Double Stroller or Sit and Stand???

Hello. One Step Ahead has a double stroller that converts to a sit and stand. I have it but my second is due any day so I have assembled it yet. The older child does get the back but it gets rave reviews on the web site. Good Luck. -N. J

My boys were born 3 yrs apart...and I went with the sit and stand. Much more practical for an older child who will likely not want to sit in a "baby seat." The Graco sit and stand is what I had. My oldest did ok with the amount of space..there are other sit and stands with less room for older child...but are more compact overall (which is a plus)..

Good luck!

Sit and Stand all the way - my children were three years apart and it was a BLESSING, especially as my older child aged. The double stroller is too clunky and the older one loved that sometimes she could walk and sometimes hop on without all the strapping in and effort.

D., I have the baby trend sit N stand plus (I think that's it). We got it online at Babies R Us. It has a seat in the back for the older child that is removable so when he is ready to stand he can. It also fits my infant carrier (chicco). Check it out on their website. It wasn't too expensive...$150.00. Good luck

I have a 4 1/2 yr old and a 10 month old and was having the same dilema. My 4 yr old is very tall for her age and the double strollers did not provide a lot of room for her spider like legs. Plus the double strollers say that the weight limit for the toddler is 40 lbs so that did not leave a lot of time for me to use the double stroller. I shopped around and ended up purchasing a sit and stand. the baby goes in the front, most car seats can be attached and when the baby can sit up they can be buckeld in. The toddler has a little seat with a seat belt and a step, so they can sit or stand. I enjoy the stroller but depending on the weight of your children, plus the car seat, it can be heavy to push long distances. But I would assume that you would have that problem with the double stroller as well just because it is bigger and you have two children in it. The sit and stand is easy to fold and unfold and fits nicely in the back of my suv.

We purchased the Sit & Stand with the rear seat that could be removed to reveal the bench underneath and it has the platform at the back. We really had to look around to find it, but it was well worth the effort. We used it until my daughter was 6 and my son 4 - as they got older it was mostly at Hershey Park, etc. but when there was a lot of walking, she would get tired and had an option to ride for awhile.

I have had 4 different double strollers, I had twins the first time around and the only one I have kept is the side by side double jogger. I am having another baby next month and am keeping it. My sons are now 5 and the stroller holds up to 100 pounds, 50 on each seat. It is easy to steer whether there is one child or 2 in the seats. They like to walk almost all the time, but I have the feeling once they see the baby riding around, they will want to, too. But, depending on space a sit-n-stand may be a better option b/c these strollers can be very large.

Our boys are 2 years and 3 months apart. We purchased the joovy caboose ultra lite sit and stand. We love it! Our oldest wants to walk most of the time, bit the joovy allows for him to walk until he gets tired, sit or stand. The only downside is that the basket is small on the ultra lite model, but it outweight by the weight and ease of use.

We bought ours new on ebay. Good luck!

go with the sit & stand, you will definetly get more use out of it. i had a double with my first 2 kids and it ended up being a place for all of our stuff and not the kids, i got the sit & stand when my son was 4 and daughter was a year and it was great, still using it to this day with the 3 of my kids, son 5 1/2, daughter 3, and son 5 months. most older kids dont like to sit, so it was perfect that they could stand and see everything but they were right next to you.

hope this helps.

My daughter was 2 weeks shy of her 2nd bday when my second daughter was born. We too considered a double and a sit n' stand. We went with a side-by-side double (COMBI). I wanted the girls to be able to interact with one another, not be tandem. I'm happy with our choice, but now that my oldest is approaching 3, I don't know how long I'll be able to keep her in a stroller. Perhaps the sit n' stand would have been a better option. She'd get to feel more like a big girl. With your son being almost 3, I think I would take that route. Hope this helped - good luck!
PS - one step ahead sells a "stand" that attaches to your regular single stroller so your bigger child can stand in the back and ride along. That's another option.

Hi D.! My #2 is due in March and I was in the same boat as you. I was also worried that my HIGHLY active son would not stay in the sit & stand. A friend of mine told me kids get tired and want to relax, they want a little tray to play on or hold food, etc. She'd been through it. At Babies R Us they have a Graco Double where the baby is in the back seat and the car seat snaps in easily, the older child is in the front. I tried it out in the store and it's very easy to manuever. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=323841...

It's definately more expensive than a sit & stand BUT the front seat will hold up to 50 pounds! So you'll be able to use it awhile :) Good luck & Congratulations!

Hi D., I'm in the same situation with a light 2 1/2 year old and a new on in early April. I know many people have suggested a sit and stand, but I would highly recommend a Phil and Ted stroller (www.philandteds.com). Yes, it is expensive, but it is so convertible that I really think it is worth it. If you haven't seen one of these, it is a double or single stroller, depending on your needs. The main part does a full recline so a newborn can sleep comfortably, while the attachment goes in front for your toddler. When the get bigger, the heavier child continues to ride in front while the younger/lighter child is behind in the attachment seat. The best part of this stroller is that you can then switch it back to a single when your toddler decides that he is too big for a stroller (mine has hated them since he was one!) and you don't have to deal with a huge double. It is also the same size as a general jogger, so you don't have to worry about the double wide or in front/behind of a double stroller. I have 3 friends who swear by theirs (one for one child, others for kids 20-30 months apart). I can't wait to get mine! Since it is expensive and I don't need any other baby things, I've told anyone who asked what I needed for the baby to contribute something to this fund. Good luck with your growing family!

Hi D.~
Congrats on the upcoming addition to your family! I have a 2 1/2 year-old and a 6 month old and we purchased the Phil & Ted's. It's great, versatile, and is not bulky or awkward like many double strollers. It's trail-ready or side-walk ready. Check it out!
Good luck! :)D.

I'd go with the Sit and Stand. My first 2 were 21 months apart, and I used a Graco DuoGlide with them. It served its purpose, but I found it really bulky and kind of a pain. But since the oldest wasn't even 2 yet, though, I think I needed the full seat for her. My third was born when the older two were almost 5 and 3. I got the Baby Trend Sit and Stand to use then, and I loved it. It's sort of like a 1 1/2 stroller when it comes to bulkiness, ease of pushing, etc. (so between a single and the double). The older girls would hop off and on as they needed a rest or if we needed to have them all contained and not walking beside us (like in crowds, parking lots, etc.). We could even put all three kids on it (baby in the front, middle one sitting on the bench in back, and oldest standing on the back) when necessary. (I wouldn't recommend that too often though as I'm sure it exceeds the weight recommendation.) There were different bar attachments so it could be used with most infant seats as well.

It does depend on you and your child, but I think you'll both be happier for longer with the Sit and Stand. Good luck!

I LOVE my Sit N Stand stroller! It's wonderful! You can still strap in your older child on the seat in the back if necessary (and with my son it's sometimes necessary!) The basket underneath is very large, if a little difficult to get in to. It folds easily and is actually smaller when folded than my regular stroller is! I totally recommend a sit n stand!

My boys are 21 months apart, eldest will be four in June, youngest two in one month.

I think that both would be a waste of money. After hardly using my expensive Graco travel system, I looked into buying one with my second on the way and decided to skip it.

But, neither of my boys were much for strollers -- once they were mobile, they were walking. For those times that you just had to have one, (like a zoo or amusement park trip), I have a great Step 2 Wagon that fits nicely into the back of my Subaru Outback. When the youngest was too little for the wagon, I carried him in a Snugli front pack. (He spent a lot of time in there, I had a backpack diaper bag and so I had my hands free to chase after the older one.) The wagon has easy access in and out, and it has a compartment you can fill with ice for drinks for those family outings. We really like it.

We get a lot more use out of the wagon then we ever would have a double stroller -- we would have definitely outgrown the stroller by now, but still use our wagon, and anticipate that it will be used for a quite a few additional years. Most of the time, the wagon is holding our diaper bag while the kids are roaming around. : ) The end of the trip, when they are tired, is when it most comes in handy.

Of course, if your second is a baby that does not like to be carried in a Snugli or sling or whatever, the wagon would not work. You might just want to wait, try to guage what the little one is going to be like. If you really want one, I'd go with the Sit N Stand. Once they hit three, they really do like to have the ability to decide whether they are going to walk or not, and that seems easier.

I think strollers are one of those very overpriced pieces of baby equipment that the companies feed to us as a "must have". All I needed, really, was the little ten dollar umbrella stroller.

Sit and Stand! Hindsight is always 20/20 and I wished I'd gone with a sit and stand, and my children were only 18 months apart! I had the duo glider and it served it's purpose, but not very well. Meanwhile, my sister got the Joovy Caboose (a very sturdy sit and stand!) and had a much easier time all around! Less arguing with her daughter, better built, easier to push, etc. That's my 2 cents! :)

s.

Hi D., I have three girls. The first two are two years and one week apart in age. We bought a double stroller and we put the baby in the back (usually laying down until she was old enough to sit up) and the oldest in front. There is three years and three weeks between #2 & #3 and I used the same stroller. The biggest issue I found was storage! Our double stroller was a graco that had a basket that went the entire length of the stroller. It was so usefull I can't begin to tell you! With three it fit all the winter coats and still had room for shopping bags while at the mall! (I never put my diaper bag under the stroller) We used our double stroller until our middle one was about 4 then we went back to a single stroller with a huge basket. I passed my double stroller on to a friend, who also passed it along...it was well worth the $125 I spent on it almost 14 years ago! Best wishes!

I do not like the sit stand stroller. I highly recommend a double stroller. My oldest is 4yrs old 40pds and we are still using a double stroller and she loves it. I used the sit stand stroller a couple of times and took it back. She would be everywhere in this stroller if not climbing out. It also had less storage space under the stroller. I would recommend going to babies r us and testing all of the strollers first.

100% go with the Sit and Stand. I HATED my double stroller. It was so uncomfortable for my son who was around 2 1/2 when his brother was born. There's just not that much room in them. Also, by 4 he wanted no parts of sitting in a stroller but was fine with the Sit and Stand that we borrowed for a trip to disney. The double stroller was also more bulky.

Believe me-your life will be so much easier if you go with the Sit and Stand. Your older son can realistically "ride" up until 6 or so. This makes going to the park or anywhere where there is a lot of walking so much easier.

I loved my sit and stand!! My boys are 22mo apart so at first I recieved the Jeep double stoller as a gift ( the one that has the cute little whell attached for the older kid to play with) . Let me tell you it is so hard to turn the double strollers when you have the heavier child in the front. I sold it to a second hand store and went out and got the sit and stand. It was great for in stores or wherever. You could still get up and down aisles- which you can't do now a days with side by sides. I used it till mine were 4 and 6 (mostly on trips- Wildwood, Disney places like that) and had know problem steering it. Mine are now 5 and 7 and I totally miss having the stroller to hold all of the stuff- coats in the winter, water bottles and stuff in the summer. The sit and stand should get you through till you no longer need a stroller. Also if you just have the little one with you it is not as bulky to pull out as the double strollers- so it is no big deal to pull it out for just the one if the other isn't with you . It just gives you some extra space for those bags!!

I like the Ultralight Caboose. Our son was (mostly) mature enough for it once he was a little over 3 years. The double stroller was nice, but short lived. (We plan on selling it.) Plus, wearing baby was pretty easy at first.