Pushchair advice

[Allgrownup3]

Hi Everyone

I know there's other areas to post this question but as are all going through or starting the adoption process.

I'm looking at adopting a child been the age of 0-3. If I were to be matched with a child who is around 15 months and younger. Thinking about building attachment should I go for a parent facing pushchair?

You could get one that can face either way - we have the Mountain Buggy Cosmopolitan. Buy one on eBay or Gumtree though, otherwise they are extortionate. You can sell it on again too once you get to the lighter umbrella buggy stage.

I was a sceptic about the need for parent facing for DD2, who was 12 months, but it really has been better for her.

We were matched with a 16 month old girl and have a regular forward facing one. No issues with attachment so don't other think it.

My advice is to het them out the buggy as soon as possible anyway and walk everywhere. Builds up their walking skills and tires then out for better nights sleep.

Everyone is different and adopted kids are different by nature but don't let it define them or everything you do 😊

Hope that helps

There's lots of options that will do forward and parent facing and be fine from 6 months to around 3 years - we had a Babystyle Oyster. They do tend to be bigger and sturdier so more difficult to collapse - not great for public transport! Personally I loved being able to do parent facing and DD seemed to prefer it, can't say if it made any difference to bonding though!

OP I'm in the same boat, potential link with a 12 month old and we have just bought the mothercare orb for this exact reason. I wanted the option of easy parent facing and this spins whilst the child is seated (unlike most where you have to flip them).

Thank you for your comments everyone. I was looking at the Mamas and Papas Armadillo XT. It's easy to fold and I want something small enough to it into a boot of the car. As I didn't want to go straight into a forward facing stroller

The bugaboo bee has worked well for us as it's light weight and easy to fold down and the child can face in either direction and in different positions depending big on size.

Keep in mind your future child may have been in a foster home where the buggy has been forward facing....you can try to parent face but the baby may be too nosy and lean out and look behind because they are used to looking forward.
For some babies parent facing is just too much too soon....
Be prepared for that and have a pram/buggy that suits the child rather than your ideal

We have a Bugaboo Bee, which has worked well. DD arrived at 8 months and we kept it parent facing till 15 months - older than for a lot of kids but for obvious attachment and also language related reasons.

We turned her around when she was spending a lot of her time hanging out of the buggy wanting to see what was going on elsewhere.

I really miss our chats and sing songs now. We still do it of course, but nothing like the lovely, long, extended face to face that parent facing gives you.

One thing to be wary of is other people telling you to turn it around and that LO is 'too old' for parent facing. I had a lot of that from my mother. Ignore.

I also have the bugaboo bee, my little one is 15 months and loves it

I'm a foster carer (and an adopter) and I always have my little ones parent facing to have that face to face contact so you can chat and explain things to them. I always recommend parent facing when moving little ones on.
We have an I candy apple to pear.

Thank you everyone for all your comments.

Hi Everyone so I have been confusing myself totally of what pushchair to get. When my little comes home he will be one. I'm will do slot of walking, so it needs to be comfortable, but I also will be using the car for longer or shopping journeys. So it needs to be easy to fold and I don't want to have to remove the seat.

I would like the pushchair to last until they are roughly 3.5 years and I'm trying to get one pushchair and not change to a stroller.

I have been looking at the:
Bugaboo- this seems to come up very small
The icandy
Baby style Oyster 2

I'm not trying to spend to much money either.
I know everyone has their own preference.

Also has anyone waited until they were placed to go pushchair shopping and taken baby.?

You’ll be likely to need the pushchair for intros (for us with an older toddler, the F.C. had stopped using one because she drove everywhere but we liked to walk and continue to do so, hence we needed our own pushchair for intros) and you are unlikely to want to take a child when newly placed to a shop to buy pushchairs-a boring and lengthy shopping trip probably not ideal in the early days!

Ours was older (2.5 but petite). We had 2 pushchairs, an 'off roader' for longer walks, school run for the older one etc, and then also a stroller type for shopping trips. Both were pre-owned, and passed on again once she stopped using them.

I agree with the advice to have a parent facing buggy. And I’d try to keep them in it as long as possible for attachment reasons. They will learn to walk soon enough.

I’ve never heard of an adoption breaking down because the child didn't learn to walk. Many break down ( and marriages break up and family life becomes hell ) because the child has attachment problems.

The time you can safely say that your adopted child doesn’t have attachment issues is when they are about 20. So until then you need to prioritise this in everything, especially for the first five years or so.

I’m sorry if that sounds dramatic and extreme but that’s how it is. By the time you realise you should have focussed less on behaviour management / getting them up to speed on their school work / meeting developmental targets/ keeping them at nursery because that what the Fc did / etc it’s too late.

Speaking of attachment, you could try a sling or hip seat. Can comfortably carry until age 3 at least, and then for shorter periods (or whatever you can tolerate) until even older. Some children will hate it but for others it's like an extra secure piggy back ride! Definitely follow the child's lead but my AC loved it and would cry when taken out. AC was 18m at placement.