Out of the gate and off for a walk...

My son Cameron recently was lucky enough to be the recipient of a special needs Mountain Buggy.  The Ranger :)  Cameron is three years old, and he has Cerebral Palsy.  I have owned Mountain Buggy prams for 4 years(just a beginner really!) - starting with our black Urban Elite in 2007, and then our lime/black Swift in 2009.  We have been alternating between Cameron's wheelchair and his Swift for a while, but it is getting to the point where he is too big for the Swift.  His wheelchair offers no protection for sun or wind and to me it is essential that he gets those options when needed.

Due to the generosity of Mountain Buggy, yesterday on our doorstep we took ownership of their large buggy, Ranger, designed for larger children than what a normal baby buggy would take.  I cannot even begin to describe just what this means to me, and my family.  We are humbled and overwhelmed and as a result we are going to donate back our Swift so it can be given to someone in need.  I am going to really miss my little Swift, but time comes when I have to face up to the facts, that it simply won't fit us for much longer.  They are made to last well beyond 3 years, but Cameron requires head support, he can't sit up and he is too tall to be lying back much more. 

We took Ranger out for it's first test run today.  It is great to push, it actually made me want to keep going, to get out and go for big walks!  However I am not feeling 100% about it, and as I type I can feel myself getting into a bit of a funk about how to solve the problem of Camerons head control in the buggy.  It does not recline, and the angle of the buggy is more upright than what he is used to in a buggy.  Awake he mostly did pretty good but sleep was a royal pain in the bum and he couldn't maintain an upright head at all.  Even had one lady comment on "that poor boys head" loudly as she walked past(seriously, what gives people the right, anyway!!).  I've got his carseat insert in the buggy for his hips and bum and the head wedge I have in there is from an older buggy he used to have from a medical comany, but asleep it does nothing.  The need I have to have everything perfect is doing nothing at keeping me calm here, as I get frustrated that I can't immediately fix this, and even if I did have an idea I don't sew.  I will keep thinking, I will keep rolling up towels until I can have him fall asleep and maintain good head control - ie BACK and not flopping forward on to his lap!  Only bummer about that is I need to keep taking him out on long walks for him to fall asleep and test my creations. 

Never mind(for now).  I hope to have many adventures with my son and his Ranger, I hope to at least do something exciting with it once in a while so that I can report back and not have you bored to tears.  I am really hoping that I can take it to the beach this coming weekend!  Something the wheelchair would never do.  Today Ranger had it's first trip to the shops and my favourite cafe and I must admit it was pretty cool checking out it's reflection in the shop windows!