Tuesday, October 27, 2009

To Shoot, Or Not To Shoot

I think I've figured out why we've settled into parenting in a relatively fuss-free, non-paranoid way. Since both of us are in our mid-30's, most of our parent-friends are on their second or third child, so our role-models are way past the fretful, Don't-let-that-dirty-thing-near-my-baby phase. It was well-illustrated in an email Andrea got:

When the first-born drops their pacifier, the parent will wash it, sterilize it, then give it back to the baby.
Second child: Wash it, then give it back.
Third child: Wipe it on your pants, quickly suck it off themselves before giving it back to baby.
Fourth child: Give it back to baby.

I can imagine many first-timers seeing this and being just mortified. “Germs” are to us what “Demons” were to our medieval ancestors.

Which brings me to vaccinations. I'm kinda conflicted on this, as both sides of the argument – for and against – have valid points, and both use a lot of fear-mongering. It was easy to be idealistic about other people's kids, but my own little bundle of joy & spit-up has confused the issue immensely! Even more confusing, I understand that a huge percentage of medical professionals aren't getting flu shots. WTF?! Would you drive a Ford if their CEO drove a Chevy? So, are Tetanus and Polio shots OK, but H1N1 should be kept at an arm's length? This is where I should ask around, and it starts here, Please shed some light on this!

4 comments:

  1. ok, i have a family who works in the medical field, so I am pretty well versed on both sides of the argument.

    the H1N1 flu shot is no different than a regualr flu shot. it is a dead virus. just like the regualr flu. the swone flu has been hyped up some because of the death rate, but when you look at the death rate from the regular flu you will see that the swine flu dead people are not disproportionate to those with regular flu. Flu in general is an opportunistic disease.

    that being said, the availability is questionable, so just keep your selves healthy and keep an eye on baby's temp, and keep your temp. Get an ear thermometer. easy convenient and quick.

    vaccines in general are safe. sure you hear of the one chick who got a flu shot and now cannot walk, but if they were the norm, then they wouldn't have them available.

    so i think using a level headed approach is a good one. get them vaccinated. i got my kids vaccinated and they have had no problems.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What he said ^^^

    Both my girls have had all the childhood vaccines and are fine. As Adam said if they were that bad then they would (i hope) stop giving them. And to me the option is worse. The small risk of some rare side effect as opposed to whopping cough and tetnus etc is worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, I guess I'm going to come in on the other side of this thing, so that will be uber helpful, huh? My kids have had all their childhood vacinations but only because it's required by the state and they can't attend school here unless they're up-to-date. However, I don't like it one bit, especially when it's a "new" vaccine that the state is forcing us to get.

    Neither one of my kiddos have ever had a flu shot and won't be getting the H1N1, either. Our family doc advised against the H1N1 because she felt like it had been rushed out and that it needed to be tested more.

    So far, we've been lucky and the kids haven't gotten the flu. I have, but they haven't.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow Will, this is a great read, VL, sent me here, some how i MESSED UP, you have an award coming and you will get it next Friday.
    My kids are all grown up now, but I remember all the rites of passage into parenthood, and you are nailing them all.
    BIG HUGS
    Bob and Bess

    ReplyDelete