Wheelchair accessible baby furniture

[allie_to_you]

My DH & I are trying to get pregnant and have a baby, but because my DH is confined to a wheelchair, we are trying to plan ahead for the furniture aspect. Most cribs you find can lower down, but not really enough so that he can reach in a grab the baby correctly and still be stable (he has no use of his legs). Also, changing tables can be a challenge because it's hard to change a baby sideways.

Does anyone know of any good websites or companies that sell or make cribs that are designed to open from the front or be more wheelchair accessible for parents with disabilities. The thing I'm afraid of is that in order to get something like that, we'd end up paying a fortune that we dont' have for a crib.

 

[DannysMom]

Does anyone know of any good websites or companies that sell or make cribs that are designed to open from the front or be more wheelchair accessible for parents with disabilities. The thing I'm afraid of is that in order to get something like that, we'd end up paying a fortune that we dont' have for a crib.

Good luck w/ your family plans! I don't have any real help for you, but I did see a link that you might find useful. If you've been googling at all, you've probably seen it already, but I thought I'd pass it along on the off chance that you hadn't seen it yet. Link here: http://www.disabledparents.net/index.html

 

[BillSears]

My daughter was born in 1984 and we had a heck of a time finding furniture that would work out for us. My best suggestion is to just visit a lot of places and window shop until you find what works best for you. I know one of the major problems we had with a crib was that most of them lower the side by pressing your leg up against a bar, that's great for parents who want a hands free control but didn't work at all for me. We eventually found a crib that had the controls at the top.

One thing I found handy was to use a belt to form a "seat" on my lap. I kept having a hard time hoilding my DD while pushing my wheelchair. She would slide right through my legs so I took an old adjustable belt and made a spot for her.

Another thing that helped out before she was walking was Osh Kosh overalls. Yea that sounds strange but they were a big help for me. Getting 2 hands on a baby who is on the floor is almost impossible for me but I could grab her with one hand. Those Osh Kosh overalls let me just grab the back of her overalls and lift her up by them. I imagine she felt like a puppy being lifted up by it's Mom.

 

[allie_to_you]

Thanks for the info. I have seen that website, but will keep searching and hopefully someone else might have some ideas.

 

[mykidsintow]

http://www.disabledparents.net/crib.html

I saw thiscrib on Extreme makeover home edition. The mom was in a chair and needed access to baby.

Here is a list of many other adaptive baby care items.
http://www.disabledparents.net/adaptive.html

Good luck!

 

[MichelleinMaine]

For a changing table- you could just use a table/desk that is already easy for your DH to use... and add a changing pad on top.

(I think most of the time people wind up using changing tables for storage and change the baby wherever's handy anyway. Might as well save the money to start with! )

 

[Fine round cribs]

HI all
Please visit ...fineroundcribs.com... for the best wheel chair accessible cribs and tables hand made in the USA. 100% custom to your needs

Matt

 

[BeckyScott]

I agree with Michelle, a "real" changing table is probably a total waste of money. I'd nix that and if you've budgeted for it, then maybe spend the extra money on a nicer crib.

Then you can use whatever flat surface that is already accessible, put a pad on it. Or you could even buy a small table that can be wheeled under and put a pad on top of that.

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

For a changing table, you could just hang a deep shelf on the wall at whatever level is best for y'all. (Make the shelf if you can't find one - usually the Home Depot folks will help you figure it all out. Otherwise, maybe a family member, friend, neighbor, or somebody in your community would be willing to make one for you.)

Like somebody else said, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" did a baby nursery for a woman in a wheelchair at least once. I remember they found a crib she was able to use. So, things like that are definitely out there. You might want to contact the show and ask about the products they used.

 

[NotUrsula]

I have a good friend whose DH is a paraplegic, and when their DD was little she stayed home with him 2 days out of 5. Like many paraplegics, he has phenomenal upper body strength, and that helped with the lifting, but not the reach or the carrying, if he had to move the chair while holding the baby. Luckily he's tall, so he has a good long reach, but it wasn't always long enough.

For the crib situation, what they did was buy a very solid used crib with top-latches, and had a carpenter adapt it to hinge the drop side horizontally in the center using a piano hinge. Do you know anyone who is a wordworking hobbyist? They often enjoy a challenge like this. (If you don't know someone, and you attend a church, ask your pastor if there is a church member who might want to help.) This design would probably not work for someone who could not reach and lift across the full width of the crib; you would have to get creative and fit the adaptations to your DH' specific needs.

For the changing situation, and for carrying her around and feeding her, my friends used a sling that had been modified with a stiff insert that my friend made herself; it had a velcro drop-gate at the bottom. It let her DH put the baby around his neck in the sling in order to transport her around the house when she was still tiny. The insert insured that she couldn't wiggle out or pull the side down too far. Their changing table was an old desk that was big enough to use with the chair.