17 month old has outgrown his Maclaren XLR..help!!

[LittleMissSnowShine]

DS is 17 months but he is literally a HUGE child! He's always been in 97th centile and above for height but now this is really creating a problem with the buggy situation. Me and DH share a car so on the days I'm at home with DS we use the buggy a lot to go to the park, shops, mum & toddler etc.

However, DS's feet are nearly trailing the ground in the Maclaren Techno XLR now and it's very uncomfortable for him. He's much too big for me to carry and while he's ok on reigns in the park, we live near a busy road so doing without the buggy is just not an option.

I was thinking about trying to pick up a second hand Stokke Xplory which would get round the problem of how tall he is but is it a good choice?

As an added complication, I'm v early days expecting another LO who should be here in late Oct / early Nov so I'm going to have a newborn and a very big 26 month old - would I still need a double buggy for a 26 month old? Or is he likely to be happy on a buggy board by that stage? I can't see him comfortably squeezing into a Phil & Ted, for example and he already loves to run everywhere by himself so I can't really picture what he'll be like in 9 months time...

Your suggestions/advice/experiences all v welcome, esp since I need to sell the XLR and get a replacement asap!!

[LittleMissSnowShine]

Just to say I got a B Dual off Amazon in the end - soooo happy with it, thanks for the recommendation. DS loves being up so high, loads of room.to dangle his legs and he loves the variety of being able to face me or DH or being able to face away. It is wide and the rain cover seems enormous but it handles fantasticallt and DS is delighted. Already managed to sell our Maclaren too :D

We havent bought second seat/carseat yet since we dont need them yet but def going to be keeping an eye out for any bargains online so we can get those for a good price when the time comes..

But totally in love with B Twin at the min so thanks again everyone!!!

[TruthSweet]

I have a B-Dual and am currently using it for DD2 (110cm, 17kg and 4.2y [not lazy but has hypermobility so gets tired easily]) and DD3 (86cm, 12kg & 2.4y).

DD2 sits in the top seat and while her head does stick up above the back of the seat, she has acres of room before she hits the hood (I have a 2010 Atomic Denim model).

I will be using it for DC4 when s/he arrives in Sept (DD2 will be going to school then) and have got a Graco soft carry cot to use on the lower seat (DD3 will be 'promoted' to the top seat then).

It really does take a tall child in the top seat - I rec. having the leg rest out straight to use as an extra deep seat, DD2's feet reach the front of the frame so she has somewhere to rest her feet.

[thisisyesterday]

do you have any local buying/selling pages on facebook?

i've seen 2 b-duals go round here for £180

[ItsMyLastOne]

I'd contact Just Kidding first, and maybe other places, and see what the shipping costs would be. You can get a second seat for around £75 if you shop around but it might be easier with Just Kidding if their shipping is reasonable. It's worth a couple of emails anyway!

[LittleMissSnowShine]

I've just seen one on Amazon for £247 (without second seat) - that's a pretty good deal, isn't it? And they post for free to N.Ireland, unlike a lot of other sites...I presume it's the 2011 version, although it doesn't actually say so...

I've seen one secondhand on our local gumtree, but it's £275 (inc second seat) so it's not that much of a saving on the amazon price and at least new u get the 2 year guarantee...

Price is a bit of an issue tho since, as you say, we'll prob be wanting the carrycot and the carseat too, so if the differences between 2011 / 2012 model aren't huge then that's prob what we'll go for! Wish we could have seen one in the flesh (lol) first but not having a kiddicare anywhere nearby is a pain - I tried phoning round Smyths/Mothercare locally and none of them had a display model in stock

Yay, new buggy time!! Time to take the blasted Maclaren out now on one of its final outings, before i sell it on gumtree myself

[HypatiaTheProcrastinator]

ItsMy beat me to it on the JK link!

[HypatiaTheProcrastinator]

It's definitely high off the ground! If you do get one, I'd buy a soft carrycot to go in the lower seat for the baby. That way, the toddler has more room and you can have him facing you until the baby is around 10-12 months when you'll need to turn the top seat around.
Just Kidding have some good deals on the 2011 version. Or you could get a 2012 version with second seat for £460 from BabyBaby. If the price isn't an issue, I'd get the 2012 on epersonally as it has better wheels, stronger fabric and the harness is easier to adjust and put a footmuff on. But these aren't huge differences, so the 2011 will do just as well if you want the cheapest package.

[ItsMyLastOne]

You could just get one online. Like here. Or get one second hand locally, like here.

[LittleMissSnowShine]

Thanks hypatia

I do love the look of the Peach Blossom and how small it folds down, but the easily scuffed chassis and the price are sort of putting me off. Tbh, I'm really swayed by the B-Dual - I can see that it's pretty wide as a single but the distance from the ground kind of makes up for that for me, and hopefully I'll only be using it as a single for the next 8-9 months!

And I see there's a good deal on Amazon on these at the minute so I'm tempted to just go ahead and order, I've phoned around all our local shops (I'm in Belfast) and nowhere seems to flipping have one in stock so I can go and check it out in person but I tried walking DS round to the shop in his Maclaren yesterday and he was squirming and wriggling and his feet were practically on the pavement so I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and get a replacement STAT!

Thanks again everyone :)

[HypatiaTheProcrastinator]

The Peach Blossom doesn't have small seats. If you click on the green 'Reviews and Information' tab here, you can see a very tall 2.9 year old in it. The Blossom 2 (released in a couple of months or so-the Black Jack one in the photos) has a wider lower seat that sits upright and the coverter bars are longer giving the lower child more room. The current version only has recline positions, which is why people often find it unsuitable for a child over 12 months. The hodds also slide up the seats to give more ehadroom.

The big P&T you saw may well have been a Kiwi. The seats are massive on it. I do't think the lower seat has a hood tough and they've been out of production for quite a while.

The Britax B-Dual has good sized seats and is lovely to push. I'm not sure I'd choose to use it as a single though becasue it's 67cm wide wihout the mudguards. That's the same width as a Quinny Buzz to make a comparison.

[LittleMissSnowShine]

Sorry, I was away for a couple of days there and I'm only getting caught up now!

I liked the look of the iCandy Peach Blossom but I was put off by another thread / review on here, with someone saying they couldn't get their two year old into it. DS is not chunky but he is v long and I need to get something which is going to work for him for the next year or so at least, and which will also double up to accomodate new LO in 9 months from now, so if the Peach Blossom is a bit too small for a 2 year old that's prob not going to work for me

Loved my Jane bath seat for DS so thanks for the Energy tip off, might hav a browse on ebay / gumtree!

Saw a couple with 2 kids yesterday using a gianormous Phil & Ted buggy.. I've only ever seen the lightweight, city-style Phil and Ted buggies before and I didn't think there was a lot of room in them but this thing was built like a tank so now I'm re-thinking....

Thanks again everyone, all v helpful ideas!! Def off to look at a mountainbuggy now too

[PacificDogwood]

I'd second a Mountainbuggy, single or double, or an Out'n'About Nipper, single or double.

I had a Doublenipper as my first 2 were onle 1 year apart, but have used it loads for nr3 and 4 who were 24 months apart. My 2 year old was perfectly capable of walking, but at times v slow and often very contrary ie fast, but in the wrong direction IYKWIM . I still use it now and they are 4 and 2, mainly for situations were I have to be somewhere on time ie schoolrun, or when I feel they need a bit of a rest... even the 4 year old will still sleep in the buggy - sometimes...
I went for the Nipper rather than Mountainbuggy as it was lighter and v easy to fold which was important to me to get in and out of the car easily.

[BrassMonkeyBaubles]

I think 26 months is too young for a buggyboard really. I'd say try a double mountain buggy, Easywalker, or babyjogger. I would be avoiding the umbrella fold designs personally as they can be a very hard push with heavy kids, also taller children can reach their feet on the floor and scuff shoes or hurt their ankles!
There are some good bargains on eBay!

[thisisyesterday]

something like the baby jogger city mini or micro i reckon would prevent foot dragging
but you may not want to buy another single if you'll need a double soon anyway

we also had a Jane energy which had a higher seat than a lot of the other strollers.. might be worth considering. i woul imagine you could pick them up fairly cheap second hand now

[Tiggywunkle]

My DD is a leg dangler too. It caused us issues finding a double pushchair because she liked to trail them on the floor or to put her feet on or behind wheels. But there are several single to tandem pushchairs which are high up that would suit a taller toddler plus newborn like the Britax B-Dual and iCandy Peach Blossom or most of the more sturdy ie not umbrella fold, side by sides would suit a taller child eg Baby Jogger, Easywalker, Mountain Buggy, TFK.

[LittleMissSnowShine]

Thanks thisisyesterday - good tip!

Don't know why DS won't use the foot rest but he's the same on his smarttrike thing, he just dangles his feet so they drag on the ground and short of tying his feet to it I don't know what else I can do with him!

[thisisyesterday]

i would get a double mountain buggy. the seats are very generous, i had my 5 year old in it a couple of years ago on holiday!

with regards the maclaren, can he not just put his feet up on the footrest?