Double suggestions for enormous 2y4m and newborn please

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(this is what we call planning ahead, dc2 not due til Jan, but due to scary prices of doubles, even on ebay, need to do a bit of financial planning!)

Ds currently 21m is big, above 99.9th centile for height and weight so is already over 15kg and 92cm. I currently have a Maclaren Quest but this is getting very difficult to push already (recently realised it is only designed to be used up to 15kg . Sling not an option due to spinal issues.

So, for the double, would not need to go off road, do not need to negotiate public transport much. Have a Mondeo so pretty big boot (but hope that I may be able to fit some shopping etc in too!). I want to avoid some behemoth that will cause everyone to curse at me and I would like to fit through doors.

Don?t want to bankrupt us though. I don?t mind if car seat doesn?t clip on (well, I would ideally, but we will be using ds?s old mothercare own brand from the ill-conceived cheap Curv travel system I bought first time round. Really cannot justify shelling out on a maxi cosi car seat too).

Hmmm a baby jogger city mini gt or a late v2 or new v3 nipper if your elder one would fit comfortably. Or any other wise by side with a big seat basically! A tfk twinner twist, a used mountain buggy duo (lots and lots of reports of people using there for up to 5 and 6 year olds in a pinch), that sort of thing. Almost everything you come across will be tested to 15kg as that's the standard in the uk, you can look at american sources to find out their weight limits, generally these are a lot more than 15kg. Phil and teds are another option but I'mnot sure how they would work for you as in the newborn stage the toddler sits on top in the add on seat and he would already look big in that let alone however big he is by january!

Watching with interest as in exact situation tried lots of different buggies and ds1 still too big for all of them.

Ahhh, thank you, I had ruled out BJCM gt as the max weight per seat is 15kg, I will do some further digging. I think we need to go and put ds in one nearer the time. Not keen on the newborn being so close to the ground as a P&T, maybe that isn't a logical fear, but it doesn't seem right! I was hoping to have the option of rear facing for dc2 after the carry cot stage, but absolutely cannot fork out for a donkey.

YellowCanary how big is your ds1 and which have you ruled out? It's a bliming minefield isn't it?

Just seen this Stroll Air duo which looks good so far but can't find any 2nd hand.

Do you need a double at all? I had a similar gap between my first two children, and I decided to do without. We started getting DD1 to walk more when she was about 2, then stopped using the buggy at all about a month before DS due date. The first few weeks we didn't go many places anyway, and by the time we did, DD1 was a champion walker. I did (and still do - DD1 now in occupation) have a Nipper 360, and DD1 used to perch on the front bit if she was really tired. Don't know how this would fit with your lifestyle? Gap between DS and DD2 was 2yrs9months, and again no double needed.

^^ depends very much on what you do, where you need to be, how you need to get there, how busy your routes are etc. There are a couple of really good sit down buggyboards now though. The kid sit and the easy x rider.

My dcs have had varying attitudes to walking, only 1 so far views it as a means to actually arriving somewhere, for the other two it remains a sort of diverting hobby.

Sit down buggy boards sound like a great idea! But none of my current pushchairs could accommodate a buggy board, as I have to stand close to the handles and very upright IYSWIM due to my spine problems.

gintastic, we will defo need a double, ds walks when he feels like it, but sees it like a diverting hobby as ihate so eloquently put it! I do not want to be in the situation where ds refuses to walk as I could not carry him or the baby for long. Plus we walk into town instead of driving, it is a fair distance to expect a toddler to trek. Going out with the pram is what kept me sane in the first few weeks with ds!

Hmmmm, maybe I could somehow convince dh we need a Bug bee and then use a sit down buggy board with that? It does look like there would be space for it?

I have a BJCM GT double, mine are now 2y8m - 101cm and 17.5kg and 11m - 9kg.
I use it daily and love it. I was concerned about the weight limit but apparently in the UK they only test it to 15kg, in the US it's approved up to 29.5kg

Thank you chocchip very helpful. I think I will go and sit ds in some prams in Autumn to see if he fits. The BJCMGT is now back on the list!

It's such a bug decision, an expensive mistake if its not for you but I really can't fault it. I borrowed a friend's Bugaboo cocoon to use for the baby for the first 6 months, it fitted well and he looked really cosy.