Children 26 months apart - P&T double buggy or single buggy and board?

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Sorry if this has been done before but have spent weeks pondering what to do about the pram situation and am running out of time.

Second baby due in 3.5 weeks, DD is 25 months - we don't currently have a pushchair suitable for a newborn, just a quite battered maclaran triumph. (We borrowed one last time and have had to give it back.)

So, have to buy either a single plus board or a double. If we get a double it's likely to be a phil & teds sport but I just wonder if it'll be a bit heavy and cumbersome and potentially unnecessary given that there will probably only be a few months when we'll need a double after which DD will I guess now want to go in the pram very much at all.

Also love the look of the bugaboo bee just because it's so small and neat but they're so expensive (especially once you ad the buggy board) in fact I think it'll cost than a double, which seems crazy.

So what are the pros and cons of each option? What have your experiences been? Anyone done one bought a double and regretted it or wish they had bought one? Anyone with a similar age gap?

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Thanks

Personally I did the single buggy and buggyboard, it was ok. I also used a sling (a proper wrap sling, not a baby bjorn) for the first few months, so that DC1 got a few months out of the buggy first (24 month difference). I did get to a point when I started to look at double buggies, but it passed. I'd also recommend a scooter or a balance bike - I think that's what ultimately made the difference to us. Now I see my friends with the P&Ts, and they are a)heavy and b) having trouble with almost 4 year-olds expecting to go in the buggy everywhere.

So I'd say go through the following stages as your DC get older:
1 - single buggy for DC1, sling for DC2 (and buggy board so you can put DC2 down if you want)
2 - single buggy and buggy board
3- Single buggy and a scooter/balance bike.

Good luck!

Mine are 27 months apart and we were given a double buggy (not side by side though, a tandem one) but to be honest I preferred to have the baby in a wrap sling and toddler in her original buggy cause she was so far off in front of me in the double that I couldn't speak to her! I have still not got round to getting a buggy board and sometimes use the double now if we're in a rush to get somewhere (DD is 3.2). She didn't really take to walking decent distances til well beyond 2.5 and is still very slow.

I would second Omi's list but can't a P&T be used as a single anyway? So you could work out if the cost of that is worth it rather than single and buggy board as you would continue to use as a single for the baby as long as you need it IYSWIM

Thanks Omicron - Can completely see your point re almost 4-year-olds in buggies etc. And I like the idea of a sling combo but I've had trouble with my back in both pregnancies and am worried that might make it worse. Plus, because we've only got a triumph, I don't think putting DC2 down in the pram would be an option for the first 4-5 months.

DD does have a scooter that we got her for her 2nd b'day but she's not really using it (generally gets used for wheeling her teddies around the room at the moment).

Did you have any trouble with DC1 running off when you moved on to the buggy board stage? And then scooter stage?

We have a P&T which is great for my 2 who are 22 months apart.

I tried a buggy board but ds just wouldn't stay still and it meant I couldn't a) walk very fast as I kept kicking the damn board and b) he was likely to get soaked / cold if the weather was bad. I have a sling but never used it if I was going out with both of them and was happier popping little dd in the p&t instead. We walk all the time though, every day, whatever the weather as we are close to a town centre so I just want to get from A to B with the minimum hassle and the dc's being cosy and dry.

i got the bee and the board, i think it's great tbh. i never considered getting a double as quite apart from the size of them i do like dd1 getting tired from balancing on the board.

oh, although sling for the first few mos anyway, no need for a new thing imo.

Sorry pinkone cross-posted. Thanks for your post. Yup, you're right about the P&T being used as a single, I'm just thinking that if I was going for a single I'd prefer something a bit smaller and less cumbersome. But certainly from a financial point of view there's not much in it - unless we just make do with the 6-months-plus triumph that we've already got plus a sling, but like I say, not sure my back is up to doing without a newborn pram altogether.

Aitch - good point about tiring them out, hadn't thought of that Like I say, I'm worried about coping for up to 6 months with DC2 in a sling and though I love the Bee, it would be a more expensive option than a double buggy - so would be a pricey mistake if DD1 decides she doesn't like the board/keeps running away.

Meglet thanks, we do do a lot of walking ourselves.

What about an i-candy peach blossom? Very compact as a double, and can be a single too when that's all you need. Only downside is that it is quite expensive.
Does your dd use the buggy a lot now? My dd didn't really use hers once she turned 2, so we didn't bother with either a board or a double last time, but this time we'll have a 20 month gap, and I haven't yet decided whether to get a double or not.

yes, well, the thing about the bee is that apparently they're bringing out a new one this year so you can't guarantee a good resale value. otoh i'd get a second-hand one in a heartbeat. (insurance paid for ours, so i got new, but otherwise wouldn't have considered it.) our john lewis locally was selling it at 359, mind you, because it was price matching. amazing, really, given that it was 419 everywhere else, including the jl website.

dd2 wasn't using her buggy a lot by the time dd1 came along either, but i'd have died without the board. it's just such a good way of getting places FAST and with minimum hassle.

lol. it was a tardis bee, didn't i say?

Then it really was a bargain!
Was David Tennant hidden in the basket?

lord don't i wish...

DD does like walking a lot, but she's quite a dawdler and I can imagine lots of frustrating occasions trying to coax her onto the board to get back in a hurry and feed the baby/do any one of a million things you need to do when you've got two small ones.

can'tsleep will check that out online now - thank you

maybe, but that's not the way i found it. dd loved having her place to stand, plus it gave her the best view of the baby and still the opportunity to chat to me. it was a clear endorsement of the 'big sister' thing, in a way.
now she's four and dd2's seventeen mos and we have a three mile walk to do most days and they both love it. when the baby cries, i need dd1 to sing songs to her to make her stop and they kiss and hug all the time.

Awww aitch that's so sweet.
And blimey you walk a lot!

it's not every day, but it's through a park and i do enjoy it. although funnily enough i've recently spotted that it has made me sooooo much stronger on my right side than my left cos i push one-handed so i can chat to dd. i'm going to have to compensate from now on.

We walk a lot and DD (3) uses the P & T as a bit of a bus, hopping on and off. The few times I haven't set up the doubles seat on the basis that DD would walk, have regretted it.

Plus there are huge advantages to being able to strap a toddler down and not having to negotiate the whole thing.

There's 19 months between DD and DS, and a P & T has been brilliant, although not really for the newborn stage, and it does kind of freak me out that the toddler effectively sits on top of the newborn . Am sure it's all very stable, but breathed a sigh of relief when moved double seat to the back when DS was 5 months old....

TBH at 2yrs old I'd be expecting Dc to walk most places so I would go for a pram for newborn and add a buggy board for if older Dc needed a little rest.

My Ds will be 18 months when Dc2 is born and he will be in a single pram for 6 months while baby is in a sling. Then when Ds is 2yrs old he will walk most places while baby goes in the pram.

very very easy to say at this age dc should be walking to x,y,z, walking this far, 3yo/4yo's should be in buggies etc etc.

but i've been there done it and this is my experience!!

I had ds3 when ds2 was 18m didn't want a p&t or any double come to that i thought ds at 18m would go on board...what a joke no way! so gave in and went through a sucession of crap doubles and ended up with a p&t a year later.

It very much depends on alot of factors...firstly the child. how well do they walk/hold hands etc/do they tire easily/tantrum etc?

how often are you out and about? do you walk everywhere? do you go out more than once an day etc. Do you want to be able to go out when both children are tired? do you drive?

I used a double pushchair daily until ds2 was 3yr2m because we walk everywhere i don't drive. In bad weather or if he was poorly he simply didn't want to walk half an hour to the doctors or wander round the shops with me. Far easier to have two snoozing boys safely tucked up where you know they are safe, comfy and warm. A year ago i decided with spring on the way to sell the p&t and get a single and board. I did this last march sold the p&t for £300 bought a single nipper and board bn for just over £200 and we used that daily for 3m by then ds2 was a good walker. In all honesty he would still go in pushchair now at 4yo sometimes if ds3 at 2.5yr gets out to walk he will jump in!

good luck with whatever you decide!

thanks so much all of you for your answers, - sorry, havent had a chance to get onto MN until now today.

In answer to your questions nicolamum:

DD was a late walker (16.5 months) but is a pretty good walker. We're in central London and we walk a lot. Never use the car except sometimes at weekends when DH is around and we go on long journeys (but DD gets v car sick and the traffic round here is terrible so try to avoid it where necessary). For the most part DD will hold my hand but she does have a complete obsession with wanting to walk into the doorway of every single shop we pass and I can imagine that might get frustrating if we're in a hurry. Then again, maybe the novelty of the buggy board would distract her from that.

We often go out more than once a day but DD will be with childminder for most mornings in the first 3 months so I guess that limits the amount of outings I'll be doing on my own with both at the start. I just don't know what sort of baby this next one will be and whether I'll be nipping out of an afternoon etc

I suppose my main worry is not that she 'can't' walk long distances but that there will be times when I'll need her to come with me in a hurry and not want to have to negotiate as per Ilovemydog's comment. But do like the sound of Aitch's arrangement very much.

Sooo, if I were to go for a single pushchair with a buggy board, which would people recommend. Is there anything as neat and nippy as a Bee that doesn't cost quite as much!? but is sturdy enough to take a buggy board?

I have to confess that I didn't buy a double buggy but I did get a new single that was parent facing and could like flat (chicco4me, just the buggy, £140 on ebay). I liked how DD and DS were facing each other when she was on the buggy board. In terms of running off, I remember the doorway stage, it was frustrating but it passed. DD liked going on the buggy board as she got tired walking, also we had strict walking rules e.g. hold onto the buggy, stay on the side of the houses. Seeing what DS is like now (he's fast coming up to 2) I can see that I was probably just lucky with DD at the same age.

If you get a good wrap sling it spreads the weight so well it might be ok for your back, btw - CAT me (I'm in London too).

We have same age gap between the DSes and had the same dilemma. Got a P&T in the end and honestly could not have done without it for the first few months (we do a lot of walking and DS1 just wouldn't have been up to it). I did also have a sling but DS2 hated it! He would sleep for hours in the bottom of the P&T and in fact for the first few weeks slept in the cocoon all night too.

Now at 2.11 and 9mo we have just put away the P&T, DS2 is in a Maclaren and DS1 walks or goes on the buggy board. I wouldn't worry at all about getting the older one out of the buggy by 3/4/whatever, that's a long long way away!