I'm in a bit of a panic and I need some advice! Buggy for baby and toddler?

[MrsMcgee]

My bugaboo chameleon has just packed up. I thought oh well I'll buy a bugaboo bee. Then I found out I'm pregnant!

So now im in a complete muddle as I don't know whether to get a double or not. Dd will be 2.10 when the baby arrives. She's a very slow walker and we walk a lot. Pretty much everywhere. But i have no idea how much that will have improved in 9m. I'm not keen on the idea of getting a single now and then ending up needing a double.

Also, thinking way into the future, we would like to, all going to plan have dc3 with a much smaller age gap, so we'll need one then right might aswell get the use out of it now? Or am I way off? Coz I'd quite like to not have to think about it!

Anyway; looking at the p&t, ICandy pear and peach blossom and the britax dual. But in a sense how much do you guys think it will be useful to have a double? I don't want tonne on it and then never use it! I suppose i could ebay for it and then sell it on. If there is anything similar to the chameleon you could recommend please do! Light to push and easy to turn etc.

Any recommendations of a shop we could go to to try them out a bit? We have a mothercare but their range always seems really limited. Oh we're in Oxford!

Everyday we don't have a pram is a day when we really struggle to get out so I'm panicing a bit, I also don't make decisions quickly so need help!!

here is a review about it
www.bestbuggy.co.uk/category/tandem-pushchairs/baby-jogger-city-select/

i have never tried one, but looking at them i would say if your 3 year old is sitting in the front and baby closer to you it would be really heavy to lift the front up and poss steer as all the weight is placed over front wheels. did you sit your 3 year old in the front seat.

tiggy loved hers and i kinda wish id bought one,but its not as good once theyre heiferlumps

I wouldn't worry about the fabrics at all. Mine still look like new after over a year of use. They are fab quality. I am sure even if they did split, that the fabric wouldn't be too much to replace. But seriously I wouldn't worry. You do get a lifetime warranty on the chassis, wheels etc which I am not sure any other manufacturer gives??
The fold is superb and it is so flat in a car boot. Fantastic for holidays where you need to pack the kitchen sink and the tandem simply slides flat on the top!
Weight - I would be very hesitant about recommending a BJCS with you already having a three year old. Weight wise the BJCS can stand it ie kgs but I can no longer push mine (I had to stop when DS was about ten months old and DD was two and a half). You need to be extremely critical about your walking routes. I would still choose the BJCS for a shopping all where it's flat, but if a pavement has even a slight camber or slope you will notice it, if not at first, certainly by the time your baby gets bigger. I live somewhere with dropped kerbs everywhere, but again, if you don't, then lifting the front end up could get hard as the baby gets older. It is possible by pushing down very hard ie its not impossible but I would rather walk a bit further or change my route to include dropped kerbs. I didn't find it made any difference where each child sat.
But it was fantastic for the first ten months and I still love it when I do get chance to use it because the seating options are great. But the new iCandy Peach Blossom is so so so much easier to push and manoeuvre that as soon as I can get my mitts on one to keep the BJCS will go.

Been lurking on here as have a 20mo and am pg with dc2.

Had a look at a few today. Not keen on the dual b - the bottom seat seemed too reclined. Also not sure about a p&t - there didn't seem to be much room.

I love the peach - tiggy do you know when the new version is out? Sounds like the new seats are a bit bigger, which I am a bit concerned about as when we tried dd in the current version it was only just big enough.

Did you raise the hood up for DD? Did you unzip the hood at the back? Did you remove the liner? All these make the Peach seats more spacious. My DS looks the same height as DD but her legs are longer. She's got tons of room at almost three, so much so that I will be trying to buy my own Peach Blossom later even though she is three, for our all day outings. She's got bags of room yet - and she is very tall.
Watch the iCandy FB page as they are set to make announcements re all their new pushchairs any day. But the Peach is a rolling change ie the new version of the existing version, so I don't see it coming out until all the old stock goes ie the last one will go out to one customer and the first new one will appear in the same way that the B-Dual got improved.
The biggest difference really is in the lower seat unit which is almost the same size as the upper seat, and importantly it now sits upright so great for two older children. Having had both Peach Blossoms and a huge array of other tandems, I cannot rate the new Peach highly enough. It is truly utterly fantastic - and I was the biggest critic of the current version but iCandy listened to me and others and acted on it :) I love it now!

Thanks that is really helpful. We raised the hood up but the liner was still in so that is probably why she looked so big in it.

Just have to break it to DH that we need the new version, not a second hand current version .

Do try and see an uppababy vista! We went to windsor and loved it although they don't stock the 2nd seat... Other places that stock it are listed on the upababy website though, we ordered online yesterday and arriving tomorrow! The seat unit is huge!

In theory you could buy a second hand single Peach which would cut the cost considerably and just buy the new Blossom kit. There will be a modification available should you wish to the basket area (my guess is a new popper on basket) which I think gives you more basket space. But you don't need this. However I don't know what the terms will be to get the modification whether you can apply when you buy the new Blossom Kit or need to prove purchase of the chassis. It's just something to bear in mind but it's optional ie you don't need it.

I looked at the uppababy but the reason I like the Peach is that you can use the carrycot for new baby rather than just a car seat.

That is something to consider tiggy, might keep the costs down.

I am not sure I understand you PDog. The Vista comes with the carrycot included whereas the Peach carrycot is extra. Is that what you mean?

It looks like you can't use the rumble seat with the carry cot though. So I would have fo use the car seat until baby was old enough for the big seat - 3 months I think? Or have I got that wrong?

Also I read somewhere that the rumble seat is only meant for a toddler to pop in and out of when they are tired, not as a permanent seat.

The Peach is the only tandem I have seen that offers the configurations I want and is light and compact. It is also the most expensive!

Yes, I think you are right re the Vista but in the US they tend to use the seats from birth and I am sure I have seen a newborn snuggler thingy from birth for the Vista ( brands like the Peach and Contours are certified as suitable from birth in the US but I would never put a newborn in those seats). Add on seats are meant as occasional seats on most pushchairs that aren't officially tandems ie the Mamas and Papas Skate (horrible thing) but it's the low weight limit on the Rumble seat that is bothering me as I have said, but I won't know until I try it how sturdy it feels. I have to say the new Peach Blossom is pretty perfect. The old one is flawed. The new one is worth waiting for.

I am pretty convinced on the new Peach. Will start saving now!

I have a mothercare twin vesta, its red, sporty. There is 20 months between my two. So easy to push and steer. The children sit side by side so its perfect for trips out to the zoo etc. Eldest uses it primarily when we're walking near busy roads or when he's tired. The downside is that occasionally you have to fix a puncture in the tyres. The backs can be adjusted seperately so he can sit up whilst his newborn sister lays flat.

The other downside of the Vesta is that it's one of the widest pushchairs on the market at 87cms and doesn't fit through a standard door (either an old 73.5cm or a new 77.5cms one!) It's large!!