I am so grateful for modern medicine, especially vaccines. My grandfather almost died of Polio as a child and has suffered from its effects his entire life. Thanks to vaccines, Polio no longer exists in the U.S. and there are positive reports that in our lifetime it will probably no longer exist in the world. With that said, Andrew and I decided to delay vaccinating Ravenna and only selectively vaccinating at that. We feel good about our decision and it was based on a lot of research and thought. Today, Ravenna got her first vaccination.
I thought that I would share our delayed/selective vaccination schedule for the first two years which we decided on thanks to the research and advice found in Dr. Robert Sears' The Vaccine Book. I have also included the names of the commonly used brands of the vaccines that contain the least amount of aluminum:
5 months: DTaP (Daptacel)
6 months: Pc (Prevnar), HIB (ActHib)
7 months: DTaP
8 months: Pc, HIB
9 months: DTaP
10 months: Pc, HIB
15 months: Pc, HIB
Why this schedule? Because I am exclusively breastfeeding for at least 18 months and Ravenna is not going to daycare, many of the vaccines are unnecessary. I might even accept the argument that ALL vaccines are unnecessary in this situation, but I don't know what the future holds. Before Ravenna goes to school she will probably get the MMR, but we aren't 100% decided on that; let's see what happens with the research on the vaccine in between now and then. If we go to Africa or India, Ravenna will get the Polio vaccine beforehand.
As far as the actual vaccination went, I was a bit miffed by the nurse trying to convince me that the DTaP vaccine doesn't contain ANY aluminum. Uh, hello, it says it on the packaging? Oh, and she also gave me a hard time saying that it was going to be harder on the baby to get the shots every month instead of the combo every other month. Ummm, but it's not hard to get 4 at once? In any case, the nurse who actually gave the vaccination was very nice and we got a free board book: Goodnight Moon. Ravenna handled it pretty well, too.
5 comments:
I invite you to read my posts on vaccination--particularly the one about HIB. If you're planning to delay it until 6m anyway, and your dd is breastfed and not in daycare, then you might as well not bother with it at all. (It is most common from 6-7m old, and virtually unheard of in at-home breastfed babies.) http://brightonwoman.blogspot.com/2007/07/vaccines-hib.html
We're delaying at least 2 years- with the breastfeeding and all that. That might be an indefinite delay, though.
And good for you for doing your research!
Just a small word of advise that you won't need for a while, but...be prepared when she goes to school to have a fight on your hands. There are ever increasing "mandates" on vaccinations before a child enters school, so keep on doing your research so you can be armed with the info you need to state your case. I am worried that the cervical cancer vaccine will be mandated before Amy graduates, and although I wouldn't wish cervical cancer on her or anyone, it is primarily for sexually active females, and I have a hard time with my 12 year old's friends getting the shots. It seems that it is giving them permission to be sexually active...a whole other soapbox I could get on! Oh well, we each have our own ways of doing things!
Dr Stephenie Cave recommends giving babies and children vitamin A starting a few days before vaccine time to help the body deal with any toxins from the vaccines. You might enjoy her book - it is also dedicated to delayed vaccines instead of strictly anti-vaccine.
Nick believes in none until they're "18 and going on a mission" soon. I am fine with a delayed schedule, but I think some vaccines are important. We'll be doing a delayed schedule too. Still working that out.
It's tough to deal with pediatricians on this issue. I try to worm out of a reprimand by telling them it's something I'm working out with my husband and oh darn he's the one they'd want to talk to, but he's not with me...I usually walk out with more paperwork (which I use at home as scrap paper- don't you people worry;0)
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