Creative Parenting: Tips & Tricks

[alissa]

I think it would be wonderful to have a thread where parents with different abilities can share adaptive techniques & equipment for raising kids.

In my 2 years as a mother with an sci (c5-6), here are some things I've found useful:

The boppy breastfeeding pillow - great for breastfeeding & for carrying a small baby on your lap. When my baby was tiny, we had to add wedges to bolster the boppy to the right height.

accessible crib, shelving, changing table - my very handy dandy hubby built a whole unit using some wood, a basic traditional crib and wicker baskets. he altered the side of the crib that drops down to slide open to the side, and raised the crib to allow me to roll under, giving me full access to the baby. (of course, she ended up sleeping in our bed for easy nighttime nursing).

snuggli infant carrier - was the easiest to put on me. I kept it low enough so her weight was mainly on my lap, but she was still securely attached to me without messing with my balance. I needed help getting her in & out.


kelty kids backpack - I secured it on the back of my motorized wheelchair - shoulder straps over the backrest bars, waist belt all the way around my chair & me.


I do hope others will share their creative ways, especially methods for carrying a toddler on your lap through the streets.

Peace

[smirking1]

thank you for your post. I was sweating bullets when we found i my wife was having twins, i was glad to find help here. i really liked your crib, but we did not have the room for 2. I'm a T-12 so i can get away with a lot, but that crib would have saved my back tons.

[Emi2]

I didn't have room for your awesome crib/table combo but we made a standadrd crib work by mounting it on the wall and making the door hinged. My other tip is to make the net your best friend and research until you find something that works for you. Thats how I found my wall mounted change table from Ikea.

Alissa - I carried my daughter in a baby trekker sling until she was 2ish...then she learned to ride on my foot plates.

[woman from Europe]

I was still walking when I had mine. But I could not lift them up from the floor, even as small babies.

Remember that they have special baby seats for dis parents in the cars, I forgot to ask for that and my children were sitting loose in the car. And they have a small chain to put around their arm and your arm so they don't run away from you. My small one did that all the time and I used it a lot.

And I did use a baby safe in the night so I did not have to put the bed all down, it was in the middel all the time and they could not fall out of bed at night.

[sjean423]

Bente, what is a baby safe?

[Emi2]

http://store.babycenter.com/product/...t.do?asc=false is this what you mean bente?

[woman from Europe]

No, it is something like this



This is a Norwegian page, you can see it is like a bond/string under the mattress so the baby can't turn or fall out. I have used it up to three years, then I have change to a big bed

[sjean423]

So it is kind of like a sleeping bag, with straps that keep the baby in the middle of the bed? In the picture, the baby is in a cradle ... is it so she can't stand up and get out?

Emi ..... that one you posted looks handy!

[jody]

very impressed with the nursery your husband built. what a great job and a life saver for you both.

bente, I have always learned from your posts. I hope some day to be a grandma, and this is something that helps me believe I can be a safe grandma.

[snowqueeneh]

I know all the posts so far are about babies... but I just wanted to add something about the older little kids. My husband is C5/6 complete (going on 2 years now). We always work on finding ways to do the things we did before.

To sum it up. It may be a lot of work sometimes, it may not be the same, but it's so very worth it. We use to take for granted the "outings" with our boys... but now they mean so much more.

[Emi2]

Saw this device while browsing amazon and thought it might work well with minimal adaptation to hold an older (able to sit) baby on a wheelers lap.
There are different variations in the reccomendations bar too.
http://www.amazon.com/Leachco-Sit-Se...ef=pd_sbs_ba_5

[woman from Europe]

The babysafe is from BabyBjørn, I have seen you can buy BabyBjørn in the US

[TheyCallMeMommy]

OK...so apparently they "banned" drop-side cribs. Well, consider me "above-the-law" because mine isn't going anywhere!! I wouldn't be able to take care of my daughter effectively without it!!

[Boom84]

Great little problem solvers

As wheelchair parents we I feel like myself along with others are raising great little problem solvers. My five year olds know how to do so many things. I atrribute much of what they can do to the fact that I can’t yet I am able to give direction through suggestion in facilitating problem solving. It’s living man.

[SCI-Nurse]

New website from Spinalis (Sweden) in English, with a lot of good information for parenting with a SCI:

http://sciparenting.com/

(KLD)