"oooh what a beautiful baaaby!" - Page 2

[pina la nina]

SoHappy - I think you made all our days with that story! Where did you find that doll in the wheelchair? I'd really love to get one like that!

Nyeema - My brother was the same way - I think thats what first made me so aware of the problem, he was always large for his age - still is (6'3" and about 300lbs at 27 years old.) I was 2.5 yrs older but people mistook us for the same age - and him for a girl to make matters worse! (gorgeous blonde hair, he'd never let anyone cut it) That is a really hard position to be in, people don't let you act your actual age. I wish you luck with your ds, surely he's ahead of the game with such a caring mom who realizes what's up.

[Sahara]

Peggy, you are so well spoken.
SoHappy, I hope that I can find toys like that for my son when he's old enough.

DS is also 'Gerber Baby' cute, as so many people like to say. That combined with the fact that he is always up at eye level in the sling seems to get him a lot of attention. We have some friends who always keep their little one in a stroller or car seat, and when all go out to dinner, people sometimes don't even see that they have a baby and only talk to my DS. He's got a really laid back personality too, and people always tell me how 'good' he is, what a great job I'm doing. I think it's an unfair way to judge a baby, because a baby with a more energetic temprement is not BAD, and it certainly isn't the fault of the mom if a baby is 'high need'. I try to explain this to people, but they just look at me as if to say "Can't you just take a compliment?"

[SoHappy]

Hi everybody. Thanks for the great responses to the story about Cole! Sometimes I just learn so much from him.

The toy is just this little plastic wheelchair and girl that came in the Fisher-Price(?) school bus. I almost didn't give him the bus (it was a gift, and I'm trying to minimize plastic) but I saw value in the wheelchair lesson. I know there are some cool dolls out there with leg braces, crutches, chairs, etc., though, because I ran across them online once and grooved on them. I just didn't bookmark the site because they were a fortune. (Business opportunity for one of you crafty moms?)

Celebrating diversity is important to me because I was discriminated against as a child. I was the only white person in my kindergarten class in Hawaii. It sounds tame, but I was a tall pale redhead surrounded by people who had been taught that Haoles (white people) ruined Hawaii -- even though the people teasing me weren't Hawaiian either. They were Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Philipino, Samoan, Tongan, etc.) My sister got stabbed in the arm with a fork in the lunch line once on "Kill Haole Day" which was the first Friday of each school year. It was brutal and didn't get much better until we moved back to California.

I remember sitting in the back seat of my best friend's mom's car while all the kids ragged on how stupid and useless haoles were. I was in tears and her mom didn't say a word to shut them up.

I realized when we got back to California in the fifth grade that I had it easy compared to lots of people. A move erased my challenges. Some people's are with them for a lifetime. Thank goodness for life's lessons!

[PM]

Wow SoHappy! My brother used to get pulverized on Kill Haole Day! Nobody dared pick on me, though; I was such a tomboy!
Where did you live? I was pretty lucky because my school, in Lanikai, had a pretty significant haole population.

[peacemama]

I replied above, but read that some of you would be interested in dolls with "disabilities" and I've got a good source. The Lakeshore Learning Store is an educational supply store which sells a lot of things, including dolls, that can be used to teach tolerance. In fact, they have adaptive equipment that fits their dolls but can be ordered separately and may fit dolls you already have. The website is . Do a search under the keyword "adaptive equipment" and it should take you right to it. Great stuff, sometimes a little pricey, but not too bad.

[SoHappy]

ParisMaman, we were in Honolulu. I went to John H. Wilson Elem, my sisters were at Kaimuki Jr. High and Kalani High. We got more haoles as I got older, but most of them went to Star of the Sea, a private school up the street.

[peggy]

peacemama, thanks for the link!



peggy