@RebornsbyZebra If you don’t mind my asking, what connective tissue disorder do you have?
I have Ehlers Danlos syndrome myself, and I find when I reborn it takes me FOREVER because I can’t do it for long periods of time at all. I’m trying to figure out better ways to reborning while also not hurting my health/body.
I haven’t started painting my 2 kits yet(they have been checked and cleaned).
I have Ehlers Danlos as well, my nursery is called Reborns by Zebra 
. I can’t paint, or root, for very long either but it makes me feel better to be creating something and Ive gravitated towards reborns since I lost my oldest son in 2011. I found that I was not a collector after buying two for myself but kept buying them for friends and family until a bit over a year ago when I decided to make them myself. I also have two auto immune diseases, Ankylosing Spondylitis and Sjogren’s syndrome plus autonomic dysfunction and craniocervical instability. I like to joke that Im a Genetic Nightmare or I jumped into the wrong end of the Genetic pool LOL
Sorry…I have a dark sense of humour
Its actually very common for Zebra’s to also have autoimmune diseases and they are also finding that it has some link to Autism…I was diagnosed with Aspergers in my early 40s (just turned 51 on the 24th)
I have been working on a couple for a Halloween display for my home. Can I use these. I did not make pictures of the kit so could I use a picture of the kit by the business? Thanks,
Huh, small world eh?
I do a lot of different kinds of art and my mother is a huge doll collector(though she isn’t interested in reborns) so reborns were kind-of a natural path for me, especially because I don’t plan on having kids because of my health.
I haven’t collected any reborns yet(not including the ones I made) but I would if I could but I’m on SSI so it’s not feasible for me to spend large amounts on collecting, so I make them instead.
I have a pretty dark sense of humor too(I think it might be a requirement for those of us with chronic health issues )
I was Dxed as Autistic when I was a teen, and EDS about 2 years ago(I’ll be 26 on Saturday). We’re still working on the other EDS related things(I have alllll kinds of ‘fun’ co-morbids with EDS, some we know now like Raynaud’s and some we just don’t know wtf is going on yet) . I’m sure there is a direct correlation between EDS and being Autistic(though I fully embrace being Autistic because it gives me a advantage in the way I look at things because it’s out-side the box).
I hope to continue making reborns and that maybe that will give me more funds to live on and possibly collect some.
It’s really cool to meet another EDSer who is into reborns!
@AnnieSokay would be able to answer this for you. 
Yes @pattyabe I think that will be fine since it is being painted this year and for this challenge! If anyone has a legitimate reason to object pleas PM me and we will come to a final conclusion. **Stay tuned for a final answer!**
Thank you.
I certainly would never say that I regret having my children, quite the contrary, but I do wish I had known about my EDS as Ive given all three of my daughters EDS and possibly my other son as well…I had five kids, four with autism (one classic, three Aspergers) and EDS or possible EDS. I live in France as my husband is French (father to my last two age 16, son, 13 daughter). My two older daughters both live in the US still so they have not been diagnosed. They are far more knowledgable about EDS and other diseases here in France. I was diagnosed with AS in my late 20s in the US but other doctors later convinced me that I did not have it so that is why I have bone fusion and other issues in my spine because I wasn’t not properly treated until my 40s. I was also given spinal surgery that I should never have had due to the my diseases that were ignored or not yet diagnosed.
I believe you are the first person I have met with dx EDS that is into reborns so, yes, very cool
After careful thought, consideration and input - the reason I asked for submission of kits was to ensure and prove that you had one and that you would be starting on the kit at the start or during the Challenge.
So it is ok to submit a pic of a kit that you will be starting now, even a stripped kit. Not a pic of a kit already done or in progress.
So sorry your pics cannot be accepted. @pattyabe But you still have plenty of time to submit a pic of a kit that you will be painting for this Challenge!
Thanks to everyone that voiced your opinions!
Yeah, I just don’t want to pass my conditions onto a kid, and my health is so rocky I don’t think it’d be fair to a kid(even adopted) because I just wouldn’t be able to be there enough with the severity of my EDS. So my boyfriend and I have 1 cat 1 dog and two teenage bunnies and I make reborns to fill some of that hormonal gap(man oh man I do get really bad baby fever sometimes still though). It’s hard but I know I’m making the right choice for me and potential kids, if my EDS wasn’t so impactful I’d probably have at least 1 kid as I know several EDSers locally who have kids but they have generally better health then I do(I’m actually sick AGAIN right now… BF and I both are… and going on day 6 ugh. I just hope I’m not sick on my birthday Sat! I hate being sick on my birthday or worse in the hospital!).
It took me a long time to get DXed with EDS myself. I first started showing symptoms in '05 and I wasn’t Dxed officially until '17(was unofficially Dxed in '16). I’m in Oregon, USA and there’s only really one major specialist who does genetic testing in the closest 3 states and he doesn’t take insurance and I can’t afford thousands out of pocket. But my Dr did a lot of research and DXed me with Hypermobile type after a year of thinking I had it and trying to find a specialist to refer me to. I am so thankful for him for that. I still would only have a unofficial DX if it wasn’t for him doing that.
I was diagnosed with hyper mobile type originally but they want to test for classic because we have too many of the signs of type II classic. Im far worse than anyone in my family, so you can never tell how it will effect you. I didn’t start having more serious problems until I was in my later twenties. I know I had a lot of pain and I dislocated shoulders and broke several of my fingers and toes. I was always covered in bruises, still am even though Im in a wheelchair, and I have nasty scars from minor wounds from my childhood. I was always told I was a klutz or I had growing pains or that I was a drama queen, or lazy when the fatigue hit hard after the onset of hormones.
I also had really bad topical allergies most of my life. I have monthly infusions of Remicade for my AS and that has actually helped quell my allergies, not what Im taking it for but it a good side effect
I hope none of my kids are ever as bad as I am and I also hope that none of them get any of the autoimmune diseases I have. My son and one of my daughters has my genetic urinary problem and we don’t know if that has anything to do with EDS or not, my Mother had it as well. My Dad has always had skin problems and he had to have his mitral valve replaces several years ago, he’s had a lot of complications due to that. I think it may come from both sides of my family.
There’s been some speculation about me having one of the rarer types, but at this point genetic testing just isn’t feasible so we’re just sticking with the type 3 Dx and leaving it as that until a day comes when genetic testing for EDS is more accessible.
Yeah I was often called clumsy too, and when my pain started settling in severely(about 8th grade, it wasn’t as bad the previous year when the symptoms started) I was told I was lazy when I stopped moving because of pain, and then I was called attention seeking whenever I brought up my pain (“you’re too young to have severe pain, you’re just looking for attention”- said by DOCTORS and teachers, and family…). It didn’t help that I don’t respond to ANY pain meds except Cannabis and opioids but I don’t want to be on opiods because of all their side effects and risk of addiction so I’m a medical card cannabis patient instead. I’m so happy to have a form of pain relief, like even if I don’t use it everyday- knowing I CAN have pain relief makes all the difference, and my boyfriend is so good at helping me take it when I’m in extra severe pain and can’t move because of the spasms and pain and can hardly breath/unable to speak has been amazing, before I used to just cry myself into exhaustion and then pass out, now I have something to stop it dead in it’s tracks.
I’m in the process of trying to get funding for a new wheelchair with power assist but here in the US it’s a horrible lengthy process… It’s probably going to be me fundraising for the 10k needed for my custom fitted chair and power assist… Right now I’m making do with my used ill-fitting TiLite Wheelchair and my SmartCrutches.
My family has a lot of health issues, like my mother has had 7 heart attacks starting at 46, last summer she had a triple bypass at 52 after her 7th one. So far I haven’t shown any heart disease like her so that’s good! But we’re looking at Dysautonomia still, possibly POTS but maybe something else(waiting on testing/new Dr).
So with all my stuff going on I’m sticking to my pets and my reborns. I hope to be good enough someday at painting them to sell them, I’d also really like to be able to make enough extra money that I can make memorial babies for those who have lost their preemies free of charge. Of course I’d also like to be able to collect my few favorite kits too.
PMing you.
I see a great friendship developing! 
So do we get two votes for this contest one for alternative and one for baby in costume or just one for either or ? Let me re-phrase that do we get one vote and have to choose between one in either category or do we get a vote for both ?
Cannot wait!!!
Me too! I still have a lot of work left to do though. I’m definitely cutting it close :)
2 polls 1 for both categories with 1st 2nd and 3rd places for each. So far we have a pretty good turnout so I think we will be doing 2 different polls.
Will be 2
SAME HERE!! Totally not done! HA!