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Disclaimer: The following post has no direct relation to our adoption. We haven’t even discussed adopting a child with HIV/AIDS. Please don’t freak out on us. But the following information needs to be shared. And we have an avenue (this blog) to share it.
I think it goes without saying that since we made the decision to adopt, I’ve been following a lot of blogs of adoptive parents. Especially parents who have/are adopting overseas. I have a few favorite blogs, one of which is written by Natalie. Just within the last week Natalie posted over on her blog about HIV. What I read ASTOUNDED me. Sadly, I grew up believing the stigma that HIV is bad. Very, very bad. Up until a week ago I believed people when they told me we needed to stay far away from kids with HIV. To anyone who has HIV/AIDS: I’m so sorry I believed the lies. I’m sorry for the stigma our society has placed on you. To everyone who believes the stigma I used to believe: DON’T. I want to give you some facts about HIV. Together we can educate people and change how the world looks at these innocent children.
In 2009 the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a study titled Survey of Americans About HIV/AIDS which found that levels of knowledge about HIV/AIDS has not increased in the US since 1987.. Let’s change that.
3.8 million Ethiopian children have lost one parent due to HIV/AIDS. Our future child might be an orphan because of HIV/AIDS. Did you know there are medicines out there that are so effective that HIV cannot be traced in the blood of someone infected? These medicines can help people infected with HIV to live normal, healthy lives. Yet those in Africa don’t have access to this medicine. It’s expensive.
HIV can ONLY transmitted through needles, sex, and breast milk/childbirth. And even then – if the person with the disease is being treated with proper medication – transmission doesn’t always occur.
HIV can NOT be transmitted through insects, saliva, sweat, tears, casual contact, sharing dishes, or kissing.
There are NO documented cases of HIV being transmitted through normal family/school/work life. The virus begins to die as soon as it leaves the body. This makes it nearly impossible to be transmitted even through blood.
We don’t need to fear these children. They’ve done nothing to deserve the stigma we have placed on them. Don’t avoid your neighbor with HIV. Don’t ignore the child at school with HIV. Don’t talk about it behind their backs. Don’t leave them as outcasts. Teach your family to practice the proper barrier method of wound care (which we should all do regardless of HIV), safe sex, and common sense (don’t share needles!) and there’s nothing at all to worry about.
For more info on HIV/AIDS visit Project Hopeful. Most of the facts I’ve used are from them. They’re legit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE9XnX7WRog&feature=player_embedded
Last night my mom, Rita, and I spent the afternoon/evening at the Charleston Repeats Consignment Sale. They have this sale twice a year and my mom and I have been to the last 4 sales. The past two I was able to go to as a first time mom (early shopping time!) but this year I couldn’t – so we signed up to volunteer. We shopped with the volunteers at 4 (an even earlier time than the first time moms) and then volunteered from 6-10 (while the first time moms shopped). I don’t think my feet have ever hurt that much! Not even when I was pregnant with Nathan or student teaching. It was crazy how tired we all were when we left. But we got lots of goodies and great steals!!
Here’s what I got: (I’m apologizing for the terrible pictures now. Sorry for the poor quality!)
My first purchase of the night was this lovely double stroller. It folds up nicely and is easy to use. The back seat lays completely flat which will be great for Alex when she arrives.
This lovely highchair wasn’t a priority, but at $10 I HAD to buy it!!! It even has a little tray on the back where Nathan can keep his sippy cup so he can reach it while he’s crawling around on the floor. And now that we have a new highchair, I can sent the old one to my mother-in-law’s so she’ll have three and we don’t have to fight over them when Wesley comes to visit. 🙂
Pants for Alex
Dress and leggings for Alex. These were new with the tags still on!!
More cute clothes for Alex
And some awesomely cute outfits for Alex!!
Rita found Alex some teeny tiny diapers – hard to believe she’ll be able to fit in them!
I found a brand new diaper bag for her since Nathan will have his cute little backpack.
And we got her a moses basket. I’m going to make a cute liner for it that will match the bedding we’re going to get for the crib.
Nathan got a lion halloween costume. Hopefully it’ll be cool enough this year for him to wear it.
I also picked up a reversible jacket for him. I couldn’t resist since it’s GT colors.
A cute sweater for church.
A handsome little outfit I couldn’t pass up
Some long sleeved onesies
And some shoes that actually fit his feet. At least for a month or so. : )
I also got some maternity pants, two dresses, and a sweater for me. We got a swing for Nathan’s “new” swingset and a stool for him to brush his teeth at the sink when he gets bigger.
Now I just have to find a place to put everything.
How about an update on my cloth diaper stash? I’ll even throw in an amateur review for free! 😉
We’ve been cloth diapering full time for almost two months now. (I use the term full time loosely: he still wears disposables in the church nursery and if I forget to do diaper laundry.) I can get by doing laundry every 3 days, but generally do it every two just to be safe. We’ll be ordering BUNCH more diapers for Alex and some for Nathan since they’ll both be in diapers for probably a year. Here’s our stash, minus several diapers that are either in the pail or on the bum.
Left to right: *Indian Prefolds. We have 12 of the large size. To go with those: 1 Thirsties Fitted Cover and 1 Thirsties Duo cover (not pictured). 3 Fuzzi Bunz sized diapers (1 not pictured). 1 Knickernappies one size. Below that are my Flip inserts (we have 6) and a cover. I have two Flip covers. We also have 1 Bum Genious 3.0 one size. After that are 2 Katydid one size diapers and a Cutey Baby sized diaper. Last but not least, 2 Kawaii Baby one size diapers. And, not pictured, a softbums diaper.
Here’s what I think of my stash.
– The prefolds: They’re okay. I’m just not a big prefold fan. They require a bit more work than the other diapers and they’re not as absorbent. But this is characteristic of prefolds, so I can’t really complain. We use them during the day when we’re at home and I’m trying to make the stash last a little longer before I have to do laundry. 🙂 I do love how soft they are though! Nathan doesn’t seem to mind them as long as I change them right when he wets them.
– Thirsties covers: I really like the fitted cover. It has inner gussets which are good for catching escaping poop. The velcro definitely makes it easier (and faster) to finish diaper changing. The Thirsties duo is nice because it’s adjustable and has snaps (which Nathan hasn’t figured out how to undo.) The downside to this one is I have a hard time getting the fit right on him.
– Fuzzi Bunz: we have three of these in size medium. I love them! They’re really soft because of the fleece lining and Nathan stays really dry in them. They’re our nighttime diaper because I don’t have to worry about him feeling wet. We use the FB insert that came with them, and add a doubler. The snaps are nice because we don’t have to put pants on him at bedtime (it’s really hot here) and he can’t get out the diaper. We learned the hard way that velcro is not for bedtime! I was hoping they’d last him through his diaper experience but I don’t think they’re going to. We’re on the last leg snap already.
– Knickernappies one size: I haven’t used this one much so my opinion is still up-in-the-air about it. I LOVE how soft it is inside!!! I’m sure Nathan loves it too. I’m just not sure what I think of the snaps. It snaps backwards from the other diapers we have: the back flaps come around first, and the front flap snaps to to back via the side of the diaper. It’s a little harder to put on because of this. But I think I’m okay with that because it’s JUST SOOOOO SOFT!
– The Flips are my favorites!!! We have two covers and 6 inserts. I love that I can just exchange the inserts and reuse the covers! They seem to fit really well also. I use them so much that I’ve figured out the snap settings and can get them on and off pretty quickly. They’re our go-to diaper during the day.
– The Bum Genious. This pocket diaper works like the other pocket diapers. I’m a fan of pocket diapers. They’re super easy for the hubby and grandmas to use. We’ve had one leak in this diaper, but that was at night when I forgot to double stuff it. My bad.
– Katydid one size. These are new and I haven’t used them yet, so…no review. Sorry.
– Cutey Baby. We have two of these. I’m not sure what I think of them yet. The velcro is removable which keeps the laundry chain away, but it’s a pain to remember to take the velcro off before putting it in the pail. And because it’s removable, it’s pretty easy for Nathan to get off. We have to keep pants on him with this diaper. It’s a little big still, so we’ve had a few leaks. I’m sure I’ll like it better once he’s grown into it.
– Kawaii Baby one size: these are the cheaper version of bum geniouses. They work pretty well considering what I paid for them! LOVE the price! The pocket opening is smaller, however, and harder to stuff. And it looks like the velcro is going to wear out quickly. But the colors are awesome!! We’ll probably order more of these to use for both Nathan and Alex just because they’re wallet friendly.
– Softbums (not pictured). I LOVE LOVE LOVE softbums diapers! They’re an all-in-two diaper, which I think are my favorites. They fit Nathan perfectly and look like they’ll fit Alex well too – even when she’s little. They get really small. They’re super soft inside and out. And, once again, I like being able to reuse the cover if he hasn’t wet through it. We’re registering for several more to use for Nathan and Alex. They’re just really pricey. 😦
So here are my favorites:
1. Flips
2. Softbums
3. Fuzzibunz pockets
4. Bum Genious pockets
We’ve thought about using cloth wipes. I even made some. I just can’t make myself make the switch just yet. Something about them kinda grosses me out. Maybe we’ll use them with Alex.
Alright all you faithful blog readers. I have a Thirty-One favor to ask of you.
I currently have a party open that has yet to qualify. I really want this party to qualify. I’m trying to reach some goals that will help me grow my business. This party needs to qualify to help those goals be met. And Mendy wants this party to qualify so that she can get all of her lovely free and half-price items!
We’re half way there. I know we can do this! So if you’ve ever looked at the catalog and thought “I would really like one of those” NOW is the time to place an order! Even just ordering a wallet will help. Everyone needs a wallet, right?!
AND…if you place an order this weekend under the party you’ll be entered into a drawing to receive a FREE personalized thermal tote of your choice. AND August is $1 embroidery month. It doesn’t get much better than that!
To order go to my website: www.mythirtyone.com/amybmoss. Click on “place an order” and then click on “Fall Reveal” to order under the party. This does two things. 1. – it saves you $4 on shipping. 2. – you are only entered into the drawing if you enter under “Fall Reveal”. If the idea of ordering on the website scares you a bit, you can email me to place an order and I’ll enter everything for you.
Thanks for all of your help!
We returned yesterday from a vacation to Oahu, Hawaii. Yes, you read the right. Craig, Nathan, and I, along with my parents and sister, went to visit my grandparents who currently live there. After a week+ of vacation, I’m not quite ready to jump back into the real world. We had a great time, for the most part. (There were times when my preggo, jet-lagged, hormones put a damper on things, but that was to be expected.) Having taken a break from blogging for over a week, and having seen some pretty amazing sights, I hope to have some fun blogs up over the next week or so.
Want a sneak peak?
Until then, I’m off to unpack, wash some clothes, and clean the house. The part of vacation I wish I hadn’t left behind! 🙂
Nathan is now 10 months old! That’s only two away from ONE YEAR! Eeek!
At ten months Nathan weighs 19 pounds and still eats more than I ever imagined he could!
His new accomplishments since my 9 month post:
He still smiles about a million times a day (no lie!) and laughs almost as much.
I think we’ll keep him. 🙂
It FINALLY arrived. This week’s theme for the photo a day is “anything”. 🙂 Hey, I’ll be spending the week learning how to work this thing. Therefore, I’ll be taking pictures of a lot of random stuff. Stay tuned: I’ll post a picture tonight!
It’s official. I’m a graduate of Charleston Southern University (magna cum laude) with a BS in Elementary Education.
Beautiful Chaos 