What Ty Knows: January 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

My son is 4 months old. I'm not sure how concerned most mothers are with issues such as vaccination, breast feeding, starting solids etc. I am the type of person that obsesses about these things, but perhaps in a healthy way. I ask virtually everyone I know/respect what they have done, I read and educate myself, take a class if possible, I discuss all options with my husband, I pray, pray, pray, then make the decision. I'm sure to most people this might be over kill, especially depending on the decision. I'm not this thorough with everything, but with most major concerns. In this blog I'm going to address my specific concerns and experiences with both breast feeding and vaccines.

BREAST FEEDING
(that was your warning, stop reading now if you don't want to read lots about this)
I had never, EVER considered the option of breast feeding; until I was 5 months pregnant, and sitting at a restaurant with 3 of my closest friends. I get weirdly squeemish at lots of things (such as the sight of blood, which incidentally crushed my hopes of being a brain surgeon when I was younger), and the thought of my son nursing made me want to vomit. I had it in my brain that I would try to pump, but didn't want to fully commit to the whole idea of breast feeding. Honestly, looking back now, I realize that the main reason that I didn't want to do it was that I had no knowledge or education about why I would want to get over the fact that I thought it was weird and gross.

Each of my 3 friends at dinner with me had at least 1 child they had breast fed, for a minimum of 3 months. I commend these women, and I'm so thankful for the knowledge and education they imparted on me that day. So even though it nearly made me pass out to really think about what they were saying, I listened. And then I began my decision making process. I talked to several other friends, co-workers, and family members. I was surprised to find out that the majority of them had breast fed, but most of them did not have much success at it. Many stuck with this for a couple of months, and only 1 person I talked with was able to continue breast feeding for 1 year. This person was a co-worker who suggested a book that really helped her. Eighteen pages in, after reading the 35 reasons breast feeding is better than formula feeding, I was pretty much sold. But I read the rest of that book, another book, took a class to really prepare myself, discussed/prepared my husband and knew it was the best decision for my son.

I'm happy to report that so far it is going great. I think that all my homework paid off. We haven't had any problems. I began pumping when recommended at 5 weeks to start storing up a frozen supply, and we introduced a bottle with breast milk at 6 weeks, giving one here and there to get him used to it. I went back to work (3 days a week) after 12 weeks and he continues to do great going back and forth between nursing and the bottle. My goal in the beginning was to go at least 2 months, then 4, and now I hope to continue this until he is 1. My supply is getting fairly low, so if my husband and I ever want to have another overnight away then we will have to supplement with formula. My son's pediatrician (and several other friends) assured me that he will always prefer breast milk. I hope this is the case if/when we do supplement. It's crazy to me that I went from someone so anit-breast feeding, to someone so committed to it and successful at it. I'm pretty proud of myself for making the many sacrifices that come along with this. By no means am I any expert on breast feeding, but I do have knowledge and experience, so if anyone has any questions, let me know. Here is the name of the excellent book I highly recommend to anyone before they make the decision for or against breast feeding:

So that's what they're for! by Janet Tamaro

VACCINES
This is an area that is under so much debate. It's also an area that I hadn't really thought much about until talking with my a friend who is a physician in St. Louis. Her daughter has been diagnosed with autism, and my friend feels strongly it is due to the infected rotavirus vaccine that she was given. I have worked closely with many autistic children in my field of work, both as a psych tech, and in behavior therapy. While more and more resources and treatments for autism are being developed and implemented, the actual cause is still fairly unknown. There are many theories, and lots of studies and connections, but nothing that can be infinitely pinpointed as THE cause. Besides the possible link to autism, I think there are many other reasons to really investigate vaccines.

When my son went to get his 2 month vaccinations, I didn't even think twice about some of the theories between vaccines and autism, or some of the other risks. No one had really talked to me about that yet, so it wasn't on my mind. However, after I talked to my friend I began obsessing and worrying. She was very helpful in explaining why vaccinations are given when they are and what vaccinations she feels aren't needed as soon as the standard schedule outlines, and which ones can possibly be forgone altogether. I won't pass on her specific advice to avoid the grapevine affect. What I will say is just that beginning this talk with her has opened my eyes wide to vaccines. She recommended a book, that I will also recommend:

The Vaccine Book by Robert W. Sears, M.D., F.A.A.P

I am amazed to learn about how the vaccinations are made, and what is in them. Did anyone else know that besides aluminum and mercury (which are concerning themselves), many vaccinations contain Formaldehyde and cow tissue, and some vaccines contain monkey kidney cells or fetal cow blood??? Crazy!! I try not to question science, the Center for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics, etc too much. But I strongly feel as parent I have a responsibility to make the best possible decisions for MY child. That might not be the same decision for the child next door, but thankfully I'm not responsible for him. Reading this book and talking with others (as well as lots of prayer) has helped me to come to the conclusion of vaccinating using a delayed schedule. My son will still get all his required (by the state to go to school) shots, but one at a time, making sure that he responds well to each, and getting the most needed shots first.

When a child gets 5-8 vaccinations at once there is no way to tell what might be responsible for an adverse reaction if there is one. Plus it eliminates the risk of having lots of high aluminum shots together. He likely won't get the Rotavirus or Hep A vaccinations, as the risks do not seem to outweigh the benefits. This is the plan for now and I feel good about it. I only wish our pediatrician had been more helpful in coming to this decision. While she did state that it was our decision to make
(oh really??), she did not appear open to collaborating on a plan or schedule. We're keeping her as our pediatrician as of now because she has been great so far, and came so highly recommended from many friends. However, I worry that if we could not collaborate about this major decision, then there will be problems in the future. We shall see. If anyone has any thoughts or comments about vaccinations, I would love to hear them.

What Ty Knows

Monday, January 30, 2012

MOMMY CONCERNS

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

THE BEGINNING