Help me decide on a double stroller-mostly for power walking...

[ellairiesmom]

ok-so i mostly wear dd2 when out & about. if we are doing our shopping or running errands, dd1 will ride in the shopping cart or walk-depending on how quick we need to be & i wear dd2. but in trying to do this to get exercise in, i am struggling with feeling tired quick & sweating-plus dd2 gets too much sun. and i am at a critical point & need to get moving asap-3 mos pp & instead of losing weight-i'm gaining! breastfeeding just doesn't seem to drop weight for me like it does for some.

so i am trying to find a double stroller for exercising-i don't jog but i do a mean powerwalk-even while completely out of shape & heavy right now. so i would like it to have qualities of a jogger. it will mostly be used for daily walks & then maybe our family vacations & naps/hauling gear at outdoor concerts. we are also looking at used sienna's & odyssey's so as long as it folds up & can fit in a minivan-i am ok with size. budget is up in the air right now-we are considering asking fil to buy it for us so i want to consider options up to around $500.

since i love our maclaren stroller, i bought a double maclaren on craigslist for $50 & was so psyched but i am really not happy with it. our sidewalks are awful here & it's kind of hilly...& it was a little more "used" than i realized-it just stinks compared to our single. i think i liked the girls being next to eachother though-although we really don't have much experience to be sure of that yet i guess. maybe some feedback on side by side vs not would be helpful too?

oh-& it would be nice if it had a cup holder or ability to add a cup holder that fits my kleen kanteen!!

i have searched threads here & am looking at some of the ones mentioned online-going to try to head out later with the girls to test a few out at the store. (baby jogger, mountain buggy, p&t, valco etc)

i figured maybe i could get some more advice based on the fact that i don't see myself using it for the mall or shopping as much as outdoors.

help!

[marrymeflyfree]

How old is the older kid? I have the Uppababy Vista with the rumbleseat attachment...it works fantastically for us. My kids are pretty close in age, though (oldest is just turning 2, youngest is 6 mos), but I've heard some folks say that it works best when they're close.

We've taken the Uppababy on all imaginable terrain, to some pretty off-the-map sorts of places. It handles really well, though a bit more cumbersome with the second seat attached. The second seat goes on and off in seconds, so it's pretty versatile if you're in a situation where you'd prefer to wear the baby instead. We cart our's around in the back of a small sports wagon, so you should have no problems in a minivan. It's an inline double with the attachment - I have no experience with a side-by-side, but I wonder how you can get through doors with those?