Greetings!
I hope you all have enjoyed reading my tips and current adventures couponing! I encourage you to comment if you have any good coupons you have snagged and where you have used them. Be sure and check back weekly because starting this Sunday I'm going to post updates of the best coupons circulating and where to use them!! Today however I am taking a left turn from couponing and going to discuss another hot topic on my mind relating to child rearing.
This morning our daughter had her first well baby checkup at the pediatrician! Ew! I know... She is already 12 weeks old but she was born June of this year nearly 8 weeks early weighing only a slight 4 pounds 7oz. and we have been delaying her dreaded two month shots up until this point. Now I've never been a big fan of injecting my babies with killed bacterias and viruses even though I'm aware the CDC loves to push it... I've done more than my fair share of research when it comes to vaccinations and frankly have read over the topic from every point of view for hours on end trying to come up with that "peace of mind" decision we are all told as mothers we must come to regarding "The great vaccination debate." Let me tell you no matter HOW many times I've read the Pros and Cons, I can't seem to come to a decision one way or another on having this "peace of mind" they call it! Maybe it's the idea that no matter which way you choose there are possible side effects and consequences to your decision or maybe it's just because I'm slightly neurotic on the topic!
As with my other children I opted again to vaccinate just to spread them out considerably. With my son who is 7, I was very undereducated on the vaccination topic and let them poke him anytime the doctor so pleased.. and with that we suffered many of the more moderate side effects such as high fevers and vomiting. With my oldest daughter who is 3, I was just starting to realize I COULD read and make an informed decision and with her decided to do hers in two visits splitting them up and it lessened her side effects immensely but didn't eliminate them. So after loads of more research with my last little peanut I will be extra careful since she is already high risk being a preemie and have decided to do one shot every month opting to follow Dr. Sears alternative vaccination schedule.
(On a side note* I love that there is a great pediatrician who does research and THINKS about our children before just pumping them full of killed or weakened germs... If you haven't heard me say it before I LOVE Dr. Sears!) And while I'm bragging on doctors I LOVE our pediatrician who is very understanding on my feelings towards vaccinations and has no problem spreading them out.
This comes straight from a copy of Dr. Robert Sears "The Vaccine Book" it's a quick glance at his Alt. schedule.
Alternative schedule (if you want child to be fully immunized but spread things out a little):
2 months - DTaP, Rotavirus
3 months - PC, Hib
4 months - DTaP, Rotavirus
5 months - PC, Hib
6 months - DTaP, Rotavirus
7 months - PC, Hib
9 months - polio, flu (2 doses)
12 months - mumps, polio
15 months - Pc, Hib
18 months - DTaP, chickenpox
21 months - flu
2 years - rubella, polio
2 years, 6 months - Hep B, Hep A
3 years - Hep B, measles, flu
3 years, 6 months - Hep B, Hep A
4 years - DTaP, polio, flu
5 years - MMR, flu
If you want to check out a copy of his book see the link below:
http://www.amazon.com/Vaccine-Book-Making-Right-Decision/dp/0316180521/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316724856&sr=8-1
This is the alternative schedule we will be following with the exception of MMR, and my thoughts on that would take another entire blog! To sum it up we will wait until 5 years old and give the MMR then. I don't consider myself pro-vaccination nor do I consider myself against vaccinations. I guess I feel I've found myself a nice little spot in the middle and set up camp there!! With that said we actually only got our DTap-combined-meningitis shot today and poor lil Q is cranky from that,.. she has been needing lots of snuggle time with mommy; I couldn't imagine the torment her little body would be suffering if I would of allowed the additional four shots that are "supposed" to be done at this visit. We opted out of the rotavirus simply because she is 100% exclusively breastfed which makes a large difference when it comes to that particular disease strain.
With this said, I encourage you to do your research before your next pediatrician appointment involving vaccinations. I'm not going to lie, there are some scary assumptions out there on the topic but remember that some of these are simply that,.. assumptions! Don't let one person's opinion of a vaccination scare you forever but don't simply take someone else's word that there are no side effects or possible risks either. I like to do my research on reputable sites such as
http://www.webmd.com/ ;
http://www.kidshealth.com/ ;
http://www.askdrsears.com/,
http://www.nvic.org/ ... there are lots more places on the web that are discussing vaccinations out there so be sure the place your looking is a reputable site giving you all the facts!! Out of all these websites stance on vaccinations my favorite approach is of course Dr. Sears who believes vaccinations are a good thing in moderation,.. Haven't you ever heard the saying, "Too much of a good thing can be bad!" When it comes to the most precious part of our lives--our children-- we need to be extra mindful of this.
The Modest Mom *
