For most people, the answer is...pretty much anything; Dunk your head in jello searching for ping-pong balls, act out your best superhero on national tv, perhaps even crack a couple raw eggs on your head for the cameras?? Just a few of the fun stunts we've seen on Steve - which I've had the privilege of witnessing up close and personal.
If ya missed it, here's a link -- https://quantasy.box.com/s/dyvcsdr54jhpxjzeur48lu3n6e687qjd
Looking for a quick boost of brain activity for your littles?? Here's a fabulous worksheet brought to us by education.com
Hey Guys!
Just a note, the article below is powerful, informative and incredibly candid. I'm honored to have Ashley Taylor with disabledparents.org share her journey.
Bringing home a new baby is, for many parents, the greatest day of their lives. If you are disabled, you will experience that joy undiluted. That said, there are many ways you can prepare ahead and arrange your home to make child rearing easier. As a mom with severe scoliosis, I’m no stranger to the challenges that are faced as a result of being a disabled parent, but I’m here to share some tips on how you can better prepare yourself for parenthood. Read on to find out how.
Arrange furniture ahead of time
Everyone needs to anticipate the needs of a new baby in the arrangement of their home’s furniture. Where will your baby sleep? How will you know if your baby needs you? The crib for your new baby needs to be conveniently located so that you don’t have to keep moving it around.
The crib will need to be near enough so that you can hear your baby while you are sleeping. If you spend most of your waking day in the kitchen, a good place to park the crib might be midway between the kitchen and your bedroom.
Make sure that baby supplies, like diapers, powder, ointments, formula, and bottles, are located in sturdy cabinets and that you can easily reach all of these supplies.
It’s a good idea to anticipate the baby’s crawling period. Be sure you have enough gates to keep a crawling child from falling down stairs or going into an unsafe part of the house. Gates will also be helpful when your child becomes mobile. My disability significantly impacts my mobility, so having gates up gives me peace of mind that when things get quiet, my little one isn’t in trouble (at least not too much.)
Also consider what furniture could be easily knocked over by a crawling baby, and bolt those items to the floor or strap them to a more stable piece of furniture. Make sure cabinets containing cleaning supplies are child-proofed.
There is a lot of good technology out there to ease the physical strain of picking up a baby, bathing a baby, and clothing a baby. Check out baby bathtubs that were designed for disabled parents, along with clothing that can be easily fastened without laces or buttons. Find the piece of adaptive equipment that works best for you. For me, the swivel base car seat made buckling my child easier, and put way less strain on my back. Others might find that a front opening crib is necessary. Parents as a whole are all about life hacks, and adaptive child care equipment is most definitely one of them.
Financial Resources
Many disabled parents worldwide find themselves without sufficient financial resources. Simultaneously, one study shows that disabled parents are sometimes reluctant to ask for social services because they think there’s a stigma attached.
Be aware that you are entitled to services offered by both federal and state governments. These services are by no means charity. They exist to help parents like you.
If you are on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), your child may also be eligible for income from this same program. A quick read through of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities guidelines will tell you whether you and your child will qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In general, three-person families who have an income of $2,213 a month or less will qualify.
There are many privately-administered grants and subsidies available for disabled parents. Be sure to do your research and avail yourself of all of the resources out there.
It takes a village
There is no substitute for having a support system when you have a baby. Parenting is rewarding, but it can be stressful whether you have a partner to help you or are a single parent. Meet other parents-to-be, perhaps during Lamaze classes, while you are still pregnant and forge partnerships. These other parents will be there for you when you need them. It will be great to have a second pair of hands and eyes during trips to the playground and the park.
Let friends and family help you. You will need people to watch your child while you are grocery shopping, going to the doctor, and at work. However, when you first bring your child home, you might find it beneficial to limit the help you receive. This might sound counterintuitive, but I found that once I was left to do it on my own, it was like bringing home the baby all over again. It’s hard to say no to help when it’s right there, so take some time to get in the groove first.
In conclusion, no wheelchair or other disability is going to make you anything less than a splendid parent. Preparation and advanced planning, along with a support system, are all that are needed. Welcome to what many people consider the one thing that makes life most rewarding!
Author
Ashley Taylor is a freelance writer, photographer, and advocate for people with disabilities. She created DisabledParents.org to provide information and resources to other parents with disabilities. When she isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children.
UPDATED TODAY!
A lot of you have been asking for more tips since our Disneyland trip yesterday so I wanted to update you here. Hopefully the info will help you cut lines, park closer, and spend more time on what it is that you love.
1. UTILIZE RIDER SWITCH -
If a Guest doesn’t meet the boarding requirements or doesn’t wish to experience a particular attraction, it’s not a problem for family and friends who do!
With Rider Switch, one adult or supervising Guest (14 years or older) can wait with non-riders while the rest of the party enjoys the attraction. Then, they simply switch roles to allow the supervising Guest to experience the attraction without waiting in the regular queue again.
Rider Switch is available at select attractions in Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park.
2. PARK AT DOWNTOWN DISNEY - Here's how it works. If you park in the Downtown Disneyland parking lot, and shop, eat/drink or spend a minimum of $20 at the outdoor shopping center (think The Grove or Americana) you completely skip the long-ass parking line, and park MUCH closer to the actual theme parks. It's $8 dollars per hour-- so let's do the math- If you spend around 8 hours at the park - with 4 hours validation, it ends up being $32 - which is only around $12 more than the public parking lot.
3. FOOD/BEV - Okay so I have to tell you, I provably had the best Michelada and some of the best tacos in my life at California Adventure. And who says they've had the best anything at a theme park?? Truth! To find the hidden gems - they're when you enter the park to the far left. Not great directions - but ask an attendant to send you to the taco truck // micheladas and you'll be in heaven. Keep in mind, Disneyland is a dry park (wtf) so fill up/guzzle down beforehand.
It's been dubbed "The Happiest Place On Earth" but when you're stuck in never-ending lines with screaming kiddies in 100-degree heat, it's tough to find the magic.
Before we decided to take the Disney Plunge with our very active 2-year old son, it was time to do some serious homework. We spoke to friends, family, and bonafide disney experts to get their take on how to navigate the park without wanting to kill each other by Tomorrowland.
HML's dear friend, Lauren Whelan, decided to buy her family season passes to Disneyland. Can we say, Mother of the year??? This mom-of-two is so savvy with the park, it's like watching a skilled captain maneuver through choppy waters, knowing exactly where to go, at precisely the right day and time to avoid any big waves, in this case, waves of eager tourists.
She imparted real wisdom, and because of that, we ended up having the BEST...TIME...EVER!
Here are some tips...Good luck!
TIMING IS EVERYTHING: Choose the right days and times and visit Disney. Weekends during high season is NOT the time to go. Rather, random weekdays (Tuesdays to Thursdays) during:
*** Word on Main Street is if you plan a trip on Wednesday 1 week before Thanksgiving, the park is dead...and you can literally ride everything over and over and over again.
AGE AIN'T NO THANG: Disney does a phenomenal job of playing to it's audience, meaning, there are only a few rides in the entire park that have height requirements. Think Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Matterhorn, Cars (greatest ride - at California Adventure) Our 2-year old came with us on The Haunted Mansion, Pirates Of The Caribbean (yep, 2 drops and all) and a ton others.
FAST TRACK/RIDER SWITCH/SWAP PASS: Confused?? Don't be. Okay so fast track passes are available at the front of many rides and offer the ability to avoid the lines by coming back when it's your turn. A rider swap pass, something I had no clue about, allows both parents to ride even if you have a small child who can't. When you get to the front of the line, be sure to tell the attendant each parent would like to ride and they'll make it happen.
SNACKS: Bring LOTS OF SNACKS! I didn't understand the reason for this considering there is food all over the park. BUT...it's not always healthy (churros, pizza, ice cream - not great) and/or if lines get long, it's nice to have a personal arsenal of nuts, fruit, crackers, cheese, water to pick from. This was a seriously helpful tip for us! We came prepared and it paid off
***HML TIPS: If you have the desire or interest in being whisked through the park, stopping for no lines whatsoever with your own personal tour guide, Disney VIP Tours is the way to go. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/vip-tour-services/ It's pricey as hell, but if you've got some extra change burning a hole in your pocket, THIS IS A MUST! We've done it and there is truly no better way to go. And a final thought, Moms, listen up! Disneyland is a dry park. As legend has it, Walt Disney, himself, didn't like the smell of beer as it hit the pavement so opted to keep things super clean (lame) I mean, eh, cool- we get it :) Okay so, ya know, bringing a water bottle with your favorite vodka isn't such a terrible idea...just don't say ya heard it here :)))
It goes without saying that every mom wants the best for our little ones but what if we're unknowingly transferring some pretty nasty stuff to them through our breastmilk?? Or what if we weren't providing them with the best possible nutrients? Well now there's a GENIUS, simple, at-home test that offers breast-feeding mommies insight on what's really going into our babies' mouths and tummies.
It's called Lactation Lab and the name basically says it all. It's a kit that allows mothers to test their breastmilk for key nutrients and screen for the presence of toxins.
Lactation Lab, founded by a family physician and mother of two, breaks down into four very easy steps:
1. ORDER AT-HOME TEST KIT
2. COLLECT THE MILK SAMPLE IN THE PRIVACY OF YOUR OWN HOME
3. MAIL IN YOUR SAMPLE
4. GET YOUR RESULTS
Here's the link for more info: https://www.lactationlab.com/order/
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Haute Mom's Life. Created by Adrianna Costa
@adriannacosta
