pushchair

[cordysmum]

Looking for a pushchair for DD but they are soo freaking expensive! We will most likely need one for the next 2 years but the Maclaren major elite is min of 240 pounds and raincover etc 200+

Does anyone know of any help you can get or how u get help etc that may be available for this cost.

DD has epilepsy, hypermobility and global developmental delay.

any thoughts appreciated x

You can ask your GP or hv to refer you to wheelchair services, and you will usually be given a MacLaren major for free

If you have no joy there, apply to family fund or cerebra for the funding for one .

yes you should be eligible for a major or a wheelchair or whatever DD is determined to need... do speak to GP

We picked ours up on e-bay for £80 after hearing nothing back from wheel chair services , we did get help from family fund to pay for it, we have now got a sn mountain buggy (another e-bay buy) as the mclaren isn't great off road and we live in the countryside. Worth asking wheel chair services first but it can take some time, if you are in a hurry then have a look on e-bay.

DS2's OT referred him to wheelchair services, so there was no cost to us for his Mac Major. (the raincover and such are separate, however, we didn't buy that)

As far as time concerned, we had it within a couple weeks, from request to arriving on doorstep.

We also got a wheelchair services appt through his O/T.

We're about to have an assessment with wheelchair services but we already have a suitable pushchair so dont really need them to supply one however I'm pregnant with number 2 and we're gonna need a double pushchair, does anyone know if they supply doubles? X

booby, I have a funny feeling they don't. I know someone who has a very disabled child, and when her younger sibling arrived mum had to sling him, or have 2 people out all the time one to push each child :(

i am happy to be told otherwise though!

There is a double that wheelchair services provide but when we asked about it (18 months ago) we were told we had to pay £800 towards it as they would only fund the cost of a single. this is the one

We decided it wasn't right for us so we used a "normal" double for ds2 (then 2.9) and ds3 (newborn). Now DS2 is 4 he has a wheelchair and DS3 (18m) goes in the sling. Although now it's the holidays DS2 will go in his wheelchair, DS3 in the buggy and DS1 (6) and I will push one each.

Hi,

Apologies for highacking someone elses thread, but do you mind me asking at what age you start investing wheelchairs / SN buggies rather than standard strollers?

My DD is 2.4 has Down's and hypermobility, can only just about pull herself to standing & realistically will need some form of buggy for at least another couple of years. We were about to buy her a standard stroller (probably Maclaren Volo) as she hates the Baby Jogger buggy we currently have, due to the limited view it gives her, and refuses to get in it most days. This means that at the moment I'm having to carry her everywhere, which isn't great. Having read the above i'm wondering whether you think we would be better investigating a SN buggy instead?

Thanks in advance for your help.

proudmum DS2 has Ehlers Danlos syndrome and he had a SN buggy from when he was 2 to when he was 2.9 when DS3 was born. He is now 4.3 and has had a wheelchair for a couple of weeks now.

proudmum - we bought DS2's first major as a matter of urgency off ebay 2nd hand, complete with all the raincovers etc (almost new condition, £200, so a bargain, really) when he started using his feet as brakes on his toddler buggy. He has hypermobility, too, so the thought of him hurting himself like this terrified me, although we held on as long as we dared because the major doesn't recline. I think the Special Tomato EIO reclines, though it's more expensive if you end up having to buy it yourself.

Proudmum - I think it sounds like the time might have come to talk to wheelchair services to see what they have. DS was quite young when we contacted them and got a specialist pushchair; but it was very big - so for several years we used either that one or his standard pushchair (while he still fitted it) depending on where we were going! With nursery and school looming it is probably worth getting a wheelchair type so that classmates don't see pushchair and think "baby".