Mums with a two year ish age gap, what did you do for pushchairs/buggys?

[weejenb]

Hi all,

DS1 will be 2 in January, right around the time when DS2 is due, so I'll have a newborn and a toddler. I'm having a hell of a time deciding what to do about a buggy for them.

Currently, I use a Joie Brisk stroller or an iCandy Cherry pushchair for DS1. I've been given a BCMJ double by a family member, but I don't want to use this too often as its difficult to get it in/out of the car. Plus its quite well worn.

I've weighed up all my options and can't decide what to do. I'm not a fan of the Joie stroller and would happily get rid of that altogether. I love my iCandy but its a pain as its not an umbrella fold! So considering getting rid of both and replacing with something like a M+P Armadillo, then having DS1 in that and DS2 in a carrier for six months or so. Then having DS2 in the pushchair and DS1 on a buggy board. The problem is I'm not sure how happy DS2 would be on a buggy board, plus using a buggy board with either the iCandy Cherry or the Armadillo is a bit of a pain as DS2 would have to be over the handle, meaning I'd be standing quite far back when pushing the pram.

I've considered a different type of double buggy, such as the Graco Stadium Duo Tandem, which I really like the look of…the problem with that being I have a very small car (Hyundai i10) with a small boot! I can fit the BCMJ in it (just), the iCandy pushchair fits, and the Joie also fits (can also fit a friends M+P Luna in at the same time if needed!) But I'm not sure if any other type of tandem would fit in it :shrug:

Plus, we recently bought the Maxi Cosi Cabriofix (again) as we have the adaptors for it to fit onto the iCandy chassis, and I was thinking DS2 could just be clipped onto that with DS1 on a buggy board, but again, not convinced we'd all be comfy travelling this way.

What did those of you with a two year age gap do? I'm really struggling on deciding! Plus don't want to spend hundreds of pounds on something only to not get full use of it!

I've been looking at ICandy Raspberry for my first, as I live in London and need something small and light for public transport (and it looks so cute!). They told me in the shop that it smaller than the Cherry?

We have gone for getting DC1 walking all the time - ditched the buggy for good when I was about 20 weeks pregnant. He can do 2 hours of shopping or an hour for a dog walk with no trouble, but we did build up to that steadily. DC2 is currently in a sling, DC2 is awfully keen on pushing the buggy with her in it!!!

DC1 obv likes pushing!!!

Buggy board then a micro scooter

Buggy board on pram. My DD used to sit on the buggy board occasionally.

15 month gap here. Just added buggy board and use a sling combo. So baby in pram, eldest walked or on board. If really tired eldest in pram and youngest in sling. By 2 though we really used buggy board very rarely so I think a double pram would have been expensive option. We live in London and have no car

joovy caboose ultralight.

Sling for the first 5 months for ds2 & then onto ^ that. Dh is 6'2 and found it more comfortable than trying out a Maclaren with a buggy board.

It feels cheap but ours is still going strong after daily battering up/down stairs a year later (we're due dc3 next month & I'll be using it again for ds2 & them after sling, ds1 is almost 3 so is moving past buggy stage).

We have a Stokke Xplory. 2 years exactly between DD1 and DD2. We bought and use a buggy board. We also use a sling and pram combo.

Bite the bullet and get a double. Buy well, and sell well. Treat the pushchair as a rental and you may find its cost you nothing at the end. But having a double with your age gap will make life easier. Don't get attached to it, and if its not working, swap it for another option later.
I really don't like buggy boards. You end up walking like a duck and its not comfy. 2-3 year olds also develop minds of their own, and have their own sense of direction - which sometimes doesn't match yours!

Phil & Teds. It was used for over 2.5yrs, until DS was 4.6 and DD was 2.8.

I borrowed a buggy board and it drove me insane by the time I got to the end of the street, I couldn't take big strides and ended up doing silly little steps. Literally turned round, came home and went back to the P&T.

Phil & teds here too. Although I also have a single with a buggy board, and a sling if needed - I like to think I have every option covered!

I got my p&t off eBay though, for not much at all, so I don't mind it sitting in the garage some of the time.

We have the Phil & Teds navigator. It folds quite small, and the main seat goes flat for a newborn and second seat attaches on top.
Then when DS2 got big enough we put him in the second seat on the bottom with DS1 on top. Because the extra seat just clips on we don't use it all the time, and the pushchair just looks a normal size. It's been great for us as DS1 would get very tired at times (medical issues) and want to ride in the pushchair. They tend to sell second hand quite well to so we should get a fair bit of our money back.

I had 20 months between mine and couldn't have coped without a double. I couldn't handle a sling (bad back and big babies) and dc1 was a bolter. Tbh, even without actually walking anywhere with it, it was invaluable just to strap them both into to get a few moments of sanity back when we were out and about

Same situation as you. I bought a second hand Bugaboo Bee and a buggy board as needed something lightweight and easy to get in and out of the car quickly. The Bee has a number of niggles for me, but in general that combination has been great. DD got on really well with the board, although can sometimes refuse to get on when she's feeling particularly, well, like a two year old!

I was also given a BJCM double, which I use occasionally, if out all day and will want DD to have a sleep in it, or if I need to be somewhere quickly/it's pouring with rain etc.