2 year old and one on the way - buggy board / sling or double buggy?

[ifIsaynodontjustaskdad]

DD is 2 and entering the ahem, assertive, independent stage where she likes to run off so often is strapped in the buggy to enable us to get where we are going without running marathons and the excitement of traffic. New baby is due at the start of December.

We have a buggy and sling already that did her from birth without needing extra bits so I am wondering do I use my sling to carry the baby and strap toddler/baby in and get a buggy board from ebay or do I need to break further into our savings and get a double buggy?

Finances are really tight, and a c section appears to be looming so I have worries that whatever I do I won't be able to cope with lifting.

I realise there are pros and cons of both approaches, but it would be nice to hear people's experiences of both options.

I decided to make do with a buggy board and absolutely loathed it. It makes pushing the buggy really awkward and it relies on having a toddler that will stay on AND stand up when they get tired.

Really wished I'd got a second hand double buggy as I didn't realise how long it would be useful for. Sorry no experience of a sling.

i'm the same as you, ds runs off a lot and new baby is due dec. i walk loads and ds sleeps still in the day and still loves his pram. ds was big and this one is supposed to be even bigger so don't think i could cope with a sling and wouldn't want to be stuck in when it rains etc so i have ordered a double pram. what one would you want as you may be able to just buy it when the baby arrives if the pram and sling don't work for you or if you have a section. i had to order as it takes 10 weeks!

:)

To be honest it would be my idea of hell. I cant even handle my 3yo for long periods out of buggy- he just runs- so couldnt imagine a newborn as well.

Baby jogger city mini is heavily reduced on boots.com at mo and with code you could get it for £225. A lot of money yes could save your sanity. They sometimes go for reasonable money on ebay too.

New bump will probably be the same size as DD was ~3.3 kg so not huge, whereas DD at just 2 is 90cm tall, and loves to sleep in the buggy, I expect I will be doing lots of walking as it is pretty much the only way to get DD to have a kip in the middle of the day.

DD loved the sling, it's a karime big fabric thing that wraps around you (also handy for winter chills) I really can't recommend it enough - until I got banned from carrying anything DD was still in it.

Shall have to look at second hand doubles on ebay I think as our budget won't stretch to new so we'll just take what we can afford, though at least that way we won't have a 10 week wait!

My friend has two with a 22 month gap and over a year later is still considering her double buggy a life-saver. She told me it's very difficult to go anywhere with two little ones and just one adult. So unless someone can be with you all the time, two could be difficult to manage.

I would say: don't rush to buy expensive stuff. I have 30 month ds and 2 month dd. dd very happy in sling so far so i won't actually need pushchair i bought - i like sling in winter especially as dd will be more cosy than in chair. you can always buy pushchair or board once baby is here and you will find it easier to judge how eldest is doing.

We have 2yrs 3 months between our two, youngest is now 6 months. We have a double buggy (out n about 360); a single buggy (also an out n about 360); a sling; reins; a hippy chick seat; and have just purchased a buggy board!!!

Expensive, and swapping the buggies in and out of the car is a pain, but the flexibility is great. Even if I only use the double for the baby and all our bags, it is v handy to have. I also use it for Buggy Fit. A long day out without the double would be quite tricky. Like you I was worried I wouldn't use it much, but I couldn't have done without it.

The single is good for shorter trips to town/the docs etc or days our eldest is in nursery. I do occasionally use the single for our eldest and the sling for our youngest but I can't carry him for more than 20 mins now (he's a whopper, 95th centile).