When my son was born, we were given a Graco travel system that we just LOVED, and so, of course, I kept it for baby #2. However, baby #2 is coming sooner than expected, and my son will only be 19-months old when s/he arrives (meaning he will probably still need a stroller occasionally, too!)
So I have been looking into double strollers, and I've run into a bit of a problem. I want the stroller to hold both my son and the baby IN THE Grace snugride car seat that we will reuse. Meaning I want the stroller to hold the car seat as well as my son, since I loved how, if my son fell asleep in the car when he was a tiny baby, I didn't have to wake him to take him shopping, and I'd like to duplicate that experience with this baby.
I have tried out the Graco Duogliders at BRU, and I'm not thrilled with them. They're too long to fit in my little car, and I don't like that my son is so far away from me. I suspect I would much prefer a side-by-side stroller to something really long like the Duoglider, where one child sits in front of the other. However, none of the Graco side-by-sides seem to be able to accommodate a pumpkin seat. Does anyone know of a side-by-side (of any brand) that can accommodate a Graco snugride? Or is there some sort of attachment I could buy to turn a side-by-side into a travel system? Thank you!
Bumbleride's Indie Twin comes with an infant seat adapter bar that works with Graco infant carriers. They're not cheap, but they also aren't insanely huge and cumbersome.
That is THE reason for me getting my Bumbleride Twin Indie. Mine are 16 months apart. The Bumbleride is SO EASY to push and turns on a dime. It comes with the carseat adapter bar (no extra cost), but it's not a cheap stroller either. You would want to see if it fits in your car before purchasing. Mine fits great in my Nissan Murano. I used it for running errands, but also for rollerblading with the baby in the Graco infant carrier.
I have a BOB Revolution Duallie stroller and an adapter so that my 2 year old son can sit on one side and my infant can be snapped into the other side when sitting in his pumpkin seat. I absolutely LOVE it.
My advice, after having researched this too, is to find a used one. Craigslist is a great place to look. My 2 were born 24 months apart, and I really though we'd use the double stroller all the time--that lasted for a few months and my daughter wanted to walk everywhere we went. I got a used peg perego side by side from a garage sale advertised on craigslist, and it's the older model that I could barely squeeze the pumpkin seat into (the 50/50 split). The newer models have the 60/40 split, so maybe look for one of those. It's true that the basket underneath is pretty worthless, so you have to plan to travel light when using it--or take one kid out so you can put your stuff in, haha. We also borrowed the Duoglider from a neighbor and I found that it's a monster, so big that I never even considered packing it up into the van. Hard to steer, but very durable--we just used it for walks in the neighborhood b/c the sunshades provide good coverage. I almost bought the Chicco double stroller, but the sunshades were really small--other than that, people's reviews were really good, although I never tried to put the pumpkin seat into it. You can always visit the store and grab a graco seat to try to fit into any of the strollers you're considering. Hope that helps you!
You might want to look at Craigslist, or even the Graco web site. I personally got the duoglider because it was easier to go in and out of places than the side by side. Some places door width was not wide enough. There is also a stroller that you can hook to the current stroller to make it into a side by side. I can't remember what brand it is but that is also an option. There are some sit and stands that the stand part can have a hook up for the carseat carrier while the older one sits in the front.
I think that Valco baby has an adapter for theirs
We didn't find any side-by-sides that accommodated the travel system. But, checking Graco's website is probably the best recommendation.
We looked into front/back and side-by-side. The side-by-sides are almost impossible to take anywhere indoors. They're too wide for aisles at most stores and even some doors. We ended-up with the Graco DuoGlide (our kids are 21 months apart) and have liked it. We don't use it as often now (almost 2 years later) and wish we'd gotten a more compact one that allowed our son to sit/stand on the back.
I have the same need. I have a 2 mo old and 17 month old.
I've been looking at the Baby Jogger City Mini and the Aria double's.
The City gets really good reviews but you have to purchase the car seat bar and/or snack tray for extra. The Aria comes with both, but people have said the under basket tears ... I saw a lady in the mall who loves hers and was still using it for her 5 and 7 year old daughters and said it was still easy to push and steer.
Let me know what you find.
