Well we have a little chub nut on our hands. Hazel had her 4 month check-up today and her weight was in the 75th percentile and her height was only in the 25th percentile. For the time being we have a short fatty, haha. As long as her head size stays normal I figure the rest will work out eventually.
I had been having some issues deciding on whether or not we should keep Hazel on the “traditional” immunization schedule. This was mostly due to all of the media in regards to “immunizations causing autism.” Apparently, and I am no expert by any means, there is a preservative called Thimerosal which is made up of 50% mercury. Some believe this mercury is causing autism in toddlers around the age of 15 months. After calling my knowledgeable cousin Heather and emailing friends to find peace of mind, I decided that this unqualified ”conspiracy theory” was not enough to sway me from protecting my child from actual threats, aka: infectious disease. I am not saying there is no validity, but the risks in not immunizing far outweighed the risks in immunizing.
I must say that our pediatrician, whom I also questioned today in regards to the issue, was very patient and knowlegdable. She explained what they knew but simply stated “we do not know what they may find in 20 years.” She said their shots no longer contained any preservatives with the exception of the polio vaccine. She said if at anytime I did not feel comfortable with any of the scheduled immunizations there would be no issue with doing it at a later date. She said it is your child and your choice we will never force it on you. I was so grateful and of course asked, being as she has two young girls, if she immunized on shedule, she had.
Hazel was very brave and cried only briefly. She even gave Dr.Conroy and big smile as she left the room. What a forgiving girl.
What this experience has taught me…We all want to protect our children and feel that we’ve made the right decision now and ten years from now. Finding peace in uncertainty is hard, even if this is a relatively small issue. But today as we were waiting in the doctors office and Hazel was sleeping contently in my arms, I couldn’t help but think “God gave his only son for US, I didn’t even want my daughter to be pricked for her own health!” This is a terrible comparison, I know, but it was palpable for me. Being a mother has given me a new and deeper appreciation for the sacrifice Christ made and I am in awe of our Father’s love and protection.
3 Comments
April 24, 2008 at 4:24 am
Amen Sistah.
April 24, 2008 at 9:01 am
That’s beautiful and paints such a true picture!
April 24, 2008 at 11:57 am
Mannie….I had the same qualms about the injections for Elijah, but I did A LOT of research and the risks are actually much greater of the kids contracting the diseases than the opposed mercury/autism scare. Plus, as your doctor stated, there isn’t a huge risk. So, we opted to get the immunizations, especially with all of our traveling. But, I’ve prayed a lot about it and I know that people are working hard everyday to improve these immunizations and billions of kids receive them.Good choice. It’s really hard being a mommy. I understand everything you wrote here. xoxoxo