Fresh Pear

I’ve been on the lookout recently for strollers than can be used for my 4 year old as he has Autism and low muscle tone which means that he needs to have a stroller when he is tired, in crowded places or for long distances. I’ve found several pushchairs which have worked really well but all of them have been very big and cumbersome. I’m a big fan of Cosatto after we had the Cosatto Noodle highchair which was the only highchair Thurston ever sat in comfortably. All of their products are vibrant and exciting, and great if you love something a little different. Also, they are packed with helpful features and are fantastic quality!

Cosatto sent me one of their new Yo! strollers in the beautiful Pear Drop design. I had looked at Yo! buggies last year when I was looking for something after Thurston had outgrown yet another pram and thought they were gorgeous, but I had reluctantly dismissed them because Thurston has never been able to sit properly in umbrella-type buggies as they usually don’t have much support in the seat. However, I’m so pleased that we had the opportunity to try one as it has been brilliant! I would say it is nothing like a normal umbrella buggy. The seat is incredibly supportive and Thurston is happy, comfortable and well-cushioned while he is in his Yo!.

The other reason I’m usually not keen on strollers for older/larger toddlers is the steering can become really hard to handle once the baby is over a certain weight. The Yo! handles amazingly well and feels incredibly lightweight. Thurston currently weighs approximately 28lbs so although he is very tiny for his age, he is quite a large child to have in a buggy, and it is an absolute breeze to push, even up and down kerbs.

The bigger pushchairs I have been using (and loving!) are very large and heavy. They are great for all-terrain beachwalks or muddy weather etc, but it is invaluable to have a smaller stroller that is simple to put up and down and throw in the boot of the car. The Yo! folds and unfolds effortlessly, it just pops up and collapses down with a couple of buttons. I haven’t even caught my finger in it yet and that is unheard of for me. All my nails are still intact! It does fit in the boot of our Skodia Fabia with plenty of space for shopping, but I do have to remove the wheels. It’s the simplest click of a button to remove the wheels and then they just slot back in so absolutely no hassle. I think our boot space is unusually narrow so it is our car’s fault not the Yo!.

For shopping trips, going into cafes, restaurants etc, it really is unbeatable to have a compact stroller. It’s been really nice to nip in and out of places and not knock things over with my giant pram! I took Thurston to an art gallery and manouvred round the exhibition without a hitch. He fell asleep on the way round and the recline function was easy to get to grips with even though I hadn’t read that part of the instructions booklet yet. Once he was awake, the seat was easily popped back up again, and Thurston was very comfortable the whole time.

The Pear Drop Yo! is a really funky looking stroller. Green is my favourite colour so I’m really pleased with it. The Pear pattern is right up Thurston’s alley as he is obsessed with fruit at the moment and is very fond of his “Pear Car” as he called it! The hood is plenty big enough to shield him from the sun and is made from SPF 50 fabric which is really reassuring if the sun ever decides to come out! I like that the raincover comes in its’ own little duffle bag as I do hate raincovers and find that they always get in my way! The shopping basket on the Yo! is actually accessible which makes a huge change to the usual tiny basket you find on a stroller. It also came with shoulder pads, head hugger and a footmuff attached to a seat liner. The seat liner has the gorgeous Pear design to match the hood, and the footmuff has handy little pockets for chilly hands in the Winter. If you have a newborn, I honestly think the Cosatto Yo! could be the only buggy you’d ever need as it has everything and is equally supportive for newborns and older toddlers.

I honestly didn’t think that I would be able to find a small nippy stroller to suit Thurston’s needs, and had resigned myself to the fact that he just would not sit in one. I am so thrilled that I was sent the Cosatto Yo! so that I could find out that there is a stroller out there that works for Thurston. I absolutely love my Yo! and wouldn’t be without it now. Thanks Cosatto!

Thanks for reading!

Hanj x

www.cosatto.com

@Cosatto_Tweets (Twitter)

Spinning

I try really hard in our family to make sure that we give the kids lots of opportunities to go to different places and have different experiences. We don’t do anything particularly extravagant, but we do try to ensure that the children come with us as much as possible wherever we go. With a child who has special needs, this can present a few extra challenges. The most obvious one is that we still need a buggy 2 years after he took his 1st steps. Thurston doesn’t use a buggy all the time, but when he is tired, or his legs are cramping, or it is simply unsafe for him to be walking about causing mayhem, a pushchair is still an essential for us.

For some reason, due to his low muscle tone perhaps, Thurston has never been able to sit properly in a typical toddler-type stroller. If he is uncomfortable in his pushchair, it really does have a negative impact on the day. I end up feeling guilty that Thurston is unhappy, or I end up carrying him, which now that he weighs 28lbs, is quite exhausting. Recently, Thurston has become quite stressed in crowded situations, and I have often wondered if he would be reassured by being able to see me instead of looking at crowds of strangers.

Chicco were incredibly helpful and sent us their brand new pushchair, the Chicco i-Move. It looks so futuristic and different to anything else I’ve used and took a little bit of getting used to. It’s quite a big pushchair, but that’s great for me because Thurston isn’t a baby anymore, and needs something a bit more roomy now. The folding and unfolding mechanism is a little bit complicated and it doesn’t fold down very small, so I think it is definitely a “walking” pushchair rather than something you throw in the car!

As soon as I put Thurston in the i-Move, I completely fell in love with it! It really is a brilliant design. The seat itself is the most supportive seat I’ve ever found, and helped Thurston to sit upright instead of slumping. That will really help his posture and muscle tone. It has a little handlebar at the front of the seat which Thurston really loved holding onto. He seemed to think he was driving a car!

The steering of the pushchair was really easy and hardly any effort at all, even with a 4 year old like Thurston. I found going up and down kerbs a bit hard to get the hang of but got used to it after a while. The handlebar folded down so it was easy to get Thurston in and out which can sometimes be hard because he has long, wriggly and uncooperative legs!

The most obvious and best thing about the i-Move buggy is that just by kicking a pedal at the bottom of the buggy, you can spin the seat round to whichever way you want it. You don’t even have to take the child out, you just kick the pedal, lift the handlebar and flip it around. Thurston was really really impressed with this feature and kept shouting “spin around!” while we were out and about.

We took the i-Move on a day trip to London to give it a proper testing, and it was a really great choice. Even though the basket seems tiny, it housed a raincover and 3 raincoats and a drink no problem. The changing bag that came with it was big enough for a day’s essentials including a change of clothes for Thurston which came in handy when he went diving into muddy puddles. We went through puddles, muddy parks, grass, cobbled roads, high streets and on the train and the i-Move was easy to manouvre everywhere. The parent-facing option really came in handy on more than one occasion in London. Thurston got particularly stressed on Oxford Street with the crowds and was instantly calmed when I span him around to face me. He really needs to know that I am there when he is upset and being parent-facing really helps him. It’s also really handy for using Makaton signs, as obviously your child needs to be able to see you for the Makaton to be useful!!

I’m really impressed with the Chicco i-Move and so is Thurston. It’s a really unusual buggy and we are so pleased with it. When Thurston gets too big, I will store it away carefully for another baby!

Thanks for reading

Hanj x

Buggies for Big Kids

Recently, it has been becoming more and more difficult for Thurston to fit into a buggy. He still needs a buggy for lots of reasons, firstly because he has no sense of road danger. Secondly, because he has hypermobility and low muscle tone, he tends to get bad muscle cramps when he has been running or walking for a long time. Also, if we are having a really busy day, Thurston gets very tired and still likes to take a nap. I’ve been on the lookout for buggies that are suitable for 4 year olds, and also still easy to push. I’ve never been able to make Thurston comfortable in a typical stroller-type pushchair as the seats are not supportive and he has a tendency to sink or slump in them. We have been offered a special needs buggy on the NHS but it is a stroller and so I don’t feel that it really suits Thurston’s needs and have set about finsing something a bit more comfy for him.

Easywalker were incredibly helpful and recommended that the Easywalker Sky would suit our needs as it is very long and wide. They were really kind and sent Thurston his very own one so that he could give it a thorough road-test. The first thing he noticed was its bright Lime green colour, and it has now been renamed “The Kermit Buggy” by him and the whole family. It was really quick and easy to assemble and all 3 kids wanted a go in it straight away!! The first time we took it out was to our local shopping centre. When we go shopping, Thurston tends to stay in the buggy for most of the time as he gets very stressed in crowds, and also tends to run off. The hood on the Sky was fantastic, it is so huge that it really helped Thurston to ‘hide away’ from all the people. Because of the pneumatic tyres and 3 wheel design, the Sky is really easy to manouvre and push, and even though it is so wide it was no problem to steer through the shopping crowds and aisles.

Next up, we took the Easywalker Sky to Peppa Pig World. It does fold fairly compact and fits in the boot of our Skoda Fabia as long as we remove the parcel shelf which is no bother. The basket on the pushchair is huge and easily coped with all of our necessities for a day at the theme park, plus raincoats and a change of clothes for once the kids had splashed in the “Muddy Puddles” area of the park. The bumper bar on the front was great for Thurston to hold on to so that he could sit right forward and look out at everything, and he was really happy and comfy in the supportive seat. He was in and out of the Sky all day and it was really easy to pop him in and out without any backache which you often get with lifting larger toddlers in and out of buggies. During the day, Louis (8) also had a perch on the edge of the buggy, and Zeke (5) had a lovely lay down inside it. It didn’t feel any heavier with Zeke in it than it did with Thurston which means that it will last a really long time.

 

There isn’t much advice available to mums who need a buggy for longer than the standard 3 years which is a shame because it really is a necessity for lots of people. There are fantastic buggies out there, you just need to search a bit harder!

 

I am really impressed with the Easywalker Sky and I think it looks fantastic, is a breeze to push and even copes well with sand. I can’t wait to take it on some more travels with the family!

@EasywalkerNL (Twitter) www.easywalker.nl

Thanks for reading

Hanj x