You see, the two-month mark equals a whole slew of vaccines for babies, but Jeff and I both have reservations whether or not to immunize. If so, which immunizations and when. And do they contain Thimerosal (mercury)? How about aluminum? Formaldehyde? Why have you ever or would you now inject a baby (or anyone for that matter) with those substances? What about autism? What causes it? The MMR shot? Or is it genetic? Does Jenny McCarthy have any idea what she is talking about? Are parents of autistic children simply looking for something, anything to label as the cause of the disease? What about all those experts screaming about the importance of breast milk and how it is best for babies, all-natural, from the mother's body, only contains the nutrients needed by the baby and nothing else, attempting to make mothers feel guilty if they don't or can't breastfeed for whatever the reason, telling us how formula is an inferior choice because it contains artificial ingredients and substances that are not able to be processed by the developing baby's body... yet we should inject children with vaccines containing metals, preservatives and more?
To put it bluntly, the whole thing is confusing. You can easily find articles, personal testimonies, and books siding on both ends of the spectrum. Both sides are biased - that is what taking a side means. Where is the Joe Lieberman of immunizations when you need him?! Who do we believe? Where do we get the best information? What decision should we ultimately make here?
After a lengthy discussion with our pediatrician, we decided that Harper would receive just one vaccine, DTaP, today. Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis...you know, diphtheria, so she'll be safe the next time she travels the Oregon Trail! (Sorry, I had to try and toss in a joke somewhere...this blog entry is a bit more serious than usual.) She handled it very well, and so did her parents! She cried a bit while receiving the injection and shortly thereafter, but she has been a trooper all day long. Jeff called around lunch to ask how our "guinea pig" was doing, and I replied that she was just fine, behaving very well, but that she had surprisingly grown six inches since that morning. ;) (That would be scary--another six inches would nearly put her over the tops of us both!)
Most likely, we will go back to the doctor's office sometime next week for one more shot. Some of them we are just not sold on, particularly at her age. Regardless of what any of us believes, we owe it to ourselves (and the kiddos) to arm ourselves with information, ask questions, and feel like we have what we need to make the best decisions. In this case, I think Jeff and I have done just that. (However, not the best decision when I added "Made of Honor" to our Blockbuster queue...that movie was terrible, despite the help of McSteamy's lovely locks and pretty face! Ah well, you can't win them all!)
In other news, Harper now weighs 9.4 lbs and is nearly 23 inches tall. She is still holding strong in the 25th percentile for her weight and 75th percentile on height. The doc seemed to think she will actually thin out even more eventually...something she certainly did not inherit from her dear ol' mom & pop!
Well, that's all I got for now. My "patient" is ready for her dinner, a bedtime story and her crib. It's been a long day for us all! :)
She might not have loved the shot itself, but she looks so cute with her pink camo band-aid!
She managed to squeeze out plenty of smiles today, despite the morning's trauma. :)
Great shirt, too... "This is my little black dress!"
PS. Happy Anniversary to Wayne & Toni! Today marks 32 years of marriage for those two bird lovers. ;)
