Buggy for Large Toddler

[theratprincess]

My son is nearly 2 and is big for his age (wears 3 year old clothes and is over 16kg and around 95cm tall). Our previous buggy (Baby Jogger City Mini) failed quite spectacularly and we're looking for a replacement. I want it as general purpose buggy - going to and from nursery, trips around the park etc. Might be nice to have an umbrella fold or one that folds smaller than the BJCM. Might possibly use for a subsequent child.

I'm really struggling to find a replacement. My son seems to be out of the weight range for most of the buggies (which I could live with) but the biggest problem is that the straps, even when fully extended, don't fit him or give very little room for growth. My son is not that keen on walking, so we may need the buggy for a while.

Any recommendations on buggies? Or has anyone else solved this problem by doing a DIY job on the straps to extend them further?

Thanks

[snowboarder]

Tricky as could be expensive! Have a trawl on this website - the lady who runs it has a large 3 yr old and there are quite often pictures of her in different buggies she has reviewed. Maybe one of the chunkier buggies like a mountain buggy would be good - for a start they have better weight allowances and are sooo much easier to push - I just got a mountain buggy urban (actually will try my nearly 3 yr old in it for you if you like - he is a similar size to yours) for my youngest and am continually surprised at how much easier it is to push than our maclaren quest. In fact my double mountain buggy is easier to push than the maclaren - small is not always good....

[snowboarder]

For eg on the best buggy site scroll down this page http://www.bestbuggy.co.uk/category/single/maxi-cosi-noa/

[sunbob]

Re Our previous buggy (Baby Jogger City Mini) failed quite spectacularly

Hi. Please could I ask about this. I am mostly only using my bj for my baby now, but my older daughter, who is almost exactly your sons measurements, occasionally goes in it. Would you recommend avoiding her going in it any more?

[kemurf]

I have just bought a Baby Trend Expedition jogger - ?100/?110 from Amazon although you can order direct from the supplier. It's a jogging buggy but I got it for my 17 month old. It is fab, lightweight, slim and fits into the boot of our small car. And it hold a basket full of shopping underneath.

My nearly 4 year old fits into it brilliantly - she threw a massive tantrum this week in the park and I could get her into the buggy, walk uphill pushing her (without much physical effort), whilst carrying the toddler.

Ahem, just call me Supermum...

So I recommend this buggy.

[theratprincess]

Snowboarder and Kemurf thanks for the suggestions. I will go and investigate. Snowboarder, it would be great if you could try out your nearly three year old in your mountain buggy and report back!

Sunbob - the spectacular fail - one of the front wheels fell off when we were running, causing the other front wheel to jam. The buggy flipped and my son landed face first in a concrete path. Sadly, he had to have his top front tooth removed but he was otherwise fine. It's probably worth regularly checking the integrity of the wheels. I think it might have been some kind of systematic fault rather than wear and tear. Although if you're walking with it slowly and carefully, if the wheel fell off, it's unlikely to be quite as dramatic.

[Sanne Panne]

MacLaren Techno XLR is very good for bigger children and does fold flat for newborns too. Easy umbrella fold. But if you're used to pneumatic tyres having just plain "rattling" wheels can be a bit of a disappointment.

[The Nappy Lady]

Kemurf,

I had a Baby Trend Expedition Jogging Buggy and loved it. It was a bit different from the recent ones, but was a huge purple jogging buggy with 16" wheels and I have to say it was the best buggy I ever owned, but in an effort to rationalise for our final year of 'buggydom' (& because I needed a new washing machine!) I sold it along with a our other 2 buggys (yes was a bit of a pramaholic)! I used it mostly for going out dog walking and jogging, and did some serious off roading with it in Derbyshire too, with hubby and I lifting it over styles and all sorts - it was so light and easy to lift too.

Anyway, I've missed it ever since, it was so light and easy to push, room for lots of shopping and at times I even pushed my 4 or 5 year old in it. As you say, lovely buggys.

RatPrincess - could you get a harness (reins), and use it to strap your son into a buggy? I have an old style harness which I used to strap them into chairs or when out walking if I had to keep some control....it's different from the modern ones which seem to come with plastic clips to strap them in, and actually has metal clips. However, the modern ones come with bits you can thread through themselves to a D-Ring, and then you clip the harness onto them. As long as the buggy you buy had D-Rings this would solve the problem. Also some makes of buggy have strap extenders you can buy for them - I know Bugaboo did, but what I did after the age of 2 was leave the shoulder straps off and just clip the harness around her waist and between legs - probably not ideal though, and after what you have been through I can understand why you want to know he is securely strapped in.

Good luck, hope you find a buggy to suit. Incidentally regarding the weight guidance for strollers etc. I recall someone on here saying that the UK standard (is it 15kg) is just that - a UK standard, and that if you look for instance on US sites the same buggy's have much higher maximum weights - so I don't think you should worry too much about this - within reason, but choose a fairly sturdy buggy of course.

Hope this helps.