Looking for a Double Stroller

I have said this to other mom's too. Do not get a side by side. You don't fit through any doorway, and shopping at the mall or in any store for that matter is impossible. You can't fit between the racks or isles. Every mom I know who's had the side by side HATES them. I have the sit and stand stroller from One step ahead. I love it. My son is 3 and a half and my daughter is 6 mos. My son is at the age where he wants to walk in the mall, but then he gets tired. So he can sit or stand or even walk beside me and hold on to the rail. It's great.

Hi R., congrats on the new baby. I just went through the same thing. My kids are 12 and a half months apart. We got the Phil & Ted's Sport, which has been a dream come true. It's versatile and can be used as a single stroller when needed. It's a little on the pricey side especially when you add the accessories but this stroller will make your life easier. Hope that's helpful and good luck. Having two kids so close together is really not as scary as it seems!

J.

I had this issue 2 years ago when my 2nd was born (Now I am on to #3 in 6 weeks). ANd I opted for the side by side rather than the back to back. I borrowed my sisters front/back stroller for a week and found it really hard to manuver not to mention get in and out of the car. Then I tried out the side by side one at the store and found it so nice and easy to move around. I did some research and found that Combi makes their side by sides narrow enough to get through doorways and aisles. I love mine and have used it so much. Still works great after 2 years. The only problem being that the standard infant car seat does not latch onto the stroller seat. But Fo me that wasn't an issue. I just put one of those inserts in the seat to make it smaller (with more head support) and she lay down fine in there all snuggled with a blanket. If you want Combi does sell a car seat that fits the stroller. But for me I already had one from my 1st and 2nd child so I didn't want to buy another this time or last. I hope this helps you make your decision. Good luck!

I have a side by side Combi and I love it. It fits through all doorways, I can see both kids easily, it's easy to open and close and it's easy to handle. It also folds up to be the same size as a single stroller for easy storage. Good luck!

I think first of all you have to look at the vehicle it will be transported in. I have a VW Jetta- newer model, while the trunk space is big, it's not quite forgiving enough for all double strollers but one. We went everywhere that had strollers to test drive them and test fold them- they were all HUGE except for one.. lol We bought the Graco Quattro Tour Duo Double Stroller, it advertises a 20% smaller fold, which we needed! Even that stroller which by far folded up the smallest, and steered the nicest was slightly too big. Fortunately we figured out we can just pop the front wheels on and off easily to make it fit in our car. We have a 14 month old, and one due any day now. This stroller will run you about $200, while I haven't "driven it extensively yet" the trial runs were great, and it also fits most carseats, and a small trunk! Good luck.

I have a 3.5 year old and a just turned 1 y.o. When my son was born I bought a "sit-n-stand" stroller ($119 from baby depot). I absolutely love it. My daughter (and occasionally a friend or two) rides in the back, my son in his car seat in front. Switching from carseat mode to regular stroller was as simple as could be. It wieghs practically nothing and folds up surprisingly well. My only complaint is that the platform seat in the back doesn't flip up for easier access to the basket (which has elastic banding but is still a pain to get larger items in). This stroller is amazingly versatile and although a little long, easily fits through all doors. One step ahead has a version of it that for a little more money comes with rubber tires. Happy Shopping!

HI R.,

First of all I must say you are ambitious with the 1yr old and newborn on the way!
I have a Combi side by side ( i forget the exact model) but i love it. i tried the cheaper models for my single stollers and found that i should have just gone with the more expensive model that was much better quality. it is easy to open and close and it folds pretty compactly for a double stoller...also, it actually rolls in the direction you are steering it in! Oh a big plus is that is fits in a standard sized door so you can go in and out of stores with no problem.
hope this helps.
S.

i have a front and back stroller for my newborn and my one year old. I have used it for 5 times and after that
I got a side by side combi stroller as soon as my son was able to sit up and no longer needs the baby car seat.
The side by side is better for me and I bring it everywhere. The front and back was hard to manuever esp when
you want to go through the shopping aisles in a store.

I love my Graco Duo Glider, but at first, I was dead set on getting the Combi Twin Savvy, but once I put my toddler in it & pushed her around, I realized it was too short for my 6' self and I was kicking the wheels all the time. It's a great stroller, but test it out! The Graco is great, too, and is so easy to manuever (which surprised me), plus it has a HUGE basket to carry things in (something the sidebysides lack), and it was able to carry my infant car seat. I am so happy with my purchase and have used it for the past 18 months.

Graco makes a great double stroller

My 1 year-old twin daughters are in the stroller often during our outings. For our walks through the neighborhood, we use a side-by-side jogging stroller because it's meant more for that activity. However, when going to stores, we use a tandem Graco stroller. In stores, I really prefer the thinner stroller for manuevering through isles and merchandise. While I did consider getting one of those side-by-side double umbrella strollers, they have no storage space underneath. You're forced to hang a diaper bag over the handles, which can make the stroller top-heavy and unbalanced. Good luck in making your choice.

i would recommend the phil + ted if you are going to be doing a lot of walking, it's great for that but a bit of a pita to get into the car. the best double side by side i tried was the peg perego aria. it's super lightweight and folds really easliy. good luck!

^^^thanks for the flowers! i wanted to second something else - i saw someone recommended the baby jogger mini which i just saw for the first time this weekend. it is a great size and super easy to fold. i wanted the baby jogger initially but it didn't fit in my car and now i am thinking of selling my pil + ted to get this one. it looks like it does everything and my friends with the original love it! good luck!

Side by side is the best I think. I have a 20 month old and a 3 month old. Double stollers do not come like single stroller where the car seat snaps in but any car seat can be placed on the double stroller. I have a Graco side by side and it was the lightest one I could find. I found that the front and back ones were very heavy and harder to manuever. I hope this helps.

For a young older sibling, I suggest the Jeep tandum double stroller. With the side by sides you have to think about navigating aisles at stores. The only time I used a side by side was when I got a double umbrella stroller for Disney.

For my two oldest boys, I used a Jeep. They have great storage and while they don't have parent cup holders, they have these nettings at the top that hold your cups pretty well. Your daughter may like the steering wheel aspect too...it's her own special toy! You can also use any baby carrier with it because the carriers are buckled in vs. snapping so if you want to use your carrier from your daughter, you could.

For my two boys now, I got a Graco Quattro Tour, tandum again. That one doesn't have a tray though on the front so it's more like a big boy/girl seat which makes me thing it might be too open for your 1 year old.

Personally, I love my tandem stroller (front/back). I can't imagine trying to fit in some doorways with a side by side one. I have a graco and it has held up for almost two years now great. It didn't have a newborn seat with it, but I found that both mine and my sisters (another graco and another brand that I can't think of right now!) both fit in the stroller, they just had to have the slot on the bottom to fit over the tray. Good luck!

I liked the front & back

My kids are 18 months apart - I have the Baby Jogger. It was pricey, but I think it's worth every penny. The kids are both extremely comfortable & it comes up in the middle, so they can't attack each other...

Hi!! I am a mother of twins and I had both types. The side by side was a lot harder fitting through some doors but the front & back was harder to get down stairs. I live in NYC, so I opted for the side by side. They make the doors bigger to make way for wheel chairs so it wasn't so bad.
I hope that helps!!

I have a front and back - the side by side is harder to get through spaces in the mall and through doors and stuff - I think Front and Back is better for the new one to sleep - I used the Graco double stroller and put the baby's car seat in the front where I could see her and put my other one in the back - it was nice I liked it. Good luck to you

Hi R.,
I used a front and back stroller, much easier to access narrower doorways, etc. Good luck!

I can say with 100% confidence the Mclaren side-by-side is the easiest to operate in tight spaces with your hands full. It's a stroller that will last you until your kids are ready to go it alone.

It's expensive, but you get what you pay for.

My kids are older now so maybe they've solved this problem, but the side-by-side wasn't appropriate for newborn use. I think they make an insert for it though. I'd look into.

If a wheelchair can fit through a doorway so can a double stroller. At another message board I frequent they rave about the Baby Jogger Mini Series double. It's very lightweight at 23lbs, very easy to steer, and each seat holds 50lbs. http://www.strollers.com/Baby-Jogger-6717X-IJ1266.html

In our area we have a thing called free cycle and you can "want" or "offer" anything from soup to nuts. Hope you have one in your area. Just google freecycle- your county and state. You also might want to try different types of strollers using the child you have now and a teddy bear or doll the size of a new born to test drive them. Try collapsing the stroller and getting it into your car. I would imagine that a Baby's R Us or similar baby accessory store would encourage you to try this method and assist with your choice.Good Luck

Baby Trend sit-n-stand. It's at Target and only around $120.00. I love it & both kids love it.

I have tried about 3 different kinds of double strollers. I found the side to side to be best - and I would recommend Maclaren, they're light, very durable and easy to open and close. Only disadvantage is small baskets...

I don't have 2 kids, but I see alot of people with the double stollers and I would think that the front to back one would be easier on pushing. You should go to Baby's r us and try them out. good luck :)

I spent alot of $$$ on the side to side Peg-Perego and feel it is made like cr*p. The kids loved it for it was comfortable and they can see one another. Fitting through aisles in stores these days are difficult whether you have a single or double, front to back or side by side. I ended up buying a Graco in Target that is fine and is made much better.

I have a Graco double stroller (front/back) hardly used willing to sell. the back seat is set up to install baby carrier. if you are interested you may contact me @ my work email - ____@____.com

Check out Phil and Ted's.
R.

try www.freecycle.org
and www.craigslist.org

great sites for getting come free stuff

also once upon a child sells second hand childrens "Stuff"

Hope it helps

M