Stroller shopping -- will we need a 2-seater?

[aikigypsy]

We are expecting a new baby this fall. DD will be about 2 years, 10 months when this one is due. We need a new stroller. The one we have came from the dump and has a fixed seat, no shocks, no brake, is rusty, etc. We also have a cheap folding stroller which is OK in town, but also doesn't recline, etc.

I was thinking about getting one of those Phil&Ted 2-seaters, but I'm not sure how it would do off-road (where we do most of our walking), and I'm also not sure we really need the 2 seats. I mean, we barely used a stroller with DD until she was 9 months old, and that was only once a week for grocery shopping. Our Ergo carrier is threadbare, lining cloth worn down to nothing. We'll probably get a new one for this kid.

So I'm thinking, by the time this one gets heavy enough for me to really want to put him/her in a stroller for a long walk, DD will be closing in on 4 years old. How much does a 4-year-old need a stroller? I know she won't walk at my pace, but I don't mind slowing down.

The one other thing which would lean me towards getting a 2-seater is my parents. They are in their mid-late 60s, and not super big on baby-wearing. They'll be living next door to us and would be much happier taking both kids for a walk in a 2 seat stroller.

So, 2 seat stroller or 1-seat? Also, I swear I read something about an attachable toddler seat/perch, but I can't find it anywhere now that I'm looking.

TIA!

[calpurnia]

attachable toddler seat - http://www.buggypod.com/
or this http://www.strollerideas.com/swstribybiha.html
or there is the buggy board...

[kirstenb]

I didn't get a two seater when DS2 was born and am glad that I didn't. I haven't needed it at all. I wear DS2 most of the time, and DS1 doesn't ride in the stroller much anyways. He is almost three now and is fine with walking most of the time.

[Starfish11]

I love the buggy pod but for some reason can't figure out how to buy it. Anyone bought one and can tell me how to get my hands on it?

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I use my P&T off road pretty often and it does well. DS1 will be 4 in two weeks and he still likes to ride quite a bit. We go on daily walks for me to get some exercise, and it is nice to be able to get a good pace going. DS2 just recently started tolerating the stroller, he is 14 months. Before that I would just leave the extra seat at home and wear him. Or if we were going someplace for a while I'd use the extra seat as more cargo space. It is definitely nice to have the option of a single or double in one stroller.

[louloubean]

2 seater for me!

we live on a dirt road, a mile from the country store.
i walk down and back up that hill often (for the exercise, adult company and coffee!)

i use our two seater (from walmart!!) all the time, and it works just fine.
i got the one with the biggest wheels, and all are fixed. it turns better than my single seater did!

the only bummer is that it is BIG and doesn't break down easily to go into town. (where i make the big kid walk! and i sling the babe.)

good luck to you!

[calpurnia]

Originally Posted by Starfish11

I love the buggy pod but for some reason can't figure out how to buy it. Anyone bought one and can tell me how to get my hands on it?

hmm. they seem to be much more easily available in the UK. I found this email address for the US [e-mail]

[lnitti]

I opted for 1 of each. there is a 3 1/2 year difference with my two. Sometimes I wanted a double and sometimes with just 1 kid, I wanted the single.

Now they are 2 1/2 and almost 6. We do still occasionally use the double and occasionally use the single. Now I am thinking about getting a new single - one that will hold an older child (dd2, not normally dd1) better than our current single.

I also wore dd2 most of the time, but for malls and walks and such, my kids liked the stroller as do I for carrying stuff.

[Tjej]

We have a phil and teds and it can be a one seater or two seater (just take the second seat off the back). My kids are 22 months apart, and we have gotten a lot of use out of it. We do live in the country, though, where walks are long and roads don't have sidewalks a lot of the time.

It does well on sand and gravel and grass. Its 3-wheel design means you have to go straight up or down hills/inclines - at an angle it is tippy.

If you will use it a lot really just depends on you. It sounds like your parents would get good use out of it. I carried my DS a lot when he was a baby, but my DD just rode in the phil and teds by herself then. We actually got it when we were expecting our first, so for us it has been a long-term use item that has gone from single to double and back again (and back to double again when we go on those long walks).

My DD is 4yo, but she really doesn't have a lot of stamina. She doesn't do our 3 mile walks easily, so it's nice to have a stroller seat for when her legs are tired. And she is little and walks slower, so it is nice to be able to move at a faster pace sometimes.

So anyway, we like ours and have used it quite a bit. You don't NEED it, there are a lot of other options out there that work well for people. A good stroller that you can attach a riding board to (or that your kid can just stand on the back axle like my DD does with our cheap umbrella shopping stroller) works too.

Tjej