Stroller question for moms with 2+

mhickey426

my dd is just going to be 2 years when I have this baby. I have seen strollers that have allow the bigger child to stand or sit on a little fold down bench on the back of the stroller. Does anyone have this? If so do you like it? I know that since she is only going to be 2 there are going to be times she is going to need to sit when we are out. I think a double stroller is pushing it and this looks like a good option. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance

fiscally3

I didn't like pushing the sit and stands, I found them hard to manuever. We have an inline stroller, phil & teds dot, and I love it. #1 and #2 are 23 months apart, and #3 will be 20 months apart. Now #1 is almost 3 so we don't use it as a double as often (2nd seat detaches), but it was definitely helpful for the first 6-7 months.

mhickey426

I feel like the doubles are too much stroller because she will want to walk. That's why the sit and stand sticks out to me. It's like an umbrella stroller with a little bench. I never did the baby wearing thing with my first and probably won't with this one either. I don't plan on buying much we have everything we need from my first so this would be really the only big purchase if I get it. Thank you for your input. I have some research to do!

Hummingbirdbaby3

We will have a 2.5 year old when baby comes. My best friend suggested we get the baby jogger city select and I am so glad we did. They'll stack so I don't have a huge wide stroller.

Holly9239

I also have the city select. I shared care with another mom (when one of us worked, the other took care of the babies ... No daycare bills) and found it handy to have the double stroller and be able to position the kiddies different ways. I hear what people are saying about baby wearing though. Depends what works for you.

bowman958

I have used a sit and stand stroller once and I would never consider buying one. My experience was before DD was born while I was helping a friend with her two children for the weekend. I hated that horrible stroller. I had to push it through a very busy urban area and it had zero maneuverability and was so bulky. My friend's 2yo at the time did not find it comfortable and was up and down from the stroller the whole time, which was another challenge. That experience swayed me to a solid "never ever ever" when it comes to the sit and stand.

That said, I think it is COMPLETELY reasonable to have a double stroller. I walk in my neighborhood almost daily, and for several miles at a time, and I can't imagine telling my two year old DD that she has to walk all of that. It's also a safety issue - I live in an urban neighborhood with a fair amount of traffic. Thus, I would rather have my two or three year old strapped in to an "evil" baby containment device for her protection than, god forbid, I take my eye off for one second while picking up the baby doll she just threw for the 15th time and she finds her way into the road. It's also a convenience issue - two and three year olds want to stop and investigate every sidewalk crack and stick on the ground, and there's totally a time for that type of learning and exploring, but not while I'm trying to exercise. So, again, I want her strapped in.

That is a long way to say: there is nothing inherently wrong with a double stroller if that is what works for your needs. But the sit and stand is a piece of junk and you might want to consider another option.

xuxachi

I use my double stroller all the time with my 3 yo and 15 mo. I mainly use it for our daily walks, going to the park and outings like the zoo. I 'm in the containment camp. It's pretty cumbersome for running errands, so I don't use it too much for that (actually I try and get that all done w/o the kids anyway...it depends a lot on your lifestyle I think.

Ncountrygal

I'm glad someone asked this question! I think I won't go buy a double stroller. We just got a BoB, I love it, and we baby wear. Just thinking about pushing a double on our narrow sidewalks gives me shudders.

Sharon&Paul

This is our fourth and all of our kids are two years apart. We have used the phil & ted with the second seat. But more commonly we have two umbrella strollers in our car. Sometimes we use both and sometimes just one. I like that they are small and compact. We do have a double jogging stroller my husband uses to run races with the kids, but really that is it.

NaughtyNiner

My oldest is 4 and my second is 2. We love our sit and stand double. I use it almost every day. It was great when our second was an infant too. Yeah, it's not the best stroller for how easy it is to push sometimes...but I didn't want to spend a ton of money. I love the Phil and teds double in line one for how easy it is to push, but hate it doesn't have cup holders and space to store things as well.

pnutg

I've decided to wait on a double stroller. My DS will be 22 months when this baby is born. I'll probably wear the baby and push C in the stroller. I'll reevaluate after a few months.

mhickey426

Thanks everyone.  You all gave me some great options to look into!

nechmielewski

Preach!

bugandmonchhichi

seyah said:

I'm planning on getting the Britax B-Ready.  My DS will be a little less than 20 months when this LO is born.  My DS does love to run around, but a little too much - I need to have somewhere to sit him down when I need a break from chasing him around.  He also really likes to nap in the stroller if we're out for a long day.
Baby wearing is great, and I plan on doing it quite a bit, but I think it is difficult to do it for extended periods (or at least it was for me).  Maybe it is because my DS was so squirmy! 

I've had the Britax B-Ready for the past two and a half years and honestly it sits in our garage. We use it for walks sometimes. It's nice but pretty big and the biggest pain is that you have to disassemble it to fold it. You have to take the seat off and then fold the stroller down, and it takes up a ton of room in the car.
I bought a Chicco Lightway when DD was about 3 months and have used that thing to death for more than two years.

RIngReady

QSB said:

The problem you will encounter is that most sit and stand strollers don't recline enough for a newborn. They are horrific to push too. Sit-n-stands don't push anything like an umbrella stroller. It is almost impossible to push one effectively one handed. You would be better off getting a buggy board for your existing single stroller.

Something like this:

Good point! Reclining is a must for us. 

Babykells3

I LOVE having a double stroller! DS1 was just 2 when DS2 was born and he needed to be contained because he is a runner! There is no way I wanted to be out at the mall and just have my 2 year old standing on a ledge. He also still napped in the afternoons so if we were out he still needed a place that I could recline and he could nap, not an option with a sit and stand stroller. DS2 also hated being worn in a carrier so carrying him with DS1 in the stroller wasn't an option for us.