Double pushchair advice needed

[Freddiecat]

I have a new baby due in 2 months and by then DS will be 2 and a quarter. My initial thought was to get a buggy board (we have a M&P's travel system which we are happy with). However DS has recently been really happy to sit in his pushchair for quite long periods (in between running around in the park).

There seem to be some fairly good bargains on Ebay so my thought now is to buy a 2nd hand double and to then sell it in a few months time when DS prefers walking.

I am trying to think when I will be using the double - which is when I am out with the two of them by myself. I would like to try and get out most days. There are not many places to walk from our house but we can go in the car to nice places. I would not be in town a lot with the two of them and at weekends we can use the travel system and DS's buggy as DP will be with me.

OK so after that waffle - questions are:

1. anyone with a just two year old and a new baby found a double handy?
2. anyone in that situiation think in retrospect a double would have been handy?
3. is a "twin" style better than a "tandem"?
4. do you have to take the back wheels off the 3 wheelers to get them into cars? Is this easy and do they fit OK?

DP needless to say thinks the purchase of a 3rd pushchair is madness. I reckon that esp with a 3 wheeler the market on Ebay will hold it's value provided we look after it

also have m&p pram, and(not advice u looking for but...) we used buggy board. ds was 1yr 8mths and used it no problem. he could get of and walk or stand on if he got tired. he also fell asleep standing on it a few times! much handier for putting in car than double buggy, and easier for walking around shops.

i have graco duo, tandem style, as I do lots of walking in town, am just about to trade in for second hand 3 wheeler. tandem is nice and slim & manouverable but both sections are very small; ds now touches head & feet in baby (back) section at 4 months, and dd 2.5 touches the sides & gets her feet stuck every time in toddler seat. possibly other tandems have same problem. I found it extremely difficult to manage with sling & single as ds nearly fell out headfirst every time i tried to lift dd up steps, onto bus seats, etc.

I have a kingswood montana I got on ebay, used twice and am desparate to give away - really. If you live near North London you can have it!

My DS1 was really too chunky to fit in it comfortabley at 2.5yrs and he prefered the buggy board.

I got it just in case it was useful, the only time would have been if I was going out and DS1 was going to fall asleep in it when we needed to be out. It happened twice and I didn't have the strength to bump it up the seven steps to my front door fully laden with children.

Seriously if you want it it's yours, you may like to drop something in the Banardoes tin or a similar charity but I am sick of tripping over it in my hall and I 'm moving to Australia in 4 months and almost everything must go, so to speak

forgot to say it folds down very easily and has a good breaks and big chunky wheels

I have Graco side-by-side which was fairly cheap brand new but is a bit of a p.i.t.a. if you get my drift! mostly because it is too wide to get through my front door so I have to load and unload in the garden. However, I do use it a lot because I like walking long distances and my DS1 (2y4m)can go to sleep. It's quite comfy to push as well (better than the cheaper Mothercare umbrella fold one).I think there's no easy answer to this one - I've never come across anyone who had found the ideal baby & toddler combination!

Ahh Tommy, see i had the Graco one and couldnt get on with it. My toddler was most uncomfortable and the baby kept slipping down the seat, as wasnt deep enough. I did get the cheaper(£100) umbrella folding mothercare one and it has been priceless to me. Both the kids love it(now 23months and 7 months) and are comfy in it, plus DD holds Ds's hand when we are out in it.

Macleran have just brought out a lovely red, umbrella folding one. Mothercare sell it for £150.

Argh! I am still in so much dilemma (sorry suzywong - not decided yet).

OK has anyone used a Kiddyboard with a Mamas and Papas Frestyler used as a travel system. It's in the loft right now so can't check but I seem to remember the seat reclined all the way back is a long way over the back axle and also having the bar to push can't see where DS would fit...

i have the lovely red maclaren as described by charlieplus3 and it's brill,
dd aged 3.5(has cp so can't walk)and ds aged 10 weeks...
ps:have recently got a gorgeous red cosytoes made specially and ds loves it(am i allowed to name the supplier????)it's a lovely lady in south wales who works from home
www.snugglytots

dd was 21 mo when ds was born. I bought a M&P twin aria and couldn't be without it. Although we have a buggy board, dd doesn't really like it and prefers to walk or be pushed. It's snuggly for the baby, especially if you get the coseytoes which is very cocoon-esque. It's real appeal is that it is light, and because the handle is a continuous bar you can steer it one handed. When dd is in it it's rather harder to steer and a bit of a shunt to get it up high kerbs. It's really handy for days out, dd gets tired going round the zoo etc and at least i can easily get them both round.

Hoveley what sling did you use if DS nearly fell out?? Recommend Baby Bjorn, used it for three babies and totally fab. Double buggies a hassle to get in car/through shop doorways. Go for a buggyboard with a 2.5 child, cheaper than a double surely and eminently sellable I would think.

freddiecat, as far as i know buggy/kiddie boards fit all mamas and papas prams.

the official website for buggyboard is:
www.lascal.se

another useful site is:
www.cheekyrascals.co.uk/takemeout/

Sorry haven't read all of the other posts so may be repeating. When I had my DD, DS was 2.5. I bought a cheap double buggy (side by side Graco). It was good for the first few weeks when I went out to the local shops a lot but I have only ended up using it for the first 2 months and regret getting it. We have a buggy board and once DS discovered that he didn't really want to go in the double buggy. The Graco one is OK for the money (a great bargain from Kiddicare.com) but it didn't fit through my front door and wasn't the easiest thing to move around. I would try to get by with the buggy board if I was doing it again.

My ds1 was 23mths when ds2 was born and after much deliberation I bought the Graco duo plus (tandem) mainly because I like to shop a lot and so needed something manouverable through doors etc. It has been fantastic as far as I am concerned - we still use it on and off 20 mths later. I have a buggy board and a M&P Pliko but to be honest I hardly use it at all I find it a total nuisance and is much harder to push than the double, it also makes my back ache and ds1 always trys to sit on it.

I suppose it depends whether you oldest child likes to walk or is happier sitting. I usually go out most afternoons and ds1 is tired after playgroup so it is handy having two seats, because it ia tandem if one gets out it is more like pushing a single anyway. If he isn't tired I just take my lightweight buggy and let him walk rather than the hassle of the buggyboard which he hardly ever stands on anyway.

My friend had the same age gap and she got a buggy board but after 6 mths of her dd1 running into roads she bought a double. I think some people love buggy boards and some don't, they can be handy but it does depend on your child and I find them impossible with kirbs.

I have a 3 month old and a very nearly 2 year old (she's two next week) and I have a tandem. Frankly I don't think I'd get out of the house on my own without it - it's not that she won't walk, just that she won't necessarily walk in the direction I want her to walk in!

I know your ds is a bit older, but remember that toddlers can go through a phase of playing up when a new baby comes - I think you may find a double buggy very handy indeed.

As for tandem vs. twin - I haven't used a twin, but there is absolutely no way i could use one round here. Pavements and shop doors are too narrow. The problem with a tandem is that all of the weight is on the front, so they're a bit hard to steer and difficult to lift up for kerbs. but you get used to it.