^^This. With my son in the NICU for 11 days, its more like the first month is a blur. Just happy we all made it through that month without too much craziness!
I'm going to be a father, for the first time...
- Thread starter cgraunke
- Start date
cgraunke
BoM March '14
Thank you, Alan!
It's starting to get quite real, less than two months now... We're excited, though!
Congrats! It's a hell of a ride. I don't have twins but mine are 9 1/2 months apart. My daughter is adopted, took her home at 2 days old and our son was concieved that week. They are so worth all the frustrations they may bring into your life.
cgraunke
BoM March '14
Thanks, Paul!
I saw I guy pushing a triple stroller yesterday, a freekin' bus, I swear. Made the double one we're looking at seem completely manageable!
@StogieNinja
@Big Lou
& other twins/close-age siblings dads:
What route did you guys go for strollers? Any advice for things to look for or things to avoid?
We went with the front back version but side by side is easier to move around, just wider. Go with one with the large tires, much easier to get over rough ground.
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While this isn't specific to to a two kid stroller, one thing I'd say to look for is a stroller that is compatible with your car seat/carrier. This way you can move your kids from the stroller to the car without having to take them out of one seat and put them in another and risk waking them.
ChefBoyRG54
BoM Sept '14 & BoY 2014
We went with sit and stand, but mine are 21 months apart. I think no matter which double you go with it is difficult. They're tanks!
Ducttapegonewild
Actual Size
What Jcolan1 said, something that will interact with your car seat. My first couple of kids, those were not an option, but for the last two, they were. They were life savers for my youngest. He has sleeping issues, meaning, he doesn't like to sleep and once he is woken up, he's up for a while...
Anyhow, once they get to the point of being able to somewhat sit up, I would strongly recommend an umbrella stroller. All three of the wives, and the children produced from them (step, and otherwise) loved the big monstrosities of strollers that we bought, but after a short time, went to the umbrella strollers because it was so much easier than Tetris in the back of the vehicles.
As a matter of fact, just avoid the big strollers at all, they have the umbrella type that will accept the car seats. I think. I'll find a link if they do.
Anyhow, once they get to the point of being able to somewhat sit up, I would strongly recommend an umbrella stroller. All three of the wives, and the children produced from them (step, and otherwise) loved the big monstrosities of strollers that we bought, but after a short time, went to the umbrella strollers because it was so much easier than Tetris in the back of the vehicles.
As a matter of fact, just avoid the big strollers at all, they have the umbrella type that will accept the car seats. I think. I'll find a link if they do.
Ducttapegonewild
Actual Size
Something like this. Not sure what your price range is... There is a $30 adapt-a-kit for car seats.
http://www.rosenberryrooms.com/615-trends-for-kids-twinner-twist-duo-double-stroller-in-grey.html
Also not sure what colors you've chosen for little Luke and Leia, but grey is rather universal.
http://www.rosenberryrooms.com/615-trends-for-kids-twinner-twist-duo-double-stroller-in-grey.html
Also not sure what colors you've chosen for little Luke and Leia, but grey is rather universal.
cgraunke
BoM March '14
I like it! And, it can take TWO car seats!
You might not believe it, but every side-by-side dual I've looked at would only take an adapter for one car seat. Nothing for twins, only set up for a toddler/infant combo. Might have to research this one further as our jogger... Right now we're contemplating a side-by-side jogger for outside (Kandace is a runner), a front-back dual for shopping trips (can fit in the aisles), and two of the "umbrellas" for when we're both together with the kiddos. Damn this gets expensive...
Thanks Whiskey!
Ducttapegonewild
Actual Size
Wait until later...I like it! And, it can take TWO car seats!
You might not believe it, but every side-by-side dual I've looked at would only take an adapter for one car seat. Nothing for twins, only set up for a toddler/infant combo. Might have to research this one further as our jogger... Right now we're contemplating a side-by-side jogger for outside (Kandace is a runner), a front-back dual for shopping trips (can fit in the aisles), and two of the "umbrellas" for when we're both together with the kiddos. Damn this gets expensive...
Thanks Whiskey!
Speaking of expensive, I have a 10 year old and a 4 year old for sale, cheap... I'll take yard gars for both of em
Okay, A yard gar... Even a Ron Mexico....
Fine, I'll send a box of what ever you want if you take them off of my hands...
I'll even throw in the wife
Congrats Clint!
StogieNinja
Derek | BoM June 2014
You don't need all those. Trust me, once you've used a jogging stoller, you won't ever want to use anything else. Joggers have nice big wheels and they're easy to push anywhere, any time. You can maneuver one with a single finger. You won't want to use a small stroller with plastic wheels after using a jogger. And umbrellas are the worst - they have tiny wheels, they tip easily, the handles are low... also you won't ever want to push two strollers, even when together. The more free hands the better, trust me on this.
I'll give you my advice below, but I would get a cheap carseat stroller to use for a few months when they're newborns, and then look at side-by-side joggers and front-back joggers and decide which you prefer for permanent use.
.....
We've basically had twins twice - our first two were 11 months apart, and then our actual twins were born last November. So we've been through two rounds of needing a double-stroller.
We have used a Phil & Teds Explorer for our first two and it's by far our favorite stroller ever. It's both thin and short, so it fits through doors and down aisles easily, but also doesn't take up a long footprint. It's relatively lightweight. The only drawback is it's not great for newborns and can only accommodate one carseat. It worked for our situation cause the 1yr old sat in the rear and we put the newborn in the carseat adapter on top. But once they were out of the have-to-be-in-a-carseat size (which is only a few months) it's the best stroller ever. This will work for when you're jogging, shopping, and just going out. It's literally the perfect stroller for everything but two newborns.
We have a side-by-side that we like, but not as much as the Phil & Teds. However we have to use it because when the twins came, we also had a 15-month old (now 2), so we bought a Valco Twin Tri-Mode with a Joey seat to fit them all. Of all the side-by-side stroller we looked it, it was one of the best because it's thin enough to fit through any ADA-compliant door. The only drawback is that it's heavy and takes up a bigger footprint than the Phil & Teds. It was also too heavy for my wife to lift when the babies were born (she's 100lbs soaking wet, and had been on bedrest for several months so her strength was gone). She can lift it now, but it's still quite heavy compared to the Phil & Ted, which is lighter and smaller, and easier to set-up and take-down, and fits in smaller spaces both opened and closed. If we didn't have the 2yr old and need the third jumpseat, we would only ever use the Phil & Ted now.
What we ended up using for the first couple months with the twins was one of these:
http://www.target.com/p/baby-trend-universal-double-snap-n-go-infant-car-seat-carrier/-/A-14237532?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=google_pla_df&LNM=14237532&CPNG=Baby&kpid=14237532&LID=9pgs&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=14237532&kpid=14237532&gclid=CL7jyOv_6L8CFc1_MgodcGwAiQ
It was perfect, lightweight, and cheap while the babies were tiny. Honestly, with twins you're not going to want to move them in and out of the carseats while they're tiny, so being able to pop the carseats into this thing was great, and it's super-lightweight, and super-simple, which is important for an exhausted, sleep-deprived new mother of twins.
I would highly recommend a cheap carseat stroller for the first few months, then once the babies are holding their heads up, switch to the Phil & Teds, which really will work for everything from then until the kids outgrow a stroller completely.
EDIT: One other thing to mention. With every stroller you look at, have your wife take it down, set it up, and lift it as high as it needs to be lifted to get into your car. Every stroller is different, and the east of use, as well as the weight and ease of fitting it into your car will make a huge difference to a mom who has to buckle two babies into two carseats which will be on opposite sides of the car, then run back around and take down a stroller and stow it while in a busy parking lot in the rain in the dark.
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Ducttapegonewild
Actual Size
That's exactly what I was talking about!!! The double car seat stroller thing.
Ducttapegonewild
Actual Size
Only a few months, yes.
Also, there are several "car seat installation" experts out there, police stations being a good place to start. Go there and make sure your seat is installed properly. I have a friend who does that, she told me that you'd be amazed as to how many people don't install them correctly.
Also, there are several "car seat installation" experts out there, police stations being a good place to start. Go there and make sure your seat is installed properly. I have a friend who does that, she told me that you'd be amazed as to how many people don't install them correctly.
Yes! That and having then strapped in correctly can save their life. My wife is a Nazi about strapping kids in correctly. And watch out for people who claim they know installation. The lady who gave one of our baby classes said to install with the seatbelt and not the latch system. But it was always much tighter on he latch system and seems like the seat was part of the car.
Ducttapegonewild
Actual Size
I think the latch system is pretty standard on newer vehicles, but like previously stated, make sure it is secure.