Out and about with a baby and an older SN child

[Mitford]

Hello.

My wife is pregnant with a baby due at the end of this year. We already have a son who is 7 with severe Global Development Delay. He walks but needs a wheelchair for longer journeys or if we go into town shopping etc.

I am a bit concerned about how we will manage to get out and about on the occasions when only one of us is there, especially during school holidays when I will be at work and my wife at home with both children, for several weeks. Is there anything available that combines wheelchair/buggy in one? Or will we just have to accept the fact that she will be housebound until I get home or friends and family visit? I think she'd find that difficult, though.

Thanks for your help.

Hiya

Is it possible to use a sling for the baby and then you have your hands free to push the wheelchair. In and out of the car - get your ds settled in his chair and then put baby in the sling.

Something like a wilkinet or something that can be tricky to put on - will need to pracitise but gives good support for the baby.

I found it so easy to use the sling when dd3 was born and I had dd2 who was around 2 1/2 and walking BUT i had a 4almost 5yo who had sn. Whilst dd1 could walk she needed to be attached to my hand at all times or she would take off. She is better now and can be trusted to walk next to the buggy BUT it was great having dd3 in the sling then I had hands for the other two dds.

there are a few options.

this

this

back or front

or combining the 2 here

or here

maybe ss could advise you?

Eek, riven. Although we haven't had the first scan yet so it could be quads fo all I know!

Thanks for the replies.

I have an appointment with the wheelchair service next week and will ask then, but I also wondered if others had experience with this. In particularly, for when the baby gets slightly older and a sling is less appropriate.

hi

I have a child with CP and a younger child

I had a sling for the early months then I had a MASSIVE buggy - a double maclaren (which I'm going to be selling now that dd2 is big enough) which was suitable after dd2 was 6 months. It is v wide but can take older children so although I couldn't go to a lot of shops with it, and ended up walking down the middle of roads with narrow pavements it got me through the early times till dd2 was old enough to walk

it is hard but you will find a way, and she is not housebound - stick older child in wheelchair, younger in a sling for first few months

go everywhere in car - I assume you have a blue badge?

congratulations btw

mitford - my dd3 is now 13 months old and she is still fine about being in the sling - take her bushwalking in it ( as an aside we need to invest in one of the framed ones )- as long as she is facing outward where she can see and then when I sense she is getting tired I just turn her around - she snuggles in for a sleep.

The sling we have is a mothercare one - see if I can find a link for you - it has inserts and head supports for tiny babies and then you take it out as they get bigger and let out straps etc, then you can fold down head support when they face the front - am sure it can also be worn on the back.

Looking at the pics - sling would be about 5 years old now - mothercare 4 in one looks similar.

There are ones that have frames that are more for hiking etc. My SIL has one and she has used it out and about in town - put one child in the buggy and the other in the carrier and they can see etc - brilliant.

even something like this to start with

then as they get bigger - my SIL has something like

this older one could walk along and then if tired on a big day out - pop them into this.

Just some suggestions.

I can't go out alone with my 3, but I have direct payments from SS so can employ an extra pair of hands for the school holidays. I applied when I was pregnant with ds3.

I can only go short journeys with mine by foot tbh (like round the corner) I have a 7 month old, a 6 yr old and an 8yr with a severe global delay. Anymore than a short trip we take the car or have to use direct payments or failing that wait for dh to come home. Life is so easy isnt it?

fwiw I did see a diabled lady who is wheelchair bound down the road from me who had a baby seat fitted to the front of her wheelchair so i presume such things exist.

oif there are charities like Demand that make one-off things to order

we got a doll's trolley made once they were lovely. I think they have made a buggy board for a wheelchair before now

Slings like the Ergo can be used until your baby is a toddler. Wrap slings also good for up to about a year (I found them a bit faffy for older children, but others will disagree ).

Personally, I found the Wilkinet a but complicated and DS too heavy after a few months - i could carry him in a wrap sling on my front for 6 months (then the back carry is much easier).

Lots of slings here

www.thecarryingkind.co.uk

Lots of sling people on here - if you decide to go down that route, try starting a new thread

sorry here

www.thecarryingkind.com/

the only thing is with a sling is that you have to have correct psoture (ie stand up straighty) Alot of childrens wheelchairs have ridiculously low handles (god knows why) I seem to bend over whilst pushing dds

This is really useful everyone, thank you. Does anyone have any information about the direct payments a couple of you mention? Are they income linked? I am assuming SS is social security (rather than Schutzstaffel!).

Mitford, I have been trying to stop myself from writing to you (I feel I am being nosey) but anyway, I just cannot stop myself, so here it goes.

Do you know why your DS1 has developmental delay? The reason I ask is, bear with me, this might sound completely crazy, so please forgive me if I am interfering... my first son also has a developmental delay, I now have a second son (born in a different country), (DS2 is NT), in this country they test the thyroid during pregnancy (which they didn't when I was pregnant with DS1 in the UK), the doctor here found that I had problems with the thyroid (caused only during pregnancy) and if it is not controlled this can cause brain damage (it can be mild or severe, not possible to predict). It is very easy to control with a little tablet a day. I cannot be 100% that this was the cause of DS1's problem, but I am inclined to think that it was.

So, I wonder if you could get your wife to have her thyroid levels tested just in case (or maybe they have alreayd done it???)

Again sorry to intefere. But I just couldn't sleep last night thinking about whether to tell you my story.

Congratulations on your new little buddle.

Direct payments are through social services. You need a social worker

Tinysock, no we don't have a cause and he's never tested positive for anything chromosonal.

That is definitely something worth asking about at our next appointment and I appreciate you mentioning it.

global development delay does not mean a child is brain damaged though......

My paed mentioned about thyroid levels (we are in england) but she said although there was found to be some link it was pretty new and they were not really sure.....its difficult to find anything on the net about it at all

oiFoiF, you are right dev delay does no mean brain damage, but in our case we have seen the damage in his brain scan so we are sure.
I trust the gynaecologist here very much, and he is certain that it can cause brain damage, although he insisted that it is impossible to predict if the damage will be great or not.

Mitford, thank you for taking my comment so well, I was really worried you would ask me to mind my own business. The only thing I would mention is that I wouldn't wait for the next appointment as if there is a problem it needs to be sorted out very soon.
Right, that is it, back to minding my own business now.

Only just seen this. Would agree get a "proper" sling (ie a hippy one, NOT the chicken-in-a-string-bag sort you get from mothercare which are v bad for your back); a back carry should be OK even if you have to bend forward a bit. Review your options once they are at toddling stage; we have a SN buggy with a buggy board attached now.

In an ideal world, DD2 could sit on DD1's lap when tired - but DD1 eats her hair.

tinysocks, you dont need to mind your own business i am sorry if I sounded shirty, i ahve terrible pmt and usually end up upsetting someone on mumsnet at any stage during this once a month period....