Note: This topic is for discussing pushchairs. Read our round up of the top pushchairs to find out which ones were awarded Mumsnet Best.
Note: This topic is for discussing pushchairs. Read our round up of the top pushchairs to find out which ones were awarded Mumsnet Best.
Pushchairs
Best Pushchair for the arrival of 2nd Child
doctorwho2000 · 09/01/2010 21:06
We have a son already, and he will be 2 when the next one arrives
We currently have a Bugaboo Gheko.
We are not sure what to do when the next one comes along.
Will No 1 be independant enough (he already walks the 200 yrds to nursery) for us to avoid having to trade current buggy for a double decker? ie Phil & Teds style stroller.
Any suggestions anyone?
snowedinwithJjandtheBean · 10/01/2010 22:46
My ds is 2.5, dd is 1, we had a icandy pear when they were 'babies' but now we have a phil and teds and i cant be without it.
There are many days where a toddler wont co-operate and having them walk isnt as easy when you have a buggy and a baby to consider!
Clary · 11/01/2010 23:15
I managed a 24 mo gap and then a 22mo one without any kind of double or twin buggy.
Used sling for newborn then buggy board for toddler to ride on now and then from about 2.6 yrs to 3.6yrs.
Cheap, simple and gets yr toddler walking (personal bugbear ).
nappyaddict · 12/01/2010 01:47
I suppose it depends how much walking you do. If I was to have another right now I would still consider getting a (cheap, second hand) double as I would probably still use it for at least the best part of a year as I can walk 8+ miles in a day with DS (3.6) in his pushchair.
Clary · 12/01/2010 16:35
cannot imagine putting a 3 and a half year old in a pushchair tbh.
I don't doubt you walk 8 miles a day but I suspect you are rather unusual in that. Lots of people I know seem to drive a mile or two to school .
nappyaddict · 13/01/2010 04:33
Everyone differs. You can't imagine walking 8+ miles in a day so have no need to put a 3.6 year old in a buggy. I can't imagine a 3.6 year old walking 8+ miles in a day so I put him in a buggy.
frogthistle · 13/01/2010 12:55
I have just splashed out on a Mountain buggy urban double in advance of number 3 arriving very soon. I survived without a double buggy when number 2 came along, just popped baby in sling & walked with toddler.
Advantages for me are: The baby is flat & warm in a carrycot, the 2.5 year old is strapped in during the busy road section of our school run walk, it will force me to get out of house & walk, pushing the best part of 35 kilos so I should lose some weight (I hope) & if the 5 year old is tired, they can hop on the buggy board for a coast home - thus increasing my calorie burn!
It is also one of the few buggies I have ever found with a high enough handle to stop me getting back ache (I'm 5ft10+/1.8m tall) so I am in lurve with it already.
Clary · 13/01/2010 21:04
nonono I can perfectly well imagine walking 8 miles in a day and certainly have on a regular basis.
My point really was that most people don't walk 8 miles a day, I mean do they? DH has been walking 5 miles to work and back in the snow and his action has met with incredulity from his colleagues.
nappyaddict · 13/01/2010 21:32
No they don't but that's why a lot of people can't fathom the idea of using a buggy over the age of 18 months.
LynetteScavo · 13/01/2010 21:35
My phil and teds was a life saver. DS2 was 2.3 when DD was born. I can honestly say it was the best thing I ever bought.
Daisypod · 14/01/2010 12:03
I cannot imagine not having a double and my two are 2 and 3 1/2. There are just times when it is easier and safer to have them both in the pushchair. We also walk quite a lot (6 miles a day on average) but even if I didn't I think I would still want the option.
I don't understand the problem with toddlers in pushchairs? School age children yes but not toddlers.
chocolaterabbit · 14/01/2010 12:11
I meant to manage with a sling a DD's pushchair but Dh and I gave each other half a P and T for Christmas and it is fab.
DD is 2.6 and likes to walk but when she's tired, cold or we have time constraints it is very useful. We tried w a buggyboard but DD losrt concentration and fell off - no injuries but wouldn't get back on, also a pain to push ( particularly if having to carry a toddler in other arm).
DS is 3mo and can go in a sling but he is also now 15lb so very heavy to carry while walking and pushing a buggy and if DS goes to sleep I can eat some lunch without dropping it onhis head!
lukewarmcupoftea · 14/01/2010 13:01
We had a 21 month age gap, bought a P&T after the first couple of months trying to use a twin maclaren. Best money I've ever spent. Even though the P&T aren't perfect, and there's nowhere to put stuff, they are so easy to push - don't underestimate the weight of two kids! Even though DD1 regularly walks, sometimes she doesn't want to/is too ready to run into the road for me to let her.
Clary · 14/01/2010 16:39
daisypod the reason I am not keen on big toddlers in pushchairs (by which I mean 3-4yos) is that by that age they are well able to walk (assuming no SN) and should be doing so, for health reasons, independence etc etc.
Apart from anything else, if they need to walk once school age, a bit of practice wouldn't go amiss!
Anyway, don't get me started - was not trying to get on hobby horse, just wanted to suggest an alternative option to OP.
nappyaddict · 14/01/2010 17:59
Clary Do you really think a 3 year old is well able to walk 6-8+ miles?
Clary · 14/01/2010 18:11
Nappy addict, honestly, I really don't know any people with pre-schoolers who need them to walk these kind of distances every day.
I see that you do, I don't know why of course.
What I think is that a 3-4 yo can walk as far as they need to, and probably a lot further than some parents think.
tbh unless my daily eight-mile trek was 2 miles to school and back twice a day (quite possible I suppose) I might well try to reassess my schedule to fit in a bit more with my 3yo if they were struggling with the distances. My 2yo used to walk 2-3 miles home from his childminder's with DH, who hates buses, fairly often.
Daisypod · 14/01/2010 19:37
Our school/preschool is just over a mile away. I go there and back in the morning, there and back again at lunch and then again at the end of the day. I will not use my car for those little distances so therefore my 3 year old has to either walk or go in the pushchair. It is not a case of reassessing my routine to fit in with them but refusing to be lazy and drive.
nappyaddict · 14/01/2010 20:54
DS can manage 2.5 miles easily. That's how far away his old nursery was and my sister's house. However he would struggle to do the same back and ask to go in the pushchair. He never asked to go in the pushchair on the way there so I believed that he was tired when he asked to go in on the way back. We walk to the local shopping centre and soft play which is 3.75 miles (according to multimap) away and uphill, dance which is 3.25 miles away, yoga which is 3.4 miles away, surestart which is 3.35 miles away, the swimming pool which is 3.24 miles away, the other soft play place which is 2.99 miles, my friend's house and the park which is 3.82 miles away.
Clary · 14/01/2010 23:34
daisypod that would mean yr 3 yo would walk just over 4 miles (there, back, there and back) in one-mile bursts. I would say that would be fine.
Nappyaddict that's lots of long walks! I am impressed! Most people I know drive 10 mins to pick up from Cubs (not me I hasten to add)
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