Twins Plus One Stroller Guide

Are you having twins and already have a toddler? Are you wondering how you will transport all of these little people efficiently? Then you’re in the right place! This is our guide for twins plus one stroller options that we’ve used. Many of these options work great if you already have twins (or two toddlers close in age) and are having a third. If you are having triplets then most of these options will be great for the toddler stage but probably aren’t the best for three newborns.

As evidence by our collection of strollers, what works best is heavily dependent on your lifestyle. When our twins were born we lived in a suburban area where we drove everywhere and now we live in a city that is far from stroller-friendly where we don’t get in a car for months at a time. This stroller guide is designed to give you the pros and cons of each option rather than ranking them to allow you to choose what would work best for your use.

Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links but each stroller and accessory mentioned were purchased with no influence from the manufacturers or even the intent to blog about them.   

City Select

The City Select is a double stroller but we’ve used a variety of attachments to accommodate our three kids. It is by far the most versatile stroller I’ve ever seen. For several months we used the City Select without any attachments and I wore one of my twins, placing the other twin and older toddler into the stroller. I’m going to skip giving pros and cons of the stroller itself as there are MANY other articles that do this and focus on how we’ve managed to get all 3 kids on board.  The City Select Double that we own can be found here: City Select Double Stroller.

City Select with Bassinet

This combo is made by buying the City Select Bassinet Kit and using a second seat frame. Putting both babies into a single bassinet isn’t endorsed by Baby Jogger and you do so at your own risk but it was very helpful in the first few months. This worked really well for trips where your toddler needs to be contained. For us those places were usually the pediatrician and the zoo. This has a very obvious con to it and our twins no longer fit together at around 3 months. They were pushing that limit in this picture.

Pros

  • All 3 babies fit for a double stroller price.
  • The bassinet is amazing since it has handles and the entire basket can lift off the stroller for sleeping babies.

Cons

  • This will only work for all three kids for a few months. (We did continue to get use out of the bassinet by bringing it to the pediatrician until they could sit up.)

City Select with Glider Board

After the girls were too big for the bassinet, we started working with our son who was 1.5 to sit on the Baby Jogger Glider Board. Even with the Buggypod, we leave the glider attached to our City Select because it has been so useful for heavy backpacks, boxes, shopping baskets, and even suitcases while traveling. Overall, this wasn’t the best choice for our son but did work well when we were somewhere that he could get up and down frequently. It’s a great choice if you don’t expect to need a seat for long, an older child, or to save money. It is still worth it as an attachment even if you aren’t sure if your child will do well on it.

Pros

 

  • Minimal price for a third seat
  • Hauls cargo even when children won’t sit
  • Great for places like the zoo where the older child(ren) will be getting up often

Cons

  • No restraints
  • While sitting they can play with the wheels or put their feet on the ground

Valco Tri-Mode with Joey Seat

This stroller is the Valco Tri Mode Duo X with Joey (this link actually goes to a newer version). This stroller was purchased second hand while living in Washington, DC. Due to my husbands training schedule, I was often on my own for appointments and household tasks where I  needed all three children to be fully constrained. This option would even work well for triplets once they could all sit up pretty well. Our girls were able to sit in the Joey by 9 months easily.

Twins in Valco Tri Mode stroller and Toddler in joey seat attachment

Valco Tri Mode with Joey

 

 

Pros

 

  • Drives like a dream
  • All three kids fully constrained
  • Joey is removable to allow a smaller stroller when needed
  • The Joey makes the stroller much easier to pull when going through doorways

Cons

  • This stroller is a beast. It is wide and heavy but fit well in our Honda Oddessy
  • Harder to store when folded with joey seat attached
  • The Joey straps are still a mystery and take some work to adjust (really only a concern if you have two escape artists of very different sizes)

 

Buggypod

I chose to give this attachment its own heading because it fits on a variety of strollers, not just the City Select. The Buggypod was our most recent purchase and the most sensible for our current lifestyle. In Moscow, there are often narrow railings that prevent us from using a side-by-side stroller. The Buggypod was a perfect compromise because although it is wide, it can

fold up to be much narrower while not using the third seat. This allows us to still use the stroller in narrow sections and still have a third seat when we need it. This works really well now that our oldest is a little more reliable on walking for short periods when needed and being able to navigate stairs and escalators. The install is not easy and were still adjusting it so don’t expect this to be a plug and play solution like the Baby Jogger products.

Pros

  • Can be added to a lot of strollers
  • Third seat can be folded up to fit through narrow gaps
  • Fully restrained child
  • Weight limit matches most double strollers
  • This can be easily used with the City Select seats in any combination

Cons

  • Big Con: This is not easy to get in the US but not impossible
  • Does not fold or come off easily so it is not a seamless transition (this has gotten better as we use it)
  • No protection around the seat so we have to pay more attention to hands and passing objects and people

 

Radio Flyer Triple Play Wagon

The Radio Flyer Triple Play Wagon is not a conventional option but has come in handy in the past few years. Our favorite uses are fairs, walking the dog, and walks in the community.

 

Pros

  • Easy to get in and out
  • Easy to pull
  • 3 sets of 3 point harnesses

Cons

  • Hard to transport because its big and doesn’t fold

 

 

 

TwinGo

Mommy carrying everyone onto the Moscow Metro

This isn’t a stroller but it has alleviated some of our stroller needs over the time that we’ve been switching strollers and continues to be our go to solution. It has allowed us to travel the Moscow Metro with ease even while bringing our City Select or travel stroller. It used it in Washington, DC when our Valco was too wide for the building I was entering. It’s never too wide or takes up too much room. It’s often in the bottom of our stroller as a back up if we get into a tight spot.

 

 

 

Other Options Considered

We considered a few other options, most notably the Joovy Big Cabooseand the Foundations Trio Sport Tandem Stroller. We decided against these only because they have the smaller wheels that aren’t easily replaceable. We’ve had issues in Europe due to all the cobblestone with our travel stroller with similar wheels. They have great reviews and would have been big competition when we purchased our triple stroller in DC if one had been available second hand.

How do you afford all of these strollers?

You’ve probably asked yourself this at some point in this guide. While there are affiliate links above, they are primarily to allow you to easily see the product information. We’ve bought all of these typically expensive strollers second hand in local MoM groups or BST sites for amazing prices. All of these products are strollers we’ve purchased with no influence from the companies above.

-The Wandering Chaos