Twin Pram Dilema, what was best for you?

[shockinamillion]

Ok I have recently found out I am expecting twins (also My very first pregnancy) in June. I have my Mum saying a Tandem pram is better (front and back) and my MIL saying that the side-by-side prams are better. They are both sayin g this from what twin mums have told them (grr) and now I am very confused and thought I would ask the people who know. Twin mums.

[Sheer Bliss]

PMSL - I think we are in exactly the same place ATM, i started a thread in the pregnancy section about getting a new pram (Phil & ted side by side) a few minutes ago. :laughing:

I have used friends prams in the past, and the tandem ones are sooooo cumbersome to turn. The might fit in through a door ok, but you need your own turning bay to turn one around in a shop. So it's easier to get stuck IMO, at least with the side-by-sides, you just can't get inside in the first place! The P&T is only 74cm wide, apparently that wll fit inside most 'regular' doorways. The mountain buggy is the same too.

[kimmymonster]

I have a steelcraft side by side jogging twin pram. It works well for me and fits thru most doorways no problem.
I prefer to have them side by side so they can both see what is going on around them.

Congratulations :yelclap: Twins rock! Wishing you a happy healthy pregnancy

[chrysalis]

i got the baby club twin jupiter side by side stroller, one recommended by Choice - who road test everything

it's also one of the cheapest, $200 or less.

I have found it great - easy to put up and down, light in comparison to others so can be lifted in and out of the boot, and have had no problems with any doors or in any aisles of shops. It fits through a normal size - standard - door.

Choice also recommend BabyLove Tandem Light ($349) and Mountain Buggy Double Urban ($1139). These scored best for ease of use, safety and durability

[chrysalis]

oh, the side-by-side or tandem (one in front of the other) is just personal preference

be careful though if you get a tandem that BOTH seats recline far enough back for babies less than 6 months, often only the back one does - so you have a problem with twins the same age (whereas a baby and a toddler of different ages would be fine in them). Only the babylove and swallow tandems had both seats that could recline enough for 2 babies

good luck with your pregnancies!

[andrewsmum]

I used a side by side pram, loved the fact that both sides reclined, I could see them both, feed them both etc. I used it up until they were 15 months, however I found that their combined weight made steering a bit difficult (I had a Peg Perego Aria twin). Lightweight pram, folds compact but it's a bugger to steer once both twin hit 10kg.

I now use a tandem pram as my boys don't sleep in the pram so the reclining seat was not a factor. I love it as it's more compact compared to other tandem prams and is very easy to steer. It's a BabyDaze Marco Sky pram.

You still have plenty of time up your sleeve to shop around for your ideal pram... but I would say that side by side is the way to go for twin newborns. :thumbsup:

[shockinamillion]

Well I myself have been more interested in the side-by-side prams, thanks for the replies. I wont be buying anything until after christmas at anyrate.

[Sheer Bliss]

Just be careful when using choice for your decisions. I used to think they were great, and subscribed for almost a year. It was in that time that I noticed how biased their reports can be, and how they often don't review some of the more popular brands. It seems to take them ages to publish their reports, and by then half the stuff is a superceeded model or discontinued. They didn't even include the P&T twin in their twin study....but they seem to have a disliking for P&T, so it wasn't much of a suprise.

Their baby carrier report had the ergo listed as not one of the best......but they only tested on babies up to about 6months, and for short periods of time - which is not the full scope that lots of people use it for. I haven't found a single ergo owner that has any problems with it.

They are a good place to start, and some of the things they say are useful, just take a bigger look too.

[chrysalis]

I think they only reviewed maybe 6 twin prams, so not a huge range

I didn't subscribe to their reports, but i got the book - Guide to Baby Products - I have found it to be fantastic. I use it all the time, more than any other book. Not so much for the product recommendations but the discussions on what to look for, what to avoid, cloth vs disposables, toys, safety etc. It really helped me because I had no idea at the beginning. I would have been lost without it.

Like you say, it's a good start. But it doesn't replace doing your own research either. It has saved me a lot of time and money, so I'm happy with it

[onemummmy]

Mountain buggy urban double can take 25 kilos per seat, phil and teds only take 20 per seat..

[SmileyBJ]

Mines a side-by-side....hmm Steelcraft I think. I find it fabulous... its less then a metre wide & fits through most places I've been. I love the seats being individual recliners, so that if one is asleep the other can still sit up :yes:

[twinmummee]

I've also got a Steelcraft side-by-side jogger style pram, it is fantastic! I though about tandem but after speaking to my SIL whose first two boys are 15months apart she preferred her side-by-side pram to her tandem. Plus I love the fact that my girls can see each other and interact while still in the pram.

[MrsPee]

Hi,

I am looking at a Mclaren twin side by side. I have not made my mind up 100% yet but I am heading that way.

I think that when you are out and about you should look at all the twim prams that you can find and find what YOU like. I would be a mess if I had my mum in one ear and my mil in the other.... lol


Goddluck

[DoubleDelight]

Definitely side by side for us. We have a Childcare Twin Espree Lite which is suitable from birth and comes with the newborn headrests and boot cover. It folds down relatively compact and has no problems with doorways.

[westketeers]

Hi,

we have a X-adventurer Quicksilver. Great pram, side by side. They have softcots which u can use as travelcots(or in our case for madame who turned around & moved up & down from birth, we placed it in her cot so she would not crawl all over the place during her sleep), we still use it now. It strong and funky modern colours. My sister has bought a single (bub)X-adventurer and loves it

[Dannielle]

I liked side by side but really am glad we are over that stage now. They are a pain at christmas time when a lot of shops make it difficult if not impossible to get down the aisles.

I did hire a tandem years ago and will never forget it. I put an over tired and cranky twin in the back but she kept kicking and pulling her twins hair.

If you do go with side by side make sure it's either a narrow one or you have another narrow one for the shops. I thought I did well picking a pram that fitted through doorways. But I didn't realise there are standard and non-standard doorways and that the toilets in our local shopping centre actually had a non-standard doorway. I'm so glad I had my mum with me when I went to the shops that day!

[A Party of Five]

My Adventure Buggy with toddler seat is a life saver for me :cloud9:

[MrsPee]

Well after heaps of shopping arund and looking, we finally placed on layby with alot of other things a First Wheels Pram today.

It is a side by side and it has separate seats so one can lie down and sleep while the other sits up. They have carry cots and seats similar to the bugaboo.

Very happy that it is all done. IT was alot of fun choosing two cots, two car seats, two rockers, and a change table. :p

[Nomsie]

We have a Valco side by side. It folds fairly compact, fits through standard doorways, both seats recline fully... my only gripe is that my boys are seperated from each other... but life goes on :)

[shockinamillion]

A friend my mum has know since High school is giving me her pram she bought when her twins (now 4) were born. Its a mountain buggy side-by-side. I am happy I looked them up online. She is also giving me a change table, so I am quite happy.

Thats for the feedback ladies.

[mum2bubba]

I am not a mum of twins but I just want to say that I have a tandem pram it I regret buying it, I would should have got a side by side.

If I had twins or kids very close in age then I would have gotten a twin pram.

Skye is always kicking Hayley in the back of the head. :rolleyes:

ETA: The only good thing about tandem prams are they are easier to fit through aisles and doors but they are hard to turn, its liking steering a bus.