Tips for motherhood from a wheelchair
![]() A spinal injury in my late twenties, resulted in me becoming a permanent independent wheelchair user. One of my first thoughts (and my husband's) was whether I would be able to still have children. The answer was thankfully yes! They say it takes five years to fully adjust to living with a spinal injury and becoming a wheelchair user, which I think is a fair estimation. Hence, it took me a few years to feel ready to have children. In my mid thirties I fell pregnant with my daughter, which plunged us into a new era in our lives. As expectant parents, we did try to get involved in a few classes and prenatal groups, some of which were helpful but there were no classes available for an expectant mother in a wheelchair. Before the baby was born, we worked through the practical issues of how I would get her in and out of the cot, how I would carry her, how and where I would change her, how I would bath her and get her on and off the floor and how I would get her in and out of the car. We manged to resolve all of the issues with a bit of extra thought and research. As a paraplegic, having the strength and balance to pick up a baby is a difficult issue and of course the safety of the baby is paramount. Equipment:
She was a very happy baby, always ready with a smile. There is something though, about babies liking to be up high! I always found it hard to comfort her from a sitting position when she had colic or was tired; she would not easily settle but the moment my husband came home from work and lifted her up higher she would go quiet and look at me as if to say -' see, this is what I wanted!' (Grrr!!) From an really early age , even before she could talk, she learnt to keep a clear path for me through her toys. When we went out, she never ran off and always stayed close to me and she never threw a tantrum while we were out shopping on our own; it was almost like she had a sixth sense of awareness which I know other disabled mothers have experienced with their children. She was a very happy baby, always ready with a smile. There is something though, about babies liking to be up high! I always found it hard to comfort her from a sitting position when she had colic or was tired; she would not easily settle but the moment my husband came home from work and lifted her up higher she would go quiet and look at me as if to say -' see, this is what I wanted!' (Grrr!!) From an really early age , even before she could talk, she learnt to keep a clear path for me through her toys. When we went out, she never ran off and always stayed close to me and she never threw a tantrum while we were out shopping on our own; it was almost like she had a sixth sense of awareness which I know other disabled mothers have experienced with their children. We have made some wonderful friends, who were always ready to help when we were out and about and my daughter's young friends always accepted the wheelchair, without batting an eyelid. My daughter is now a teenager so the challenges are very different but having a baby was such an amazing experience and I hope my tips will help other expectant mothers. However everyone finds their own way to do things and I think that this is all part of the wonderful journey. Posted by Katherine, designed2enable
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