Should i get the Phil & Teds sleeping bag? footmuff? or cocoon???

[diddle]

We're getting a double phil & teds sport, baby will be newborn and DS is 9 months.
There are so many options? what should i buy and what is a waste of money?

How old will ds be when baby is here?

Do you leave prams outside or take them in?

When is baby due?

The sleeping bag is fabulous I must admit, nice and cosy(although not as cosy as a kaiser footmuff which I have for long legged miss Apron aged 3). It goes right up to their chin so you can have them dressed lightly and zip em up if required.

Panniers fabulous. I have one with the raincover and various bits in and the other as a change bag. They don't stick out any further than the back wheels so not a prob space wise.

I would get a cocoon for a newborn so you can bring them in/out smoothly without disturbing them.

I(radically it's true ) always have the baby in the main seat and Dd1 in the doubles seat. If both awake then dd1 can walk or go in as she wants without disrupting dd2 and if dd2 wants a sleep i recline her and whip the doubles seat off the back and on the top. It works for us but you might do diff with a smaller age gap.

Mrs Apron - DS will be 15 months, due the end of sept. there just seems to be so many options, but they all cost a bomb, but i'd rather have them new.

Wasn't sure if the cocoon would be a waste and the sleeping bag better as it would last longer?

cocoon is a mini carrycot so you can lift them out of the pram and into the house if that is your thing.

Dd2 is way too big for the cocoon at 7 months (i only got my phil recently was in denial for a couple of months)

I think it is 70cm long and dd2 was 54 at birth.

I think i would use a cocoon with a newborn I think they look a bit lost in a big pram seat.

You can always resell it when you are done with it.

sorry didn't actually answer all your questions. No i don't leave my pushchairs outside very often, I usually take them in or leave them in the car.

Thats true, don't want poor baby to be uncomfortable either

we walk a lot so I quite often leave dd2 outside sleeping in the pram to prevent her being woken up by the noisy older one.

Yours will probably both be napping though
( )

Fingers crossed, or knowing my luck they'll be napping at total opposite times and i'll never do any cleaning again

i do the same as mrs apron with the older in the rear seat and the younger in the top seat (now DD2 is out of the flat bit and the buggy has been re-arranged).

with the new sport, the double seat does recline though.

re your questions - i bought a cocoon (fab, i used it like a travel cot when we were out and about when DD2 was tiny), see if you can get one second hand as honestly they are only used for a few months. I have lent mine out, think it is on the 4th baby now.

i didn't buy a sleeping bag as i just used an old one from my mamas & papas. but they do look very cosy. but you couldn't use it instead of the cocoon.

i have the pannier bags - essential if you plan to go shopping with both children as the basket will be obstructed by the child in the rear seat

rear guards also good as otherwise the child in the rear seat tends to hold the wheels (or is that just mine?)

storm cover essential.
i wouldn't bother with anything else.

Can any of you P&T users help me with this question?

First baby due mid-July, currently planning on getting a P&T. I'll be largely using this without a car, as DH has car during the week and I am loathe to buy a 2nd car unless we REALLY REALLY need to. I see the benefits of the coccon for comfort, easy "loading" of baby into P&T etc, but am wondering if it will be a bit too snug for use in summer months?

Any advice on this or other P&T matters appreciated.

Hmmm It does unzip all the way down, but it is quite cosy and snug. You could put a cotton sheet in it so it would be less fleecy. I would use it tbh but I have a thing about teeny babies being in carrycots. I used a wrap sling and a hard bodied pram with a buggyboard for the first 6 months .

If you weren't going to use the cocoon i would definitely get a head hugger and pads for the chest straps.

I take it you are planning more babies!

The cocoon would also be very useful as amidaiwish says as a mobile place for babe to sleep when you are out at peoples houses where you will want babe close to hand and they might not want a huge pram in their house.

Thanks MrsApron. Seems that there are so many things to consider when making these purchases - enough to drive a girl mad!

Have any of you tried the travel adaptor for the P&T's? I bought it in the states, and you are supposed to be able to use it with various car seats, so you can fit them on the top of the P&Ts, facing you. Unfortunately, I have been given a Maxi Cosi car seat which seems to wide to fit on. Has anyone tried with another car seat? (incidentally I can't get the Maxi Cosi car seat to fit securely in the car either... any tips?) The baby isn't even born yet, but need to sort out in next 2 weeks!

i can recommend the fleecy liner - but assume any buggy fleecy seat liner will do the same thing? is good for hot or cold, but doesnt go over them, just under.

the sleeping bag is v v cosy, and the top can come off if you wish

i dont remember haivng my p&t when any of mine were newborn (which seems unlikely since they were all 3 born within 2.5 years) so cant comment on the cocoon

i personally thought the paniers were a PITA as they made the whole thing so wide...and surely that was the point of a p&t; not to be wide like a sidebyside! but maybe i was putting them on wrong

and the zippable basket thing for the underneath - total waste of moolah.

storm cover and uv covers both worth it (the uv one better than a generic uv cover i had, much more flexible)

Anik - have never tried the adaptor but have seen it and the car seat on kiddicare

maybe they can help you