The Best Double Stoller for an Infant and Toddler.

Hi J.,
I am wondering the same thing. Let me know if you get any good leads at ____@____.com. Thanks!

I have the Sit-N-Stand by Baby Trend. I have a 4 year old and a 2 1/2 year old and the 4 year old can sit or stand up in the back and she loves it. The only draw back is that is doesnt have a cup holder.

We also have the sit n stand stroller (kids were 4 mos and 2 yrs when we got it) we first got the Joovy one, and loved the idea, hated the stroller- for one thing, it was really uncomfortable for our toddler to actually sit on it when the front seat was reclined, and I personally had issues accessing the storage bin. We quite quickly then got the Baby trend one, and love everything about it, most of the "complaints" they've had, they have "fixed" like they now come with cup holders =) The only problem that i have incurred with the stroller is that since our toddler still naps, he can't in the back of the stroller- of course a little creativity helped remedy that... but it has definitely been worth the money, and we use it tons and it has held up great

I bought a front/back double stroller before my second daughter was born, it is fairly small, and folds like an umbrella stroller so it fits perfectly in the trunk, the rear seat reclines. It is a safety 1st brand. I loved it! Then this summer I found a side by side Graco duo rider at a garage sale for three dollars! I brought it home, took it apart and washed it up. My husband gave me "the look" for buying ANOTHER stroller, we had a double bike trailer/stroller too. After he pushed it ONCE he said we'd have to use it all the time. A wheel broke when we were camping a few weeks ago (I don't feel it was a bad product-it was manufactured in 1994 and i don't know how much use it had), and even though I have a stroller I've barely used and spend $120 on, I bought a new Graco side by side from Walmart.com. The stroller has two seats that recline, I didn't think that was a big deal, until i had to but my toddler in the back of the tandem (tight fit)so she could sleep, and let the baby ball up in the front seat to sleep. Also, the storage baskets in the side by side are great. There is so much stuff you need for two small kids for a day that I just couldn't hold it all in the one small basket in the tandem. The side by side is a little easier to steer, once you put the big kid in the front of the tandem it gets a little tricky to steer. The tandem is better for tight spaces, like shopping, but the side by side really isn't that much wider than a single stroller and is no wider than a wheelchair, so everywhere SHOULD be accessible. The one that I wouldn't recommend is the Eddie Bauer that has the seats you can face both forward, or so the kids can see each other. A friend of mine has it, she likes it once it's open and ready to go, but it's so heavy she has her husband load it for her and it takes up a huge part of the trunk. The front seat has to be removed before you can fold it. And it is SO heavy to push, especially once loaded. Anyway sorry this is so lengthy, but I wish I would have had someone to tell me all this stuff before I purchased my first. Good Luck!

A good friend of mine highly recommends the Phil and Ted's double stroller. Very compact, easy to use, jogger, can put a car seat in it for infant and have toddler up front. Then continues to convert as both kids grow. She loves it. Good luck!

I'd go with Graco or Peg Perego! Graco is a great company I love all their products. Peg Perego is also a great company and their products are a little more luxurious and sometimes have better features the main difference is money. But you can't go wrong with these brands.

Stay away from Cosco/ Eddie Bauer their products fall apart. I know this first hand.

Hi J. -

I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 21 month old - so I've been through my share of strollers! We originally bought the Jeep double stroller (tandem), but when I put both boys in it, I literally could barely push it and going around corners was a nightmare because it is just TOO heavy and big(I'm not a whimp - I actually work out severals times a week). My husband even got tired of pushing it. We have switched to the Joovy Caboose sit and stand and love it!!! The down-falls are; that there is no cup holder - we bought one & put on it, and it takes 2 hands to fold up (but that wasn't an issue for me). Also, we LOVE our bike/jogging strollers (Burley is a good model)- so light weight and easy to steer, but not too useful to bring in the car for shopping trips, etc. Happy shopping!

T.

I found with having a baby and a toddler I love the sit n' stand kind. Just about any brand.

I just know that my toddler got to the point where he didn't want to be strapped in all the time. The ability to stand and still be on the stroller was a big hit and let him feel like a big boy. And almost all of the sit n' stands are compatible with most car seats. Also the area for the toddler to sit or stand always has staps as well, so you can keep him coralled and controlled!

Good Luck!!
J.

I started with a mclaren sidebyside - not the Traveller the other one(can't remember the name). I liked that you can recline each seat seperately but it was hard to manouever, one wheel always squeeked and I didn't like the handles: it didn't have a bar going across the width of the back but rather 3 handles at the top of each vertical 'bars'. So I either had to hold the two outside handles which is awkward or I hold one outside and the middle one and that pushed it crookedly.

I also had the double babyjogger which I loved, loved, loved. Absolutly useless for taking to stores or anywhere with not much space as it is delicously wide but boy was it great to go for long walks with. I started using it when baby was about 6 weeks old - because at least then - the stoller model didn't change position so it was a semi-slouch/recline which you cant use for a newborn.

As kids got a bit older - and when I got fed up with my 'shopping/outing stroller' i.e. the Mclaren, I considered sit'nstand models and dismissed them because I could only see the boys would both want to have the same 'favorite' position and argue over who got to sit or stand; and I figure when someone is tired and needs a ride they'd want to sit, not stand. So I got the graco DouGlider - which was my cheapest stroller and I was very pleased with it. The toddlers liked both seats - and the rear one reclined enough for one to sleep lieing down.

So in short: for long walks/or excercizing I'd recommend one of the double jogger types because they just make it a pleasure (I have a Burley biketrailer/double jogger now and that works great for my 4 & 6 year old now but I don't love, love, love it as I did my bright red BabyJogger) and the Graco douglider for stores/confined spaces.

Good luck.

I have a Phil and Ted's E3 and it is fantastic. They are pricey, but well worth it! You can check out their models on the phil and ted's website. Just google them and it will show up. I absolutely love ours and it is really easy to handle and very sturdy. The infant carrier basically hides the newborn so people don't even know he or she is there. Once he/she is old enough to hold their head up you switch the back seat position. Good luck.

I have the Maclaren Twin Traveller. I love it. There are always drawbacks to any double stroller, but I really love this one. The drawbacks are that it does veer a little bit if I put only the older child in. Also, the storage baskets are small and it does not have cup holders. The positives well outweigh those negatives. The stroller drives really nicely. It's a side-by-side, and I've found that it fits anywhere that a wheelchair would fit. I am able to push it one-handed while opening a door...and it fits through a single door! Also, it is easy to fold and folds up very small. Both seats recline fully. My kids are big, and they both have enough room to get comfortable. It's a little bit pricey, but I think well worth the money.

I love my Graco Dual glider. I had a per prego with my daughter and I loved it, but I did not care for double stroller all that much, and all my friends who had children the same age span as I hated their side by sides. My Daughter Emma turned 2 two weeks after I had my son Stephen. Emma will now be 4 in november and Stephen is turning 2 in October, I still use my stroller almost everyday. I purchased mine from a store in califonia( we lived there up until march) called Bergstroms. You can check it out on-line, you also have to purchase the car seat for the infant seperate, but the stroller has 3 point harness straps wich help me when both my children need help sitting. The basket is great, and I love the cup holder and little storage container on the handle. It is easy to fold. The oly draw back is it barely fit into my wagon, I had to do a little manuvering. I hope this is helpful. I am still using mine 2 years later and hope to get atleast another years use. Best of luck.
D.

Hi J.,

I also have a 5 year old and and 2 year old, so my daughter was three when I had my second child. I had a double jogger and I didn't care for it, it was hard to turn and then it was heavier on one side. I ended up giving it away to a friend that was pregnant with twins. Which I think would be ideal for the double joggers/strollers.

I was wondering if you have seen those platforms that you can attach to the backs of the strollers where the old child can stand and ride on it instead of sitting. Just a thought!

Now, I just push my three year old and let my five year old walk. Thinking back, I remember many times my three year old didn't want to be in the stroller she wanted to be walking and picking flowers and petting dogs, etc.

Good luck,
K.

We have a Phil & Teds stroller and love it. It folds down so small, is really light (in terms of double strollers) and can be used for an infant/toddler or for two toddlers. It's a bit pricey, but I think it's definitely worth the money if you plan on spending a lot of time in strollers! We're not actually using it a lot in the infant/toddler mode because I'm carrying the baby in a bjorn a lot of the time, but it does work well in that mode too.

My SIL gave us her Graco Duo-Glider and we love it. We had a Graco infant carseat and it fits in the back seat and the toddler sits in front. I would look into going to Once Upon a Child or Craigslist to see if they have something available if you don't want to spend a lot of money on a new one. The used one we got works just fine, and you can get replacement parts online if you need them (but we haven't needed them, and we've beat up on the thing!). We've been through airports with it, the MOA and other various Malls. There's cup holders and lots of storage space.

Also, it does fit in our Jetta trunk, it doesn't leave room for much else, but it will fit. I hope this helps!

I really like my Joovy Caboose Stroller. It's best with an older toddler though. The toddler can sit or stand in the back of the stroller. It's about $150.

We had the Evenflo double stoller. It worked great for the first year we had it (infanct and a 2 year old). I loved that it had more open room in the back for our toddler to get in and out of.
R.

I bought the $85 one a Kmart a few years ago and it's still holding up just fine. I don't use it on a daily basis though. The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't have a cup holder on it but I just bought a strap on one.
I definitely didn't want a side by side though because it's hard to get through stores with. Those are mainly good for the park or Disney World.
Good luck shopping,
J.

We have the Green Graco Duo-Glider and its EXCELLENT!!! Sometimes feels like driving a limo....but its great and lots of storage and great on turns with two little ones! I bought ours at Target.

It's been a few years, but we had a Peg Perego Tender Twin front/back stroller. I LOVED it! Seriuosly, other than the fact that the storage basket was a little small, I have no negative things to say about it. For a double it is fairly lightweight, it folds up very easily, it pushed like a dream! (one handed). At the time it wasn't designed to hold an infant seat (I dont' know if it is now), but I could fit our infant carrier in the rear seat. Both seats reclined. My kids were 17 months/newborn when we got it, and it worked great for us! In fact, I convinced several of my friends to ditch their cheaper doubles and get this one after they "test drove" mine. I truly believe that with strollers you get what you pay for - and I'd invest the $$ to get a nice one. Good luck!