Also, two month old time means doctor's appointment as well as vaccines!!! What a controversial topic now-a-days, huh. Well, ever since Caleb was born I've tried to do my own little bit of research as well as feel out what is best for my own kids and their health.
Talking to doctors, they of course are 100% pro-vaccines and will down play any worries or theories you have heard about vaccines being connected with autism. I understand their point of view and I appreciate that they are doing what they believe is best for their patients. I also have had personal relationships with a few mothers who are adamant that their child was mentally damaged from their vaccinations. Their child was fine and within a day or a week, they just transformed over night. I really appreciate their motherly instinct and I don't doubt them either.
From what I understand, there were some theories about mercury or thimerosal causing the damage. And, it is actually just this year the the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conceded that thimerosal did cause autism in the case of one child from Virginia. But, thimerosal has been removed from most vaccines as of 1999 I think. Another theory that a mother of a disabled child (whom she believes was hurt by vaccines he received) told me is that autistic children have weak immune systems or are already disposed to be hurt by vaccines and so the introduction of so many inoculations at one time pushes them over the edge.
Even more, autism covers such a broad spectrum of symptoms that from what I understand, many people are misdiagnosed as autistic which throws off confidence in the studies people are conducting.
So the debate still continues. It seems there is proof on both sides of the argument (if you google vaccines and autism you get a lot of articles). It is understandably a very charged issue, especially for mothers and even more, mother's of autistic children.
From my own personal experience, my youngest sister at the age of two months caught pertussis or whooping cough. She hadn't been immunized yet because she was too young. Let me tell you, it was a scary ordeal to live through even for me as an 11 year old sister. I remember babysitting when she first became sick and I didn't know she had whooping cough. We were all down stairs watching T.V. when she started to cough. She coughed and coughed out and out and her little body just shook. Then she stopped breathing and her lips started to turn a little purple. Finally, she took in this huge breath (hence the name whooping cough) and began to cry. We all were shocked and had no idea what happened. My older brother Bryan, being the wise 12 year old he was, tried to convince me that maybe she had swallowed her tongue. (: My mom says that she would cough like this many times a day and there was nothing she could do but pat her back and hold her through it. We all had to take some medicine to prevent use from getting it and spreading it some more. Luckily, Anna Marie has no lasting side effects from it.
When I took Caleb to our pediatrician for the first time, (he is also my pediatrician I had growing up) he told me he remembers the outbreak of whooping cough the year my sister had it. He said at that time, he had a three year old patient who had not been immunized who caught it. He said that the boy had it so bad that it caused brain damage and he is now severely disabled because of whooping cough.
This experience for me is enough reason to be pro-immunizing. To make a long post end short, I've decided to immunize my kids early for the diseases they could potentially get, such as whooping cough or meningitis. For example, they are not going to get Hepatitis A or B (my doctor said they push immunizing babies because they can't drug using and promiscuous teenagers to come in so they get them while they are young) so I'm going to wait a few years for that. I will immunize for pertussis as well as a few others. They will eventually meet the Utah immunization requirements for entering Kindergarten but I will spread out their immunizations over longer periods of time and do more at ages 3 and 4 as opposed to doing 5 immunizations in one sitting when they are only 6 months old. I have a whole chart mapping out what vaccines I plan on giving them and at what ages. I hope that can make a difference.
Anyway, that's my two cents on the topic.
4 comments:
Like you said, immunizing your children is a huge topic nowadays. I applaud your decision to do what is best for your kids. Some people try to push their opinion on you to make you feel guilty to to try and persuade you to change your mind. Stick to your gut! Do what YOU feel is right- regardless what anyone else says!!
Good for you Lara!
Love ya!
Lucy is so cute! And 2 months already?!
My views on vaccines are similar to yours, it seems. I wondered if you'd be willing to share your vaccine schedule. I have been collecting some alternative ones (okay, I only have one so far) but would be really interested to see another option. Could you email it to me or post it. Do you have my email?
i had the same question as the above post - would you be willing to share your schedule for vaccination? i have read a ton on the issue as well and know a few people totally apposed to vaccines. i wanted to hold off giving my kids so many vaccines at once but didn't quite know how to go about it. seems like you've done more research and planning than i have. if you don't mind sharing, i'd love to see it and possibly do something similar. thanks!!! great post!
Aaahh! She's so adorable!
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