Advice needed - take buggy on holiday or not?

[silverfrog]

We currently have a P&T sport, and both dds still fit in ok-ish.

dd1 will be 5 when we go on holiday, dd2 2.6.

dh & I are tying ourselves i nknots over what to do long term with dd1 and buggies.

she does still fit in to P&T, but there's not much room for her (massive) feet, and she can be a pest tangling them up in th efron twheel etc (she is tall). dd2 is getting a bit big for the doubles seat (thank god she is so tiny, as if she were like dd1 she'd be far too big by now!)

we are going to Australia for two and a half weeks. dd1 really doesn't need the buggy walking wise, and she is mostly fairly well behaved on days out (the odd moment, but so far not prone to running off wildly, or much lying down immovably) what we do need a buggy for is trips round shops etc - she doesn't wait, and chucks stuff off the shelves etc

BUT.

there will be me, dh, 2 dds and 2 (adult) step children too. we are hiring a car (people carrier) but do not expect to have much boot space (there never is once all the seats are up!) - thin kwe are gettng equivalent of Ford Galaxy. And the P&T is huge. step children will (from experience) pack half the house, so it's going to be tight on luggage space anyway.

We are toying with the idea of a maclaren major - would fit dd1 better (and for longer), folds up smaller etc. but would then need a buggy board, which doesn't fold etc. and not sure how dd2 would take to a buggy board tbh.

WWYD?

I dont have any suggestions im afraid, but you might want to check with your airline, I know that some will only take an umbrella stroller and I dont know how the P+T folds, so that might force you hand.

FWIW My buggy board comes off, I have a lascal one, and I put it im my suitcase last year

airline will be ok taking it (took it last year, and even managed to get it on board on the return flight!)

we were think about not using it at the airport in any case, as the in/out of buggy at security etc just unsettles both girls, so will be checked in I guess.

we are goin to try to go with out large suitcases (cabin baggage only) which is why I am worried about a buggy board.

it's never easy is it?

Could you buy a cheap one when you get there?
How big is she?
We have a zia petite which folds down nicely and you can get a bag for it to go in, but it says its suitable to 3yrs ish.

I have been searchin gfor a cheap one that would suit, but not come up with anyhitng.

she's too big really for the cheap ones (is about 110cm tall now, and god know what she weighs!)

I looked at the zia (and the zapp) and they are tempting, but would only do for this year (if that) so would face same dilemma next year. I really can't see what she'd do with her feet in a zia (or similar) - she's got size 11s already

Yes, there's not much of a footboard on the zia, is there? Shame, DS is 84cm tall (at 1, heaven help us!) and fits nicely in his zia, still plenty of room for him.
Now, there was another I was looking at, let me search my favourites.......

.....oh bum. It was a micralite, but I think it'd be a bit on the snug side for your DD.

thanks for looking

there have been so many times I have wished that dd1 and dd2 were the other way around - dd2 is tiny (about the same size as your ds, but she is 2.6!) and so if dd1 were her size, we'd be sorted for buggies unitl she was about 8

any buggy that is hefty enought to take dd1 doesn't fold very small, unfortunately, which is why we were thinking of getting a major. but it still feels very much like accepting she will be in a buggy for years yet, and I'm not sure I'm ready to do that

will chat to dh and see what he thinks (again - have been going around and around this one for a while!)

hi dinosaur, nice to see you again

I am so glad you posted, as I have been trying to talk through that scenario with dh, but he remains unconvinced.

My argumnet goes along the lines of: if we give in and get a major, we will use it because it is there. so dd1 will neve rlearn to behave in shops etc (really, we should hae got rid a while ago, it really hads been ocwardice and taking the easy option to have kept it). and when she outgorws the major, what then? she will definitely be too big to restrain easily.

I do think that wiht patience and training she would be ok in shops, but sadly at the moment I am all out of patience! jsut having one of those months really, and dd1 and I are very much rubbing each other up the wrong way. so whatever she can do to wind us up (me in particular) she will do. we had a nightmare with her last weekend in the opticians.

but I think it is time to adjust our way of dealing with things (we have always done things togehter - sounds very Mills & Boon, but that is how it is) and maybe split up to do stuff.

dh's reasoning is based on her behaviour at times like the opticians, and I can see where he is coming from.

but I do still wonder whether we would eb doing her a disservice to keep her in the buggy now.

we don't take it when we go around legoland or similar, for eg, so she can cope with long days out ok. and we are already planning not to use it at airport because of the unsettling in/out scenario.

it's such a leap of faith though

I htink we will take a buggy to Australia (not sure whether to take the one we have - massive and takes a lot of room that we won't have in the hire car - or a smaller one). the main issue is dd2 is only 2.5, so does need a buggy sometimes. or else we end up carrying her! but if we have a buggy there, dd1 will want to go in it

it is defintely time to do something about it, though (or at least try to )

dd1 doesn't go out and about with school as yet - from September she will do (she's still at a pre-school, despite being school age, as Statement not yet fixed)

sorry, dinosaur, but I did at the thought of your ds3 getting into random buggies! mind you, dd1 probaby would if she wasn't strapped inot her own...

yes, dd2 is the real reason we have such a dilemma. when we go for days out now we end up carrying her around for half of it if we don't take the buggy (at least she is tiny, so not sucha weight to carry)

we are totally in the middle of so many threads of argument. should we go for a tiny collapsible thing that will do dd2 on holidays for the next couple of years, and which dd1 can (at a push) hitch a lift in if necessary? or there is the Major solution, but I can't see us not using it if we get it.

if we go without completely, we will end up carrying dd2 a lot of the time, which just gets hot (we are at least going in Oz winter, but going to the Gold Coast, which doesn't exactly get cold by our standards) but isn't the end of the world, but I'm not convinced a holiday (with so many other changes) is the best time to impose this on dd1...

maybe we will just have to restrict what my step-children bring along. they always bring about 3 times what I pack for me+the dds - god knows why! maybe if we give them a packing list (and make them stick to it!) we cuold then end up with enought room to take our P&T this last time.

yes, my gut instinct is not to get a major too. just need to convince dh dd1 doesn't run off (well, she does occasionally, but more in a 4 yr old way than in an ASD way, iyswim?) so it's not too much of a problem, and something that we need to learn how to handle - it's not exactly unusual for a child to not want ot leave legoland, for eg, and she only runs off a bit, not at full speed or anything - she is fairly easily catchable! and then holds hands nicely and goes along with us. more cheeky madam than ASD issue, really.

my step-daughter is brilliant with the girls - they both love her, and she plays for hours with them. really, really helpful at times like cooking, etc - she distracts them for ages (winds them up a bit too much, really, but you can't complain). she is not blessed with the most snese in the world, though, so wouldn't trust her with them on a day out, as she is as likely to stop in the middle of the road to look at something as they are

my stepson is also good with them, but a lot more hands off (fair enough) dd1 in particular hero worships him, and gets very shy when he is aorund. he spent ages doing an Easter egg hunt for the girls with dh, so he is interested in his own way.

the biggest issue is space in the car - everything else is (or could be) easily sorted. we are flying business class, so no luggage weight restrictions, enough of us to cope at airports.

think restricting luggage is the way to go. dh & I are quite good at this, as we can't be bothered to heave massive bags around, and usually only bag cabin bag sized suitcases. we are renting a house out there, so have washing machines etc, so no need to pack loads of clothes anyway.