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Pushchairs

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Original poster

2yrs9months + newborn = double pushchair?

39 replies

blueskydrinking · 17/10/2011 06:51

Hi everyone, I'd really appreciate your advice/experience on this.

We have already managed to accumulate 3 pushchairs with DS (who we thought would be our only child, so no clever advanced planning here).

We have a mutsy which was brilliant when DS was small and I'd love to use this again (easy to push, cosy, great with car seat). However, DS grew out of this last Christmas - looked like he was on a gravity ride and couldn't fasten the foot muff. There was also a Grandma Related Incident so the hood fixing on one side has snapped and we'd need a new raincover.

We bought a m&p buggy but this is hard work to push. It was handy when we were using the mutsy for convenience, but when DS no longer fit into the mutsy, we bought an Out and About buggy, which has been fantastic and still has plenty of room for growth. We'll certainly continue to use this until DC2 arrives.

Essentially, we hardly need to buy anything for DC2 and if buying a new pushchair means that I can continue to get out and be as flexible as I have been with DS, then I'll go for pushchair no 4! That said, DS will be nearly 3 so the thought of paying a grand for it makes me feel a bit queasy.

My friend has a 3 year old and they still rely on the buggy to get out and about, her DS needs to sit down (or be restrained!) or nap sometimes and I imagine that we will be at exactly the same stage.

This is very long - sorry and thanks if you've read this far. I'm just wondering what you think would make sense - practically and economically - based on ages (including a tall nearly 3 year old) and the pushchairs we already have.

TIA!!

OP posts:
feetheart · 17/10/2011 06:58

Buggyboard and a Mini Micro scooter would be my suggestion.
DD was same age when DS was born, we did quite a lot of walking and she was fine - 2 miles to preschool (plus 2 miles back) twice a week plus usual shopping etc. Napping whilst out has never been a problem though - far too nosy :)

pregnantpause · 17/10/2011 07:01

I had a 2.5yr old and newborn and never had a double. We have a buggy board(ebay cheap) and Thats still in use now a year later. When dd2 was still very small and dd1 was getting used to being ousted from the pushchair I sometimes let dd1 in it and shoved baby in sling. But I know that a dbl buggy wasn't necessary for me and tbh would have been a pain the bum as I live in the kind of. village that can hardly accomodate a single buggy. The buggy board was a life saver. Easily one of the best things I've bought between the two of them.

Original poster
blueskydrinking · 17/10/2011 07:21

Thanks for your replies :)

I need to google buggy boards - have a vague idea what they are but don't know much about them! They're the things they can stand on, right?

Please tell me what you think to my concerns about only having a single buggy:

a) I've seriously considered the single pushchair/sling option. But the fasten-the-car-seat-straight-onto-the-buggy-frame seemed to me to be singularly the best thing ever invented with DS1. I can't get my head around trying to manouever a sleeping newborn into a sling (but then I wasn't very good with the sling last time).

b) If DS gets tired or grumpy or his impulse to go in the exact opposite direction to the one we need to head in starts to drive me mad, I just plonk him in the pushchair. If he's not happy about it I strap him in. Then we're on the move again. I feel a bit daunted by not having this tactic to hand!

OP posts:
CosmicMouse · 17/10/2011 07:38

We'll have exactly the same gap come next year and will be doing single buggy + sling. I've only just recently started using a buggy for 2.3yr old DD as I'm now pregnant. Up until that I still just used a sling (woven wrap on my back) with her. And if DH comes out with us then he slings her. Hoping I'll be able to get back to carrying her once the exhausting 1st trimester is over!

Anyway, it's perfectly possible to exclusively use a sling. But you do need a decent one, or you'll have back ache by the time they reach 15lbs!!

Do some proper research, see if there is a Sling Meet or Sling Library near you. Get something like a wrap, Mei Tai, or Soft Structured Carrier (SSC)...NOT a Baby Bjorn or anything that resembles it, nor a Babasling.

Meglet · 17/10/2011 07:53

It all depends on how much you walk really. If you walk quick, need to get to the supermarket / doctors / nursery on time in the rain or snow then a double might get you all there in one piece.

I kept the double until DS was 4.7 and DD was 2.9. DS could walk most of the time but it made life easier. We had a P&T by the way, 22 month between mine.

LaWeasel · 17/10/2011 08:06

I have the same gap coming up. We're going to try a buggyboard as the first option because if there is a seat to sit in DD will, basically. Which would make a double very heavy, a buggy board on DDs pushchair is not going to be that comfortable so hopefully she'll walk more!

If it doesn't work I'll get a double after the baby is born.

Original poster
blueskydrinking · 17/10/2011 08:12

Oh yep I forgot

c) I love being able to bundle DS up in his pushchair, under the raincover, if it rains or snows.

That's my other concern!

We do own a karime sling but I just wasn't able to get to grips with it until DS was older... it is an option, though. Maybe I need to practise with DS' bears!! It must get soaking though when it rains?

How did you find the P&T, meglet ?

OP posts:
eleanorwish · 17/10/2011 08:13

We had a similar age gap, and went for a double buggy (side by side seats). We tried a buggy board but that didn't work for us, as DD kept jumping off without warning, and it made the buggy a lot harder and more uncomfortable to push.
We did use the double buggy a lot in the first 18 months, and we did need it for DD, as she still got too tired to walk very far.
I think because they are so expensive new, there's a fairly good market it 2nd hand double buggies, so if you go for new, you should be able to sell it for a good price.
One tip, take your eldest child with you to choose, just to see how well they fit in the seat!

ProfYaffle · 17/10/2011 08:13

I had the same age gap and used a buggy board. dd1 loved it and I found it very convenient.

Original poster
blueskydrinking · 17/10/2011 08:16

This is clarifying what I think I want, anyway.

But is there a double pushchair which exists, which....

a) you can attach a maxi cosi car seat to
b) will also hold a tall 3 year old
c) is easy to push
d) is cosy and has a decent raincover
e) doesn't cost ££££

?????!

OP posts:
Original poster
blueskydrinking · 17/10/2011 08:23

x-posts....

eleanorwish , that's exactly how I imagine we'd find the buggy board. DS is such a wriggler but usually in the wrong direction!!

Also, he likes to be carried, but accepts the cosy buggy as a compromise! I just have a feeling that the buggy board would result in me having to carry him around a lot.

OP posts:
Tiggywunkle · 17/10/2011 09:39

I would look at a double pushchair as a rental and buy one knowing you may only use it for six months. If you buy wisely (maybe second hand) you will get your money back on it but you will have had six months of an easy time. Although admittedly you could get by without or with a buggy board or Freerider etc. My DD turned 3 just two weeks ago and only now do I think she has the sense to walk sensibly etc....but she still gets tired, grumpy, tantrummy etc and for a shopping trip the double would come with us. I would look at a single that converts to a double so that the second seat can be in the car / house in case you want to take it. If you look at this website you will see my tall (over 90th centile) daughter in various pushchairs. But I would head you off to look at something like a second hand (but newer) iCandy Peach Blossom or Pear or a new B-Dual or Phil&Teds depending on exactly what else you need. All these can take a Maxi Cosi seat. I don't think even now my DD would stand sensibly on a buggyboard. We tried a Joovy Caboose which was lots of fun but when I tried her stood up she was up and down, jumping and turning and she drove me nutty! So honestly buy with a rental mentality and make life easier for yourself for the first six months with a newborn.

Original poster
blueskydrinking · 17/10/2011 12:00

Tiggywunkle that's really helpful, thank you :)

OP posts:
aswellasyou · 17/10/2011 12:44

I think Tiggy makes a very good point of seeing it as a rental. I have a Britax B-Dual (currently with two 13 month olds of about 11kg and 9.5kg) and I would highly recommend it. You could even use it with the topseat rear facing and the baby at the bottom in either a carseat, soft carrycot or the seat unit, or you could put the oldest in the bottom seat and have the baby facing you on top in any of those options (I wouldn't bother with a hard carrycot). It's a really flexible design and really easy to push compared to most tandems out there. I'd get the 2011 version though as it's got a few improvements compared to past versions. Precious Little One has some really good package deals on at the moment for £350 if you want to buy new. Use the code PLOFBK5OFF for 5% off there. To use a Maxi Cosi carseat, you need to buy the BabyStyle Oyster adapters that fit onto all Britax pushchairs too. Smile

LalalalalalaSummerHoliday · 17/10/2011 12:49

I had a 2y10m gap and never felt any need for double buggy. By then, dd1 wasn't napping in the day, and it was very rare that we'd have put dd1 in a pushchair. We used a buggy board if walking a distance, or dd1 in buggy and dd2 in sling on occasion. Like you, we had 2 pushchairs anyway, so we could have had one in each if 2 adults, but there was never any need.

LalalalalalaSummerHoliday · 17/10/2011 12:52

Sorry, just noticed you've said above "but he likes to be carried". This is PFB-thinking! By the time you have 2 you have to move on to "you are a big boy and your legs will only be strong if practise walking" or whatever. Doesn't really matter what he "likes".... (dh would like to travel in a pushchair).

DedalusDigglesPocketWatch · 17/10/2011 12:52

It depends very much on your older child I think.

We have a 2.9yr gap with our two, but a double buggy was never considered, we decided on a buggy board. DD pretty much either walked or went on her trike from about 18m and would happily walk around town, then to the park and then a mile walk to a friends house. But then I know children of 3.6(and older) that still go in the buggy for a 5min walk.

You have to do what will make your life easier at the end of the day.

Debs75 · 17/10/2011 13:07

I got a double pram and my gap is 1.11. DD2 was in her pram up until dd3 was born so I thought we would get loads of use out of it. By the time dd3 was 6m old we had stopped using it completely. DD2 just decided she hated buggies and came out of both her pram and the double buggy. In fact it got dangerous in the double as she would kick and flail about. Luckily we had got a 2nd hand M&P duette off Ebay so didn't lost too much money, and it got us over winter.
I wish dd2 had stayed in a pram as I would of slinged dd3 for longer, it's too hard chasing a defiant dd2 with baby in sling.
We did get a rascal buggy board after christmas and DD2 is just starting to use it properly which is a great help as she is lazy and wants carrying. We told her board or walk, no more carrying and she went on the board

UnDeadDolly · 17/10/2011 13:15

Lalala how sad. I shan't be encouraging my DD to be the big girl when DC2 arrives.
If he 'likes' to be carried then perhaps a double pushchair is the best bet! I find this PFB talk very patronising. My second born will be just as perfect in my eyes.
I think encouraging the older child to be the 'big boy/girl is putting unfair pressure on them. All of a sudden you're saying, right, you're now evicted from your pushchair so the baby can have it. Dangerous ground IMO.
OP I will have the same gap and am thinking keep single pushchair but have buggy board plus sling for baby if DD wants to get in the buggy. She doesn't travel much in the buggy at the moment so probably won't be phased by giving it up. Will re think after baby is born if it's not working.
I can't bear the thought of a double TBH

CointreauVersial · 17/10/2011 13:20

I bought a second-hand double buggy, as I knew it would only be used for a short period of time and I didn't want to waste my money (gaps 19 months and 26 months). They are hulking monsters usually (the double buggies, not the children Wink) but essential if you have a absconding/unwilling to walk toddler. Check out your local NCT sales.

The best thing was, having used it for 3DCs I sold it on for the same as I'd paid for it. Grin

Tiggywunkle · 17/10/2011 13:36

Just to add it's easy to get one 18 month to three year old to walk. But when pushing a pushchair, juggling a shopping basket, packing shopping bags etc the toddler suddenly realises they have more free rein! it's just simpler to have a double ;) I always sell a second hand pushchair for the same (if not more!) that I paid for it. I usually lose on fees but that's my 'rent'! My only word of caution is even if you buy second hand, go and play. With an older child you do need something that will take the weight of your children 3-6 months down the line ie think beyond newborn - I call it pushability - the B-Dual, Peach Blossom and Twinner Twist - just as examples - are easy to push with older children on board. The Graco Quattro Tour Duo is very heavy!

LaWeasel · 17/10/2011 13:53

I wish people would explain how they "make" toddlers walk! If DD doesn't want to go somewhere, she ain't movin' for love nor chocolate money!

ChippingInToThePumpkinLantern · 17/10/2011 13:53

It depends on where you go, what you do, how far you go, whether you use the car much or not etc etc

Everyone else can only tell you what worked for them, but their situation may be very very different to yours.

I loved the Phil & Ted - baby in the front, todder in & out of the back. Once the baby was a toddler there were arguments about the back - they both wanted it! However, we walked a lot - far too far for the 'only just' 3 yo. It went into the car fine because at the time we had a LandRover - open the back and it swallowed it up.

Now - I have a Ford Focus and it's a pain in the bum for fitting buggies in.

I like the Out & About (great buggies!!) for trips from home and use the 'square folding' pushchair when we take the car. I don't like it because it isn't easy to push, but it fits easily in the car

I like the umbrella ones too - but have to put them in the passenger seat - which isn't always convenient!

If I was you, I would leave it for now. When the baby comes you can use a sling/let DS walk at first & see how it goes. DS will change so much between now & then, just wait and see :)

ChippingInToThePumpkinLantern · 17/10/2011 13:55

Oh - what I wouldn't do - is buy a proper double. Nothing other than twins would make me even consider that option.

MrsTittleMouse · 17/10/2011 14:01

Agree that it depends very much on your circumstances.

However I hated doubles with a passion - they are just so BIG. So I used a baby carrier for DD2 and pushed DD1. Then when DD2 got too big for me to carry (because she was a porker) I pushed DD2 and had DD1 on the buggy board. DD1 didn't nap at all by then, though, so that wasn't an issue. I still use the buggy board now if DD1 is ill - DD1 (5) goes in the pushchair and DD2 (3) on the buggy board, so it was money well spent, particularly as I picked it up for a tenner, second hand!