Should I buy a double pram or will we get by with a boogie board?

Ok, so I know there are a few threads going around about double prams ATM...

I guess I'm trying to decide if it is worth buying one. DS will be about 33 months when bubs arrives, so I'm not sure how much use we would get out of one.

I'd love to have one for the convenience of being able to pop them both in when I need to, but really how often is that going to be... Especially when you fast forward 6 months...

I currently have a bugaboo cameleon. If I stick with it I'm going to get a capsule that fits onto it. I'm thinking in the early days I can put DS in the pram and have bubs in a sling OR put bubs in the capsule on the pram and have DS on a boogie board...

But then I've read the boogie boards can be a bit awkward on the bug...

So, what's your experience with an age gap of around 3 years? Or how often do you put your 3-4 year old in the pram? Any insights would be very much appreciated.

Firstly, how long are you happy to keep carrying the new adddition in a sling or carrier for?
Secondly, do you often go for walks around the streets?

Personally, I wouldn't get one as they are quite expensive and bulky. But if you are a big walker and intend to go on lots of walks then they can be worthwhile. We have a got hand me down one for if we need one (but we have a much smaller age gap). The thought of pushing a double stroller with a 3 year old and a baby in it makes me sweat lots! It is hard enough with an 21 month age gap.

I now have an 18 month old and 3 year old and to be honest 3 yr old very rarely wants to be in pram, we have a phil and ted dash and a mclaren vouge and use mclaren mainly when out. However if we are going to walk to shops, walk around zoo I take phil and ted as DS1 sometimes will get tired and want to sit down, or being a pain in bum and made to sit down or I use that seat to put bag etc in!! If we are going on train I take phil and ted and make him sit in it.

Hope that helps a bit

i brought a double pram and my dd is 3yrs 4months ds3 is 2yr 2months and ds4 is 11months 2 weeks and some days i put dd and ds3 in the double pram (i brought a baby jogger city mini) if i know she is going to be a pain and i dont have time to let her walk or sometimes she goes into the carrier and i have ds3&4 in the pram im waiting for my glider board for the pram i used one on the stroller when ds4 was first born and she loved being able to stand up but would at time jump off
if you know your ds will get tired on a long day out or you want to some walking and your ds wont walk the whole way i would get a double

Thanks for the replies lovelies!

Mum_of_5 that is one of my fears, DS jumping off the boogie board! TBH the idea of going into the supermarket without him restrained terrifies me a bit...

Feeb, I can really see how it would be handy to have that option. A toddler complaining about walking would get really tired, really fast! I have wondered about the PT's, does your DS1 still fit in the underneath seat?

Bloom, I do do a lot of walking. I prefer to walk if the weather is good and really only take the car if we are going long distances or if it is raining. You've scared me a bit with your comment about pushing a 3 year old and a baby - would it really be that hard?

It's so hard to know what to do. I do like to go for walks and walk to the shops pretty much every day that I am home. But when bubs arrives I plan on keeping DS in childcare at least 2 days a week, if not his current 3 days... On weekends DH is around and we have a stroller so if we were to go somewhere we could each push a pram. Which basically leaves me with the 2 or 3 days during the week when I'll be home with both of them... In the first 6 months or so I could probably make do with the buggie board/sling, but then it's not really the ideal situation either is it? I'm just not sure if it would be a waste to shell out the $$$$ for a double pram and then a year down the track not really be using it.... But at the same time I think there could be times where life would just be a whole lot easier with it....

Maybe you are fitter than I am Miss E! We have a 2 hills (okay it's only like 150m long) to walk up to do a round trip to the local coffee shop. But when you think about the weight of the stroller (ours is 13kg) plus DS1 (12kg) and DS2 (5kg) that is a lot of weight.

Perhaps you could use the sling for baby for the first few months and then re-evaulate then if the older LO still needs a stroller. Or you could get one 2nd hand/cheap. They are just so expensive that unless you are rolling in cash....

I saw a lady with one of those skateboards the other day and made a comment about how convenient it looked and she said "Don't get one, they're a gimmick and so hard to push when her son is standing on it".

I have a valco ultralite with a toddler seat which i used all the time with dd1 and dd2. But with Ds I got a capsule and it was much easier, you can turn trolleys into big prams! The capsule sits in it with room for the girls to stand if they won't walk or are misbehaving, and coles have trolleys with the built in capsules with a seat next to it now too so I have barely used the pram unless we are out walking.

At that age unless you are doing loads of walking I would just get a buggy board. I use my Maclaren at the shops with either one in - today Mister nearly 3 wanted to walk and Miss 4 was feeling lazy so it worked well. If both want to get in Izzy usually has to walk for a bit. If we are going somewhere like the zoo - we will usually take the P&T and I use it for walking to and from kinder - its 45kgs with both kids in and hard work but I still love it and it is a great work out.

Have you looked at a buggypod? Zarava Flutterby had one when we went to the zoo and it looked great - I know she got it on sale really cheaply too. I'm not sure how it would work with a Bugaboo though?

My two are 2yrs 9mths apart and I couldn't get out of the house without the double pram.

My oldest is 3.5 now and still loves the pram. He isn't very compliant due to his comprehension (autism) so he would run away on the skateboard. We bought a skateboard while pregnant, it never got used. Carried baby in sling for the first few months then got a double pram.

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My two are 2yrs 9mths apart and I couldn't get out of the house without the double pram.

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That's the same age gap we're going to have... I think I am leaning towards the double pram.

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Have you looked at a buggypod? Zarava Flutterby had one when we went to the zoo and it looked great - I know she got it on sale really cheaply too. I'm not sure how it would work with a Bugaboo though?

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I've never seen or heard of them! Thanks hun, I just googled. Clever design, but I'm not sure how practical it would be for every day, getting up and down gutters, over tram tracks, rough ground etc? I might have to PM ZF and ask her how she finds it.

I have a valco runabout with a toddler seat and to be honest I think had both girls in it about 5 times and useda stroller and sling most of the time or the sling and a trolley at the shops. There is 2 years between my girls. My 32 month old would not sit in a stroller anymore. If I walk. around the neighbor hood my dd takes her bike. Good luck if you plan on doing a lit if walking and think your ds would sit in a toddler seat it might be worth it.

The other one I have seen that looks pretty cool is the Bibbi Buggy Bike (Swiss Strolli rider) - it's like a bike that attaches to the pram allowing the child to sit but like riding a bike. Might be more enticing than a pram seat?

I have the same age gap Miss E, and I've never had nor needed a double pram. I didn't like the look of the skateboards so I went without. I'm a baby wearer though. I still put one of my kids in a carrier if needed (Ayers Rock is a good example).
I used to sling DS and DD would hop in the pram. That was because she was a bolter. But she wanted to less and less so for a while I got away without having to lug one at all. I live in the country though. She was also became very good at holding onto the safety strap of the pram without running away when DS needed to go in the pram.
I'm not getting a double this time either and my age gap will be the same again.

I wondered if I'd need a double pram too. DD is 3 months now and so far I've gotten by with DD in a carrier and DS in the pram, or walking. However, I am getting a double pram (baby jogger city select) because I really want to get out walking for exercise. Also, just to have it as an option for bigger outings.

I think it really comes down to the dynamics of your family. I'm a baby carrier and I still carry my baby in the sling a lot of the time. But my oldest has major kicking and screaming meltdowns and I can't deal with him safely with the baby in the sling. So I needed somewhere to sit the baby, then another somewhere to strap the thrashing toddler while I retreat from our outing and get home again! Now my baby is getting older he likes sitting in the pram too so for longer outings, like wandering around the zoo, they both enjoy having somewhere to sit.

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Thanks for the replies lovelies!

Mum_of_5 that is one of my fears, DS jumping off the boogie board! TBH the idea of going into the supermarket without him restrained terrifies me a bit...

Feeb, I can really see how it would be handy to have that option. A toddler complaining about walking would get really tired, really fast! I have wondered about the PT's, does your DS1 still fit in the underneath seat?

Bloom, I do do a lot of walking. I prefer to walk if the weather is good and really only take the car if we are going long distances or if it is raining. You've scared me a bit with your comment about pushing a 3 year old and a baby - would it really be that hard?

It's so hard to know what to do. I do like to go for walks and walk to the shops pretty much every day that I am home. But when bubs arrives I plan on keeping DS in childcare at least 2 days a week, if not his current 3 days... On weekends DH is around and we have a stroller so if we were to go somewhere we could each push a pram. Which basically leaves me with the 2 or 3 days during the week when I'll be home with both of them... In the first 6 months or so I could probably make do with the buggie board/sling, but then it's not really the ideal situation either is it? I'm just not sure if it would be a waste to shell out the $$$$ for a double pram and then a year down the track not really be using it.... But at the same time I think there could be times where life would just be a whole lot easier with it....

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Yes he does, they swap around a bit who goes where. DS1 head is a bit above bar at top of seat in bottom but he doesnt care as he doesnt sleep in it and always leaning to side to look he prefers bottom seat to top.

I also like fact that i can just have main pram without toddler seat if i was taking just 1 of them somewhere as would be annoying tpo push a double pram side by side with 1 child.

My big boy likes to ride in the bottom seat of the P&T too :lol:

I'm a baby wearer, but my first outing with ds in sling and dd in stroller ended with me in tears. It is really hard to control a toddler when you have a newborn in the sling. I got a bj city mini double and it's changed my life. I like the way both babes can be protected from sun and weather with adjustable hoods...both can sleep with reclinable seats, and honestly it's easier to push than the stroller especially when the baby in the sling gets heavy (ds is 9kg at only 4 months).
I am a big walker and I love my double pram! If I had th cash I would have got a city select, but we got our city mini double cheap from eBay because I wasn't sure how much I'd use it.

Oh and fwiw dd is 30 months and I can't see our pram use slowing.

I am going to have a 16 mth gap between DS and our next bub so I am planning on getting a double stroller or pram of some sort I need to do research cos we r on limited funds but I am hoping to get a decent but not bulky 1. I am not a fan of the boards cos I have seen mums struggle to stand comfortably behind them with the boards on and they tell me they hurt this backs alot walking behind them and play dodgems when toddler decides to jump off mid walking

i used a valco runabout with dd and ds3 when he was born and i hated it dd was so heavy over the front wheel it was a pain to push then when ds4 was born i was using a double side by side stroller and with a 15month 13kg ds3 and a month old 4kgs ds4 it would pull to the heavier side i have gone and brought the baby jogger city mini double and omg its so easy to push with different weights in it it doesnt pull to the side if your going to do alot of walking i think a double pram would be worth it

I love the 2nd seat on our P&T Dash! I would recommend anyone buy it even for their 1st bub like what we did. It's been used heaps for extra space when out shopping. For months there I even did the grocery shopping with it as there was no way ds would lie down in a capsual thingo in the trolly. We wanted another bub straight away but that's not going to happen anymore however even if DS is still a bit older I'm glad I'll have the 2nd seat for carrying the extra crap that 2 kids will bring AND for those times when ds does want to get in and sit down... I can't think of much worse than a cranky tired complaining and probably crying kid when we are miles away from the car or when it's going to be impossible to get home quickly.

Miss E - I have a 21 month gap between DS1 and DS2. I got a double pram (mountain buggy) which I used whjen i had them both. It didnt get heaps of use to be honest but it was awesome when I did use it (we are now selling it). I used thebugaboo for DS1 when I was alone with him (DS1 was in creche 3 days and I did most of my walking when I just had DS2 in the end).
That said, my boys arent really into prams - so I dont use either anymore!!! (so if your DS is still in the buga you prob would get more use out of a double IYKWIM)