Friday, January 13, 2006
Must... Not.... Go..... Downstairs......
I am using every ounce of restraint not to go see Dylan right now. While it's wonderful to have him in my building... it's way to easy to just hop on the elevator to go see him.
Have I mentioned how much I love being a Mom? When I look into his beautiful face and he smiles at me (or blows raspberries, or cries or whatever) I just melt.
I'm not sure what he's doing in daycare but it's working wonders for his sleeping! He's asleep by 8:00 p.m. and sleeps through till 6:00 a.m. (he'll take a bottle at 6 and go back to sleep if I let him).
He's starting to scoot a bit and I think he'll be crawling before we know it. He's sitting up better and better every day. He has absolutely no problem with tummy time (thank Gd) and is rolling over like a champ. One day Marc put him on the living room floor and walked away for a moment. We heard a bang and walked back into the living room. He had rolled across the rug onto the hardwood. He was just laying there smiling. No more leaving him unattended on the floor :) His pediatrician told us to make sure we don't leave anything on the floor (like pennies and other interesting things that baby may want to put into his mouth).
Healthwise, he's doing great (again, thank Gd). No idea what caused the seizures and hopefully, they will never happen again. He got through his immunization with just a little crankiness and a 100 degree fever (~waiting for the flames for immunizing my kids).
Hey, this reminds me of a story. I may have blogged about it and if I did, tough shit, it's my blog. I was getting my hair done and my former hair dresser and I were chatting and I told her about the adoption. First off... she pregnanted me (oh, you're adopting???? you'll get pregnant). Then, she tells me in a very hushed tone... "Don't vaccinate your child". HUH??? She then proceeded to tell me how she has done all of this research and that she even lied to her school district to get a religious exemption. I asked her about her research and she responded with... "I've read three books". I told her that I thought she was an irresponsible parent, that I would never let my child anywhere near her kids and that my sister-in-law is a pediatrician and when I asked her if she would immunize her kids she said yes this woman explained that my sister-in-law was under the influence of the drug companies. WTF????
Now, I work with a lovely gentleman who I consider uber granola crunchy. I asked him about what he and his wife did about immunization with their new daughter. I fully expected to get the lecture from him. He told me that they researched it, spoke with their daughter's pediatrician and decided that they would not give their daughter all of the immunization at once but space them out. He gave me a number of intelligent reasons to do this and, if I had any choice in the matter (Dylan was pretty much up to date on all of his immunization when we brought him home), we may have decided to do something similar.
I just don't get the people who refuse to immunize their children at all. They have studied the effects of immunization and there is absolutely no proof that they cause autism (or any of the other problems people claim to have). Diseases that were virtually wiped out are making a come back because people are not vaccinating their kids. Not good. Not good at all.
~putting soap box away~
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I don't get non-immunizers either. They tend to be highly educated people as well.
ReplyDeleteE and D would probably be a hoot together rolling all over the place!
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you restrain yourself from visiting Dylan, but it must be a nice feeling to know, if you wanted to, you could see him in a second.
Good hearing from you today.
That's great that Dylan is in the same building as you are. Can't believe people wouldn't vaccinate. I heard the "autism" theory but don't believe it either. I personally thing autism is more related to a childhood form of schizophrenia, nothing to do w/ vaccinating your kid
ReplyDeleteHere's the irony: there's now a stronger case FOR immunizations because of the people who refuse to do so. They potentially re-introduce diseases that will surely kill/cripple a non-immunized child or weaken others who are; and that surity outweighs the extremely low-risk associated with immunizations.
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion: don't move to the left coast, where immunizing your child is seen as another form of child abuse. My kids are immunized, as was I, and this whole herd mentality (there are enough immunized people so my non-immunized kid won't cause any harm) is so dangerous. In my community we had an outbreak of measles a few years back. Measles!
ReplyDeleteOur school district does not all religions exemptions. None. And I'm thankful for that. If they did have a parent that refused to immunize, there are plenty of private schools that the kid would be placed in.
The only reason why people DARE not to immunize their kids is that because of immunization, the really bad diseases have become so rare that no one knows them anymore. Any parent that has lost a child to pneumonia caused by measles would sing a love song to vaccines. Measles is actually still a number one killer of children worldwide. And that's just one of many possible horror scenarios.
ReplyDeleteRight now, "herd immunity" is still protecting the non-vaccinated. But once the percentage slips below a critical level, all the old diseases will start coming back. And then things will get really bad.
Elle - I understand that a very serious condition like lyme disease can delay vaccines but the key here is you didn't say.. "I'm not vaccinating at all". Big big difference :)
ReplyDeleteSassy - you find it, I'll buy it :)
I think this is a medically complex topic and none of us can really do it justice here. I vaccinated my child, but he had an extreme reaction to his first Pertussis vaccination. I then refused to allow any more Pertussis vaccinations in that series. It was also at that time that I had a 5 year old patient who had become brain damaged as a direct result of a severe Pertussis reaction. This was not a rumor nor was it debated among the doctors at our hospital -- it was a fact. The child had had symptoms of reaction in the first two vaccinations and her pediatrician had ignored them and gone ahead with the third vaccination anyway. She went into intractible seizures and was severely brain damaged as a result.
ReplyDeleteI was a student nurse at the time and this medical case was discussed in our class and in our clinical group. No one tried to deny that the brain damage was caused by the Pertussis, but we were told that it is a rare complication (true) and that the doctor had been negligent to give the third Pertussis vaccination after he knew that the first two had caused a reaction.
I tell this story not as one of those on the anti-vaccination team trying to spread terror, but merely because I think that you should be less critical of those who are afraid of vaccinations. We also have MANY reasons to distrust the medical community -- so many mistakes and errors in judgment have been made by so-called experts. I shouldn't need to list them because we all can think of examples. When someone expresses a view that is clearly born of fear, I do not ridicule them, nor do I assume immediately that they must be completely uneducated. They are looking at an issue from the other direction. How many of you can say that you have researched THAT side of the debate? Yet you are angered that they have not (presumably) adequately researched your side of the debate.
In my personal view, I am more in line with the man who decided to vaccinate but to space out the vaccinations so that an infant's immune system is not bombarded with all of them at once. That makes good sense to me. The return of deadly diseases is truly a frightening thing, but vaccinations are not without their downside either. As with most debates, it would be nice if people would try to consider all sides respectfully. I think that we will all have a greater, more positive impact on the non-vaccinating community if we do NOT ridicule them, but instead listen earnestly and then explain to them why we chose to vaccinate. There are some who are militant and will not be persuaded, but there are others who are still open to more information as they struggle to find the right decision.
Julie, as far as calling your hairdresser irresponsible -- she probably feels very strongly that she is being incredibly responsible. To me, there is a difference between people who are "irresponsible" because they are lazy, apathetic, have poor character, don't care about their kids, etc, vs. people who have done their own research (even if you think their sources are bogus) have struggled with an issue with true integrity, and have made a decision they believe in (even if you think they are dead wrong).
Lastly, theoretically, immunized children should not be at risk around children who contract disease, right? So objections to those parents who won't vaccinate should have to do with our concern for their non-immunized kids' health rather than for the immunized kids' health.
I wanted to add a couple of things:
ReplyDeleteI said that I "refused" to allow my son to have any more Pertussis vaccinations, which gives the impression that I was going against my pediatrician's medical advice. Actually, she was completely supportive of foregoing any further Pertussis vaccines based on his response.
Secondly, there are respected MD's in a number of countries and medical institutions who are expressing concern over the way vaccinations are currently administered, and that point needs to be made. Otherwise, it sounds like you just have a bunch of crunchy granola crazies who decided to fabricate this whole thing based on nothing but rumors. Not true!
Like I said, I'm a "vaccinator," but I don't dismiss the other side out of hand either.
Umm...what Wessel said.
ReplyDeleteI'm not nearly as well spoken, but I agree with everything she wrote.
I'm doing a lot of research on vaccines right now, and we're coming to the conclusion that we will probably space out and delay the vaccines we chose to give our child, and there may be a few we decline altogether.
It is a very complicated decision that I'm sure no one takes lightly.
I think it is important to remember that everyone does what they feel is best for their own children.
Wessel - thank you so much for the time and honesty you put into your response.
ReplyDeletePlease don't misunderstand- I have no problem with a person making a personal choice for their children. I do, however, have a problem with the hairdresser because she lied to get her kids in school (if she felt that strongly about it... either find a school that would respect her wishes or home school) and because she was trying to shove it down my throat. She's a flake. Always has been, always will be. When I asked her to back up her choice - the only response she was able to give me was "I read three books". I asked her what the books said and her response was "don't vaccinate".
I respect my coworker and his wife for their choices with their daughter. They fully researched it and are making the best decision for their daughter. They were able to explain their choices to me and didn't try to shove it down my throat.
I saw them Friday night and they told me that they were probably going to refuse the chicken pox vaccine. They told us if she's 10 and hasn't had them yet, they'll vaccinate.
I do know that there have been cases where children have died as a result of an allergic reaction to vaccines and it's horrible.
Julie, thanks for clarifying about your hairdresser. I was feeling a little badly for her, but now I don't anymore. I'm definitely not sympathetic to people who lie in that sort of situation -- it is extremely unfair to other parents and THAT is what I would call irresponsible. Surprised she admitted it to you. It sounds like she needs to work on her communication skills, and probably shouldn't engage in controversial debates unless she can defend her position halfway intelligently.
ReplyDeleteYour co-worker sounds so level headed! I had chicken pox as an adult and I do NOT recommend it. I lived in fear with every pregnancy that I would contract it (it's deadly for fetuses). Little did I know that I didn't have to worry about that. :-(
I re-read my original post and I did sound harsh about the hairdresser. I won't even go into our previous conversation (when she did my hair) about alien abduction.
ReplyDeleteI adore my coworker and his wife. They are such amazing parents and have been a great resource for Marc and I. When she found out we were adopting - she offered to give me her breastmilk. Even offered to go through testing to show she was healthy enough to give us her milk. We ended up declining but it was such a generous offer.
I must say, I love the comments and debate you always semm to get going here Julie. It's an enjoyable read.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you vaccinated, Julie. I won't go point for point with Wessel about vaccine reactions, etc. All I can say is that I so glad that I don't have to see so many dead and deaf babies since we developed a vaccine for H. Flu.
ReplyDeleteAnd so people know, the bad reactions to pertussis were caused in extremely rare incidents by the old pertussis vaccine. The acellular pertussis vaccine does not have the same reactive potential.
Good to know Teendoc. They actually had a few consultations before they gave Dylan the pertussis because of his seizures. By the time it was decided that it would be safe, I was pretty confident (I think our pediatrician spoke with 4 or 5 other physicians!).
ReplyDeleteYou know the thing that no one has mentioned is the fact that these immunizations are BIG MONEY! I have read religiously since giving birth to my son about the serious side effects of the vaccines. Not just short term side effects, but life long problems that are slowly killing people. The medical community will only fuel those problems with more meds! Ask your doctor if they have researched first hand the true side effects that occur because of vaccines, or if they just read the government facts and literature provided and soo they could pass their medical tests to graduate. What people have to remeber is that those "nice doctors" get paid to be "nice doctors". The more they vaccinate, the more they get paid! Do the research...the truth is covered up in the cash.
ReplyDelete