Wheelcha

When I asked other mothers with disabilities how they bathed their babies, they shared with me that only their husbands were able to give their babies baths. They suggested that I do the same thing and just have my husband bathe our baby. Even though my husband would be happy to do this, I really wanted to share in this important task with my daughter, too. I was determined to make something work because it is important to me that I am able to do things for my daughter independently.  

My husband cut a hole in the tub to install a drain, and another hole in the table top for the IKEA tub to fit in. Then, he installed the faucet on the table by the tub and connected the tubes to the pipes under the bathroom sink.  He also bought and installed a bendy plastic drain-pipe to put under the bathing station so the water would drain into the toilet.  Finally, we inserted a contoured foam baby tub into the IKEA tub to provide more comfort and cushion for our baby.  

Shannon in front of her wheelchair accessible bathing station

As she gets bigger, she will transition to using only the IKEA tub.  We found a mini changing pad at Buy Buy Baby to put on the table next to the tub so we can easily transfer our little one from the tub to the changing pad to dry and dress her all in one station.   

Our daughter loves bath time and I would not have wanted to miss spending those times with her.  I wish there were more accessible devices for parents with disabilities in the market but since there are not, our best resources are each other.