Should I buy a double buggy? Please just tell me. (dd will be 3)

[morningpaper]

DD will be 3 when baby is born. DD doesn't really walk much. Most people have said that double buggies are such a PITA that it's better to try slings/buggy boards. I've got two nice 'carrycot' style prams under my bed. But I think a compact double one will be better. Please just tell me what to do, my pregnant brain is incapable of making any further decisions.

Have a look at e3 pushchair

v expensive, never seen one on the road.

same dilema here morning paper.... dd2 is tiny and has never had to walk much while shoppping and such -and runs about like a loon when she does- she will be 2.5 when this next ones due so its abit 'will i/wont I need one' kinda thing.
I have finally found a buggy i like (graco tandem as mentioned earlier by someone else, trialed it around shop and its fab) and now intend to leave it til right up to babys just about due and see if dd2's walking any more then before deciding to get it or not. i think, like you, i wont use it huge amounts, but also that it might be worth its weight in gold the times that i do, iyswim!

mp, I've got a M&P Pliko - they have a small step, sort of like a built-in buggy board. My 4 yr old dd has been using that for a year, and she has SN (DS), so I am sure your dd would cope with it just fine. Double buggies are such a PITA to use, I had a M&P Aria Twin, the narrowest side-by-side buggy available, and still found it a nightmare in town.

I love the Pliko! Only problem is that you can only use the little step if the buggy is quite upright, so it wouldn't be suitable as a solution until baby is 6 months old. But then you'll probably use a front carrier at first, anyway?

hello morningpaper
Not read all the thread but I would second those who say you really won't need a double.
Some posters here have much smaller gaps - even I would have got a double with an 11mo gap! - but I have 2yrs and then 22 mths and got on very well with sling/buggy and then buggy/buggy board once baby was ca 6 mo.
IMHO no 3yo needs to sit in a buggy (it's a pet hate of mine actually) and as MI says (she's always so wise) they can walk a lot further than we sometimes give them credit for.
My dd was walking a daily trip of about 1.5 miles to school and then playschool at 2.5 because we had a temporary buggy board hiatus (long story) and actually she was fine.
Buggy board came back, she used it now and then, but stopped altogether about last oct when she was 3.4mo.
If you want to use a sling get a good one, I wd recommend baby bjorn, carried all my 3 until 10 mo.
There is a thread somewhere with good ideas to get toddlers walking, will try and fiund it
(sorry for long post!)

no

mp, just seen your post further down re. height and buggy board. My dd is the size of an average 2 yr old and can see ahead fine (and plant kisses on her brother's head ) when standing on the Pliko step. Step to top of seat distance is 2ft.

OK this thread is th eone I meant.
Notice I posted the same thing about a year ago Hah! at least I'm consistent!
(BTW we have totally stopped with the b/board (and sold it in fact - got £20 for it too). DD walks everywhere (she's just 4) and ds2 is starting that was (he's 2.2mo)

ds2 is starting that way even

marslady raves about a MarcoSky buggy - almmost same profile as a single buggy by all accounts

I have a 16mth gap and we did have a double buggy (borrowed from a fiend), but didn't use it very much. I preferred the sling and single buggy (used for about 8mths, I think) if we were going anywhere with a bit of walking, or on and off buses etc. The problem that I had with the double buggy is that dd pulled ds's hair and generally bugged him (btw dd is the baby!). We then had a buggy board, which was good, but did fall off on kerbs and got in the way of me walking (I'm a bit of a strider). After it broke we stuffed ds in the back of the buggy (like ellasmum) for a while, until it really killed the buggy. At that point they both walked! I think that dd was about 2 1/2 - 3ish at that point.

My kids are small for age & we walk loads, too, so really couldn't get them out of the buggy until over 4yo. Everyone I know who walks a lot & rarely drives is the same; everyone I know who uses the car for journeys of more than 400 yds managed without a double buggy. You're a walker, so I think you need the double buggy. Go for a tandem unless you live somewhere with big wide shop doorways and wider pavements.

We just sold a side-by-side double buggy at a carboot sale for £5, might be a good place for you to have a browse! Otherwise they go cheap in local Free-Ads, sometimes.

Friend who has 3 children already, walks over a mile to school & back each way (so that's at least 4.5 miles of walking/day) is 5 months pregnant & still pushing her 4yo some of the time (he'll be 5 at start of September). Makes her life easier to have the buggy as fall back (and somewhere to carry all the bookbags for the 2 school-age children, too).

Haven't read all of the thread so forgive me if I repeat things

There is exactly 2 years (to the day ] between ds2 and ds3. Before ds3 was born we decided as ds2 liked to walk we would just get a maclaren buggy and buggy board. Trouble was ds2 took a liking to the new buggy and wanted to be in it and I also found any kind of shopping trip a nightmare if he walked. I just didn't go out!!
He also likes to make a run for it or swing off of reins. He's my rebel

I started using a sling and the buggy but as ds3 is on the 98th centile for both height and weight I have had to admit defeat and buy a second hand twin Maclaren from Ebay (arrives next week - yay)

I figured even if we didn't use it for long it would be easy to resell on ebay again. I know darn well that once we have it ds2 will decide that walking without a fuss is for him but hey it's worth it. And we moving to the country soon, away from yukky London, so I reckon I will get the use.

But my 2 are only 2 and a half and 6 months, so not the same age as your little one.

No.

i never bothered used sling and pushed ds (!( months ) in pram and then gradually got him walking everywhere were now going to get a buggy board for longer walks
he would have stayed in buggy anyway if he didnt want too be in it (houdini)
i know youve had loads of responses but imho i would use this as an oppertunity to get your dd walking and increase her stamina so she can walk further 3 is plently old enough to walk regardless of her size-if you dont watch out youll be pushing her to school in a buggy lol hope this doesnt sound too harsh-i just thought well they have to get used to walking sometime it might as well be now -althouhgh i did toy with the idea of a double buggy i didnt get one -baby sling better for newbornanyway
good luck

should be ds (19 months)

shopping can be nightmare though only go clothes shopping if my mum has him but it probably wouldnt be fair to have him in buggy for ages anyway(and anyway hed escape )

I'm the same as sweetkitty - we walk a lot and will have an 18 month gap - so need a twin. I' m a bit worried by stich's comment that

"compact double buggies are the spawn of the devil"

NO WAY will DS stay on a buggy board - woudlnt even try. What if he's tired and wants to sleep. My back would not cope with a sling either.
So what do I do????????

well ive had a tandem pushchair then a double buggy and then a buggy board

the tandem one gave me very bad back pains due to it being so heavy

the double buggy was difficult to get into some shops with and heavy on one side so was a pain

then the buggy board which my little one didnt use that much and i kept nearly tripping over it lol

so i would just say try to get ur little one to start walking a bit every day b4 ur baby is born and see how it goes

Well, I walk a lot too and ds1 (3.5) is also small for his age (don't think that has much to do with inclination to walk tbh). Our longest regular journey is about 35 minutes to and from work/nursery, 3 times a week (it takes a good 25 mins at adult pace so is at least a mile distance). That's the only journey I used my double buggy (E3) for after the first few months - ds1 walks all shorter distances. I stopped using the double even for that when ds1 was 3 and 3 months, switching to a buggy board instead, and now I have dispensed with that too (he's 3 and 7 months). So I would say that at 3 years when babe is born, a buggy board will definitely be fine.

Not gonna read all this as no time. I got a double when DD was born and DS was just over 2 (reluctant walker). It's a double 3-wheeler and I found it wonderful. I used to strap them both in and walk FAST and it really helped me get my figure back.

Decided when DS turned 3 to wean him off as he was refusing to walk anywhere at all but I still wish I could use it more!

Incidently I still have it and am looking to sell it. Mothercare Urban Detour double 3-wheeler. In good but used condition, dream to push and will fit in the back of my hatchback car. £90 ono - CAT.

Elliott - Was that a no to forgiving me for repaeting myaself? I'll be doing that lots, have to in real life too

Freddiecat - Thats partly why I am getting a double, to walk lots more. There is only so far you can go with a toddler and certainly not at speed (unless you are chasing after them - lol)

I forgot to tell you about yesterday. I decided ds2 needed more sand so parked up and went to ELC (not far from the car). They didn't have any so popped down to Argos who did. Then realised i had to get this sand, a baby in a pushchair and toddler on reins back to the car. Not easy when the toddler has decided he wants carrying!!!

Needless to say he wasn't carried and sort of crawled up to the car moaning and groaning all the way. Won't be doing that again!!

The more weight on one side thing won't be a problem for me. As i said ds3 is on the 98th centile for height and weight so probably doesn't weigh much less than ds2 (who doesn't eat anything!)

I suppose I am a mile (ish?) up a hill from town so by the time we get there at the moment (25 minutes at toddler speed) she is knackered and complaining about having stitch. A shopping trip takes about 1.5 hours with her walking, which is okay but by the time we get home she is falling asleep and then she's awake all evening which is something I'm really trying to avoid.

I also HATE walking at toddler speed, it DRIVES ME CRAZY. Does it drive EVERYONE crazy?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm I'm still not sure what to do really. I've put a bid on a pram with detachable-toddler-seat on Ebay, I'll see how that goes...

(Part of me thinks I'd rather get a double buggy than find myself using the car more... One friend's house is a 50 minute walk at adult-with-pram speed, I think it would take about 4 days at toddler speed and if she was walking I'd use the excuse to drag the car out... Don't the non-double-buggy users find that they do that?)

Got the bus! But then I do live in London, so there are more options open to me. Toddler speed drives me round the bend too. If you walk a lot then I would go for a double buggy or a seat option. How long have you got to go before the baby is born? A lot can change in a few months at that age. btw I also had a babybjorn sling and never had any back ache (they are fantastically comfortable and easy to use once you get the hang of the poppers).

Do go second hand tho - you won't want to be using it for long. Why not buy Freddiecat's she seems to like it!