Why I chose to opt out....

Before you read this blog post, please keep in mind that this is only my OPINION, although, I have done lots of research and talked with quite a few other mothers who share the same opinion as I do on this matter.

So, while I was pregnant, I read TONS of pregnancy books.  In almost all of these books, I read excerpts regarding vaccinations covering everything from importance, schedule, and possible side effects (including side effects that suggest your child is rejecting the vaccination and having an allergic reaction). 

We decided to go with "parent" scheduled vaccinations--meaning we would allow Claire to get her vaccinations when we decided it was best for her instead of the recommended scheduled of vaccinations.  Here's the main problem we had with the recommended schedule for vaccinations. First of all, in all honesty I don't see how its even considered humane to inject a newborn baby whose immune system is so weak and new to the world with all these vaccinations so early in their life.  Also, vaccinations weaken the immune system making you vulnerable to many other diseases.  Here's how I see it, if the baby is on breastmilk the first year of life or longer (which is full of many God given antibodies that protect the baby and give them a sort of super immune system), why fill their bodies with vaccinations that they don't need just yet?  There are many other dangers to vaccinations that I will reference to this page for anyone interested in learning about http://vaccinedangers.com/.   I have read a couple of books and even talked to a few people whose children have been healthy and happy babies before the vaccinations and started showing signs of autism and lethargy hours to as long as WEEKS after having the vaccinations. 

Here's my experience--While in the hospital, we chose to not give Claire any shots, but the doctor told us that we would be putting her in danger by not giving her the hepatitis B vaccination and they would call child protective services on us for child endangerment (which is not true!!!).  So we were bullied into giving her the shot even though she was already tiny and weak and extremely jaundice.  She never learned to latch on and nurse after that.  I had to express milk and feed her by a bottle and even then, she was lethargic and very jaundiced.

Then, we took Claire in for her two month vaccinations.  She had her DTP shot (which is a 3-in-1 shot for Diptheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis).  First of all, the nurse literally stabbed the shot into Claire's tiny leg.  Claire screamed for hours after the shot.  I have never heard her scream so hard and for so long.  We couldn't get her to nurse, sleep, play, anything.  We gave her some Tylenol and she finally fell asleep.  She didn't sleep long, but when she did wake up, she screamed over and over again.  We couldn't get her to calm down.  She also had fever (which is a common side effect), but it persisted all day and all night and into the next 4 weeks.  Those four weeks were the scariest days I've ever experienced.  Claire wasn't her usual happy baby self.  She also had a large knot on her leg where the lady had jabbed the shot into her leg and it was red and swollen.  To my knowledge, this should not have persisted longer than a day after the shot was induced. Five weeks later, she was still acting strange and her leg was still swollen.  I prayed and prayed and prayed that God would please protect Claire from any kind of side effects and heal her body from the vaccination that was put into her body.  The next couple of days she got a little better, but she visibly didn't look the same.  She looked like she had no "spark" in her eyes.   I called the doctor and he told me to bring her in to have her shots finished, even though she was still sick.  I fired him and have never been back.

Since then, Claire hasn't had anymore vaccinations.  We know this was the best choice for her.  We pray that God will protect her little body and give her a strong immune system.  To date, Claire has never had a serious illness nor has she ever had to go to the hospital and seems to have a very strong immune system. 

I thank God (and Claire's extremely healthy diet of fruits and veggies that she has chosen for herself) for that :-)

Could this get any worse?

From the day she was born, Claire had trouble nursing.  I blame this partly to the fact that they didn't let me try to nurse her until she was well over 3 hours old.  She never could get a latch.  We finally tried a nipple shield and she would latch a little bit but still couldn't get much out.  We had to stay in the hospital for five days after she was born because she had jaundice so badly.  We had to put her under the Billi-Lights which I did NOT like but Claire seemed to enjoy the warmth.  We finally got discharged home after giving her formula to help get rid of the billirubin.  One week later, I got a horrible case of mastitis because my milk had come in and she had still not figured out how to nurse right.  I finally got the mastitis cleared out (after feeling like I was on my deathbed for a solid week) and she still wasn't nursing right or gaining weight.  Then, I got mastitis again (double mastitis at that).  This go round lasted much longer.  By the time Claire was four months old (and I was still trying to nurse her through the nipple shield every 2-3 hours even at night time), she still could not latch on and was hardly gaining any weight.  I decided to start pumping and feeding her through the bottle.  It took me about four weeks or so to really get my milk supply up. She instantly gained weight and started sleeping better at night time.  I still tried nursing her up until she was six months old.  She never did get a good latch and eventually quit trying to nurse.  I guess she just wasn't meant to nurse.  I pumped and fed her bottled breastmilk until she was one year old.  It was definitely worth it!  She didn't get sick one single time that entire year.

Although, the week we took her off breastmilk, she got a cold believe it or not!!  Coincidence?? I think not :)

Claire's birth story

It feels only natural for me to start this blog with my birth story since I wouldn’t be writing this blog without it J

First of all, I had a very healthy pregnancy.  I ate healthy, exercised and walked every day (not strenuously), and never had a bad checkup.  From the day I found out I was pregnant, I took TWINLAB prenatal vitamins and they never made me feel sick.  I even drank coffee after the nausea subsided after the 3^rd of 4^th month (and no, the coffee never made me have an irregular or tachycardic heart rate). 

On the day of the 37 week checkup, I noticed quite a bit of fluid leaking.  I got to the doctors office and she said that sure enough, my water was leaking and that I needed to be admitted to the hospital. 

37 weeks :)

Okay, my doctor was very encouraging and sweet.  She was a wonderful OB/GYN.  But that’s exactly what she was.  An OB/GYN.  I could tell from the get-go that she was an OB first and foremost.  Nothing wrong with that, but I only chose an OB/GYN because my insurance wouldn’t cover a midwife.  But since this was my first pregnancy, I decided to take her word for it and head to the hospital even though I hadn’t had one single contraction. 

We get to the hospital and are almost immediately admitted.  Within two hours, I am put on Pitocin (against my decision to NOT be put on it after long months of research on it and the negative effects it can have and eventually lead to) because the nursing staff as well as the doctor there said I might be at risk of infection in the next 24 hours if the baby doesn’t come and that the Pitocin will just speed up the labor.  So, after 18 hours of being on Pitocin (lowest dose up to the highest dose and then back down again multiple times) I still haven’t had any contractions or pain.  Meanwhile, I’m connected to a heart monitor, a very uncomfortable fetal monitor, an IV, and a blood pressure monitor.  It was almost impossible to move around.  By the time I had been in the hospital for 24 hours, I was told that if I don’t have this baby soon that I will have to have a C-section (even though baby and I were perfectly fine).  Apparently, the baby was at risk for infection as the doctors kept telling me.  I knew deep down that this wasn’t true and that they just wanted me to have the baby and get out as quick as possible since I had already been there all day and night.  First of all, my water had not completely broken.  It was just leaking.  Second of all, I have heard and read this song and dance many of times before from other women.  This was NOT what I wanted.  I prayed so hard for God to please make Claire come along.  I told him to put me in as much pain as possible so that I didn’t have to have a C-section.  I knew that the natural birth was better for Claire and me and I wanted what was best for her.  Within 5 minutes of me being told I would have to have a C-section, Claire kicked me.  Hard. She kicked me so hard that I thought she broke a rib.  Then I felt a contraction.  And then another one….and they hurt.

Luckily, my nurse at that time was a Christian and she knew my wishes to have a natural birth.  She bursted into the room and said “ guess what?!?! You’re in labor! No C-section for you!! But don’t get too excited.  You’re in for a long afternoon”.  Little did she know that Claire would make her arrival in little more than 3 hours after that. 

Unfortunately, even though my labor had started, the doctors decided to keep giving me Pitocin anyway.  I didn’t know this until after Claire was born or else I would have asked them to please stop the drip.  I went from a 5 to an 8 in 45 minutes.  I was (of course) laid on my back.  When I asked to go to the bathroom, just the motion of getting up and walking to the bathroom made Claire drop down the canal and made me want to push.  Of course, the nurses told me I wasn’t ready to push.  Who were they to tell me what I was feeling? God made our bodies to know what to do in this kind of situation!  I pushed anyway! I didn’t care what they said.  I got back on my bed and I pushed.  There were people rushing in and out of the room so quickly that I don’t even remember their faces.  The next thing I know, the doctor comes in the room (not my doctor but a doctor associated with the same practice) with a smile on her face and says that I’m ready to push.  “Here we go!!” I thought!!!!!!! 14 minutes later, Claire was born at 5:14 p.m. on February 3rd, 2010.  They immediately placed her on my chest and I no longer felt an ounce of pain.  I was so happy.  She was beautiful and she looked at me with wide blue eyes.  She looked into my eyes for a good 15 minutes before I would share her with anyone J. The doctor who delivered Claire stuck to my birth plan down to the T!! She never offered me any pain medicine or an epidural and didn’t perform an episiotomy. 

One thing I wish that could have happened differently after Claire was born was that I would have been able to immediately try to nurse her.  I think the waiting may have messed things up in the long run for her as far as nursing goes (will post THAT story later J). 

So there’s my birth story! I’m looking forward to having a much more relaxed labor next time since I know exactly what I want!! J 

Soon to come:

I will share with you my first year of motherhood with the roller coaster ride I had with breastfeeding and my choice to opt out of vaccinations for Claire.