The Dreaded Vaccines

Lucas had his two month appointment this morning and with that came the first rounds
of inoculations. I did a lot of research on the
vaccines, spoke to many other mommies and
read The Vaccine Book to educate myself on
each disease and shot. I decided to go with an
alternative vaccine schedule that runs one month
behind the AAP Recommended Immunization
Schedule. If you want to keep updated on changes the CDC makes regarding vaccinations you can sign up for e-mail updates here. At birth it is recommended that babies recieve the HepB shot. I skipped that since it is only sexually transmitted and will have it postponed until Lucas is 2 years old. At two months, it is recommended that babies recieve the following 7 vaccines: HepB (part 2), RV (Rotavirus), DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis - which is whooping cough), Hib (Haemophilus Influenzae Type B), PCV (Pneumococcal Vaccine) and IPV (Inactive Poliovirus Vaccine). I changed things up a bit, according Dr. Robert Sear's Vaccine Book and only had Lucas receive the following shots today: DTaP and Rotavirus. Next month he will recieve PCV and Hiband receives the IPV when he is 9 months old. I decided on this schedule for several reasons:
1 - If Lucas has a reaction to one of the vaccines, it is easier to figure out which one it is if he only
has two instead of six.
2 - Lucas will be getting poked only once or twice per session instead of an unbearable six times.
3 - Lucas is limited to receiving only one shot per session that contains traces of aluminum.
Lucas did really well today and complained when he was drinking the vial with the rotavirus, but swallowed it without spitting out any of it. I think that I was more nervous than Lucas was before the first shot and felt myself sweating profusely as I was speaking with the doctor beforehand. (Martha, Andres's mom, on the other hand, who was with me for support, was freezing cold in the same room.) I was distracting Lucas as the shot was administered into his left thigh and he cried out loudly when his skin was punctured. I managed in composing myself, pretty much, and grabbed Lucas to me as soon as the shot was finished and put him to my breast. I cuddled him tightly and talked to him as he was eating, explaining the importance of the shot and that I was sorry that we had to hurt him. Of course he doesn't understand, but I am sure that he was comforted by my voice. Lucas experienced zero side effects, but we gave him a little extra TLC just in case. :-) The rest of Lucas's schedule, continuing on September 20th, looks like this:

ALTERNATIVE VACCINE SCHEDULE:
2 months - DTaP, RV
3 months - PCV, Hib
4 months - DTaP, RV
5 months - PC, Hib
6 months - DTaP, RV
7 months - Pc, Hib
9 months - Polio, Flu
12 months - Mumps, Polio
15 months - PC, Hib
18 months - DTaP, Varicella (Chickenpox)
21 months - Flu
2 years - Rubella, Polio
2 years 6 mths - Hep B, Hep A
3 years - Hep B, Measles, Flu
3 years 6 mths - Hep B, Hep A
4 years - DTaP, Polio, Flu
5 years - MMR, Flu
6 years - Varicella (Chickenpox)
12 years - Tdap, HPV
13 years - HPV, Meningococcal

Basically, in the early months, Lucas will recieve half as many shots every month instead of every two months. You can sign up to recieve updates from the CDC regarding vaccination changes at the following site. On a side note, Lucas weighed 13.10 lbs (75th percentile) and was 25.5 inches long (97th percentile) and had a head circumference of 15.75 (50th percentile.) You can order free material from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) that lists milestones and has a free growth chart at the following site. Okay, now I'm babbling, but one more thing. Since we live in South Florida, I want to share a site that talks about safe sunscreens to use on your children and rates the various brands. I found it very informative and am going to look for Badger sunscreen in Whole Foods. If I don't find it there, I will just order it online.