Stroller for twins+toddler?

[babygrey]

I know there's quite a few MOMs here who had toddlers already when their twins were born... my DD will be just under two when my twins are due. 

I'm a babywearer, but I'm also a stroller user. I have chronic pelvic pain and, somedays, wearing just doesn't work and, w/o a stroller, I'd be stuck in the house. We are a one-car fam, so we walk a lot w/ ODS (and walk in a transit sort of way that would make ambling along w/ a toddler not feasible- plus my DD is one of the "she could sprint off at any second" kind of kids). Where we live, there are places w/ gravel/dirt instead of pavement, but nothing too terrible. Right now, I have an Uppababy Vista and love it, but they don't have a twin (let alone a three-kiddo) option. They do have a toddler attachment, but I have an older model stroller and the cost to retro-fit it for a toddler attachment is crazy high (and leaves me still one kid w/o stroller seat) 

I do have the newborn bassinet attachment, and it is pretty roomy- I'm pondering, in the beginning, having the twins share the bassinet and getting a stand-board for DD... but IDK- do you think the twins would tolerate sharing a single-babe bassinett? 

Does anyone have any stroller ideas for me? Are there twin strollers w/ the option to put a stand-board on for the toddler? 

[nwatt]

Hi! My DD is going to be 19 months when my twins arrive.  We are going to be getting the Valco Tri Mode Twin with the jump-seat for DD.  This will let all three of the babes have seats in the stroller.  We are also going to get the hitch-hiker bar, but I don't think that my DD is old enough to use it exclusively, she just wouldn't stay on it.  Here is the link:

http://valcobaby.com/products/strollers/model/tri-mode-ex-twin.html

It is expensive, but it is only one of two options I have found that allow all three to ride.  I found it by searching for old threads on this board and found a lot of great advice.

Good luck!

[charis4]

I have the one baby/one toddler version of the Joovy Caboose and loved it. I have the older version and its big and cumbersome (they came out with a lighter one) to get in and out of the car, but its worth it for those times when I needed to put both kids in a stroller. You can use it with the infant car seat at first and then the baby can graduate to the forward facing seat. I often wore my younger son and had the older one in an umbrella for short trips, but for things like the zoo or longer walks, the Joovy was great!

They do make a twin baby/toddler version I think its called the BIg Caboose or something like that. :)

Morgan

[LisamommyRN]

Baby Jogger City Select.

I got it when my second was born (first was 27 months) at first they both sat in the seats (toddler in front, baby in rear), but now we use a Lascal wheelie board for the toddler, and only the baby (now 9 mos) rides in a seat. Friends of ours use it for their 3 mo twins and 3year old. I love this stroller- it's nice and rugged, has tons of options, and the basket is HUGE. But it's not cheap.

Good luck!

-Lisa

[Liora]

I can not believe the cost of those!  I'm not spending that much on everything I'm buying combined.  That's just totally out of my price range (although I'll look for used).  We plan to get the Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem Stroller which is $160.  We are already working on DD walking with us (she'll be 25 months when the twins come).

We may get a Buggy Board for her but I'm not positive it fits yet (it does fit Gracos).

[jpamama]

I found my Valco second hand and it made it much more reasonable.  My daughter was 26 months old when my twins were born and I would have made it nowhere in that first year had it not been for that stroller - we initially had the Joovy Big Caboose - it was a bear and very hard to push and I quickly rid myself of it as I was out and about walking a lot.  My older daughter just would never have been able to keep up, let alone walk that much - she still can't at 4 and a half!  But the Valco is amazing and totally worth it if you can find one that you can afford - once you push one of these strollers compared to the Big Caboose you will understand the price difference!  It totally depends on how you use a stroller - the Big Caboose or something similar is perfect if you are doing lots of walking on even, smooth land and not going in and out of smaller stores - it is fine in big grocery stores, malls, etc....

Hope you find something that fits your needs perfectly!

[ladydodson]

i think the stroller you choose is one of your biggest and most important investments...and often, more than one option is helpful. you can keep your vista and get a toddler board for days that you feel like babywearing (though im not certain on how well the buggy boards ride through dirt/gravel) and one twin can ride and one can be worn...or you can sell your vista on craigslist, they retain their resale value well, i hear..and then fund a bigger more accommodating stroller...

we just bought the baby jogger city mini double and i like it! it seats two and will take a ride board...i have two toddlers already (3, 18mo) and plan to let one baby ride, one toddler ride, wear one baby and have a buggy board...either that or we are also going to buy a single stroller that will take a ride board and if we all go somewhere together, my husband can push two or wear/push and i can push two...

we bought our bjcm double brand new on craigslist for $250, so there are definitely deals to be found!

[3greatkids]

My son was just 26 months old when our twins were born and we decided to get the Valco Tri-mode twin with a toddler seat attachment. It was an awesome investment, i loved that we could get out for walks with all 3 kids contained, especially since my older son liked to run away sometimes. I'm almost to the stage with my twins now where we will no longer use a stroller, they are almost 3 now and I know that I'll be able to re-sell my stroller for a good price, especially since we've taken great care of it.

[Nanette56]

Originally Posted by Liora 

I can not believe the cost of those!  I'm not spending that much on everything I'm buying combined.  That's just totally out of my price range (although I'll look for used).  We plan to get the Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem Stroller which is $160.  We are already working on DD walking with us (she'll be 25 months when the twins come).

We may get a Buggy Board for her but I'm not positive it fits yet (it does fit Gracos).

I registered for this one too!! I was at a Christmas tree lighting and bumped into a mama with twin boys (around 4 months old). She had this stroller and showed me all the bells and whistles. It's pretty cool. You have to buy an extra car seat attachment to make it "tandem," but what's nice about it is that both seats fully recline, unlike most tandem strollers where one baby can recline all the way and the other cannot, and the other nice thing is that you can either face them towards one another, or have both facing forward. You have a lot of options. She DID say it's pretty heavy, but that it's really sturdy, and folds up easily. I wish I could find it in the store so I could play with it some more, the only place I've been able to find it is on Amazon...
 

[afmommy14]

I bought the Joovy triple- it's 2 full seats with attachments for universal carseat carriers and has a sit n stand on the back. My daughter will be about 15months when my twins arrive, so she will be a bit young for the sit n stand part, but we're going to try it out and maybe I will just put her in the ergo until she's big enough! It costs about $450, but I managed to grab a brand new one off craigslist for $150- don't be afraid to go used and buy more than one type of stroller!