I’ve finally started thinking about the logistics of having a baby and being in a wheelchair. So, I asked a few of my friends how they carried a baby and pushed their wheelchair. That, to me, seems to be one of the most basic essentials. I have to be able to safely carry the baby, but I also have to be able to move around and—as all of you wheelchair users know—it’s much easier to push around with two arms.

What I learned are there are many creative people out there. One girlfriend put the baby in her car seat and used a strap to secure the seat to her or her wheelchair. That was how she would also get the baby to and from the car or carry her around on errands. Another girlfriend would use an old E&J wheelchair at home—you know, the kind you see in retirement homes and hospitals. She would cross her legs and place the baby in the crease between her legs. Now that is truly creative, but I have a couple of issues with this one.

First: I don’t have any desire to push around anywhere, not even my home, in one of those old, heavy wheelchairs. Second: I’m not so sure about just laying the baby on my legs without securing the child somehow. I mean, what if my legs started their ritual dance while I had the baby there? She/he could go flying off my lap and there would be no way I could catch the baby. I have a hard enough time staying in my chair myself sometimes when my legs get started. Another friend told me she used a Baby Bjorn all the time once the baby could support his or her neck. What do you do, though, for the first three months? She admitted you need lots of help.

Interestingly enough, none of my friends used or liked the variety of baby slings on the market today. It seems to me that a sling is the perfect solution to freeing your arms while still safely carrying the baby, and I do intend at least to try a sling. A friend gave me two that she didn’t like.

Of course I have many, many more thoughts and concerns about how I am going to do things once the baby comes. For instance, how will I get an infant into and out of the crib? Baby furniture and equipment is not designed for the wheelchair user’s convenience, that’s for sure. And have you seen a changing table that you can roll under? I sure haven’t. All of these are issues I will be dealing with and trying to problem solve in the next five months, but any ideas you might have or anything that worked for you, please feel free to pass along. I’m totally open to creative suggestions and ideas.

Moving on to Week 17 of the Pregnancy
There’s not much new to report since last week. I’m still feeling quite tired. Probably one of the hardest things to accept has been that I just can’t do as much each day. I get really tired and need lots more rest and sleep than I normally do. I understand—it makes perfect sense: I’m growing a baby, which takes lots of energy in itself. But as I haven’t yet felt the baby move, and the only physical sign I have as of yet is my ever-expanding waistline, it’s difficult to comprehend that a living being is actually growing inside of me.

I still make my daily lists of what I want to accomplish, but I end up crossing off only about half of what I intended to do. For me, that is really difficult. But I’m trying to realize that my most important job and the thing at the top of the list each day is to be a healthy vessel for my growing baby. So when I feel like I need to lie down and take a nap or if I need to sleep an extra hour in the morning, I’m trying to be less critical of myself and know I need to listen to my body if I am going to be healthy for my baby’s sake as well as my own.

On a different subject, I am quite excited because my husband and I are taking off this week to Whistler, Canada, for a Babymoon! A Babymoon, you question? Yes, it’s what they call a vacation that you and your significant other take together before the baby arrives. (Okay, I’ve been reading too much!) Unbeknownst to us, we actually planned this vacation before we found out I was pregnant, hence the adventurous vacation plans such as mountain biking, kayaking, ziplining, etc.

I still plan to do some biking and kayaking, just probably at a different exertion level and for shorter distances than I would have normally. (Don’t worry, my doctor has okayed mountain biking, since I use a three-wheeler and it’s very unlikely that I will tip over or fall. I also wear a heart-rate monitor) But, I think the ziplining and other adrenaline-rush sports will have to wait for the next vacation.

Anyway, it’s recommended that just the two of you take a trip before life as you know it completely changes. It’s also suggested that the trip be scheduled during your second trimester, when most women feel their very best. It will be fun to get away and enjoy being together without all the normal life and work stress. So, tune in next week to see how the Babymoon vacation turns out. I’m learning that anything is bound to happen.

More Blogs on Muffy's Pregnancy:
Disability and Pregnancy
Disability and Pregnancy, Part 2—Week 15
Disability and Pregnancy, Part 3—Week 16
Disability and Pregnancy, Part 5 — Week 19 

For more information on Muffy, visit Muffy's Disaboom member profile.