In light of recent research does anyone have any advice on parent facing double pushchairs?

[Rubysmom08]

Hi I am due to have my 2nd baby in May and my dd1 will be 16 months. I have read the info about children facing their parents etc and altho I would ideally like a pushchair I can do this with it won't be a deal breaker, but has anyone got any advice on which pushchair to go for?

There are several, first wheels twin, Kolcraft twin, icandy pear but none will be cheap and all will be heavy and either wide or long!!

My DS is 2.5 with CP and we're using a Maclaren Major Elite for him with a Revelo for DS2 (arriving March) with DS2 in a sling where poss, but that's because we travel by bus a lot and most double chairs won't fit on them!

If I was getting a double parent-facing I'd go for the City Twin, you can get them on eBay for under £200 if you can pick up.

my advice- the research is bollocks, lots of blogs and doctors have ripped it to pieces, and most parent facing doubles weigh a ton and cost a fortune. Go for a double you love-phil and teds, or nipper 360 for walks, or baby joge city mini if you take the bus a lot.

Have NO idea about parent facing doubles, but what is the latest research saying?

[Am in Oz, btw,....so that's why I don't know]

I'd not worry too much, because the options are limited. First wheels is prob the best of the lot, but if you get a forward facer such as Mountain buggy double, the carrycot will be rear facing for baby anyway...

P&T is very highly regarded and is narrow so good if you want to do a lot of shopping on foot. The MB isn't all that wide compared to most side by sides.

Sandcastles, there was somehting about potential psychological effects of facing away from the parent I think...it kind of got shafted by a lot of people anyway, party line is probably not to pay too much heed

Thanks FA...that old story again huh!?

Well...how long do they spend in the buggy? Give baby/toddler a very limited view of the world always looking at mum/dad, imo!

What about car seats? Or do we now have to have a parent sitting in the back seat next to the dc so they can see us?

My dd1 was in a forward facing & I doubt she has any terrible psychological effects!

I would be careful of P+T if your first child is quite tall/prone to exploring as the wheels would have been far too near DS's hands for my liking. Also I tend to think it must be pretty dull for child 2 to be looking at child 1's arse all the time!

My friend has a We 2 combi for children of 18mo and 6mo and says it's great, very light and no wider than an average wheelchair so fits through doors etc.

I went for a preliminary look at double rear facing pushchairs yesterday (DC2 due in June, when DD will 18 months). I'm not sure about the credibility of the research, but both DD and I prefer to face one another most of the time. That's good enough for me

I'm not in the UK and the range here seems to be much more limited here. I'm left with two options, the Firstwheels City Twin and the ABC Design Zoom. But still, maybe my reviews (lol) will be of some use...

The City Twin (side-by-side) steered well and I liked the look of it but it has seriously limited room for shopping underneath. It was practically impossible to fold without 3 hands and it was still MASSIVE when folded too. The assistant really struggled with both the fold and removing the carrycot. The carrycot was also extremely narrow. I was also really put off by the width: it would have just fit through my front door, but there is no way I could actually get past it once it was in the hall...

The Zoom (tandem) was great, I hadn't expected to like it TBH but I was most impressed. Although it's really quite long it was much more maneuverable than I'd expected and steered well. It didn't feel like I was pushing a train. The fold was really simple and it was amazingly small folded. It has a huge shopping basket and the flexibility of the seating was great, both rear facing, one rear and one forward facing or facing one another. It's also possible to attach the MaxiCosi Cabrio which I found really handy for short trips when DD was tiny and sleeping.

I'm definitely going to be scouring ebay for the Zoom as soon as I've had my 20 week scan

I had 3 under 18 months-Nipper360 was/is fantastic. Don't make life difficult by buying a crap double just because it's rear facing,life will be complicated enough as it is.

Incidently my 3 have turned out just fine(very articulate and happy) even though my twins took it turns to be booted out of the pushchair onto a buggyboard at 2

bebecar

teutonia

inglesina

bertini might do one but can't find the website atm.

the first wheels twin, Kolcraft twin, icandy pear and zoom are all only suitable from 6 months unless you use a carrycot which they may well grow out of before then.

I had a thread on this a while back, will see if I can find you the link!

oh and the emmaljunga ones again are only from 6 months without a carrycot.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=products&threadid=663644-Is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-double-bug gy-which#13495588 Here]].

nappy - we got given an Emmaljunga one + carrycot for free!? How nice are people?!

Here?