room for one in my hall.
ALso I firmly believe that toddlers can walk further than often given credit for (see posts passim from Clary)
Right, lecture over!

13 months between mine and the instep three wheeler has been brill. i am a bit of a pushchair freak and wouldnt like to say how may i've had over the years but had tandem when eldest two were little and would never have another.

Instep is really light and a joy to push has loads of storage, but is bulky for the car.

Depens whether u walk a lot i guess.

Hope this been of some help

Kath we have the instep 3-wheeler as well and I agree it's fab.
Anyone who pushes it always comments on how light it is.

I am pg with my 2nd child due nov and I have also been stressing over which type of buggy to use as like you my ds will be 20 when #2 arrives.

I have looked at tandems, but people have said they are quite heavy to get up kerbs etc with the heavy toddler in the front, plus I think tandems dont look very nice.

We looked at double side by side buggies but I travel on buses quite abit and it wouldnt be possible to take a side by side on the bus.

I looked at the phil and teds, thought it was a really bizzare pram, the first stage bit is ok, but i dont like the idea of baby being shut away in the back bit and also by the time my son was 10 weeks old he wanted to sit up a little in his pram and be able to look around. The older toddler seat bit that fits on the back is strange and i bet it gets a few funny looks!

We looked at the Emmajunga and Bertini, similar types of pram which toddler seats that fix onto the front, they look really nice and practical but I was put off by the fact they are still quite bulky and fold downwards like prams did yrs ago, I was unsure if that would be suitable eg, wether we could get anything else in the car once pram is in the boot, so we decided agaisnt this one.

We thought about buggy boards/seat to go but decided ds is probably a little too young and would probably keep getting off and running away, so we have been given one but probably wont try it with him till next yr sometime.

Finally I found the best option for me is to get a double type buggy but that is the same width+ size roughly as a normal single buggy, then I can use that when im out alone with them both and when were out together, we can have ds in the single buggy and baby in the matrix.
I looked at the marco strollers but have heard not so good reports about their service but have found anougher called cosatto duet lite which is probably the one we will get, but not for a few months yet hth xx

ooooooops, should read 20 months

I had a side by side double buggy when I had my first 2 - they were 18 months apart. I think you have to ask yourself will the older child ever want to sleep while you are out. In that case, you definitely need a double buggy. Actually, I think you do need one as I don't think a 20 mth old can stand up on a buggy board for the length of a shopping trip. Also, imagine if your baby needs lots of long walks to settle him/her: you won't want to be dragging the 20 mth old around with you.

As for twin buggies versus tandem buggies, I believe twin buggies are easier to manoeuvre but tandem buggies fit through doors better. I did most of my shopping in modern shopping malls and didn't really have the problem of doors. I didn't travel much by public transport, but my twin buggy was very easy to collapse if I had had to. I think the problem would have been trying to enter a bus with a buggy in one hand, a baby in another and a toddler......where?

hi spangles,i used a double maclaren side by side i had no problems getting through doorways.i had a gap of 20 mths between my ds and dd.i also used a single buggy and buggy board and i could get up kerbs without my ds getting off.for short trips i used buggy and buggy board,and if they needed to sleep i used the double.i hated the tandem as you put the biggest in front and it is really hard to get up kerbs.

I have a tandem, Cosatto, sorry don't remember the name - I've been using it up until the past few weeks - ds1 (in the front) is 3yrs 4mths and ds2 (in the back) is 15mths, but find it too difficult to manoeuvre now.

I've used it for the past year and had no problems - except that as I'm not very tall the handle reached somewhere around my chest so looked pretty funny. I also found that ds2 would sometimes be sitting lopsided in the back - not sure if this was his fault or the buggy's.

I didn't find it too difficult but that's probably because ds1 is not very heavy.

I used a babysling with a pushchair for the toddler. Tried a buggy board but it actually ruined the pushchair due to the extra weight being pulled along - plus you have to take the little one off at kerbs. I found that I needed extra long arms to push the buggy comfortably when I had the extra room of the buggy board to accomodate.

I had a graco double side by side buggy. Didn't like tandems as they're a git to get up big kerbs and I felt that ds1 would be really isolated at the front. I only had problems with one abnormally narrow shop doorway but it is so narrow that wheelchairs can't get through it either. I still struggle to get a normal 3-wheeler through it. Everything else was fine.
It fitted in the boot of a Mondeo, Focus, Escort and a Fiesta without the parcel shelf. Wouldn't go in a Ka hirecar that we had.
If you get one get a second hand one. You won't use it for more than a year - ds1 was 23 months when ds2 arrived, and he only needed the pushchair for about 8 more months. They hold their value and you'll sell it on no problem. Mine was 4 years old, so not the latest model, and cost £40 including raincovers and cosytoes and I sold it for £45 as the buyer didn't bother negotiating. Unless you're rolling in money they are just not worth buying new unless you have twins and are going to get the wear out of them.

Thanks all you wise ladies... I have decided to go for a side by side buggy and if at all possible get a second hand one like badhair advised coz elder child wont need it that long. But if I dont manage to get one second hand I shall have to get a new one which is where I ask your advice again
Can anyone recomend a NARROW side by side double buggy please.

I'm offering no help here at all, but have read this thread avidly! Can anyone tell me if you can actually get a side by side, eg a Maclaren, on a bus? I assume you'd have to go in through the back doors. Which will really piss the driver off, would be impossible when its busy, and would mean leaving the babies alone while I go and pay.My problem is that when we are in our friends car, its for short trips out, where I could manage with one in a buggy or walking and one in a sling. But for shopping, I think I'd need both in a buggy, especially as the little one gets older and heavier. But the shops are a bus ride away!Ds will be 27 months when the next one arrives, and I'm sure he'll just jump off a buggy board.

I think the Mamas and Papas side by side are a bit narrower. I found them too narrow for my toddler so we have a Graco - £100 brand new. It has served its purpose although it was a bit wide for some shops - I just didn't go in them anymore. I would think it would be a nighmare on the bus - I just walked everywhere so can only imagine. I do still use my double occasionally - DS1 is 3 and a half so you might get more use out of ut than you thought.

hi spangles ,
i dont know if this helps but i found the side by side buggys very heavy to push ,very awkwad when shopping and impossible to get through many doorways . However the tandem by comparison was excellent . Although on the downside it was hard to get up a kerbs .. However with practice i was able to learn the knack . On the plus side due to pushing the tandem around (especially the kerb action )I lost my pregnency weight quite quickly. My experience of buggy boards was so-so they are handy for short trips but for longer trips,I found leaning over the child on the board (especially as they got taller ) strained my back .
Hope this helps
good luck