Advice on pram for 2 please.....

[KylieM]

I am hoping someone can give me some advice on what would be a good pram for 2 children. Would love to hear your opinion on the pram you currently have if it fits in this category.

My son will be 20mths when the new baby is born so I was leaning towards a tandem stroller because he could still have a bit of a snooze if he wants to. I didn't think he would be ble to do this in a pram with one of those upright toddler seats. (please correct me if I am wrong) :p

Any advice will be gratefully accepted.
Kylie :)

[Lallas' Mum]

Hi Kylie,

I have a tandem pram that has one seat in front of the other. I didn't like the width of the side-by-side ones and I didn't want my son poking and prodding the new bub. I also chose this particular one because both seats recline. The front seat reclines most the way but not fully (more than enough for a sleepy toddler) and the rear one reclines fully (perfect for a new born). Both seats have sunshades and removable cup trays. The front seat can even have the sunshade removed. The back of the front sun shade has clear plastic so you can see over the top of the rear sunshade and into the back of the front seat to check on your toddler. It isn't heavier than my current pram because it is made out of a lightweight alloy. All in all I think it is perfect (for me anyway).
As for the prams that you can attach toddler seats to - my friend really regrets buying one as her toddler can't sleep in the seat. She purchased a Valco 3 wheeler with toddler seat. The toddler seat has no support for a sleeping child. She has to pull her baby out of the stroller, put the toddler in the stroller to sleep and then put bub in a sling. It defeats the purpose if you ask me. That's why I avoided one as I was going to purchase one until she informed me of this. I'm glad she did.

If you are interested my tandem pram is a Baby Star Denver Duo but there are probably others out there that are similar.

One thing to make sure you check is that it will fit in your car. The tandem ones are a littler longer than a single one (naturally).

Good luck finding a suitable pram/stroller.

Tracey
:) Mum to Alec (Lalla) 18 months and bub due May 2nd

[draught]

Hi Kylie
My two girls are 20 months apart and we bought the Phil and Ted's E3 pram with toddler seat - it is different from other toddler seats in that the toddler isn't sitting out the front of the pram - it is hard to describe, so check it out on their website www.philandteds.com - they have moving pictures to show you how it works. The baby can lie down flat, and the toddler can still sit but not bolt upright, so they can still sleep if they want to. Then when your toddler wants to walk etc, you are still left with a pram the size of a single pram, not a double. We have found it to be great for our two - the 'baby' is now big enough to sit up too and the two of them are very happy in it. The toddler still goes to sleep in it when she has had enough. It is not bulky, gives them both shade and steers really well.
Good luck

[redbaby]

Hey,.. I have jsut bought the Phil and Ted E3 aswell,.... it is brilliant!

[2under2]

I love my E3 as well! Its amazing how many of them are cropping up around Brisbane! :)

[KylieM]

Hi. Thanks for your replies.
For you ladies with the E3, how does the newborn + toddler version work?
I went to the website but couldn't see clearly where the newborn goes. Is the toddler in the actual seat and the newborn underneath or is the newborn just behind the toddler???

[draught]

I will try to make this easy to understand......the main seat of the pram lies down so that it is completely flat, for the newborn. Then you attach the toddler seat into the spot where the main seat normally goes i.e. the more upright position, and your toddler sits there. So your newborn is actually lying under your toddler while your toddler looks to be sitting in the normal pram position - which gives everyone a great surprise when they realise there is a second baby underneath. It is a bit hard to explain though - hope that makes sense.

[KylieM]

Oh, Ok, thanks for that. I think I know what you mean. I presume you could get access to bub from the back and not have to take your toddler out to get to the bub??
I got the dealers list from the website but my closest dealer is Brisbane so I shall have to travel there to have a closer look at one. We live near Toowoomba.

Thanks so much for pointing me in the right direction. A mums recommendation always means more to me than a sales pitch :p

Kylie. :)

[draught]

I knew that I would miss something important in the explanation - yes, you access baby from the back - it is completely open, with a clear plastic sheet that you can velcro in place. We never used it as our baby was a summer baby, but imagine it would be great in winter to keep cold drafts off baby. Baby being at the back means that you can clearly see him/her as you walk along too, which is nice. It did take us a while to get the hang of getting baby in and out, but we managed!
If you are coming down to Brisbane to look at them, check out Kiddies Corner in Coorparoo - that is where I got mine from and they were really helpful.

[KylieM]

OK. I think I have the general idea now. (Can't wait to see one as they sound great) Yes, I was acutally going to go to Kiddies Cnr because it is on the Sth side. Glad you were happy with them.
Kylie :)

[Amy1978]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of the Valco Doubletake? It is my pick of what's available in Canberra (ie not much!) but I'd appreciate any comments so I can decide whether it might be worth a trip to Sydney to look at different models.

Cheers,
Amy

[mumofoscar]

Does anyone know the best place to shop for a Phil and Ted's E3 in Melbourne?