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You are here: Home / Blog / Disabled Parenting / The Travel System: Disability Considerations

The Travel System: Disability Considerations

March 25, 2016 by Erin Andrews 7 Comments

As you prepare to become a parent to a baby or young toddler, you will find there are complete “travel systems” which include the carseat, base, and a stroller. This is one of the endless choices you will face while baby-shopping – to get a travel system or not, and which brand of carseat and stroller best meets your needs. The choices are truly mind boggling, and when you have a disability, you may have specific considerations.
To choose a carseat, I went to the baby stores while very pregnant with my first baby and spent a LOT of time trying them out. I knew I needed one that I could use with one hand from my wheelchair, and still be light enough to lift with the baby in it. I actually thought I wouldn’t need a stroller because I figured it would be impossible to push a stroller from me wheelchair. Wrong!

I ended up choosing the Chicco Keyfit 30 travel system. The choice was based on the model having the most features that could be used with one hand, and the ability to rest the carseat on the wheelchair armrest (with support). This is not a light carseat, and with a baby in it, it’s darn heavy. But I *can* use all the features (not easy, but possible).

It seemed that lengthening the straps would require two hands. That is, until I figured out I can push that front orange button with her thumb, and reach underneath with the rest of my hand to pull the straps from the bottom. Here’s a video to illustrate:

Here are some photos of me getting my son out of our van in his carseat from the base onto the wheelchair armrest:

photo of mother unloading baby from car with one arm
photo of mother unloading baby from car with one arm
photo of mother unloading baby from car with one arm
photo of mother having unloaded baby from car with one arm

Here is the stroller that came with the travel system. It works great, but it’s really big!

 

6 month old white baby boy in large green stroller with canopy and tray. Small American flag sticking out of stroller.

Trying out our wheels at Ft. Hood to meet Uncle Doug for the first time as he returns from deployment.

I eventually found this one which my carseat snaps right into and it’s much more compact! (Yay for spending more money!)

photo of stroller with single-piece handle

Notice how the handle is one piece instead of two like many strollers have. Here we are using the stroller:

mother pushes stroller with one arm. the stroller has a single handlebar

(I am very serious about shopping at Target)

mother pushes baby in stroller while in wheelchair

Here is how I push the stroller from my chair.

All in all, we are very happy with this system (Of course, it’s the only one we’ve used).

Now that little sister is here, mommy has discovered a new trick – wedging the carseat between the footrests, for which she never had a use for before!

White woman with no legs and one arm in power wheelchair with baby carseat/carrier wedged between wheelchair footrests.

Baby girl gets to face mom and stay close throughout our travels.

 

White woman with no legs and one arm smiling at camera in power wheelchair with baby carseat/carrier snugly wedged between wheelchair footrests. Baby is facing the woman.

By snugly wedging the car seat between the footrests and on top of the footplates, there is no need to bring a stroller.

Overall, my best recommendation is to go to the stores and try out all the options. Ask the staff to get the models down from the shelf so you can try them out, assembled in the store. You may find you don’t need or want a stroller or travel system after all. What works for one person may not for another. As long as is works, embrace it! Happy Travels!

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Filed Under: Disabled Parenting, Product Reviews Tagged With: baby, disabled mom, infant, stroller, wheelchair

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About Erin Andrews

Dr. Erin Andrews serves as a parent advisor and co-researcher for the DPP. She is a board certified rehabilitation psychologist and her areas of interest are disability as diversity, disability culture and identity development, social justice in sexuality, reproduction, and parenting, and disability in post-secondary education. Erin has published and presented nationally on a wide range of disability topics and holds positions with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the University of Texas Dell Medical School. Erin is married with two grown stepchildren and two young children; they live in Austin, Texas.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarLoei says

    March 25, 2016 at 6:56 pm

    As a person with a disability as well as a baby gear sales person for a large baby store chain I strongly recommend trying out the items you are looking at and check with other disabled people to see what helped them.

    Reply
    • AvatarErin Andrews says

      April 19, 2016 at 8:29 pm

      Great advice!

      Reply
  2. AvatarLawra says

    November 23, 2016 at 10:52 am

    We always bring the stroller – for the airport and immigration line if nothing else. You can choose which outings you want to use it for once you get where you’re going and get a feel for things. We’ve got the Halford Fliplite + a gate check bag and love it.

    Reply
  3. AvatarSarah says

    December 5, 2016 at 12:15 pm

    The greatest advantage of an Travel stroller is that they can fold up very easily for storage and they are extremely light. So whether or not you’re keeping it stored around the house, or you’re outside pushing it around, it will not be a burden to you.
    BTW, thanks for the amazing article.

    Reply
    • AvatarCharles Newsom says

      July 29, 2017 at 2:08 am

      Sarah. You are right. We all love a flexible stroller that is easy to fold up, carry along trips, and use at the quickest time possible. But I also feel that the convenience of a stroller to the type of disability that we are talking about would also be very important. Different people who live with different types of disabilities more often than not have varying needs. It is therefore very important that you find out how helpful the stroller would be for your needs before you pick it. Otherwise I feel this is a great article that Erin has posted out there. It has been helful!

      Reply
  4. AvatarHafiz says

    February 11, 2017 at 2:24 pm

    WOW, nice post. I lovebaby stroller
    for carry . It’s is an awesome looking.

    Reply
  5. Avatarsayeda martyn says

    March 5, 2017 at 2:12 pm

    That’s a great site.Thanks to admin.
    Every person will be inspired from that article to buy for their ability.

    Reply

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