I Still Get Surprised
As a teen and through college, I babysat every moment I could spare away from my parents' farm and my year-round basketball commitments. Into my adulthood, I nannied when I wasn't teaching in an actual classroom setting. Now in my 10th year of being a mother to my own children, I would think with all that experience there's nothing about motherhood that could truly surprise me. I would be wrong.
Today I took my sweet new guy to his 6-week check-up. It's been more than 3 years since I had one so small, so in preparation for his appointment, I printed off the CDC's recommended vaccine schedule for 2016. I wanted to see what they're recommending now so we could make an informed decision. I you've been reading my blog for long, you know I'm a research nerd. Vaccines are no exception. No, I don't read blogs or opinion pieces, I read VAERS, CDC reports, and scientific data. Facts. In my post, Why Taking Pain Meds Before Vaccines Can Hurt Not Help, I discussed my own family's history of vaccine reactions that led to this research. Because it bears repeating, I am not anti-vaccine. I think many vaccines are a great idea. I think the heavy metals, known carcinogens, and other nonsense put in vaccines as stabilizers are dangerous, and the recommended large number of shots given at once is reckless. So to be prepared for this appointment with our Rainbow today, I printed the CDC's vaccine schedule and my husband and I took a look to decide how we would proceed today. I. Was. Floored. At approximately the 2 months checkup, they recommend vaccinating for eight things. EIGHT!!! And that's not even counting the optional seasonal vaccines like the flu shot. I just could not fathom how the medical professionals could think such a heavy assault of germs injected directly into such a tiny body with an immune system just figuring out how to function outside the world would be a good idea, much less the incredible amount of chemicals and heavy metals at once. Surprised didn't cover what I felt. Terrified is closer.
Now, I know plenty of babies are vaccinated on this schedule every single day and are just fine. GOOD FOR THEM! Seriously, I am so, so happy for those parents. But there are also a lot of babies who suffer dire consequences daily. Like I briefly described in my post, Walk A Mile, our fourth child was one of them, and he is far from an isolated event. Just take a look at VAERS, a government-run database tracking just a sample of serious adverse vaccine reactions, or ask to read the pamphlet that comes with the vaccine itself. Quite literally, healthy babies in the USA die every single day from vaccine injuries, and for all different reasons. My own nephew suffered profound vaccine injuries before it was discovered he had a very rare mitochondrial disorder and they stopped all vaccines. There is no extensive panel of testing that can screen a newborn for underlying issues that can drastically increase the likelihood of severe reactions to vaccines. It's just impossible, really, and yet the government still mandates vaccines in most states. It strikes me as such a Darwinistic approach to inject ALL and just see who comes out unscathed for the next round.
I am so thankful for states that recognize parents' rights as valid, so we can make an informed decision either way. I know there are those who are rather extremist and not informed. They truly are few and far between as far as those who question and delay/selectively/refuse vaccinations. Those of us who are educated and informed on the facts tend to be quieter about our stances, because as soon as we do speak up we are immediately lumped into a group of blog-reading, celebrity-worshiping, ignorance-embracing conspiracy theorists. As with any non-mainstream view, society hears the big-mouth squeaky wheels who are striking out and causing a ruckus, not the majority. I am so thankful for pediatric practices(like ours!) who recognize there's validity in questioning the CDC schedule and are completely supportive of doing things a different way.
Now, I know plenty of babies are vaccinated on this schedule every single day and are just fine. GOOD FOR THEM! Seriously, I am so, so happy for those parents. But there are also a lot of babies who suffer dire consequences daily. Like I briefly described in my post, Walk A Mile, our fourth child was one of them, and he is far from an isolated event. Just take a look at VAERS, a government-run database tracking just a sample of serious adverse vaccine reactions, or ask to read the pamphlet that comes with the vaccine itself. Quite literally, healthy babies in the USA die every single day from vaccine injuries, and for all different reasons. My own nephew suffered profound vaccine injuries before it was discovered he had a very rare mitochondrial disorder and they stopped all vaccines. There is no extensive panel of testing that can screen a newborn for underlying issues that can drastically increase the likelihood of severe reactions to vaccines. It's just impossible, really, and yet the government still mandates vaccines in most states. It strikes me as such a Darwinistic approach to inject ALL and just see who comes out unscathed for the next round.
I am so thankful for states that recognize parents' rights as valid, so we can make an informed decision either way. I know there are those who are rather extremist and not informed. They truly are few and far between as far as those who question and delay/selectively/refuse vaccinations. Those of us who are educated and informed on the facts tend to be quieter about our stances, because as soon as we do speak up we are immediately lumped into a group of blog-reading, celebrity-worshiping, ignorance-embracing conspiracy theorists. As with any non-mainstream view, society hears the big-mouth squeaky wheels who are striking out and causing a ruckus, not the majority. I am so thankful for pediatric practices(like ours!) who recognize there's validity in questioning the CDC schedule and are completely supportive of doing things a different way.
AND FOR GOODNESS SAKE, DO NOT EVER GIVE YOUR CHILD FEVER-REDUCING MEDICATIONS BEFORE THEIR VACCINES!!!! See the link I posted above as to why.
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