A quick post, please watch this video clip of Hollyoaks actress-Kelly Marie who is physically disabled in life and has a lovely baby girl:
There is help out there but it is so ridiculously hard to find, if you don't know what to type into facebook, twitter or blogspot etc then how do you access all the great advice out there? So in a few weeks time I will be doing a post for exactly this reason.I will be spending as much time as possible to find useful groups on Facebook and great blogs full of support and wisdom for disabled parents, to link to with a click of a mouse button.
There are medically based organisations out there which offer help, however they tend to focus on how to get carers ,which not all of us feel would be useful, or where to purchase a £2000 electronic cot that meets all disabled parents needs, this is neither the case, nor affordable for the masses nor necessary. I want a place where a busy sore parent does not need to wade through a lot of posts about DLA or ATOS when they are just despairing that they can not work a single buggy in a shop, that there are solutions and they can be accessed quickly.
There is a lot of advice, support and great ideas out there from mothers and fathers, over one weekend I have found several blogs and groups on facebook that have been great for me especially as getting out to see my able bodied friends is especially difficult at the moment, they have given me warmth and shared my frustrations and worries and ideas. I know I sound a revolutionist but it's time we all get helping other new disabled parents so they don't feel overwhelmed or lost like many of us did when we got home with baby and were even met with Health Visitors looking a bit aghast and uncomfortable as to what to suggest.
Guess I should get on with my walk through cyber space, I may be sometime, have a lot to do so if you can help me by telling me about great groups or blogs that help you, whatever your disability, please email me at SunCarrie77@hotmail.com.
Right now though am saying goodbye to great London Olympic games 2012 and hello equally brilliant London Paralympic games!
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Thank you for your comment on my blog. I look forward to following your blog as well. With another baby on the way I'm interested in reading your posts about things that made it easier for you in caring for an infant. I didn't discover too much of that with my first as I ended up having a lot of help, but I'm not sure if I'll have that kind of assistance this time around due to finances and not being part of a church right now. So I'm pretty nervous about that and am not sure how I am going to do that. Do/did you have someone to help you in your home?
ReplyDeleteI would not feel bad about needing help, my husband is around during the day even though he does art he is always next door and there to help my son and I as I need a lot of care after a recent operation. He is very ill himself but somehow we pool our abilities together and get through each day with a happy son. However we kind of wish those around us appreciated we need help at times, I think many who know us see as as strong can do couple that we overcome every hurdle and actually at a time where we could use some help there is none coming our way. I do not blame any of them because it is our own stubbornness to try and cope and hide difficulties which is why I rarely post my blog onto my friends and family Facebook page. However it is do able but there has to be an awful lot of gritting teeth and just getting on however ill either of us is. Equally any disabled person does this even in tasks like trying to get around Tescos supermarket, having a child is just more of the same determination required. I would say be prepared to play on a bed not a floor as this is less stress on joints, try to put a single bed in your child's room if possible with bed gards so you can play with playdoh or toys easily from his room,spreading a plastic sheet over bed to protect from water or DOH play. Find a light weight buggy, Babystart in Argos is very light but for children aged 6 months up. Use this buggy indoors and put or buy one for indoors alone and push child to different rooms in this. I have a stair lift to get down stairs put in by the "Disabled Facility Grants" any adaptation needed to your home check this out first by calling Adult Social Services and self refer for an Occupational Therapist ASSESMENT for UK residents. They can help before baby comes with getting bath board over bath to put baby bath on top of making it easy to access baby, can get stair lift in if you can not do stairs, I put son on my lap and put stair lift belt around us both to get him up and down stairs. It is all totally do able and you already will have determination needed and know a lot of what to expect, just believe you can do it. We only bath our son once a week to save our joints, rest of week it is a wash down on changing mat with a flannel. We only can go out once a week with him as it really hurts but when we go out we make it all about him the rest of the time it is Toddler Busy Book for ideas and lots of imaginative play and book reading. Good luck lovely, you will be great and fine at it x
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