doc-tor kalb...moooo

that's what alena said when trying to say her doctor's name at her 2 yr check up yesterday. pretty cute.

our nurse, maggie, gushed about how big alena is (27 pounds = 55th percentile, and like 36" tall..literally off the height chart) considering at one point, she was literally off the weight chart b/c she was so small. alena smiled and chattered while our amazing dr. kalb checked her ears and throat and tummy.

what? no tears? nope, because we didn't get shots. i'm not anti-vaccine, i'm just pro- learning what each shot is for, only vaccinating for the things she actually is at risk for catching, and should it be gotten, would be bad. there are risks with getting shots. there's a risk for anything you put in your body. you must weigh whether the benefit outweighs the risk.

alena is fully up to date on DTaP, Hib and IPV. the next up is the MMR, hopefully split up into individual M, M and R doses (set to be available from Merk in 2011--it was taken off the market earlier this year, but met with public outrage) either way, she got her last shot somewhere before 18 mos old and won't get another (which will be the MMR) until before kindergarten. that's nice.

some things we've skipped:
silver nitrate on the eyes at birth. this isn't actually a vaccine, but the principle is the same. this is for gonorrhea that a child may contract from the mother during birth. they don't trust the public to know well enough whether they have an STD or not. i guess i can see the argument in certain demographics, but i know exactly where my body (and my husband's body) has been. pass.

Hep B. same argument. there's no way alena could contract this at her age. they're trying to control the disease, don't trust that the public will get this vaccination when they become sexually active (and assume everyone is promiscuous and irresponsible) so they give it to babies.

Pneumococcal virus. at 1 yr old, our doctor told us that after she turns 2, she has no need to get this vaccine. i asked could we just ride it out until then. i asked what her actual risk of actually catching this disease (which can be treated with antibiotics) were, he said slim to none. pass.

chicken pox. most of us had the chicken pox. it's manageable. the vaccine is only good for 10 years or so, which means you must keep going back for more shots through your life. it's common knowledge that the older you are when you get the pox, the more severe it is and not having a good case of them in childhood puts one at greater risk for shingles as an adult (which can have much more serious complications.) now i just have to find a way to get alena to have the real chicken pox... (give me a call in a few years if your kid has it...i'll bring her over for a play date!)
*sidenote: i have a friend whose son recently had chicken pox. i was surprised she didn't vaccinate her son...she did. he got it anyway. vaccinations aren't a 100% guarantee that you won't catch the disease. ask yourself if it's worth it for your child to get the pain of a shot AND still get the disease....

I think these are the major ones. We won't be doing flu/H1N1 shots either. yes, there's true risk for catching the flu, but also some risks for getting the shot. anything you catch naturally, your body's amazing immune system kicks in and can (usually) do a much better job at fighting it than man made meds can. aiding the immune system by eating healthy real foods and leaving out refined sugars does wonders, as does washing hands, people staying home when sick, etc.

again, i'm not anti-vaccine or western medicine. i think we have come great strides in our medicine and so thankful that things like pneumonia or diarrhea isn't deadly in the US. i'm thankful that through vaccinations we've been able to eradicate the world of things like polio and small pox. however, i want to make sure that the dosage and timing of the shots are as they were actually intended to be given when they were created. some shots are given to children the first year of life b/c they don't trust the mothers to return to the doctor throughout the next few years to be properly vaccinated. so, i'll do my part and bring her in on time, you do your part and don't give my child 5 shots at the same time.

our doctor recommended we read "what your doctor may not tell you about children's vaccinations" by stephanie cave. i thought it was an objective look at the issue, without being dismissively anti-vax. she offers an alternative schedule (which we're following). Dr. Sears also has great info on this. if you're interested, i recommend it.

***disclaimer: my overall point in this is to look at each and every shot/disease and weigh the risk/benefit for YOUR specific area, family history and child. what may be a very low risk to my child might be a high risk to your child. maybe your child is in daycare or school 5 days/week and then regularly visits an elderly family member. the benefit for a flu shot would then be different from my child. read about what all these are for and talk to your doctor about them. don't blindly take the shots, but don't blindly deny them either. know why you make every decision you're making.