The Vaccine Debate

Another Healthy Baby!

I am soooo incredibly torn on the ethical debate about giving our kids vaccines. I survived for many years without getting the regular doses of shots that most kids in my generation did, since my parents claimed religious right to not get them when I entered public school. And yeah... I was from a small town in AK where I only came in contact with a few kids a year and the school was a one-room building---in other words, this kind of thing was totally accepted. You also have to remember that back when I was kid (which was not long ago) there were fewer shots --maybe a total of about 13--- that everyone had to get and now there are like 26 or maybe more that they, the American Pediatrics Association, recommend giving to kids before they turn 3 years old.

Nonetheless, I can see both sides for sure---I mean polio and a few other really nasty bugs no longer exist in this country or world, but when your little one looks all happy and then wham, a shot that leads to crying, and then they get that look like you betrayed them...ouch a stab to your heart for sure!

And... have you ever read what is in vaccines??? cow slurry, monkey tissue, live diseases...I kid you not, if you don't believe me check out from your local library, The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child by Robert W. Sears, M.D., F.A.A.P.

At the end of a very long debate and many hours of research to make sure we were making the right choice for our first son, we ended up deciding it was better for the world and for us (considering we live in a very liberal metro area that if there was going to be an outbreak it would be here for sure) if a certain few were given. We did set some guidelines for the ones we choose to give: 
1) We designed our own schedule of when to administer them...Kaiser wanted to give a shot for Hep B---a sexually transmitted disease--- at birth, really Kaiser??? We said NO!
2) The shots had to have been around for a long while and shown a positive decrease in the disease---no Kaiser I will not give a pneumonia or flu shot to my infant that has only been on the market for a year.
 3) No more than 2 shots at once---sorry to say that the MMR, three-shot-in-one, is the only one that is an option at Kaiser so we still have give it---but not yet...we will wait until right before kindergarten.
4)  We give them only at the shot clinic at Kaiser so that J or Aram will not associate shots with Dr Fern, who is a great pediatrician, and her nurses.
5) Only give vaccines for illnesses that are very dangerous or have a higher incident of occurring---No chicken pox vaccine since we hope to find another kid to give it to our boys...I had it when I was young and I can tell you, although it was horrible, it was a kind of right of passage into the world of getting sick. In fact, I think most kids in my generation had them and remember them as horrible but important.
6). Bottom line We say when, where, what and how when giving shots---no convincing allowed!!!!

Even with all these "rules," I still struggle with giving them and Olde has to hold the boys when it occurs as I look away trying to play brave mommy. I think this is just part of being a parent---wearing a brave face even when you feel scared inside (more on this later).