To Vaccinate or Not: That is the Question

Tuesday's decision by the Supreme Court in the case Bruesewitz v. Wyeth has caused quite a stir among many parents pro and con vaccines. The current federal law states that vaccine makers cannot be sued for "side effects that were unavoidable even though the vaccine was properly prepared and was accompanied by proper directions and warnings." The court voted 6 to 2 in favor of the vaccine maker. Read the specifics of this case here.

Whatever your take on vaccines may be, the fact that the maker cannot be held liable in lawsuits is crazy. I personally do not agree with a mass immunization schedule that is currently promoted by the CDC and AAP. This doesn't make sense to me because not every kid is alike and not every family history is the same. Our country currently allows for this type of thinking, but with more rulings like the one above, this may soon be taken away. The CDC and AAP both desire mandatory vaccinating of the American population. I am not sure that I desire my child's health to be left in the hands of the government and the CDC who all have their hands in the same piggy bank as the vaccine manufacturers.

You may not agree with me on this fact, and that is all good. If you just aren't sure which direction to go, do the research for yourself. Here is a great blog "blueprinting" both sides. Her blog does slightly lean to one side, but it does cover both arguments. Do your research and be educated about your child's health. You have way more invested in your child than the American government does. You have his or her best interest in mind.

On the Job Training

This has been a week of firsts in a lot of ways for me. It has been a wonderful week and it has been a ROUGH week!

Parenting is on the job training. You don't get a trial run at it (like many other things in life). No matter what parenting philosophy or lack of philosophy that you follow, no matter how many books you did or did not read, and no matter how much good or bad of a job you think you are doing rearing your children...there is always room for improvement. Sometimes that learning process is through happy times and sometimes it comes about by mistakes.

For my learning curve this week, I learned that just because Jaxon performs well for national television on Monday morning doesn't mean he is going to remain in that same jovial mood for the entire week. Maybe I should have the GMA crew here more often. They seemed to put him in a trance.

I learned that even when mama is sick, Jaxon still wants to be entertained 24/7 (during the awake hours which don't always coincide with mine).

I learned that he somehow senses that I am sick and starts to give me true cuddles along with reaching for me to "pep" me up for the upcoming playtime.

I learned that once he starts learning a new task, he doesn't want to give up until it's conquered (ie: crawling and sitting) for anything that I may have in mind!

I learned that because of the last above said statement, you don't place and undiapered child on your lap until you are really ready to pay attention to his potty signals because he has been holding his potty trying to master his new skills.

I learned that mommy better be ready when increasing diaper free time and decreasing misses!

But most importantly, I learned that even though I am sick and thought that I wanted a "break"; I really didn't. I thought I wanted Don to take him and comfort/play with him while I sat on the couch and rested. Instead, I really just sat there watching him and waiting for him to come back to mommy to eat so I could snuggle. It's true...I'm a sucker for his cute little chubby cheeks and big "I'm happy and full" grin that I get when he eats now!

It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it!!

Diaper Freedom!!!

We just had an interview for Good Morning America yesterday. Don, Jaxon and I along with Melinda Rothstein (founder of DiaperFreeBaby.org) all will be featured on a segment by GMA concerning potty learning. The segment is due to air on Wednesday, Feb 23.

While doing the interview, some interesting questions were brought up by the interviewer. I want to clarify the many reason why I think this is a wonderful process. I also want to share this process with the many many moms who have children young enough to go through the process, but may have never heard about it.

Reasons:

1. Communication: I think that communication with babies is very important to help in the bonding and attachment relationship. That communication can seem difficult sometimes when we are not keenly aware of their signals. I'm going to tell you a little secret....babies are not verbal. Since I have let you all in on that little detail, now we can look at different ways of communication. When babies need to eat, they root and smack their lips. When babies are tired, they rub their eyes and get fussy. When babies need to be close, they reach out to us. So the same is for elimination patterns. When babies need to pee or poo, they communicate to use by using signals. Some of these signals may include fussiness, squirming, a pause in what they are doing, or coming on and off the breast. These are all ways that babies inform us of their need to eliminate prior to actually doing the deed. My job is to communicate back. I can do this by ignoring their signals and letting them eliminate in a diaper on themselves. Or, I can do this by taking them to the proper receptacle to eliminate. I am then communicating that it is okay to eliminate, and you won't be doing it on yourself. This type of communication increases the bond between baby and caregiver. It increases the amount of trust the baby has in us as caregivers to meet their needs which will in turn decrease their stress level.

2. Natural instinct: Babies are born with a natural instinct or desire to eliminate somewhere other than on themselves. This is why the newborn baby cries after he pees or poos. This is why when you take that diaper off, newborns will pee. They don't want to sit in their pee or poo no more than any adult desires to. After time, this instinct will start to dissolve because we train them that eliminating on themselves is normal by keeping them in diapers all of the time. Why not allow them to keep this instinct by placing them on a potty instead?

3. Time Consuming: When I first heard of DFB or EC, I thought about how my time was already going to be so limited. Why would I want to add more stuff to the crazy life of taking care of a new baby. Well, I quickly learned that it takes much longer for me to change a diaper on a baby who thinks diapers are the most evil thing ever invented than it does to take him to the potty. This has become part of our normal routine throughout the day. Contrary to what you may think, I don't spend hours a day hovering over a toilet.

4. Health: The idea of a urinary tract infection causes shivers up my body. I hate to suffer from a UTI. It is very uncomfortable. Now throw a UTI on a nonverbal baby. I don't even want to imagine the horror. By removing the wet diaper, I now reduce the chance of a UTI. That simple. I also reduce the chance of getting a diaper rash. I have seen some pretty bad diaper rashes in my work days. I would have no desire to have those scaly, itching, burning red bumps on my butt, would you....so why risk my son's bottom.

5. Environment: The less that I use diapers (disposable or cloth) the better for the environment...that simple.

6. Struggle: Traditional potty learning can bring many bad thoughts into the minds of parents who have already been there and done that. This is a process that shouldn't bring about torture for the parent or child. I want my son to have a gentle experience. I shouldn't have to force him to do anything, much less something that is a natural instinct for humans. Although potty learning is not the ultimate goal with EC, it is a side effect of it. Side effects of my parenting should be just as gentle as the parenting itself.

These are my musing as to why I truly believe that Elimination Communication is a wonderful process by which I can increase the attachment bond between Jaxon and I. We have reached a comfortable level of understanding by increasing our communication with one another.

4 Months

I can't believe that Jaxon has already been with us for 4 months. It is crazy how quickly time is flying by.

He is becoming such a busy little beaver. We just got back from Boston, which was his second road trip. He has already taken an airplane trip, also. He got to go swimming for the first time this past weekend. He has gotten to meet many internationally renown strength and conditioning specialists. Pretty cool first 4 months!!

We've entered into the world of full time elimination communication. He is doing very well. He pees and poos in the sink and big toilet. He has gone in his little potty, but doesn't like it because the seat is too cold!!! He's gone in public restrooms as well while we were traveling. He will take some naps where he wakes up completely dry. We've had days where he refuses to pee anywhere but in the diaper, and days when he screams when I put his diapers on. He spends a lot of time naked. He has taken a few naps while being completely naked, and he didn't pee at all!! It has been fun to figure out his pottying cues! It is fun to watch him watch himself in the mirror while he pees. He gets really excited for himself!!

I have no idea how big he is right now. We haven't been to the pediatrician since early December. We do have an appointment coming up. I will update on his weight and height at that point. I know he has grown, though. Some of his 3-6 month clothes aren't fitting :(!!

He is really starting to enjoy his Jumparoo. He is a big fan of sitting in the swing in the morning time and looking outside. He still loves to be worn and we have ventured into the world of back carries and woven wraps! I love wrapping and I love woven wraps. So much fun!!! He is big cuddler when he is tired. He loves to cuddle up in bed and, well of course, eat!!! He is a great nurser. No problems in the eating area!!! His favorite toys right now are a mirror, a vibrating and laughing cow and my face.

Being his mommy is exhausting and exhilarating...but I wouldn't trade it for the world!!! I love you Jaxon Parker....