Double Strollers?

[Anonymous]

Okay, I have a question for those of you that have had 2 stroller-age children. Dh and I are debating whether or not we should get a double stroller. I use our stroller all of the time to take Kaelyn for walks. I also use it at the mall and sometimes at other stores when I’m not buying a bunch of large things. She is at a stage when she is really, really active whenever we go out in public. She’s not yet ready to walk with me. She just takes off on her own. Lately, she hasn’t been happy in grocery carts either. Usually about halfway through our shopping trip, she starts trying to climb out of the seat. Thank goodness for the straps on the carts (although she has found ways around them when she’s feeling really crafty). So, I definitely still need a way to contain her.

So…. is a double stroller worth it? I’ve been reading lots of reviews and people talk about how bulky and hard to manage they are. If I get one, I’m thinking that it should be the kind that a baby seat can hook on to. I know that I could babywear the new baby when we go out, but some of our favorite events during Kaelyn’s rough days were the few times when she fell asleep in her car seat while we were out and we were able to bring her in to the house in the seat and have a few moments of peace.

If you’ve had one and liked it, which one do you recommend?

[hellbennt]

a thought about looking: oftentimes the infant seat fits into a brand that is not the same brand as the stroller- for example after researching when pregnant w/ jonah, i found that the graco snugride fits into the peg perego pliko- so what I’m suggesting is that you actually take the infant seat (or if its a major brand find one at the store you go to) and try it in the strollers you’re interested in- even if it doesn’t snap/tie/lock, etc into place you still will find that it will fit securely- my dh ‘tested’ the snugride in the P3 and it didn’t budge and we never had any problems with it…

If MY friends and family think I’M obsessed with infantreflux and babywearing, they have to see THIS: http://www.strollerqueen.com/

this should help you some? you can even pay her to find the answer to your questions…my friend did and was actually satisfied!

here’s another great forum with opinions: http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topics&amp ;forum=14

hellbennt2006-5-6 8:57:33

[Anonymous]

What Laura says is so true!. My infant car seats (I’ve used the Graco Snugride and the Britax Companion) both fit perfectly in this cheap little Graco Stroller I bought and love. It wasn’t even meant to have a carseat snap into it, but it works perfectly. (It’s a single stroller so it doesn’t really answer your question, but I thought I’d mention it because you may be able to find a double stroller you like that isn’t actually made to accommodate your infant carseat. The carseat may fit anyway).

When I had my second, I was torn too about whether to buy a double stroller. They are bulky, heavy and a pain to get into and out of the trunk (I have a van now, but didn’t then). My first was 20 months old when I had the second, and she’s very active, so she needed to be contained, too!! I did buy a double stroller (Fisher Price) and I used it a lot. It was definitely the right choice for us at the time.

Later, when Liza was approaching 2 1/2 or 3, I bought a Sit ‘n Stand (Baby Trend) so she could stand or sit on the back as she was getting too big to fit comfortabley in the stroller. If you think Kaelyn may outgrow the double stroller too soon, you may want to get the Sit ‘n Stand instead. The older child can sit on a little bench like seat on the back, or stand on the little step on the back. There’s a strap to keep them from falling.

The double strollers are expensive and so is the sit ‘n stand, so take your time and try them out if you can at the store before you decide. I was lucky to get the sit ‘n stand at a rummage sale really cheap, otherwise I would have stuck with the double stroller even though Liza was getting a little too big for it.

I hope you find the perfect stroller!

[Anonymous]

I’m with Christine on the Sit n Stand. A friend at my office was
getting rid of hers really cheap so I bought it even though Nate was 3
when Zach was born. We LOVED it and used it all the time. I
still use it when we go for walks and Nate is 4. This did have an
infant seat with it but our original infant seat fit in it as
well. Hope that helps. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

We bought a used peg perego tender double stroller- it’s the tandem kind. We bought it before Hailey was born thinking that we’d use it all the time. I just used it for the first time last week. My girls are 20 months apart. But my sister has a newer version of the same thing and she uses hers every day. I think it depends on how often you’re going to be out with the kids by yourself. Sarah is in daycare, so for the most part, I use the single stroller. But if she was home during the week, I’d definitely need something. My 2 cents is if you look for something, make sure it has some good basket space! Happy shopping.

[Anonymous]

We also debated this since the double strollers are so big and bulky. We are already stroller crazy, we just for Alexis own 4 stroller, one was with the Graco travel system (too big and heavy), one was given to us (Alexis didn’t like it), Peg perego P3 (which worked out well for us), and Chicco umbrella stroller for travel. Well, now we officially own another stroller the Graco duostroller since we tried traveling with 2 strollers which worked out well but I don’t always have an extra pair of hands. Alexis is quite independent but sometimes she just wants to relax and get pushed around. We got the new stroller this weekend and I feel like I’m a bus driver or a train conductor since it is huge! We really liked the sit and stand but Alexis can’t really sit back and relax in it if she wants too.

[Anonymous]

Kim- Have you you checked out Once Upon a Child on Midlothian (just west of Powhite)? I’ve seen reasonable 2nd hand ones there several times. We borrowed our neighbor’s Graco right after Claire was born. Claire’s infant seat popped right in back and Emma sat up front. It was nice for trips around the ‘hood, but way too heavy to lug into and out of the car on a regular basis. Also, it was difficult to push. Ultimately, it sat in our garage for a year and we used it maybe 10 times in all. I’m glad I didn’t buy one.

What we usually do (and have pretty much have done since the beginning) on long outings is start off with Claire in the regular stroller. When/if Emma “runs out of gas”, we wear Claire (in a Hotsling… LOVE them!) and let Emma ride in the stroller.

[hellbennt]

(I just posted this elsewhere:

here’s hotsling ‘seconds’ http://www.hotslings.com/Catalog/product.php?id=128

http://stores.ebay.com/The-Serendipity-Spot

http://store.attachedtobaby.com/detail.aspx?ID=201&Name= Returns—Hotslings-Print

http://store.attachedtobaby.com/detail.aspx?ID=202&Name= Returns—Hotslings-Solid

http://store.attachedtobaby.com/detail.aspx?ID=182&Name= Returns—Hotslings-Reversible

http://store.attachedtobaby.com/detail.aspx?ID=186&Name= Returns—-Hotslings-Fleece)

[Anonymous]

My oldest two are exactly two years apart, and I inherited a Graco double from a friend…it was big and bulky, but I basically just used it for walks around the neighborhood and a few rare outings in the car…it was great to have for those first months when I needed to get out of the house and keep Andrew contained…but it wouldn’t have been a great investment if I’d had to buy a new one. I mostly went the snuggly and single stroller route in stores, etc. but I’m not a big mall/shopping person. Do you know of any friends who might be “done” with theirs? Or try craigslist – I always see lots of baby stuff on there at very reasonable prices.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all of your wonderful ideas. It’s good to know that most of you found that you didn’t use it much. I think that I’ll try to find a used one. Karen, once upon a child is a great idea. I drive past it every day on my way home from work, and I’ve never thought to check it. Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

I found quite a few used ones through ebay (but I never won the bidding wars and eventually just asked around at a playgroup. I found that lots of people just had theirs sitting around and were looking to sell).

[Anonymous]

i used double strollers ALOT. i had two different ones. the first was a double umbrella stroller (with sun shades) and the seats also reclined independently of each other. it was not too heavy, but it was side by side, so a little harder to use in stores. i used it with my twins. later, when i had elliot and sammie (22 mo apart) i bought a used double stroller with one seat behind the other. we took alot of walks with that stroller. in the last couple of years, for taking walks, i have used a bike trailer that was also a stroller for sammie and sylvia. i put sylvia in it alone, now, and have pulled her behind the bike—she loves it.

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