SortaCrunchy

A Word of Caution on Getting "Caught Up" on Vaccines

I find I am constantly humbled by the emails from parents who take the time to share their questions and experiences with vaccines with me. Obviously, I am far from being an expert of any kind of anything. I'm just a mom who feels passionately about vaccine information and choices.

Several times in the past month, I've heard from readers on the topic of getting their little ones "caught up" on their vaccine schedules. Upon discovering patients who are behind on their vaccination schedules, pediatricians will sometimes encourage parents to consent to getting their children caught up to the mandated schedule, even if that means a child receiving a large number of vaccines all in one office visit.

I want to emphasize that unless you have some extenuating circumstances (for example, an impending trip out of the country), there is probably no need for your child to get "caught up" all at once.

A reader emailed me her experience last week, and she has given me permission to share part of her family's story here:

I too am barefoot all the time. I was born in a lookout tower for firefighters, just my mom, dad and a friend were there to help. I was blessed to grow up and be a healthy woman. Somehow, I was fooled.

I vaccinated our first son, and he is completely fine. But our second son fell behind on his shots. He was given 7 at once to make up for this. The date was 12-21-05. On the way home from the doctor he became very sick. Within a few hours he had stopped breathing and was on a helicopter bound for children's hospital in Portland Oregon. He was sick for about a week and they let us go home. We noticed at the hospital that "C" was not speaking. After going from a fairly chatty one year old, he had become withdrawn.

I know that you know what I am going to say next. Yes. Six months later we were told that "C" was severely autistic. As I look back now, I realize that everything I was raised to believe by my parent hadn't saved my son. He spins, pokes his eyes until they are black and blue, he is bald in spots from pulling his hair out, he can't run, he can walk but with assistance, he is non-verbal, he hasn't smiled in 2 and a half years. My son is gone. In reality, I go through the motions, we make it through everyday with schedules, and appointments, kisses he doesn't want, and hugs he hates. But when the night comes, that is when the hard stuff happens. I watch him sleep and he looks normal, I see him smile in his sleep, and I wish I knew if he was dreaming of me. I cry, my husband and I hold each other and we wonder how we let this happen . . .

It may well be that there are some babies and toddlers who receive many vaccines in one office visit and their bodies are able to handle it. But experiences like this mother's compel me to encourage parents to allow no more than two vaccination doses to be administered in the span of one month's time. Your pediatrician/health care provider may cite CDC warnings like this one indicating your baby/toddler will be at risk as long as he/she is behind on the schedule. They are advocating what they sincerely believe to be a safe approach to your child's wellness and public health in general. Just remember you alone are able to advocate for your child's health and well-being!

Again, I must make it clear I am far from being a medical professional or expert of any kind. This is my opinion only, but I hope you will receive the word of caution in this mother's story.

(In a SortaCrunchy first, I am closing comments on this post. It is not my intention to debate the connection between vaccines and autism. Additionally, I feel a strong desire to protect this reader who was courageous in sharing her family's story and not open her up to any unnecessary and painful criticisms. Thanks for understanding!)

Inspiration, revisited

When I wrote about Sara and Walk Slowly, Live Wildly on Tuesday, I had no idea that the Lord was about to send me a magnificent dose of inspiration in the form of my sweet friend Melissa the very next day.  (You remember Melissa, right?  She of the amazing voice and profound lyrics . . .)

Melissa and I had been planning to get together for coffee and talk (both small and big) for, gosh, months?  Since before Christmas.  We live in the same town!  How hard can it be?  You know how it is, though.  Sick days, hard weeks, things come up, stuff goes down, plans are rearranged.  In a way that only He can do, God orchestrated both of our schedules yesterday so that we were finally able to connect.

Now, Melissa is not going to be one hundred percent in love with me sharing this part (she's one of those who gives quietly, shunning applause), but I must tell you that she came bearing gifts:

Look at all that organic, natural-living, good-for-you-and-the-babies goodness!!  Blessed. My. Heart.

But far more importantly, she brought with her a conversation in mind that I know without a doubt was from the Lord.  We talked about art and life and spirituality and she shared with me some of what she learned from Madeline L'Engle's Walking on Water.  I can't possibly retell all we discussed, but as we talked I knew precisely why the Lord sent her yesterday.

Well over a year ago (like late fall of 2006), I began to feel a burden to start a writing project.  My friend and mind twin Laura and I talked through some of it and we decided to try to tackle this topic together.  It's something we both feel strongly about and we were excited to get started on it.  Then within a few months, both of us got pregnant and welcomed our second children to our families.  As you can imagine, plans were rearranged.

This burden in my heart has been weighing every more heavily in the past few months, and as Melissa and I talked, God started whispering to me, "Seriously.  What are you waiting for?"  Yesterday, He helped me to know that the time is now.  And a quick phone call to Laura confirmed that she, too, is ready to take this up again.

Exciting, scary, overwhelming . . .

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Speaking of inspiration . . . the girls' Aunt Emily says there are never enough AJ pictures.  (Those second-borns gotta look out for each other!)  So for Aunt "MiMi" and anyone else who enjoys some almost-seven-months-old baby girl love . . .

She loves to play . . .

. . . she's got some cheeks . . .

. . . she's kind of smiley . . .

. . . those eyes . . .

. . . and pretty much is enthralled by Big Sister.

Inspiration

I started reading Sara's blog at Walk Slowly, Live Wildly long before Jen ever introduced me to The Story of Stuff.  Sara is definitely my real-life inspiration in my own battle against stuff.  I mean, check out her post from last summer as they were about to load up the RV to go on their Live Lightly Tour.  I hadn't discovered her yet when she first made the compact . . . and I am not sure if I am brave enough to take up the challenge myself.  Or maybe I am? 

Whether or not I am as brave as she is, I can definitely identify with her reflections on life after swearing off stuff.    

Get anyone else to thinking?

Soapbox Alert: On approaches to vaccinations

Last Friday, the New York Times published a little one page article titled "Public Health Risk Seen as Parents Reject Vaccines."  I read the article and wasn't really surprised by the way Ms. Steinhauer reported on this hot-button topic.  Typical mainstream coverage of those who are making alternative vaccine choices . . . implying that we "skeptics" are sending your babies to the hospitals with measles and selfishly taking advantage of personal-belief exemptions to protect our own children from the dangers of immunizations.  You know, just the usual mainstream party line.  Whatever. 

What I found much more disturbing than the article are the comments.  Those who choose not to vaccinate their children are accused of everything from being  hysterical kooks who base their parenting decisions on something they read on the internet (at best) to, far more frighteningly, child-abusing murderers whose children should be taken away from them.  These comments are quite chilling.

I learned a long time ago it's better not to make a habit of being defensive of parenting decisions.  In the realm of vaccine discussion and debate, however, I think it behooves those of us who make alternative decisions to prepare ourselves with the best research we can find just in case this backlash against non-vaccinators triggers an outcry towards revoking exemptions or, worse yet, a demand for forced vaccinations that reaches Orwellian proportions.

The thing is,  some of us have something far more telling than medical literature causing us to give great thought to vaccine choices.  In 1985, my youngest sister received the MMR shot at 15 months of age.  A week later, a series of grand mal seizures began that forever changed the course of my sister's life.  Although she eventually outgrew the epilepsy, she will forever be affected by Asperger Syndrome.  Acting on her behalf, my parents took part in a class-action lawsuit involving the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.  The federal government settled the claim out of court.  My sister (now nearly twenty-five) has a healthy trust operating on her behalf funded by that settlement.

What I find ironic is that many of those comments accuse those who make alternative vaccine choices as being uneducated on public health issues or of basing their parenting choices on a Google search.  In reality, most everyone I know (both online and offline) who has made choices that stray from the CDC mandated schedule are parents who have invested a great deal of time into research and reading real, documented, not magical, not made-up, published studies and perspectives.  I would go so far as to say that the average non-vax'ing-parent or delayed/selective-vax'ing parent knows more about the vaccine debate than the average vax-on-schedule parent.  And I say that speaking from my own experience with D.  I did absolutely zero reading or research on vaccine information with her.  It wasn't until she was nearly two years old that I began to do any research into the topic.  If it weren't for my unique family history, I cannot say that I would have ever given the subject a second thought.

Although I don't talk about it as often as I should, vaccine information advocacy is one of the topics I feel most strongly about.  If nothing else, I just desperately want every parent to know that just because the CDC and Big Pharm have a herd immunity plan in place doesn't mean you have to do what they tell you to do. 

And there's a sorta happy medium to be discovered in delayed vaccination scheduling. 

(Dare I ask?) 

Thoughts?

   

that sinful woman

All week, I haven't been able to stop thinking about her.  Her heart must have been racing, just nearly about to pound out of her chest.  I wonder if her hands were trembling, too, as she gripped the little alabaster jar she brought with her.  Somehow, she had heard He was going to be there.  I wonder if her skin felt singed by the burning, condemning stares of the men gathered at the table.

But there He was.  And in His eyes, there was no condemnation to be found.

Last Sunday's Bible study lesson recounted the story from Luke 7 of Jesus being anointed by a "sinful woman."  Though the Apostle Luke doesn't specify what her many sins were, most commentaries acknowledge her as a prostitute.  Under the social customs of the day, she would have been permitted entrance to the banquet so that she might glean a few of the leftovers from the table.  Clutching the bottle of perfume, she approached the table with no desire to receive anything.  She was simply and mightily compelled to display her love, gratitude, and devotion for this Man.

And so she sat at His feet.  And wept.  Her tears splashed on His skin and trickled into tiny rivulets in the dust that clung to the sun-darkened skin of the Most High.  And I wonder if that was part of her plan.  I wonder if she bit her tongue in an effort to fight back the tears in an attempt to preserve at least some of her dignity, surrounded though she was by a gathering of righteous men who shrank back from her presence.  Or perhaps she made no effort to stop the tears . . . sitting at the feet of the One who forgives, overcome with wonder that she would even be allowed to touch Him . . . maybe she couldn't have stopped the tears even if she had wanted to.

I don't know why I can't get her out of my mind.  I keep thinking of her undaunted devotion.  It couldn't have been easy to approach that table.  Maybe that's what it is that I can't seem to shake.  Her willingness to anoint Him with her humility, her disregard for being humiliated. 

She challenges me.

When was the last time I was risky in my devotion to my Savior and Lord?  I find myself sinking further into a comfort zone where I allow myself to be exposed just enough . . . but quickly re-clothe when it gets uncomfortable.  Lately, my words of praise feel rote and mechanical.  My time in the word is cursory and superficial at best (when I even make time for it).  The truth is I make more time for Matt Lauer than I make for the Lord Jesus on a day-to-day basis. 

That sinful woman - she cried forth with gratitude and wiped His feet with her hair.  What is this sinful woman compelled to do?

"Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she has loved much.  But he who has been forgiven little loves little." Luke 7:47 NIV

Another Way Wednesday - what to do about Easter stuff?

I haven't posted on this in a while, but I am most definitely still working through my issues with stuff. 

In my first Another Way Wednesday, I shared my commitment to buy only (well, mostly only) secondhand/gently used clothes for the girls.  I did take the girls and the birthday money to The Children's Orchard and pretty much finished out their summer wardrobes.

(All of this - some even NWT - for $80!)

But then the onslaught of Easter marketing came early this year, and I started to debate with myself about what to do about the girls' Easter dresses.  Being a mom to girls . . . it's fun, right?  Playing dress up is one of the perks that makes it easier to handle the constant drama.  But I had made this commitment to myself not to buy any new clothes for them. 

(Particularly challenging is the fact that we live a stone's throw from some of the best outlet shopping in the US.  I can actually buy some brand new clearance items for less than I spent on some of those dresses at The Children's Orchard.  But for me, this challenge isn't about being thrifty.  It's about doing my teeny little part to counter the consumption aspect of the Story of Stuff.)

(Um, if you haven't already, go watch at least the consumption chapter.  Seriously.  It's like seven  minutes long and so important.)

Annie Leonard quotes Victor LeBeau's statement that in order for the consumerist model to work, as we "make consumption a way of life," we must "convert the buying and selling of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction in consumption . . ."

I thought about that a lot.  About how so many of my fondest childhood memories of Easter are rooted in the stuff of Easter.  The new flouncy dresses and matching little white purses.  New white patent leather shoes and new brilliant white gloves.  Baskets brimming with plastic grass and chocolate eggs. 

. . . the buying and selling of goods into rituals . . .

It's been a real quandary for me.  Do I give in and buy them brand new dresses and all the trimmings?  Or do I dress them in brand-new-to-them dresses I scored at The Children's Orchard?  Do we do the Easter basket and the egg hunts or just read stories about them to the girls?  And why did I feel so bad about not buying them brand new dresses for Easter? 

Part of the quandary for me goes beyond the distancing myself from consumption.  To me, Easter is the most significant observance in the Christian faith.  The tomb was empty!  If it weren't, wouldn't Christianity just be another of the world's religions?  And so how do I convey the duality of Easter to my children?  The solemnity and the celebration of how the worst day in the history of man led to the best morning for the future of man . . .

If this sounds all disjointed and rambly, it's because that's where I am with this Easter stuff thing.  How do you handle it at your house?  What are your thoughts on the link between consumption and ritual in the western world?

(Footnote: The girls are getting brand new Easter dresses courtesy of the generosity of family members who like to buy pretty, flouncy dresses for little girls.  And they really did need new white shoes.  Really, they did!)

SortaCrunchy Recommends: Wearing the new baby (and beyond)

I'm feeling babywearing vibes from all over today!

First of all, I saw this post at Adventures in Babywearing wherein Stephanie has created a fab babywearing bloggers blogroll.  Next, I got an email from the wonderful company that started me out in wearing Baby Dacey - Lucky Baby.  (Who wants 10% off a new Lucky Baby sling?  Enter code LUCKY17 at checkout and voila!  10% off your next purchase today through March!)  Thirdly, my sister was telling me about her friend whose three week old son cries and cries unless she is holding him.  Oh my yes, do I know what that is like.  I told my sister her friend needs to get herself  sling!

All of this serves as motivation for me to finally publish a post I've been meaning to get written since my friend Megan (FriedOkra) asked me for my recommendations a while back.  A long while back.  Sorry, Megan!

Megan's question:
I need your ponderous, careful input about slings vs. wraps for newborns. What have you used and why? CAN one really get the right sling/wrap and learn how to NURSE baby in one? Ever?

I don't know about ponderous or careful, but I am always more than happy to share my experiences!  I wrote a bit about my general babywearing recommendations back in November, but wearing the newborn is an art in and of itself.

I didn't know about babywearing (beyond the Snugli) until D was about five or six months old, so I don't have a ton of newborn babywearing experience.  I have been wearing AJ since she was born, and I will be happy to share what worked for us in the earliest days and weeks - a ring sling.  My personal favorite is my Chicken Scratch ring sling, but there are a ton of wonderfully made and gorgeous unpadded ring slings on the market.

I like ring slings because they are infinitely adjustable and versatile.  I wore AJ in the tummy-to-tummy hold when she was a newborn and switched to the hip carry when she was six or eight weeks old.  A ring sling should last you on into toddlerhood, making it a great buy if you can only afford to have one carrier in your stash.

As far as nursing a baby in a sling?  Well, I've never been able to, but I also have oversupply issues combined with overactive letdown in the first six weeks of breastfeeding.  I have heard tell of plenty of mamas who have been able to nurse their babies while wearing them.  I'm just not one of them.  I would bet perusing the archives at TheBabyWearer forums would be helpful to anyone wanting to get tips on how to do this.  Also, I bet the mamas at your local La Leche League or Attachment Parenting International meetings would be able to give hands-on help.

Megan asked what I have used, so that's my recommendation based on actual experience.  There are many, many women who love a lightweight wrap for newborns.  The Moby is a particularly popular choice.  I've never worn a wrap, mostly because all the fabric is a little intimidating to me.  Wrap fans tend to really, really love their wraps, so there's got to be something to that.  Honestly, if I didn't already have a mei tai, I would have probably preferred a wrap.  My mei tai allows me to be totally hands-free, and I would imagine a wrap is the same way.  I think it is particularly important to have something you feel good about needing to do very few adjustments with your carrier if you have more than one child in your care.  The only drawback to a lightweight wrap is eventually baby will be too heavy to wear in it, so you'll have to choose a new carrier.  (and when I say lightweight, I am not thinking of the super gorgeous, heavy duty, woven wraps like Storchs and Didys!)

If you are able to get more than one carrier, I cannot tell you enough how much I love our Ergo.  Unfortunately, I hear rumblings that Ergo's business practices have not been so great lately (particularly to work-at-home parent businesses), so my glowing review of the Ergo is a little hesitant now, but I seriously could not survive these days without ours.  AJ spends a lot of time riding on my back in it around the house.  It makes my life so. much. easier.  There are lots of soft-structured carriers (also known in some places as buckle carriers) on the market today.  Here's a sampling at Attached to Baby: Buckle Baby Carriers.  (Personally, I am drooling over the Beco Butterfly!)  A buckle carrier is definitely a carrier that will take you far past infancy, so if you have some extra money in the budget or a doting grandma-to-be who wants to indulge you, I highly recommend one of these type carriers.

I'd love to hear from ya'll!  What was your favorite baby carrier for the newborn stage?  Did you find it was a good carrier for beyond infancy?  I'm always looking to increase my babywearing knowledge.  Please share!

So here's the deal

I have been struggling, ya'll.  Struggling.  Struggling to keep up on reading all the blogs I love to read.  But here's the thing - when I am caught up on my blog reading, it generally means my house is a wreck, there's nary a bite to eat in the house, and my children and I may or may not have gotten dressed for the day.  Flip-flop that and you know if you drop by my house and my girls and I are dressed with teeth brushed, food in the tummies, dinner in the crockpot, and the housework is sorta done - well, I haven't read a single blog all day. 

'Cause I can't just stop at one.  Nope.  I peek at one and that reminds me I wanted to get over to another and next thing I know I've spent way too much time reading and way not enough time doing my job(s).

So here's the thing.  I have cut and trimmed and narrowed down as best as I can.  I now have seventy feeds in my Google Reader.  I just can't cut another one.  So I have divvied those seventy into seven neat lil folders of ten.  I figure I can feasibly make it by ten blogs throughout the course of the day.  That's reasonable, right?

And so, if days and days go by and you haven't heard from me, please know I'll get by your place just as soon as I can.  I promise.

Sooooooooooo.

Anyone wanna see some pictures?

Natural Thrush Remedy

We are still enjoying some nice, quiet Spring Break family time, but I wanted to pop in and post this while it's fresh on my mind.

When D was a baby, we went through a go-round with thrush that left me irritated with the disappointing lack of results from nystatin.  I sought out a natural treatment and found gentian violet to be recommended, but not without concerns (namely, the possible link to oral cancer as well as the fact that it is messy).   Further digging led me to grapefruit seed extract.  Some mamas on a cloth diapering board I used to frequent had put together some great information on how to use grapefruit seed extract to treat thrush. (Unfortunately, that forum has undergone an overhaul and the archives are no longer accessible, so I am afraid I cannot properly credit these women.)

Here are the basics on GSE use for thrush:

* Make a solution of ten drops GSE per one ounce of distilled water
* Paint baby's mouth with a cotton swab every two hours and before each feeding
* Paint nipples after feeding and let air dry
* If needed, paint diaper area as well; air dry
* If you don't see results after two days, increase GSE to fifteen to twenty drops per one ounce

Other tips for battling thrush:

* It is possible for the nursing couple to pass thrush back and forth without baby being symptomatic and vice-versa.  It's important to treat both mother and baby.
* Don't use lansinoh to treat nipple pain.  It will trap moisture and help the yeast to thrive.
* There is conflicting advice on how to treat items that come in contact with the yeast (diapers, bras, breast shields, pacifiers, etc.).  Some sources say to boil these items, other sources say boiling water causes the yeast to form a chiton (hard shell) to protect itself and to kill the yeast this way, you must boil for a very long time.  I've heard reports that a scoop of baking soda in the laundry will change the pH of the wash and effectively kill the yeast.  I've personally found soaking pacifiers in a GSE solution works well, too.  I also don't use cloth diapers when we are battling a yeast infection.
* A great way to treat sore, cracked nipples is to mix up a cream of equal parts clotrimizole (like Monistat or Lotrimin), hydrocortizone, and neosporin.  Apply to nipples after every feeding; if any residue is left before you begin the next feeding, gently wipe it away.  This cream will help with both the itching and pain for the nursing mother.  I have also used this cream sparingly to treat yeast diaper rash.

The reason this is fresh on my mind is I'm afraid the round of antibiotics AJ was on to treat her ear infection have led to a round of thrush for us.  Not fun, but manageable. 

I'll be around more after this week is over!

Mama Reads

I so don't have time to be on here, but I came across two items I wanted to share, and if I don't do it now, heaven knows I'll forget! 

It's because of the momnesia.  (thanks, Gretchen, for the link!)

Also, Mama-Mentor-to-All Ask Moxie posted earlier this week on doing things The Right Way.  I know you'll appreciate it.

Okay, back to the last-minute-oh-my-gosh-they're-going-to-be-here-in-five-hours company preparations.