What Type of Double Stroller to Get??

So my kids are exactly 2 years and one week apart (my second was born on my first's due date incidentally) and I was in the same boat as you. I really thought I needed that double stroller and was looking at different options. A friend of mine had a double front/back that she let me borrow for about 3 months and honestly, that was all I needed. I had to give it back to her and I decided to just wing it with my one stroller (compatible with the carseat) and it was perfectly fine. I'm so glad I didn't spend the money on a new one of any kind!

So, my first advice would be to see if you can find a used one on craigslist and go from there. The front/back are a lot easier to maneuver through stores but once the younger one gets big enough to look around they won't want to be back there all the time. The side/sides are just bulky unless you're going to use it for jogging. If you are going to get one I'd probably go with the sit and stand.

Good luck!

I had the sit and stand tandem type for my boys who were 11 mos apart, it worked well. Older boy sat in the back rumble seat, younger boy was in the regular seat. Those double wides are hard to maneuver, I'd advise against that for a more pleasant experience in stores where space is important.

We have the Trend sit-and-stand that can be two seats or the sit-and-stand. It is easy to convert from the seat (although the pieces of the seat are not compact enough to take with you so you really can't do the conversion on the go). We usually convert it at home or before we leave the car. Our kids are almost 3 and almost 5 and we still use it for longer days like a day at the zoo or the incredibly long walk back from the fireworks last night. Surprisingly, both of our kids really do prefer to have the two seats rather than the sit-and-stand. If they have been doing a lot of walking they want to be able to lean back in their seats when they are really tired. With just the bench they can't do that. It is kind of long, but it has been easy to push and maneuver. However, the heavier the kids get, the harder it is to handle. It folds up pretty flat and actually takes up less trunk space than my Graco single stroller did. I have been happy with it. It has held up really well for almost 3 years and a lot of use. I can't remember what we paid for it, but it was a fairly inexpensive stroller.

I think it depends on where you generally will be using it. Double wides are harder to maneuver in tight spaces...but I did not the traditional double that we had for awhile because it was harder to turn. This may have been because ours only allowed for the infant seat to be in the back...making it very front heavy. For what I use it the most for - I love our double wide jogging stroller...love love LOVE it. But then, I don't take it clothes shopping or a whole lot of places that would have narrow spots. We have walked to the grocery store with it and I can maneuver it just fine down grocery store aisles...same with the Library :). We have a Burley, so it is also a bike trailer...if you're into biking at all...we've really enjoyed that aspect of it :). We got ours used...if I had $500 to spend on a new one...I totally would have...but if we hadn't gotten it used, we probably would have gone with a regular double jogging stroller.

I have the Joovy Caboose ultra lite and love it. no complaints. well other than the basket is hard to get into when you use an infant carrier up front because the front seat is all the way reclined. my kids are exactly 2.5 yrs apart. my older one always sat on the back part when we were out and about, up until about 3 or 3.5. now that he's 4.5, he'll walk everywhere, but its nice to have for him to ride on it standing up if he gets tired at the zoo, or other places that involve a lot of walking. crowded places too we make him ride on it until we feel like he is okay walking. it turns really easily and has good cupholders and storage for keys, etc.

I have the Joovy ultralight and I loved it! My kids are 20 months apart, and it gave me the option to give my toddler "choices," like "would you like to sit or stand" if I wanted him on the stroller, or "would you like to walk or push" if he wanted to be off the stroller (and he loved to push with me). It worked like a dream for us until the oldest got old enough to walk everywhere.

We just purchased a double stroller to take to Disney. We got the Graco sit and stand that says it has 10-12 different combinations of ways to use. We love it. It has some mixed reviews; however, our kids tried it out and that is the one they were comfy in. My kids are 6 &. 4, but they are tiny. It is big! It fold easy and it does fit behind the 3rd row in my Honda pilot if you take off the 2big wheels, 2visors, & the drink holder. It sounds complicated, but they seriously just snap off and on. No biggie! It is light weight enough to fold and put on the Disney transport. Good luck.

Side by side....took me till my 4th to realize it. The main thing I hate with the front back is that the heavier child needs to be in the back to make it easy to push.....but then the little one....the one that falls asleep in the stroller has the front and that front seat is Wful for sleeping. Bck is not tall enough and it doesn't recline.

The combi side by side is easy to maneuver, folds up so small....and worth every penny!

Oh...and the coming off as needed is awful. They tend to jump off while you are still moving ;)

I've been out of the stroller business for awhile (my girls are 15 and 17 now). I had a Graco traditional type, where one child sat behind the other. Loved it.

I would NEVER consider buying a side by side. The main reason it's too difficult to use, too wide for most of the activities we did - fairs, malls, even a walk through the neighborhood.

We had a double stroller that could also be a sit 'n stand stroller: http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Trend-Double-Sit-Stand-Green/d...

We used it as a double stroller a lot on long walks. The sit 'n stand part is nice, although a two-year-old tends to find it novel and moves around/ changes position a lot:)

We were incredibly happy with this. It was a bit bigger than a big stroller, but really not too noticeably larger. Steering was good, it was as thin as a regular stroller, and it held up well for nearly daily 30 min walks over last summer:) Also good at the mall.

Good luck. They can be an investment, but worth it if you're out a lot:)