Haters Gonna Hate

Way back in November 2015, I was featured on an anti-adoption blog. I fixed some formatting and spelling but the rest is intact.

Another Special Angel from Armenia is being RESCUED by yet another self indignant, self righteous nut this one is from Michigan. Save the praises for her - and adoration, she is purchasing this child and it's not cheap. 

[Picture of Zola.]
This poor little "Homie with an extra Chromie" could have stayed with her family had Robin spent $200,000 to improve the conditions in Armenia for special needs children.

Here is Ms. Obenauf's tasteless self adoration (hold the applause for this child savior-wait till she is home and reality of raising a special needs down syndrome child set in)  Obenauf is even selling T Shirts to raise money for the adoption.  Does Obenauf know that the USA's foster care system is full of down syndrome babies looking for a home.   Robin probably doesn't share that part with these do-gooders.

A few things worth noting:

1) Children who are adopted are not purchased. Every attempt was made to make sure her parents willingly gave her up for adoption and I know that in our case, this is 100% accurate.

2) Blogger lady used a picture of Zola even though this was posted in November 2015, the same month I had court for Octavia/Peaches and nearly 4 months after I went on my registration trip. 

3) I don't know if she uses improper language out of spite or out of ignorance but please remember that people first language is important. "Child with Down syndrome" or "child with special needs", not special needs child or Down syndrome child.

4) Yes, adoption is expensive. It is absolutely okay to fund raise and ask for help. Fundraising is not the same as asking for a handout.

5) Yes, there are children with special needs in the US foster care system. No, it isn't an either/or, one size fits all answer. It's okay to adopt children from the US foster care system and it's okay to adopt children with special needs from orphanages internationally. Just because you do one, it does not mean you cannot do the other, too. 

6) Octavia has been home for 2 years now and the reality of raising a child with Down syndrome set in long ago. Yet, she's still mine. I still adore her. She adores me. We were meant to be together. Raising a child with Down syndrome has not been hard for me. Yes, parenting Octavia comes with challenges but she's a strong willed child who loves to get her way. Parenting any child comes with challenges and I will not be deterred just because she happens to have Down syndrome.

The point of me calling this poster out is this: Anyone can trash an adoptive parent for any reason. Don't listen to the naysayers. They're vindictive, jealous people who are unhappy with their own lives and would rather see children grow up in orphanages and then be shipped off to adult mental institutions as long as they kept their "culture".

I'm reminded of a Taylor Swift song, "Shake It Off", when people attempt to slander my name:

And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off

Day 19: Down Syndrome and Adoption

Down Syndrome Awareness Month - Day 19

Why are there so many children with Down syndrome waiting to be adopted outside the United States?

The simple answer is that there are so many children waiting because these countries don't do prenatal screening so the parents do not know ahead of time that their child will be born with Down syndrome. Since they don't know about it ahead of time, they cannot abort their child.

The more in depth answer is that in many of these countries, children with special needs are seen as a stain on the family line and if they're not given up for adoption, it can be virtually impossible for the other children in the family to get married and have families of their own.

In addition to this, there is also the fact that many of these countries don't have the medical technology that we have readily available and even if they wanted to keep their child, they'd have a hard time finding and affording medical care or occupational therapy.

No matter how much parents might want to keep their child, they sometimes do so for the simple fact that the child will have a better chance to live if they're adopted internationally.

Outside St. Hripsime Church

Day 19: RODS

Down Syndrome Awareness Month - Day 19

RODS - Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome

Did you know that there is an organization with the mission of nurturing a positive image of Down syndrome and to promote for the adoption of orphans with Down syndrome? They do this by raising adoption grant funds (one child at a time) and participating in organized, athletic races, and awareness events. This organization is called RODS, Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome. Their goal is to raise $15,000 for each child they fund raise for.

To date, they've raised funds for: 15 children who are now home, 5 children who are in the process of being adopted, and 2 children who are still waiting for their forever families. This means their current child is #23!

One of the families in the process of adopting a girl from Octavia's country found their daughter while she was a RODS child! Sponsor Hadley has more of their story!

The current RODS orphan is Asher and he sure is a sweetie! Here's Asher's Reece's Rainbow page.

Down Syndrome Awareness Month

October is Down syndrome acceptance/awareness month. In honor of this month, I am going to try and do daily posts with facts, myths dispelled, and stories featuring people with Down syndrome.

Day 1 - What is Down syndrome?

Normally, a person has 46 chromosomes. In a person with Down syndrome, they have 47 chromosomes, the extra chromosome comes from a third copy of the 21st chromosome, thus the name trisomy 21 (aka Down syndrome).

There are three types of Down syndrome: trisomy 21 (nondisjunction), mosaicism, and translocation.

Trisomy 21 is the most common type of DS. Prior to or at conception, a pair of 21st chromosomes in either the sperm of the egg fails to separate. As the embryo develops, the extra chromosome is replicated in every cell of the body. 

Translocation is the second most common type of DS, occurring in about 4% of people with DS. With translocation, the number of chromosomes in the cells remains 46, but an additional full or partial copy of chromosome 21 attaches to another chromosome, usually chromosome 14. The presence of the extra full or partial chromosome 21 causes the characteristics of Down syndrome.

Mosaic Down syndrome is the most rare, occurring in only about 1% of people with DS. Mosaicism is diagnosed when there is a mixture of two types of cells, some containing the usual 46 chromosomes and some containing 47. Those cells with 47 chromosomes contain an extra chromosome 21.

Here's my little cutie with t21 chilling on a firetruck!

Nine.

I promise, I really don't intend to go so long between updates! I do have a few things to share:

1) On October 8th, we will have a team walking in the local Step Up for Down Syndrome walk to raise money for the local Down syndrome association. Our goal is to raise $1,000, please consider donating to "Octavia's Arsenal" to sponsor us! The link can be found here.

2) A few months ago, I became a rep for The Gourmet Cupboard. The reason I joined TGC (aside from the fact that I love their products!) is to help families in the process of adopting. TGC has a fundraising opportunity and I would like to extend this opportunity to as many families in the process of adopting as possible! I am also willing to do fundraisers for school clubs, churches, or anyone else in need of a fundraiser. For fundraisers, you earn $1.50 for each individual mix sold and 50% on fundraising packages. There is potential to earn a LOT of money from these fundraisers!

A little bit about TGC: The Gourmet Cupboard makes cooking simple. Their gourmet mixes are handmade using only the finest gourmet ingredients at just the right proportions. Each mix includes all the dry ingredients, all you need are the sour cream, water, cream cheese, meat, etc. All products are individually made at the time of your order and most contain no MSG or preservatives.

The product line includes soups, meals, side dishes, sweet and savory dips, teas, coffees, muffins & breads, desserts, diabetic friendly & sugar free, cookies, seasonings, salads & dressings, and SO much more!

Besides making cooking easier on you, TGC mixes make great gifts!

The fundraiser I have going on right now is for a family in the process of adopting "Laura", a little girl I had the pleasure of meeting while I was adopting Octavia. The link for their fundraiser can be found here.

3) You probably want to know how the little one is doing, right? I saved the best for last! Octavia is thriving and learning new things every day! She started Early On in July and has had a handful of visits with her therapist. She will be working with her therapist once a week now that school is in session. What is Early On? Early On serves infants and toddlers from birth to 36 months with developmental delay or conditions that could lead to such delay. It has been well established that early intervention is an effective way to prevent or reduce problems for children at a later age.

Octavia's accomplishments:
- Walking, she's walking approximately 50% of the time
- Self feeding, she can feed herself with a spoon
- First haircut
- Stacks blocks, the blocks she has are similar to these Squeeze Blocks
- Drink out of a straw, Munchkin 7oz Weighted Straw Sippy Cup is the first straw sippy she's been able to use.
- First camping trip
- Words, Octavia says at least 10 words, including bye, hi, dog, bubbles, thank you, sit, out, ball, mom, oh, and uh oh
- Gestures, she can wave, give kisses, clap, and raise her arms when you say "so big!"

Last week, Octavia had an appointment with an eye doctor, who referred us to a specialist. The first ophthalmologist she saw suspects that Octavia has blocked tear ducts and the specialist we see on next week should give us more definitive answers. I initially scheduled the eye appointment because I was concerned she was getting strabismus in one eye. However, that is not the case. Children with DS sometimes have small folds of skin at the inner corners of their eyes, called Epicanthal folds.

And now... OCTAVIA SPAM!!!!! I adore this girl so much! She brightens my day, every day and can always make me laugh!

Tay and the baby in the mirror.

Dressed up as a bag of popcorn for Trick-or-Treating at the campground. The hat lasted .001 seconds.

Nighttime at the campground.

At the Children's Museum, Octavia had a lot of fun!

Goofy girl!

Hanging out at the Shipshewana Flea Market.

Octavia and her best friend, our pup Zenobia.

Playing at Early On.

BUBBLES!