And double buggy/stroller recommendations?

lazygal

I've started looking into the double things I'll need. My older child will be 15 months when new baby is born so top of the list is a double buggy/stroller. I don't think I'll get away with using our existing great sturdy buggy and a sling as I just don't like slings and wasted money on them last time. Just not for me. I don't like the Phil and Teds type where one sits under the other, I always feel the poor child left sitting near the ground gets a raw deal. I don't mind considering more pricey options and open to second hand suggestions too.

Morph the Cat

My view is similar to yours. Firstly, forget the double width buggies - they're so awkward, especially in narrow doorways and when shopping and trying to navigate aisles.

Secondly, as you said, I hate those ones where the kid is sitting down below and staring at the back of another seat, completely unstimulated.

So we had our 2nd kid last Sep, and already had a 2 year old. We got a City Select Baby Jogger, and couldn't be happier with it. It's single width, and also doesn't shove a kid down the bottom like luggage! Been using it for 5 months now & love it - no complaints. Very sturdy, and lots of configuration options.
Cool video here: http://youtu.be/-fgDcf3-ybM

lazygal

Thanks, that one looks great! More equal views for both!

wmpdd3

There's 15 months between mine too!

Agree, I borrowed a Phil and Teds before small fella was born and I hated the 'bold child seat' and the way it folded, i was terrified for my fingers.

I have a Jane Powertwin and I love it.

It bearly fits in my boot, thats the only issue if you have a hatchback, but in my partners saloon theres loads of room with it flat.

If you are buying second hand get the person to send you a photo of the buggy in their boot.

For town I have a umbrella fold twin which sits flat in the boot and a single on top!

You'll be surprised what you'll end up buying. Ask your friends if you can swap buggys for a week. We did this in our mother and toddler group.

Moonbeam

It depends on your budget...
On a smaller budget the Out n' About Nipper or the city jogger double are fantastic.
On a higher budget the city select is lovely.

We had to borrow a Phil and Teds recently and I found it exceptionally heavy to push a 1 and 2 year old in it and found it tipped back very easily with the heavier child in the back.

I have heard a lot of people love the Jane Power Twin but it jsut was not for me,it was too heavy and akward and did not fold very small for the boot.

We have the out n about nipper and used it for 4 children and it really is brilliant.

lazygal

Is the out and about nipper a three wheeler? Himself won't hear of a three wheel one! Also like the option of kiddies facing me or out, which is a plus for the city select.

Moonbeam

It is a 3 wheeler, I refused to get one aswell until I went researching double buggies.

dublinlady

My second is due in 9 weeks and there will be 14 months between them. We have the baby jogger city select - have used it as a single for last yr and just got the seat couple weeks ago do convert to double, have it a trial with a friends baby last week and its fab as a double too! I love this buggy and would choose it over and over! It's served us v well as a single too!

Little My

Has anyone got or considered the Joovy sit and stand pushchairs?

http://www.joovy.co.uk/c-90-caboose-ultralight.aspx

We will have a two year gap between our two and I'm at a loss as to what I need, plus money is tight and ideally want something that will work with our Britax baby car seat.

wmpdd3

someone where i live has one of these, they look great, she's using it for a newborn and a 4 yr old so you should get a good while out of it. I think she got hers in germany.

Neyite

I have the City Jogger Mini and my only regret is that I didnt get the model that can convert to a double.

Its nippy enough around and about, folds up in a second one handed (brilliant on the bus or in the rain!)

Moonbeam

Little My wrote: »

Has anyone got or considered the Joovy sit and stand pushchairs?

http://www.joovy.co.uk/c-90-caboose-ultralight.aspx

We will have a two year gap between our two and I'm at a loss as to what I need, plus money is tight and ideally want something that will work with our Britax baby car seat.

i have heard mixed reviews about them,I have exactly 2 years between 1 and 2 and the same between 2 and 3 and the biggest issue for us would be that the 2 year old could not nap in it.

Britax have a decent tandem double buggy,

LilMrsDahamsta

Moonbeam wrote: »

Britax have a decent tandem double buggy,

I have the older model of the Britax B-Dual and I think its great - easy to manoeuvre even on rough ground, loads of storage space, and my guys are happy out in their respective seats (older guy on top with the view; baby cuddled up in the sleeping bag underneath). It also integrates fully with the single Britax Vigour 3+ I had for baby no.1. However, it does not fold up small (not a concern for me) and they tend to be very expensive new (I got mine 2nd hand on DoneDeal, but I spent about 3 months waiting for one to come up locally at the right price). If you walk a lot and have a big car boot, I'd recommend taking a look at one; if you want it specifically for urban environments and shopping, it would probably be too bulky.

Little My

Moonbeam wrote: »

i have heard mixed reviews about them,I have exactly 2 years between 1 and 2 and the same between 2 and 3 and the biggest issue for us would be that the 2 year old could not nap in it.

Britax have a decent tandem double buggy,

Joovy have brought out a second seat you can attach to the Sit/Stand so you can have one smallie sitting/napping and one smaller in the car seat, but I'm yet to be convinced. The hood arrangement doesn't look like it would be much good in Irish weather and as there are no bricks-and-mortar stockists its so hard to know without seeing it.

The Britax B-Dual reviews say that it is very heavy so I'm not sure that it would suit me as I would be lifting it in and out of the car a lot, (but I need something for when I use the bus occassionally too). Also, I've had the Britax BSmart and was very disappointed with it so I'm a bit scared off Britax pushchairs (but I love the carseat, hence using again for no.2 if possible.)

I'm also thinking about the Babystyle Oyster Max, its out of my budget tbh but I'd stretch if I thought it was perfect. It's only just been released so I'd like to see some user reviews first.

http://www.babystyle.co.uk/nOyster-Max-Preview.html

wmpdd3

To be honest, if you walk ALOT you will have a nice double but for going into town you will use something like this:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bs1Lb0JVBJs/Sw8huf-RcoI/AAAAAAAADI8/nZu2L0kRDas/s400/twin_techno_black_pic1%5B1%5D%5B1%5D.jpg

I do and as much as I dont love it I am delighted with it when making a run into town with the two of them.

When you have 2 kids in a buggy 3 wheels make a big difference in ease of turning. Also as tandems are longer the 3 wheels seem to making the turning circle alot shorter.

Thankfully at 30 months, she has no real interest in getting out and walking, once that starts I'll be using the sling and single more.

lmullen

There will be the same age difference between my to as the OP, 15 months. I have an Uppababy vista which you can get another seat for for the older child. Only problem is that you can't use the carrycot with the rumble seat. Just wondering if anyone else is using the Uppababy with 2 small ones and how they find it?

dereks

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Hi, 2nd baby due in December, will be a 14 month age gap between the two, we were looking at city select baby jogger but have heard it's [/font][font=Arial, sans-serif]hard to maneuver[/font][font=Arial, sans-serif], anyone any experience of them or recommendations?[/font][font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]

Cunning Stunt

We have the Baby Jogger Mini GT double, and as far as maneuvering goes, it's fantastic. I often only use one arm to push it around, on uneven ground aswell, no issues. It's crazy lightweight to push. We have not used it as often as we thought we would, but we have been getting out and about with it more as of late and I don't have any complaints so far.

contrary_mary

dereks wrote: »

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Hi, 2nd baby due in December, will be a 14 month age gap between the two, we were looking at city select baby jogger but have heard it's [/font][font=Arial, sans-serif]hard to maneuver[/font][font=Arial, sans-serif], anyone any experience of them or recommendations?[/font][font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]

A friend of mine got the baby jogger city select and found it very heavy with 2 kids in it - difficult to push on hills and hard to get up and down curbs etc. She sold it and bought an out-n-about nipper double which seems to be the most popular double by far where I live.

I have a baby jogger city mini double and it's fantastic - light, easy to push, folds easily, and the toddler can sit completely upright while baby lies flat.

LegacyUser

I have a borrowed uppababy vista 2015. There's 21 months between my two. To be honest I@m not mad on it. My own buggy is an older Uppababy and I love it, but the double is a pain in my....you get the picture.
It's a brilliant buggy, don't get me wrong. The options to turn the seats anyway and the buggy itself are great. But it's a good inch and a half wider than the 2014 version, meaning that I have to take a wheel off to get into the boot of the car. When you're taking it in and out of the car (a hatchback), you need the buggy seat facing forward to fold the whole lot. So depending on what configuration you were using - car seat plus toddler seat, two buggy seats one forward and one facing you (I have a four month old), pram basket plus buggy seat - you end up having to take the buggy down to the frame and then put on the main seat in the correct position for folding. You have adaptors for the main seat when the toddler seat is in position, and adaptors for the maxi cosi. It's just so much STUFF. And it's very heavy to maneouvre in and out of the boot. It's also a bit of a monster of a thing when the two are in and you're going around shops and it's tough to steer on walks on anything other than a flat path.
I currently have my eye on the out and about double nipper, second hand if I can get it.

genie_us

We are expecting no 2 in November, our first fella will be 2 by then. I'm leaning towards the bugaboo donkey as it can take a newborn and buggy at the same time, I'm not mad at the thought of one sitting over the other. Does anyone have any experience of them?

Roesy

We have a donkey. People love 'em or hate 'em! We're very happy with ours and were only sorry we didn't buy it as a first buggy. It's big and heavy and takes up a lot of space in the boot but the fact that it's double and single is great. There's 20 months between our first and second and there'll be 16 months between our second and third so we'll get a lot of use out of it. The fact that baby can be in a proper Pram for the first while and the toddler in a comfortable seat is a big plus for me and no one is confined to the underneath. We mainly use it as a single at the moment and usually only use it as a double for long walks so our eldest can hop in and out as she wants. The shopping basket at the side is great in single mode.

lazygal

Roesy wrote: »

We have a donkey. People love 'em or hate 'em! We're very happy with ours and were only sorry we didn't buy it as a first buggy. It's big and heavy and takes up a lot of space in the boot but the fact that it's double and single is great. There's 20 months between our first and second and there'll be 16 months between our second and third so we'll get a lot of use out of it. The fact that baby can be in a proper Pram for the first while and the toddler in a comfortable seat is a big plus for me and no one is confined to the underneath. We mainly use it as a single at the moment and usually only use it as a double for long walks so our eldest can hop in and out as she wants. The shopping basket at the side is great in single mode.

Ha, I started this and I totally agree! Still love, love, love our Donkey and wouldn't be without it. I wish I'd bought it at the start too.

Moonbeam

Do you not find it very hard to maneuver and awkward on rough terrain?

lazygal

What do you mean by rough terrain? It's been on beaches, in parks and forests, all over cities. No issues at all. I wouldn't bring it through a hiking trail but otherwise I love it.

Moonbeam

That is awesome, I have only pushed it on a normal path and I found it a bit awkward.
There are few buggies that work on beaches so that is cool.

genie_us

Thanks girls!

I think I'll go for it. I have the cameleon now and have to say I love it, it's sturdy but nice and light for folding in and out of the car etc so maybe that's why I'm tempted to stay with Bugaboo

One question though, maybe a stupid one - but when you buy the donkey do you get 2 newborn carriers and 2 buggy frames, or one of each? As in, when the newborn outgrows the bassinet type frame, does it come with 2 buggy parts so they'll both fit into the buggy frames if you get me? I was looking at Tony Kealy's site and can't really figure out what exactly comes with it. I'm probably being thick!

lazygal

You choose the configuration. I got the newborn/toddler seat version, which came with the fabric to convert the pram to the toddler seat if that makes sense? So I had a pram and seat, then when he turned six months we switched to two seat mode. It also comes with the side basket for when we use it as a single.

genie_us

lazygal wrote: »

You choose the configuration. I got the newborn/toddler seat version, which came with the fabric to convert the pram to the toddler seat if that makes sense? So I had a pram and seat, then when he turned six months we switched to two seat mode. It also comes with the side basket for when we use it as a single.

Cool that sounds perfect then, thanks!
Now all I have to do is see if it fits in the boot of the car!

lazygal

It takes up a lot of room. But for us it has been worth it. I don't like the smaller Phil and Teds ones and I love the fact it can be a single when needed. Ours has been on the go over three years now and still in great shape. We use it with a buggy board in single mode all the time now.

genie_us

How old is your eldest out of interest? I was considering saving a fortune and installing the buggy board on the cameleon but I think he's still too young for it (he'll be just gone 2 when the baby arrives).
Also I intend to keep sending him to the childminder for the first couple of months anyway, both to give me a chance to manage a newborn on my own but also to keep him in a routine, so even for half days while I'm still getting paid so to have the option of single mode only will be really handy too