ICLW and pushchairs

Welcome if you are here from ICLW - I've not taken part for a few months after a complete failure last time. However, I am trying to blog more again; and I need to start to commenting more again.

I'm nh - married to M, living in a beautiful part of Yorkshire, UK. We met our son, boy-o in Feb, and he moved home in March. He was taken into care at birth; and stayed in foster care until we brought him home. In the next month we will be legal - I can't wait. Unfortunately shortly after that I will be returning to work - boo hiss, part-time, but still work!


I'm having issues about pushchairs/strollers at the moment.... I'd like to hear your opinions!
Boy-o is 2y 7m, however he is very tall for his age, and is robust not skinny! We brought his present pushchair before we met him, and it's done fantastically well and is amazing, but it's getting too small for him (a normal sized 2 year old would be fine in it). We need to replace it, especially as he will be going to a childminder (who doesn't drive) whilst I am at work.

Until he moved in with us, he had never walked outside (apart from in garden). If his foster carers were going out he went in pushchair - I can't blame them. He does now do quite a bit of walking locally (with the dog) but we live on the side of a hill, we either go up and then down, or down and then up. He attends preschool up the hill. He can't walk up there, and when he's finished he's too tired to walk home. We use the pushchair lots.

He's also extremely active and very into everything. When we shop I tend to put him in his pushchair so that he is easier to control. If I am just going into one shop, I will get him to walk, but it's really hard work, as I have to keep constant check on his arms and legs. And yes, I know that's normal! He does walk happily for a couple of miles, but in town he lags and drags and is generally a complete pain and no good if you are rushing.

Because he is so heavy, there are a certain amount of pushchairs that we can't buy - they are only tested to 15kg/33lbs in the UK, so any UK only pushchairs that aren't tested for more than this are out. We have a short list of 3 pushchairs....

Pushchair no1 Chicco - is the cheapest, but won't fit in the boot of my car. Boy-o fits okay, it is an okay pushchair - but it won't fit into my car!

Pushchair no 2 Maclaren Techno XT or XLR - will just about fit in the boot of my car, and can be brought second hand cheap enough. But when we sat him in one, he didn't look particularly comfortable, and whilst there was plenty of room for his body to grow, I'm not sure how his long legs would work as he gets taller.

Pushchair no 3 Baby Jogger Mini City - will fit in the car easily. but I can't find it cheap second hand, it's almost as expensive as I can find it new. When we tried it, he looked comfy, there was a really lovely foot rest, which would keep his feet well away from the wheels. But is far more money, than I actually want to spend.

So what do I do?
Do I start making him walk everywhere - remember 7 months ago he walked nowhere.
Do I buy the cheap pushchair and leave it at the childminders, and make him walk everywhere with us.
Do I buy the second hand Maclaren's - which would be better than where we presently are.
Or Do I fork out the for the expensive buggy and hope I can sell it second hand when we are finished with it?

Decisions, decisions, decisions.... and I have to say - this is a distraction from a big decision that hasn't yet really presented itself, but has been mentioned in passing!