Buggy for BIG toddler...with a sibling on the way

[nanoo]

Hi, DS (2.2) is embarrassingly too big (too tall, way too heavy) for his Bugaboo (which I gotta to keep in one piece for his sibling's arriving in July). I'd really appreciate your thoughts on a buggy that might fit him. I'm hoping to find something decent/comfortable for him as he'll have to use it for quite a while (and we do loads of walking).

Am hoping that I won't need to go into the double buggy world as there'll be 2.9 years between them - surely that's enough for DS to survive on a buggy board?? Hm.

I must admit, we got rid of the buggy for dd1 when dd2 was born. She was 2.2 months.

maclaren xlr is big. has wide seat and can have a carrycot on the frame when baby comes.
sorry for lack of capitals but cat on knee.

My ds is very tall and the Phil and Ted's double buggy was fine for him until he was 3.5 yo. His little sister arrived when he was 2.

Thanks so much guys. Janeite do you mean you didn't use a buggy AT ALL for DD1 from 2.2 years onwards? (I use a buggy morning noon and night so couldn't imagine surviving!)

Will definitely look into Maclaren XLR and P&Ts - praying something will show up on Ebay as a spanking new buggy would be v painful after splashing out on the Bugaboo originally! WinkyWinkola will DS really need a buggy after he's 3 do you think?

DS1 is tall and heavy (91st centile) and still fits into the P&T at 3 and a bit. Will probably do him until he can walk everywhere, which isn't far off.

My dd3 is 2.4 and can fit in the doubles kit of a p&t but she has been walking everywhere since she was 2.1 and refuses to go into a pushchair unless it is snowing.

No, my ds is just a lazy bones and liked to hop on whenever he felt a bit weary!

I have found that the younger child is mad keen to walk once it can and the older one is the weary one and demands the pushchair.
I had a Phil and Teds too and it was great for first year. Then I got a Maclaren XT and buggy board. There are two years between my two youngest DDs.

Yes - we didn't use a buggy at all. They soon get used to walking! I would have thought at 2.9 months he'd be fine. We didn't have a buggyboard either but in retrospect that might have been useful at times.

Ds (2.5) is very tall and very heavy - we switched to a Mountain Buggy Swift some time before he turned 2, and I can't sing its praises highly enough. Its weight limit is much higher than the usual 15K (IIRC the recommended Maclaren weight limit is more standard, or at least, varies between US and UK versions, so you may want to check that; and I know we ruled the Maclaren out because of mixed messages about whether it would really be big and strong enough and comfy for him).

Got our MB on eBay, but it still wasn't cheap. However, I've found it worth every penny.

We have a new baby coming too (and with the same exact age gap) and I have the same decisions to make as you ... people with older toddlers report very different experiences as to when they are really "happy" to walk all the time or use a board, versus wanting to sit down and being tired and grumpy.

We use the buggy all day long too and I don't drive. I think that is important because someone who mostly drives and just has the buggy out now and again will be very much more likely to ditch it sooner.

Thanks guys. You're right Janeite my DS is happy to walk, the problem comes if I need to go far, or quickly! Also I can't take him into shops yet without being confined or he'll grab everything!!

Dorothea, looks like we're in the same boat! I love the idea of the Mountain Swift if it can take toddlers over 15kg (DS is 18.5kg ), but I guess it would only do until July when the baby arrives. I'd be interested to find out what you'll do with when the new one arrives as it sounds as though you rely on your buggy as much as me!

Thanks so much for your help - feel like I'm making progress here :-)

We don't drive at all, so it was all public transport or walking. We did sometimes use reigns though, although not much as she tended to be happy holding hands.

I second the reins! I cannot drive so dd3 has to walk to and from school to take her sisters which is 4 miles a day, if they have to walk they soon get used to it, she has no other options so has got used to it!

i also have a mountain buggy but the standard urban model, it is so lovely to push but not good if you need something that will fit easily into a car.

you can buy a carrycot for the urban/terrain - i got one from ebay for £20- as it was green, black/navy tend to go for bit more. although you can use the buggy from birth, i found baby got a very bouncy ride. I used the carry cot instead of a moses basket until ds2 was about 4 months (which was longer than ds1 lasted in the moses basket)

i also have a napsack tie-on sling which i still find easy to carry 7 month, 20+ pound ds2 in, i could only manage the babybjorn till he was 6 wks! I tend to keep it under the buggy so if ds1 needs to be restained sit in the buggy, I can carry ds1 hands free.

Just had a horrible feeling that perhaps my post sounded smug. It really wasn't intended to. If it's any consolation, she STILL, at nearly 15, will eat virtually no protein!

Oh yeah - we also have these reins as ds wouldnt even entertain wearing the traditional sort!

(although i have never bought from the linked site)

Janeite, that is really interesting - it gives me hope that we may be fine with a single ... though like nanoo, I currently feel I'd be lost without a buggy option for DS whenever we have to go faster than dawdling pace.

Nanoo, I hope you don't mind, but as we have similar ishoos with this I am now sort of using your thread as a place to think through our options too! Hope it stays relevant ... if not, apologies for semi-hijacking

So: on my optimistic days I am thinking we can manage with the Swift (it is said to be suitable from birth even without the carrycot), because DS attends nursery three days a week and DP is off work at the weekends. So I will only be managing both of them alone for 2 days a week, so with the Swift and a buggy board we might get by. If we do this, I will also probably get an Ergo sling so that if DS is really desperate to ride for some reason, he can and the baby can go in the sling. (Other threads here have told me that the Ergo is really comfy for big babies, and I'm assuming this new DC may also be big -- last time we had a Baby Bjorn Active and none of us, including DS, liked it much.)

Also, if we can afford it or the PIL want to help us, there is now a Swift carrycot which we could invest in to use on the days I am alone with DC2. It might make things comfier for the baby and I doubt it would see really heavy use, so we could prob sell it on afterwards.

On my less optimistic days, when I think about all the friends who've told me they tried to manage without but ended up desperate for a double buggy after all ... then I'm thinking of a second-hand MB Urban Double. There seem to be a lot of them on eBay and because MBs seem to be so incredibly solid, I would be happy buying used again from a seller with good feedback. We might even manage to sell on again if we're careful; I know there are other passionate MB fans out there, so they hold value quite well.

I change my mind on this approximately three times a week.

xpost with YoMoJO, sounds like you are doing exactly what we think we might do ... glad it works so far!

Dorethea please don't apologise - the thread to meant to help everyone in our position. It's certainly helping me

I'm beginning to realise that WinkyWinkola is probably right - P&T being the best option. I had no plans to spend anything like that amount, but the basic P&T Vibe (ie without double kit) is about the same price as the Mountain Swift, so I might as well go for the one that has the option of buying the doubles kit once the little babe arrives. Definitely a good hunt around ebay first though - I'm not sure how much cheaper second hand ones are anyway