[blparent] Tooth Brushing and To Allison

Wed Mar 23 18:02:55 UTC 2016

Hey All,

My daughter Lila will be two next week.  I think she has twelve or fourteen
teeth. For some time tooth brushing has been a huge headache in our house.
The problem is not just that she is a toddler and hates it and won't sit
still, I can't figure out how to brush her teeth using a regular toddler
brush.  I had no trouble when it was the finger type, but now with it having
that little bit of a stick I am lost.  How do you begin to aim the brush on
the teeth?  So far I avoid brushing her teeth like the plague!  I have my
husband or anyone else sighted do it at all costs!  What have you done?  Am
I the only one who has had an issue with this?  

Switching gears...

Allison,
I don't get to hop on the computer very much lately with Lila around.  I
have been reading your messages and pretty much everything you are bringing
up is stuff I also have worked through or continue to work through.  Since
we know each other in person, I hope it's not strange that I offer my
number.  (540-661-8876)   Sometimes having a listening ear or just someone
to bounce texts to is all it takes for a Mama to maintain her groove.  I
would love to catch up! I would be happy to share what I have learned with
mom's clubs and wagons.  I had the same issues you are referring to.

Happy Spring All!

-----Original Message-----
From: BlParent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Allison via
BlParent
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2016 2:14 AM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
Cc: Allison
Subject: Re: [blparent] Stroller Fail!

Thanks everybody for your replies. My husband and I used the stroller again
this past Saturday and had a bit more luck. He pulled the stroller this time
and he had more patients for it than I. It is getting a bit less awful with
practice, but it is still cumbersome. Plus it was kind of a nightmare to get
on and off of the bus. So I still wore Allyssa in the baby carrier most of
the trip because she and I like that best for now. However, I am genuinely
concerned that I won't be able to wear her long-term because she is already
13 pounds at ten weeks and because I am prone to back pain due to a
childhood spent hunched over large print books. Wearing is a good solution
for now though. 

Thanks Steve for your description of locking stroller wheels. Yours made
most sense to me and I'll experiment with that next time we're out. 

I liked folks suggestions about umbrella strollers, frame packs, and wagons.
If anyone has any specific brand recommendations I'd love to hear them. I'm
not sure where to find such items and would appreciate any shortcuts that
will keep me from much Google searching. 

Lastly, several folks on this list emphasized that I need not feel pressured
to travel out alone with my baby. Thanks, I appreciate that reassurance.
Even so, I genuinely would like to be able to travel with just the 2 of us.
I don't feel I have anything to prove, and I am not opposed to asking for
help. Believe me I'm happy to travel with a friend, family member,  or
colleague when it's convenient and I have been doing that when I can. But is
it so unreasonable to fantasize about being able to travel with just me and
my baby? It is something I enjoy. Sometimes there just isn't anyone else
available to travel with, and I would prefer not to sit at home simply
because others aren't free to go out with us. Example, last Tuesday evening
there was a mom's group meeting that I really wanted to go to. I've been
there a few times and I enjoy it. I find that going to it helps me feel more
balanced and happy. The first two times I went to it, I had my dad drive me
and baby.  That was nice while it lasted. However, last Tuesday, my dad was
unavailable, my husband and best friend were both at work, another good
friend had plans, and my reader was on vacation. And it seemed a shame not
to go simply because I didn't have anybody to go with. I would have gladly
asked for help from someone if I could have thought up someone who might be
interested and available, but I don't exactly know a plethora of people who
have so much free time that they can travel with me and my baby each time I
want to go out somewhere. So since Tuesday's weather was beautiful, I
gathered my car seat and my front carrier and took Uber to the next town
where the meeting was. And Allyssa and I enjoyed ourselves so I was glad I
went. Sure traveling with someone else would have been easier, but I still
think going just us was better than not going at all. Does anyone else
agree? Or am I strange for wanting to travel with just me and baby
sometimes? I don't think I'm trying to make a point about independence, I
just like getting out. 

Anyway, I'm feeling ok with traveling for now, but I am genuinely concerned
that my ability to wear my baby is finite due to my back problems. It's
already a bit painful, and baby is only 13 pounds. I've tried 3 different
carriers so far, and I'm open to trying others, but I suspect that there is
an end to a thing that I'll reach sooner than I'd like. So I'll need to find
an alternate way to travel with baby eventually, and I'm thinking my wobbly
Graco stroller may not be it. 

Again, tips and suggestions are appreciated. 

Thanks,
Allison

-----Original Message-----
From: BlParent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jo
Elizabeth Pinto via BlParent
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2016 4:04 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Jo Elizabeth Pinto <jopinto at msn.com>
Subject: Re: [blparent] Stroller Fail!

I would have been nervous with my tiny baby in a stroller, before her neck
strength was good.  I used an umbrella stroller when I was walking by myself
for short distances because of its light weight and easy maneuverability
pulling it behind me, but I wouldn't have trusted it with a very young baby.

I didn't travel much alone when my baby was in her early infancy because the
weather was still cold and I had to recover from a C-section, so she had
gained sufficient neck strength by the time we ventured out into the big
wide world.  When she was very tiny and I needed to go out, I asked a friend
to go with me and help me carry the baby.  I had made grand plans before my
daughter was born about how I would use a baby carrier and put the diaper
bag over my right shoulder with my purse, leaving my left arm free for my
guide dog, but the soreness from my C-section and the ice left from the
March weather proved to be too much for me, and neither of the baby carriers
I had bought worked well for me once the baby arrived.  And guess what? 
Nobody cared.  I felt like I had failed the independence test at first, but
then I realized the only person conducting the test was me.  So to heck with
it.  I got out, I got my errands done, I felt better, Nanna got to see the
baby, that was all that mattered.  Later on I learned to pull a stroller,
but learning to ask for help was one of the best things I ever did for
myself as a new mom.

Jo Elizabeth

"The Bright Side of Darkness"
is my newly published novel,
available in Kindle, audio, and paperback formats at Amazon.com.
-----Original Message-----
From: Judy Jones via BlParent
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2016 2:42 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Cc: Judy Jones
Subject: Re: [blparent] Stroller Fail!

We didn't even start with our girls in the stroller until they were probably
closer to a year old, plus we used our packs most of the time.  Their
preference, wanting to be close.

Judy

-----Original Message-----
From: BlParent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Star Gazer
via BlParent
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2016 2:24 PM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
Cc: Star Gazer
Subject: Re: [blparent] Stroller Fail!

Hi Steve. That's why the carseats that snap on top of the stroller are so
popular, if it is safe for a car, it's safe for a baby at walking speed. All
this being said, I was anxious about having my girls in the stroller when
they were tiny. I have no idea why.

-----Original Message-----
From: BlParent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Steve
Jacobson via BlParent
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2016 3:53 PM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List' <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Steve Jacobson <steve.jacobson at visi.com>
Subject: Re: [blparent] Stroller Fail!

Allison,

Check the wheels on your stroller.  On some of these strollers, each wheel
has a lock that keeps the wheel from swiveling left to right.  If all four
wheels are allowed to swivel, this will cause the exact behavior that you
are observing.  You would not want to lock all four wheels because turning
would then become very difficult.  I found that when pulling the stroller,
it worked best to lock the wheels that are on the end of the stroller away
from the handle.  When pushing the stroller, locking the wheels nearest the
handle works best.  However, you might want to experiment to see which works
best for you.

On the strollers I have seen, the lock is sort of a slide just above the
wheel that cam be moved up and down.  The slide will only lock the wheel
when the wheel is turned so that the wheel is parallel to the stroller, in
other words, oriented as they need to be when you are traveling in a
straight line.

I am almost certain this is the problem you are having, so if you do not
find any kind of lock, check the instructions in case it is done in a way
that is not obvious.

In some ways, though, I might be a little hesitant to wheel a baby that
young around in a stroller.  My kids arrived when they were older, though,
so I am not a good judge of this.  I only know that when kids are very
young, you don't always know what they are doing in a stroller.  If they can
be restrained in a way that you feel is safe, this might be an issue.
However, to have their head at at a bad angle when you hit a bump in the
sidewalk might not be so great for a baby whose neck strength is not
completely developed.  However, I'm an old dad whose kids are grown, and
some of the more current parents here might have better advice.

Best regards,

Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: BlParent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Allison via
BlParent
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 10:27 PM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List' <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Allison <allison82 at cox.net>
Subject: [blparent] Stroller Fail!

Hi Everybody,

My daughter, Allyssa, is 9 weeks old now. I love my baby. It turns out that
I also love getting out of my house sometimes. I had a lot of great plans
for this when I was pregnant, plans about how I could successfully get out
in the world with my child, and I can now safely say that almost none of
them have worked out. LOL.

I tried a bunch of strollers at a local store before my daughter, Allyssa,
was born. I bought a Graco Click Connect in the end because it seemed like
the best balance of usability and affordability that I could find at the
time. It has a stroller with a car seat that clicks right into and out of
it. I tested it at the store with my cane and verified that I could in fact
pull it behind me. I also tried it on the sidewalk in front of my house when

I brought it home. Great, right? Yeah, only great because it did not yet
have a baby in it. I tried it with said baby in it last weekend and it was
less than successful. The stroller now wobbles and wavers when I try to pull

it behind me. It is only slightly less awful when I pull it next to me, but
when it's next to me, I worry that my cane arc isn't wide enough to safely
cover me and baby both because the stroller takes up a lot of space.
Moreover, the stroller was nearly impossible to manage when encountering
anything other than a 100% flat surface, and turning or changing directions
was something like trying to heard cats. As a result, I've mostly been
wearing Allyssa in a front carrier when I'm out. I like this option a lot
because she's safe, my hands are free, and Allyssa likes it, but I'm worried

that my body won't allow me to wear her as she grows heavier. Pretty much
every carrier I've tried pulls on my neck or shoulders at least a little.
Sooner or later, I will probably want to travel with her in a stroller. And
so far, the stroller has been a bit of a fail as it zigs and zags all over
the place. I could buy a new one, but buying multiple strollers will get
expensive quickly. Does anyone have any solutions for this stroller
craziness? Does it get better somehow? Will I become that blind mom who
never leaves the house alone with her kids? Please please tell me that is
not my future. If I start to think that it is, I may be tempted to drown
myself in my breast milk. So please share some words of wisdom!

Thanks,
Allison

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