[Trisha]

My husband and I recently found out that we are expecting our first child. Being pregnant for the first time along with being a t8 para, I have many questions.

The first questions are about my mobility. I know that I am going to need a different chair as my current chair is a narrow frame barebones package. With a little added weight since my accident and the development of para hips, my chair is too narrow already as I am touching both side guards. My first question is how much extra room should I allow for as the pregnancy continues? My current chair has a low back (10 inches) which is ok for mobility but it does lack the comfort of back support. Would a chair with a higher back provide more comfort? Push handles, my current chair does not have them which I have never missed, but will I be able to push myself when I am nine months pregnant or will I need assistance, especially for shopping and longer outings? Arm rests, again my current chair does not have them, but would they help with carrying and/or nursing a baby?

I am at this time also wondering about my bladder and bowel management. I am currently doing a bowel routine daily and IC about every 4 – 6 hours. Will leakage become more of an issue as the pregnancy develops? Will it still be possible to do my routines by myself throughout my pregnancy?

If anyone has any comments or suggestions on any of these questions, please respond. Although I am sure that I will have many more questions over the coming months, any information is so very welcome.

[Oldsparkie]

Trisha, on Dec 14 2008, 09:11 AM, said:

My husband and I recently found out that we are expecting our first child. Being pregnant for the first time along with being a t8 para, I have many questions.

The first questions are about my mobility. I know that I am going to need a different chair as my current chair is a narrow frame barebones package. With a little added weight since my accident and the development of para hips, my chair is too narrow already as I am touching both side guards. My first question is how much extra room should I allow for as the pregnancy continues? My current chair has a low back (10 inches) which is ok for mobility but it does lack the comfort of back support. Would a chair with a higher back provide more comfort? Push handles, my current chair does not have them which I have never missed, but will I be able to push myself when I am nine months pregnant or will I need assistance, especially for shopping and longer outings? Arm rests, again my current chair does not have them, but would they help with carrying and/or nursing a baby?

I am at this time also wondering about my bladder and bowel management. I am currently doing a bowel routine daily and IC about every 4 – 6 hours. Will leakage become more of an issue as the pregnancy develops? Will it still be possible to do my routines by myself throughout my pregnancy?

If anyone has any comments or suggestions on any of these questions, please respond. Although I am sure that I will have many more questions over the coming months, any information is so very welcome.

Hi Trish

First of all congratualtions, I am sure you will get plenty of helpful advise here from other Mum's. I am just a "cranky" old Grandfather but know the elation I have felt each time one of my daughters has "dropped her bundle" so to speak. From your posting it sounds as though you maybe a fairly new member of the T8 Club, which if I am right just adds a slight complication to your wonderful news.

Bye John

[Lucydog]

Ive had 2 babies in 2 years, so I cn tell you how I found things, but you have to bear in mind everyone is different and it might not work for you. You just have to try things out.

A lot depends how you carry the baby. I was enormous with the last one and it really was difficult! The one before wasnt so bad!

How much room extra you need is totally individual. I got away with the same chairs as I tend to carry the baby up front and dont spread so much.
I didnt find a higher back on the chair any better at all so stick with what youve got for now.
I was fine until about 6 months pregnant from then on my mobility got a lot worse quite quickly. Couldnt get out of bed, could barely push myself apart from very flat surfaces, could hardly get in and out of the car. Like I said before I was better last year than this year, it does depend a lot on how big you get. Get push handles, you will need them in the later stages. Arm rests Ive never used.
Bowel and bladder were pretty bad. Isuffered bad incontinence from quite early on, from both. Not much you can really do about it. I used a lot of inconinence products, but it has improved a lot since I had the baby 2 months ago.

Heartburn is the other issue I had it really badly in the last few months. Get in a crate of Gaviscon!!
Hope this helps. Its not that bad to be honest, just the last few months are hard work thats all.
Mail me if you want to chat. I have 3 under 5s, a glutton for punishment!!
Cheers
L

[Rachel75]

Trisha, on Dec 13 2008, 10:11 PM, said:

My husband and I recently found out that we are expecting our first child. Being pregnant for the first time along with being a t8 para, I have many questions.

The first questions are about my mobility. I know that I am going to need a different chair as my current chair is a narrow frame barebones package. With a little added weight since my accident and the development of para hips, my chair is too narrow already as I am touching both side guards. My first question is how much extra room should I allow for as the pregnancy continues? My current chair has a low back (10 inches) which is ok for mobility but it does lack the comfort of back support. Would a chair with a higher back provide more comfort? Push handles, my current chair does not have them which I have never missed, but will I be able to push myself when I am nine months pregnant or will I need assistance, especially for shopping and longer outings? Arm rests, again my current chair does not have them, but would they help with carrying and/or nursing a baby?

I am at this time also wondering about my bladder and bowel management. I am currently doing a bowel routine daily and IC about every 4 – 6 hours. Will leakage become more of an issue as the pregnancy develops? Will it still be possible to do my routines by myself throughout my pregnancy?

If anyone has any comments or suggestions on any of these questions, please respond. Although I am sure that I will have many more questions over the coming months, any information is so very welcome.

Hi Trisha,

read your post and it's fab news-congratulations. Am also writing to tell you you're not alone, I'm pregnant too. Not sure how many weeks you are and realise we are totally different levels, I am C5/6 complete. Regardless of this, maybe we can help each other out with some of the more general points sometimes. Anyway, good luck and might hear from you soon.

Rachel
X

[Nichole]

First of all congrats Thats so exciting! I dont have any advice or info to give you on the actual pregnancy because I dont have any kids of my own.

I do have a godson that I have taken care of a lot since he was born though so i have some experience with kids/sci. I dont have arm rest on my chair and I've never had a problem holding him. If my arms get tired while i'm holding him I can kind of rest my elbow on the tire of my chair. One of the coolest things I have found are the little carriers that hold the baby in front of you against your chest. They are awesome because it frees your hands up to push yourself and they have plenty of support while the baby cant sit up on their own.

I cant think of any other tricks right now, but i'm sure you'll figure it out. I know there are moms on here that will have much more useful things to tell you than i do.

Good luck and congrats again!

[HJD]

Trisha, on Dec 13 2008, 11:11 PM, said:

My husband and I recently found out that we are expecting our first child. Being pregnant for the first time along with being a t8 para, I have many questions.

The first questions are about my mobility. I know that I am going to need a different chair as my current chair is a narrow frame barebones package. With a little added weight since my accident and the development of para hips, my chair is too narrow already as I am touching both side guards. My first question is how much extra room should I allow for as the pregnancy continues? My current chair has a low back (10 inches) which is ok for mobility but it does lack the comfort of back support. Would a chair with a higher back provide more comfort? Push handles, my current chair does not have them which I have never missed, but will I be able to push myself when I am nine months pregnant or will I need assistance, especially for shopping and longer outings? Arm rests, again my current chair does not have them, but would they help with carrying and/or nursing a baby?

I am at this time also wondering about my bladder and bowel management. I am currently doing a bowel routine daily and IC about every 4 – 6 hours. Will leakage become more of an issue as the pregnancy develops? Will it still be possible to do my routines by myself throughout my pregnancy?

If anyone has any comments or suggestions on any of these questions, please respond. Although I am sure that I will have many more questions over the coming months, any information is so very welcome.

Congratulations! My injuries around the T-12 level and my husband and I are getting ready to expand our family. It's always comforting to hear that others are in a similar situation with just as many questions...your findings and experiences along the way would be greatly appreciated. If I come across some other resources, I'll let you know. Thanks!

[Swimmom]

Congratulations on your pregnancy. What an exciting time. I have a C 4-5 incomplete injury and I had a child 15 years after my injury. She has now turned 18 and is well on her way to experience life on her own. But I digress, when I was pregnant I continued to use the same light weight wheelchair that I always used. It had no arm rests or push handles and was probably much like what you have now, I wouldn't spend a lot of money obn a new chair for such a small amount of time unless you know you already need something wider and more comfortable. My chair seemed to fit just fine throughout my pregnancy, it was a 16" wide with about a 15" high back. I watched my weight and didn't allow myself to pack on too many pounds. I did gain about 30 pounds.

I was able to work up until my 8th month then driving became a bit more challenging because my belly was in the way of my steering device, other than that, my mobility remained about the same. Transfers did get a bit more challenging but I was still able to do them. I always made sure someone was around when I was getting in and out of the shower. Sitting up in bed was probably the most difficult.

My last few weeks of pregnancy was probably the most challeging, I ended up on bedrest and needed to have someone around to prepare meals etc because I was limited to being up about 2 hours, which was long enough for a shower and a little bit of the nesting instinct.

My biggest concern was how to care for my new baby...letting her roll and play on the floor and then picking her up off the floor. I'd have a throw blanket and roll her onto it and then gather the corners and pick her up like a parachute. Bathing was a huge issue, a wiggly wet baby can be challenging for someone with limited hand function but we managed somehow.

I loved my breastfeeding pillow, I used it everywhere, it made it easy to play with her on my lap and have her snuggled in. She wasn't a very wiggly baby when she was on my lap, she just knew not to move around much. She would settle in my lap, facing out and I'd tie a scarf or something around both of us so she'd be attached to me and away we went, shopping, to the park or just around the house.

I can't imagine what my life would have been like without her. I have been truly blessed and cherish each moment I have with my daughter. This will make me want to pull out all the baby photos and reflect back on those days of sleepless nights...not too many but a few.

Enjoy this time in your life and be ready for anything. I'll be curious as to how you get along.

Good luck to you.

[blynn78]

Hello,

I am 30 years old t-10 L1 Paraplegic mom. I have two wonderful little girls 7 & 4 years old. I too have a sports wheelchair. I didn't change chairs during pregnancy at first. Towards the end I got a jazzy power chair. I didn't gain much weight but I had to be very careful transfering towards the end. Both daughters came early one at 32 weeks and the other 36 weeks. I have taken care of them myself from day one. I adapted the crib to lower the rail at my level to get them out easy. and I would get on the floor to play with them. Then sit them on the couch and get back in my wheelchair to pick them up. It was to hard to lift them from the floor in my chair. Both of them walked at about 2 years old. which I felt was normal seeing that I don't. They are as healthy as can be now.. And am so blessed to have them both any questions that I can help with please email me ..