What did you guys do about this, and why? First of all, I am for immunizations. I don't think it's everyone else's responsibility to get their kid immunized so that my kid is safe. That's not very fair, but how many should I do at one time? which ones. These are all questions John and I have to face in the next month.
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It is WONDERFUL about which ones to do and in what order. It gives you an entire schedule written out so you know exactly what order is the safest (which is not the standard recommendation).
It also has a chapter for each and every vaccine, explaining in detail about it. Let me know if you need help getting one. It was just published in the last few months.
It was helpful and a little scary. She sent my an author she liked too. Check it out. I'd like to hear what they require for you to enter school etc?
Katharina got all the standard vaccines. At the beginning against 6 illnesses. She had no problem at all. Not even a skin irritation. Maybe slept a little more that day. But then, Thomas and I both got vaccineatet (?) when we where kinds and had no problems at all. I suppose you'll have to decide. I decided to give her all the vacs. she could get and have the feeling it was the right decision.
Cheers,
Carmen
Sure it might be easier for mom to not have to restrain a screaming toddler, been there, done that, have the t-shirt. However, parenting isn't about what is easiest for mom, but about making the best choices for our children.
While I certainly don't advocate skipping vax's, I am a strong believer that an educated parent is able to make the best choices for their child.
When you get educated you learn about things like mercury, aluminum and formaldehyde that are put into those shots, and that if you choose to do the shots in a certain order you can minimize the dose of any of those less favorable ingredients given in one appointment.
I would listen to Mother Superior. Keeping the heavy metals in low dose...which means spreading the shots out, shows a lower incidence of kids with aspergers and autism...and yes, vaccs can cause those learning and socialization problems. Get the book and you and John make an informed decision, you're well on your way to becoming wise parents, not just listening to wives-tales and "how it's always been done" but making wise decisions. I agree you should get the vaccs, but there is a shown better way to administer them.
Love ya' Liz
Any information I do get, though, will be in German. So, John and I will do our research and see what we find, try to do what is best for Keane, and then leave the rest up to the Lord.
I agree with Mother Superior. You should know what you are putting into your baby and why you are doing it.
After reading "What your doctor may not tell you about children's vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave w/ Deborah Mitchell I opted out of the Hepatitis B vaccine when it was offered at the hospital the day my daughter was born. I learned that Hep B is spread like AIDs - blood to blood contact, etc. The vaccine was orginally meant for older kids who were sexually active. The older kids were not getting the vaccine so they made it a part of the baby shots. Easy fix!
I am also opting out of the varicella vaccine (chickenpox) because they do not know how long it is good for and it will require boosters. so you could be walking around thinking you are immune and get the chicken pox anyway.
I am also spacing out my baby's shots. She gets two at a time. We end up going once every other month. The doctor was a little irritated, but he did it. We were off the schedule he recomended, but I felt better.
It is possible to get 7 shots with only 3 pokes of a needle at a doctor's visit. If you think about it you are shooting 7 different toxins into your baby at one time, plus all of the preservatives and junk in them. It is overwhelming to a baby's immune system that is not fully developed. And if your baby does have a reaction how would you know what caused it after giving him 7 diffeent shots.
When we were kids they didn't have all of the vaccines they have now. So it wasn't such a big deal.
Sorry I blabbered on so much! I hope this helps, but try and do some research online if you can't get the books. At least you will know you tried to make an educated guess.
If I don't put my child in a car seat and say "God will protect him if I get in an accident" I endanger my son and I mock God. I can't go through life expecting God to step in and intervene in the natural way he has created the universe to work. Sure He could reverse the laws of gravity and allow a child to escape unscathed from an accident, but that doesn't mean I should assume He will. OTOH by doing everything I can/should do to protect my children I can not guarantee their health, wellness or even their life. God is still in control.
Regarding the post above, they have removed extremely significant amounts of mercury (thimerosal)from vax's in the last 5 years.... because the public got educated and it became a HUGE media issue. However 99% of all flu shots still contain mercury, as well as may formulations of tetanus (DTaP, DP, dT) and some brands of hep B.
Sara - regarding the language barrier, that must be such a challenge! However, by doing some research you may find that some of it becomes a 'non-issue' because you are in Germany. It is my understanding that the US is one of the most aggressive about the number and spacing of vax's and that European countries are more conservative. You may also decide that based on your research you don't want to do some vax's at all, say hep B or chickenpox.
Personally, I always started vax's at 6 months and did 2 at a time until they were complete. I never had a good reason for it, but felt that it was limiting how much was introduced to their immune system at once, and that it was allowing their nervous system a little longer to develop before the bugs were introduced. Incidentally I now have statistics to back up most of what I did out of a "gut sense."
You might not be aware but as long as you are brestfeeding baby gets a certain amount of antibodies from you, so that reduces the likelihood of contracting something while he his really young.
There is no rush to do anything. If you are still researching information at his next appointment, just explain that to your Dr. I would also find out what "brand" of vax's they use, because it very well may be a brand that you can find info on in English. Ask if you can have the vax inserts (the drug literature) or look online to see if you can find them published in English.
Good luck! You are doing a super job in your new role as Mommy. I trust that God will give both you and John peace as you make these decisions for your precious blessing!!
Who would have thought that parenting a newborn could raise such deep philosophical questions! LOL
the same should be done for Keane. If they don't want to explain what they are pumping into him and why?, then I need to find out some other way. simple logic.
if there is a risk, I don't know how a Dr. would sleep at night, so I'm not going to assume the worst. We just want information.
;)