What age can they stop lying flat? And buggyboard dilemma ...

[MegumiEto]

I have a Phil and Teds Sport and two boys who are big for their age.

DS1 is 3.6, looks like a five yr old and doesn't fit under the canopy any more. He is also very headstrong with no sense of danger and a tendency to have a total meltdown if he doesn't want to do something, which is why I went double buggy and not buggy board when DS2 came along.

DS2 is 5months but also big. He is very squashed in the cocoon and in the lie-flat part of the Sport, I need to get him out of it urgently.

I also have a stroller, a Chicco Sport, that I had for DS1, but it doesn't lie flat so am I correct in thinking I can't put DS2 in this until he can sit up? I was thinking of braving the buggy board option.

I don't drive so we walk everywhere. We live about 20 min walk from town, pavements but hilly - baby weight has dropped off lol!!!! No way DS1 could walk this even if he was a total angel.

Advice needed please!

Think that they can not be totally flat from 3 months and then can be properly sat up from 6 months or whenever they can sit up from. I've just started to put dd 5mo on a slight slope. I don't know a great deal about Phil and teds but can you get a doubles kit, put ds1 in the underneath seat and ds2 on the top seat? I'm not sure if the top seat reclines or if there are any rules about where the heaviest child should be, but that seems more logical in my eyes. I've got no experience of buggyboards, but I'm not sure if I would like to use one in your situation.

i think 3 months for not completely flat too. i didn't know there were actual rules for different angles though. i had a maclaren that went flat up to upright and used the lowest setting i could get away with, but wouldn't let them sit slumped like a sac of spuds - you could try your chicco and see. i would say 5 months was fine for it (my dd1 could sit at 5 months though)(dd2 couldn't, but can't remember what i did with her).

sit your ds2 in the chicco and see, if he doesn't look comfortable, then he probably isn't. if he does, i'd say he was fine.

Are they not meant to lie flat after 3 months then? I have a Bugaboo Cameleon and the instruction booklet says you can't use the pushchair until baby is 6 months, and that they need to go in the pram til then. Am confused now

At 5 months he is fine to go in the rear seat provided it's not for more than 2 hours at a time. I would leave the buggy board option for several more months as you already have a decent double.

The Cameleon is a bucket seat which is different, but you're only 1 month off him being able to go in it. I used to sit my daughter up slightly from about 4 months and she was sitting fairly upright before 6 months. I think you'll need to try him in the seat with the oldest underneath and just see how he looks. Or if the doubles seat reclines then put him in there. If he doesn't look right and his head is falling forwards, could you just put him where he is but without the cocoon and wrap him up in blankets and a snowsuit instead?

Thanks all!

I already have the doubles kit, Ds1 is in it on the front at the mo. Tried Ds2 in the main seat under it without the cocoon & he's still cramped, his head touches it etc as the top seat limits the length.

Although he can't sit up by himself, he's not bad at holding head up etc. He's happy in a Bumbo for example. Maybe he'd be ok in the rear seat, but if time is an issue then 2hrs might be pushing it for trips to town when it's 40 mins journey time.

Love the Phil & Teds, just cursing having such big boys who won't walk!

You could put the buggyboard on the back of the phil and teds used as a single, would be comfier to push than a stroller and buggyboard. Alternatively, let big DS sit in the back seat of the P&T - easier to hop in and out to walk when suitable as the pram won't fall backwards from having the main seat empty.