Yikes, UN!

I am not a big fan of the UN for many reasons.  This is one of them.  The UN is pushing a treaty on the "Rights of Disabled Persons."  The "positive" basis of this treaty is that the world needs a high standard of accessibility for people with disabilities:

Article 1 - Purpose

The purpose of the present Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.

Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

That sounds great, right?  I am all for the dignity of people with disabilities.  But, then things get scary:

Article 7 - Children with disabilities

1. States Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children.

2. In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

3. States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have the right to express their views freely on all matters affecting them, their views being given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity, on an equal basis with other children, and to be provided with disability and age-appropriate assistance to realize that right. 
(quotes taken from the convention text at http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml)

This is the #1 thing that concerns me about this treaty.  Notice that it is the "state" that has the responsibility and authority under this article.  The states are given the go-ahead to have the final say over the parents of the child.  YIKES! 

I can give you countless reasons why this is a BAD idea.  If the state was in charge, my child would have spent hours in the hospital without the attention he needed.  Want one example? When his G-tube came out we had to throw a fit for them to take us seriously.  There is an open wound in my child's stomach, do you think you can take care of it?  He also would be vomiting daily because the doctors would force him onto a formula diet.  Thank goodness I had the final say on that one and we switched to a blended food diet so that we never ended up in the hospital with pneumonia.  And what about the numerous doctors I had to see saying, "something is not right with my child," until doctor #4 sent us to the hospital where James received treatment for the next month?  The state would have sided with doctor #1, we wouldn't have a chance for a second opinion or to travel to a better hospital or clinic that specializes in our son's needs because, well, that is just too much and too expensive for the government that is now in charge of my child's care.  This is a dangerous precedent and should be taken seriously by all parents.

Why do we need a global bureaucratic body to take decisions out of the hands of parents?  Why should we let them be a higher authority than our own government which is supposed to be a government of the people?

Things get scarier still.  Take a look at these videos:

The first part of this is very interesting.  Dr. Farris questions why the US would ratify a treaty with no intention of fully upholding it as is the "understanding" written of this treaty.  If you don't care about that part you can skip ahead to minute 3.

This video goes into other problems, especially regarding the socialistic intentions of the treaty.

Rick and Karen Santorum say it best:  

“The ultimate responsibility of all parents is to care for your child, a responsibility that only takes on added weight when your child has special needs. As parents of a beautiful, special girl, we know first-hand the blessings of loving our Bella. This is precisely why we at Patriot Voices are urging the U.S. Senate to vote against ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD would usurp the rights and powers of parents here in the United States to do what is best for their special needs child by placing the law of the UN above the rights of the parents. It is the job of our elected representatives to preserve these rights, not hand them off to unaccountable international bureaucrats." (Read the whole article here)

Want more information on the "Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons" (also interesting to note the lack of "person first" vocabulary)?  You can go to this website.

Please lobby your senators to stop this treaty!

With love.

Headbangin'

Hello, all!  I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!  I realized that we didn't get pictures on Thanksgiving.  Oops.

Today I have a video of James headbanging.  He tends to switch over to his headbanging dance when he lays on his tummy.  We found out he also likes it when we practice sitting, which we are working on a lot these days.  I don't mind at all.  You can see toward the end of his sitting practice he uses his stomach muscles to help him dance - awesome!  And it helps that he is starting to find activities to do while sitting.  He hasn't understood the point before.  :D  I am also impressed that our son seems to have decent musical timing as well.  :D

With love.

Hello, Old Friend

My trusty camera went missing for a week.  I could have sworn I placed it on our orange couch, but it disappeared.  Mark found it stuffed between the cushions tonight.  So, we will have more posts soon!  James desperately needs haircut #2 so we'll have some interesting before and after pics for you!  :D

With love.

I Whip My Hair Back and Forth

Our little guy is turning into quite the dancer.  I wasn't sure if his little head wiggles were in response to music but our trip to mass this morning confirmed my suspicions.  His little head started wiggling at the beginning of each hymn.  So funny!

Here is a little clip of his "dancing."  I mercifully removed my audio (I was singing to him) so you can just hear the song, "Everything" by Michael Buble.  Hope you enjoy it!

Problem is, our little guys is also turning into a "headbanger".  He likes to lay on his stomach and bob his head up in down or, in some cases, smack it on the floor.  We have tried to discourage this, for obvious reasons, but he thinks it is funny.  I will try to get a video of these crazy antics too.

P.S.  He is starting to feel much better.  Thanks for the prayers!

With love.

Testing James' Immune System

James had a rough day.  His intestines are pretty backed up so he hasn't been able to eat much.  I have been pumping him through with water and prune juice to try to loosen up his stool and get him back to normal.  Hopefully by tomorrow we will be seeing results.

Recently, we have been much more lax about germs around our house.  Since James' birth we have been extremely antibacterial lotion-friendly.  Actually, it had become my new best friend.  However, we didn't wanted to coddle his immune system forever and never let him build up a germ immunity.  So, we have been a little less cautious.  I still wash my hands every time I walk in the door, and use antibacterial lotion probably 10 times a day, but that is actually a step down from where I was.  I've also been much more lax about guests washing when they come in, but had made a pact to change that, now that flu season is upon us.

Well, too late.  James has his first major cold of the year.  He only had one other serious cold in his life, thanks to our diligent cleanliness.  Two weeks after he came home from the NICU it sent him back to the hospital for a month.

Our little man with a bad cold at one and a half months.

The good news is, he doesn't have a tube in his nose this time!  So, he should be able to breathe much easier.  And I am not sick due to the constant sleep deprivation of new parenting so that should also help.  :D  After James' stint in the hospital with his cold the doctors were very concerned about the strength of his immune system.  They weren't sure he could handle fighting small infections on his own.    I don't think that is true, especially now, but their words keep running through my head.  We will just have to keep our fingers crossed, pray, and get James good immunity boosting foods to help get him through.

If you have a chance to say a quick prayer for his speedy recovery that would be much appreciated.  We are hospital-free for seven months now and would like to stay that way.

With love.

Why Don't We Have Pumpkins Year-Round?

James went to his first pumpkin patch this past weekend!  This time last year we were gearing up for heart surgery and a little more than cautious about staying away from big crowds.  It is so exciting to live "normally" again and celebrate the beauty of the season.  Check out all of James' new experiences:

James went down his first slide!  He didn't have much of a reaction.

I thought maybe his "Rody horse" skills would translate to the mechanical horse.

But, he enjoyed watching Daddy have fun on the horse and race car instead!

Then Granddad and Daddy got thrown in jail,

And he got to swing with Grandmom.

Then, a tractor ride!

 A friendly slide competition between Daddy and Grandmom,

And, most exciting of all, James' first pumpkin!

His eyes lit up when he got that pumpkin in his hands.  He loved the rough texture of the stem and the nice smooth texture of the pumpkin.  It is such an important sensational experience for him to feel different textures, especially since he isn't crawling and exploring as many things as most kids his age.  He needs to get the sensory input in any way we can find!

If pumpkins make my baby this happy I think we should have them all year round (along with those pumpkin coffees and pastries :D).

With love.