I applaud your research. Plus I can go back and read your archives when I get knocked up.

I could have written that post word for word.

I will not allow mercury into my child’s body knowingly.

I am giving vax on my own schedule. Spread out which seems more sane to me.

To parents who say I’m jeopardizing their kids health…no I’m not, get your kids vaccinated then my kids being or not being vaxxed won’t affect yours”.

Shit is really scary. I was less terrified during my pregnancy about having a healthy baby than I am now about this.

Hey, mind my asking you to email me your schedule? Do you have research done one when you plan to give them these vaccinations?

The good news is IF we decide not to vaccinate in time for kindergarten, every state but Mississippi and West Virginia allows for religious and/or philosophical reasons to pass.

I started my son at two. A doctor told me about the blood brain barrier and how it isn’t developed until the.

I thought about what disease he was most likely to encounter/have serious consequences with. Because of where we live he has had HepA and polio ( not live)and dpt. I couldn’t find single ones here so i just did the triple.

I fudged his school registration. Will I burn in hell?

M

Funny story.

i was vaccinated and boostered for the measles when I was a youngin’. I got it again before college. Anyway, about four years ago, right when we moved back to NY from SF, I got sick. It seemed like a cold only this time I had a rash on my torso. Since we didn’t have health insurance at the time, I visited some strip mall type place one afternoon. I paid the guy 70 dollars to tell me I had the measles. I told him he was insane. That there was no way since i had been vaccinated for this. I had my mother to back me up. Still do.

So, i left thinking that was money well spent. Hack.

Anyway, fast forward three years later. I go to my OBGYN to have my blood work done anticipating a future pregnancy. Everything came back normal. However, she informs me that my many measles vaccines were no longer valid. SO! I did have the measles, That guy was right after all.

But here’s the deal. I was vaccinated at least three times for that illness. Apparently, you have to keep going and going. Anyway, I haven’t gone to get another vaccination for it. Not sure I ever will. We’ll see.

But the point is, isn’t that messed up? What does that mean? Does that mean the viruses are changing to fight our vaccinations?

First, the 1/150 children statistic can be a little misleading because that does not mean that 1 in 150 children have SEVERE Autism. The “Autism Spectrum” is call that because there can be a HUGE range of severity from a kid that is just a little quirky to a kid who sits in a corner and rocks back and forth all day. The increase in diagnoses does not necessarily mean that more kids are developing Autism, just that more kids are being diagnosed. 15 years ago, most of the kids who are now diagnosed as “high functioning” or “mild” (Autism, Asperger’s, PDD, NOS, and so on) were just thought of as weird or difficult kids. I am sure every one of us can think of a person they knew in school (or know now) who would probably fit the criteria, but were never diagnosed.

Second, Autism is not something to be afraid of and not something that you have a lot of control over as a parent. Whether you decide to vaccinate or not, that is your decision, but if the only reason not to is because there might be a slight chance of possibly developing Autism, do you want to take that risk of your child actually developing a disease that could kill him? If you have to pick your battles, I’d choose the potentially lethal ones (and the ones where a direct causal relationship is proven). The vaccine theory of Autism is widely disputed and not the only possible cause. So, even if you keep Emory away from vaccines, the risk of developing Autism is still there (and still very rare).

I think I have been a little long winded, so I am going to shut up now. Research the vaccine issue and see what you find, but remember that there is no one sure identified cause of Autism (and Autism isn’t something to be afraid of…).

I think examining a schedule, prioritizing vaccines based on threat, and ensuring that heavy metals aren’t tossed into the mix is a good process towards which we’ll work.

The schedule given by the CDC isn’t at all individual, obviously, and there isn’t a single medical decision I have or will ever make that isn’t individually-tailored. That isn’t to say we’ll scrap it all or accept it all. It’s just a matter of responsibility and due diligence to thoroughly engage the subject. Not doing so is an abdication of responsibility, IMO.

I just want to make it clear that I am not for (or against) vaccines and I think what you decide to do is your own decision as a parent.

That being said, we still are spreading out our daughter’s vaccines, at 18 months, which is totally supported by our doctor. Particularly because we have seizures in our family history, which can be a side effect. Even without that knowledge, however, I had decided to spread them out. Their systems are SO little and I just felt a lot of shots would overwhelm it. We have had few side effects (even the common ones such as fever or crankiness) doing it this way. We basically went every month instead of every two months during the first year.

Also, are you aware they start vaccinations at two months? You are going to have to contend with this issue sooner than you think.

I do know that vaccinations aren’t the cause (if a cause at all). I think they may act as a final straw or tipping point for an already existing problem. I do know this much, agreeing to ALL the suggested vaccinations is not something I will agree to. That is far too many injections for such a small child. I think it’s excessive.

My brother just had a baby and his fiance (a nurse) was questioning the whole vaccination issue too. I believe someone she knows her and is a doctor on the other side of the country told her to NOT give her son one of the vaccinations (of course I can’t recall which one right now). She explained the very thing that Jenny M. was talking about on Larry King; how certain vaccinations may “trigger” autism.

Anyway. I’ll ask her about it again and let you know what I find out. I’m curious to see if she vaccinated and if so….which ones?

also, i dont mind getting email! even mean ones sometimes make me laugh.

(typing w 1 hand. baby in other.)

I think the best thing you can do is be informed and make sure you have a Dr who is not extreme in either direction and willing to work with you no matter what course of action you decide to take.

Our dr was really patient and accessible when we had questions and was willing to work with us to come up with a solution that we all felt comfortable with.

Thanks to everyone who posted thus far, all great and valid points.

Sad thing is michele, we do everything we can to protect the health of the baby in utero only to release them into a world where we have very little control over their health and well being. I feel like it is the old bait and switch routine. Robby Benson had the right idea.

I also know that vaccinations aren’t the sole cause of autism. I know this. Promise.

Perhaps I wasn’t clear in my post. I am just cautious. I was cautious all throughout my pregnancy and I intend to keep it that way. Hell! I wouldn’t even drink a diet coke when I was pregnant. I even avoided almost all caffeine.

Also, that last sentence was a joke.

Please know that I’m not going to make bad decisions. Also, we’re not researching shit via the Internet, we’re particularly avoiding all messageboards and the like. I promise.

Sorry, I’ve been receiving email leading me to believe this post was taken the wrong way.

Ignore mails from people whose reading comprehension skills somehow miss my stating above that we don’t plan to scrap them all.

I was not going to have him immunized for chicken pox, until his family doctor told me that a few children out of every 100 with chicken pox need to be hospitalized, and some die. So, we got that shot too. However, I skipped the flu shot, I don’t get that one myself, and don’t think it is as necessary.

Oh, and they don’t use mercury in vaccinations in Canada anymore.

Speaking from experience, vaccines and autism are one of the most hot button and debated parental issues, as I’m sure you’re about to learn if you haven’t already. Almost 3 years ago, I was in your exact same situation. My son was a newborn and I started to research and learn as much as I could about vaccines. The vaccine that is most debated is the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), which is typically given at 12 months if you follow the “normal” schedule. Some doctors try to give it as young as 9 months and some wait until 18 months. There is a lot of interesting, conflicting and terrifying information out there about the MMR vaccine. There are a LOT of parents who believe that the MMR vaccine triggered or caused autism in their child. On the other side, there are a lot of doctors/medical researchers who say no.

Like you, I am not anti-vaccine. That said, I believe the US schedule is overly aggressive, and I strongly advise you to develop your own schedule that spreads vaccines out more. My son received all of his early vaccines – they get them at 2, 4, and 6 months – on time because I hadn’t really started my research at that point. (A tangent – A trick I learned from a nurse is to take a small bottle of water with sugar in it for the shots – give the sugar water right before the shots. My son never cried early on because he was distracted by the sweet water. You, however, will cry.)

At the 9 month check up, no shots are generally given. At that point, I started to question his ped about the MMR because I was reading more and more about it. She is very much a believer in no autism connection, but admitted that she received very little training in autism in med school (and she’s only about 36 so she hasn’t been out of school that long). At the 12 month checkup, I flat out refused to give my son the MMR. He got 2 other shots that day, but I wouldn’t sign for the MMR (the MMR and chickenpox vaccine, which are both scheduled for 12 months must be given within a certain period of time to be effective so he didn’t get that either). I continued to do my research and decided I was going to give him the MMR as 3 separate shots and space them about 2 months apart. Trouble is/was – it is very difficult to find someone who sells the shots separately (travel clinics sometimes do), you have to make sure that the shots you buy were made in the U.S. and are thimerosol free, and you need to be aware that insurance likely won’t pay for you to purchase the shots (in some cases you can’t buy them individually, but have to buy in a lot of 10). You also need to make sure that your ped will administer the shots and record them for you for the official medical records. (Another tangent – I have learned that you are supposed to make a vaccine journal and every single time you get a vaccine for Emory, ask to see the label and record the manufacturing information – lot number, date, etc.)

As it turns out, around the time I was trying to buy separate MMR shots, there was the mumps outbreak in the Midwest – so I couldn’t find a mumps vaccine. So, in the end, my son got the combined MMR shot when he was 19 months old. I made sure he was absolutely well – no cold or runny nose or compromised immune system. I made sure that he got no other shots at the same time, and I cried like hell before I signed the form and prayed like hell after. Of all of the shots he has received up to this point, that was the only one that caused a reaction. He got very sick – high fever, lump at the injection site, very irritable, rash. Fortunately he is absolutely fine now, but I wonder what could have happened if he had gotten this shot at 12 months in combination with 3 others. (An interesting note – the viruses in the MMR are all live viruses and in some autistic children live measels have been found in the intestinal lining/gut – I think Jenny McCarthy talks about this in her book.)

Sorry for the long post. Bottom line – trust your gut. I will send you some of the blogs/links I’ve found if you’re interested.

As more and more kids don’t get vaccinated, or get “selectively” vaccinated, then the risk rises for any given disease to spread. Imagine a child or adult immigrates to this country – to your area, to your neighborhood – with some disease. That’s a nightmare scenario for your child, who would then pass it on to all of the other kids not vaccinated.

These guidelines are in place for a reason! Worldwide health organizations mandate them for a reason. It’s not just some privatized health system trying to get money…it’s mandated in countries with socialized medicine as well. Doctors are not stupid; researchers are not stupid.

Finally, I think it’s a bit selfish NOT to vaccinate your child. Maybe it’s a kind of personal survival thing, but not vaccinating your child has the potential to jeopardize many other children. What a “problem” for people in the the richest country in the world…do you think kids in Central America, India, Africa even have the luxury of being vaccinated?! And it is a luxury. These zones are precisely where the diseases run rampant.

It’s not just the US either: I would say most of Europe is the same. You receive Hep B at birth, then 8 at 2 months, 7 at 4 months, the same 7 at 6 months, then 15 months, 18 months, then 4 years.

I guess that all depends on what research you buy into.

Meg

You are so brave asking people’s opinions on breast feeding, CIO, jabs. I think you even mentioned circumcision once or twice.

Are you a glutton for punishment? You need to discuss now the family bed, motessori schooling, and spanking!

I love this site.

I am glutton for punishment indeed! Or maybe I’m just looking to push a few buttons here and there. Judging by the tone of some of the comments here (and email I have received) I know that I have.

Also, I must repeat, contrary to what some may believe Toby and I are not stupid. We are going to make wise decisions where our son’s life is concerned. Selfish? You better believe it.

I said/wrote it before, I’ll say it again: WE ARE NOT NOT GOING TO VACCINATE EMORY. We’re just going to be very aggressive with how we do so, where we do it, who we do it with and when we do it. Or, what Cleo wrote. (Thanks, Cleo!)

Lowy, you come off as a very opinionated person! Dinner at your house would require brining a large bottle of Pepcid.

Sandy, no, I never would have guessed a sexy Jenny McCarthy would have started such an uproar. And it’s only just begun.

I love the argument that your unvaccinated child is a risk to those who are. Why because some vaccines are ineffective? If you vaccinated your kid, shouldnt you have some confidence in the vaccine to do its job or is it just another means to make you feel like you are a responsible parent?

I also love how people are so willing to put all of their trust in gov’t departments, CDC, FDA, to make the right decisions. People thought thalidomide was a good idea too. Oh and how about asprin to kids who have fevers (my aunt died when she was 4 from what would become known as Ryes.)

We used leeches, draining humors and all kinds of good stuff back in the day thinking it was the right thing to do. If we do not question, who will?

I think I may still believe in leeches. Definitely I think maggots are good in some medical circumstances.

I’m going to start looking into leeches…

I also believe companies make money off of vaccinations. Bottom line profit.

I have learned not to totally and completely trust the government through the years.

I’m not one of those freaky conspiracy theorists, but the government isn’t perfect. Not by a long shot.

Don’t they still use maggots for some folks? I think they do!