I get emails almost every day in regards to how we feel about vaccinations for our baby.  This is such a controversial, HOT topic right now, and I have been debating for months if I should even address the issue on my blog.   I have finally decided that I will share my feelings, but that is the extent of what I’m sharing- just feelings and opinions.  In no way, whatsoever, are my opinions correct, and I do not disagree with any of you that chose something different for your children.  The decision we made just seemed to feel right for us.

For the last couple of months, I have spent the majority of my days researching.  Researching about the best type of bottles to use, cloth vs. disposable diapers, breast pumps and bottle feeding… To me, these small things can be scary and overwhelming… and when faced with huge issues such as circumcision and vaccination schedules-Ahh… just stick a fork in me!

I have been scouring the internet for anything that may be relevant to vaccinations.  I always try to place myself right on the fence and I like to play devil’s advocate for both sides when trying to decide where my beliefs fall when researching any controversial topic.  I’ve read reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics, autism and anti-vaccination websites, and my favorite- Dr. Sears sites.

Did you know that today’s infants are bombarded with nearly 3 times as many vaccinations than we were when we were children?  That being said, I know that these same vaccines have nearly eradicated many horrid diseases (Polio, anyone?) in our population.  I frequently read new studies that completely discredit the “vaccinations causes autism” theory, but at the same time, I am a complete skeptic when it comes to medication. I am a firm believer that many pediatricians are over diagnosing and over prescribing pills for today’s youth.

After a lot of research, Ian and I have decided that we fall somewhere in the middle.  We feel most comfortable with Dr. Sears’ thoughts and recommendations.  Grae will be getting vaccinated on a delayed vaccination schedule, which means that he will not get more than two shots per doctor’s visit.  This means that we will be spending a lot more time at the doctor’s office, as he will have to go more often, but it will also allow his little immune system to deal with one or two things at a time.  In addition to this, we have decided to forgo the non-life threatening vaccinations all together -such as rotavirus and chickenpox.

I want to point out that it is absolutely true that the AAP has done many studies to show that the current vaccination schedule is safe for children and that the Dr. Sears recommendation has never been proven in any study to be more effective in preventing autism or severe vaccine reactions.  Ian and I are choosing to follow the Dr. Sears recommendations because it is what WE are most comfortable with for our son. Each parent needs to decide what they feel most comfortable with individually.  We are confident in the decision we made regarding vaccinations and hope anyone else facing this difficult decision finds peace as well. We all just want to do what’s best for our babies! 🙂

XO,

Andrea