New Look, New Year!

Surprise! I have decided recently I wanted to give this blog a new look and be a little more creative with it. What better time to do this than on New Year's Day! After exploring all kinds of blog templates online, I finally decided just customize a simple look.

Yesterday, Liam officially turned two months old. Like many parents with babies or small children, we rung in 2009 in a very simple way at home together....just watching the ball drop on TV. Liam was staring at it intently the whole time. We might have done something more, had we not all been sick. We started coming down with a cold on Saturday night, but were actually feeling better the last few days (at least I was, I know Michael got some cold medicine but I've been avoiding it because of breastfeeding). However, we didn't turn on the humidifier overnight on Tuesday and woke up the following day feeling even worse. I even started losing my voice. Thanks to mommy milk, Liam seems to have the most mild case of all of us. He has been sleeping more frequently, however in shorter durations. I have let him sleep, though part of me wonders if the extra naps are partially causing him to sleep only in 3 hours intervals at night (instead of his previous 4-4.5). Poor little man is also spitting up a lot more than usual, but I'm suspecting it's from drainage. I'm just glad he isn't too stuffed up and hope he will not be. It is very scary when young babies have anything that could effect their breathing.

Yesterday I also checked out The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child by Dr. Sears. I read the whole thing, yes all 250 pages or so, in one sitting. I seem to actually finish books if I plow through them like that. Besides, I didn't feel well enough to do much else. I really enjoyed it. I liked how he went through and explained how all the vaccines currently recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics are made, thoroughly talked about each disease (what it was, how common it is, how serious it is, how it is treated, why we vaccinate for it, etc.). He also talked about what each contains (listed different brands), and highlighted which ingredients were controversial, and highlighted each possible side effect and the frequency of occurrence. Some of the ingredients are really disgusting, but not necessarily something to worry about! He also discussed current vaccine safety research, and has a website for current updates. I thought he did a good job of staying unbiased in my opinion, and encouraging parents to make their own decisions. I liked his straightforward language, explanations of his thought processes, humor, and the fact he even explained his motives for writing this book and why he became so interested in vaccines.

I am definitely glad I read it. Overall, it does help me feel more informed since we need to make decisions concerning Liam's vaccination schedule at his two-month appointment coming up on January 5. Overall, I feel very good about giving him most vaccines on the normal schedule. The only thing that did get me thinking is the aluminium levels of vaccines. Some vaccines, especially certain combinations, do contain what the FDA and AAP say may be harmful levels. Whether or not infants just process and removed the extra aluminum in their urine or if it can collect in their bodies so far has not fully been researched (I plan to look into this more). Too high of aluminium levels have been shown to cause neurological harm. So, parents like me need to weight whether or not to just trust our kid will probably be fine on the normal schedule or decide whether or not we want to try an alternative schedule to minimize this exposure in case it is problematic. It is something I wonder if in time, like mercury, could end up being removed from vaccines altogether. I honestly am not sure if it will be practical for us to do an alternative schedule or not regardless, since our temp insurance doesn't cover vaccination or well-baby visits. Cost is a concern for us, but of course what's best for Liam is most important. We could go to a public health clinic since I'm unemployed, but if I do I want to know exactly which vaccines they have available before I'd consider that. I am not sure if the pediatrician's office and public health clinics offer the same ones.

I'm not sure exactly what we will do yet, but at least I will be able to ask a lot of questions now and weigh everything when we go in for the next visit. It is also good to know which vaccines are more crucial now, and which could be delayed if we chose. We do plan to get him fully vaccinated, the question is just whether or not we'll follow the schedule exactly or not.