Tuesday, November 24, 2009

For what it's worth

For those who are interested in how we're going about vaccinating Zeke, I have an alternative vaccination schedule here. We're not eliminating any shots, just spreading them out to avoid giving him lots of needle-sticks at a time. Also, if he DOES have a reaction, it'll be a little easier to determine which vaccine caused it. We have every intention of giving him the flu vaccine yearly once he's old enough for it, too (it's not recommended for children under six months).

This schedule comes from The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child by Dr. Bob Sears (copyright 2007).

2 months: DTaP, Rotavirus
3 months*: Pc, HIB
4 months: DTaP, Rotavirus
5 months*: Pc, HIB
6 months: DTaP, Rotavirus
7 months*: Pc, HIB
9 months: Polio (IPV)
12 months: Mumps, Polio (IPV)
15 months: Pc, HIB
18 months: DTaP, Chickenpox
2 years: Rubella, Polio (IPV)
2 1/2 years*: Hep B, Hep A (start Hep B at birth if any close relatives or caregivers have Hep B)
3 years: Hep B, Measles
3 1/2 years*: Hep B, Hep A
4 years: DTaP, Polio (IPV)
5 years: MMR
6 years: Chickenpox
12 years: Tdap, HPV
12 years, 2 months*: HPV
13 years: HPV, Meningococcal (once Meningococcal vaccine is approved for age 2, Dr. Sears will move it there and delay Hep B by 6 months)

*indicates a "shots only" visit

Friday, November 13, 2009

new giveaway from Kelly's Closet!


Try this on for size (hehe)...
Click the picture to go to the blog!

best cooking magazine ever!!

I absolutely ADORE Fine Cooking.

It covers everything from simple, quick meals ("Make It Tonight" section) to complicated recipes like making homemade sausages. This week I'm hoping to try the Noodle Soup with Kale and White Beans (p106), Honey-Lemon-Glazed Cauliflower (also p106) and Chicken Adobo with Rice (p108). Some of the Christmas cookies and other desserts will be fabulous when that time of year rolls around, too.

It's expensive ($30 for 6 issues per year), but totally worth it when I think about how much better my cooking has been since I started getting it.

Sooooo much better!

Zeke is MUCH better today! He was better yesterday, too, but I didn't get to post at the time :)
We put a few drops of peppermint oil in our bedroom humidifier and used Kid's Xlear nose drops before he went to bed. I also put him in his bouncy seat on the bathroom floor while I took a shower on Wednesday, and that seemed to really help break up the gunk. Of course, we also used a bulb syringe ("booger-sucker" in the vernacular) to suck out the goop. All of these things in combination were enough to help him feel much better, but I think the nose drops were the biggest help overall. Adam bought them (on Barbara's recommendation) at Harvest Moon and they seemed to dry Zeke up really quickly. He's back to daycare and his usual self!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Oh, no!

Zeke is sick! He's just congested and has a cough, though, and no fever, so it's not as bad as it could be. Luckily, he stays with Mom today, so Adam and I can still both go to work. We wrote a note giving Mom permission to take him to the doctor and have him treated if necessary, and Adam took her the insurance card this morning, so we feel pretty good that all the bases are covered in case he develops a fever and/or gets really sick.

People have always told me that you feel like your heart's getting ripped out the first time your baby is sick. My heart is still inside my chest. I do feel pretty terrible that I had to leave him this morning, though, to come to work :( Thankfully, he's in good spirits and doesn't act like he feels poorly, but the cough gives it away.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Mother-Ease Diapers, Anyone?

See this link for information about a Mother-Ease diaper giveaway from the bloggers of Kelly's Closet:

Friday, November 6, 2009

No words necessary :)

Frederick or Bust!

Well, tonight we go to Frederick, Maryland to meet Adam's cousin Al and his wife Katy, and Chip and Nancy, Al's parents (and my father-in-law's sister and brother-in-law). Adam and I have talked for ages about wanting to get together with Al and Katy (and we keep saying we're going to meet up everytime we see them for family stuff!) but things never seem to work out. We're all approximately the same age and at the same point in our lives, so it would be cool and fun to spend more time together, but them being in Baltimore and us in Calmes Neck makes it difficult to actually see each other.

So tonight we're going to just do it. We're meeting all of them in Frederick along with my in-laws to have dinner and catch up since the last time we all saw each other was months ago (could it be as long ago as last Christmas?!) and Nancy is the only one who's seen Zeke. Lots has happened since then and we need to hash it all out :) I'm not crazy about the idea of driving that far with Zeke, but we're riding with Sam and Danielle (I think) so at least he won't be all alone in the backseat for a long time. That worked well when we went to Tennessee (whoever was back there would entertain him whenever necessary), so hopefully it'll work tonight, too. Hopefully I'll be able to post pics soon!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Ouch!

My poor baby boy had to get two more shots today. Adam had to take him because I have a workday at school today, so they were still at the house when I left this morning. When Adam called later in the morning he said that Zeke screamed his head off but then calmed down pretty quickly. He dropped him off at Mom's house for the day and gave him some Tylenol to help with the sore legs and potential fever, and Mom said he's acting totally normal now. He's not lethargic like he was the last time, and he's eating normally, too.

Now, here's my thing about vaccines. There are lots of people who are absolutely convinced that some vaccines can cause, aggravate, or trigger autism. Not one scientific study, though, has proven any remotely causal link between the two (see study summaries from the CDC). Autism appears to have both genetic and environmental factors (see http://www.autism-society.org/), and some vaccine ingredients (especially thimerosal) might contribute, but there's no evidence to suggest that vaccines are causal except in some very specific circumstances where a child had an underlying condition which predisposed him or her to autism and it was triggered by a vaccine component (see this article in Time).



Adam and I decided early on that the benefits of vaccinating far outweighed the risks and, since we intend for Zeke to go to public schools and not be homeschooled, we'd rather he have some protection from the hundreds of germy kids he'll be exposed to everyday. I do NOT think, however, that everyone who chooses not to vaccinate is an irresponsible parent. I'm not worried about your unvaccinated child because my child IS vaccinated and isn't susceptible to your germs. I'm vaccinated myself, so I'm not susceptible to your germs, either. If you've weighed the risks and have decided they're not worth it, fine by me. I'm just glad you're talking about it and actually educating yourself; someone who considers carefully and ultimately decides against the standard course of action (and what the medical establishment recommends, which is a whole other ball of wax since I'm not sure the recommendations are always as research-based as they are made out to be) is a far more responsible parent than someone who blindly goes along with the pediatrician's every mandate.


We've chosen to get all of the recommended vaccinations, but Zeke will be getting them on a more spread-out schedule. I just don't see the necessity of three shots and one oral vaccine at a time; if he reacts to something, how would we ever be able to figure out what it was?! Instead we're spreading them out and he'll never get more than two vaccines at a time.


If you're interested in reading more about vaccines, their components, possible side effects and reactions, and finding alternate vaccine administration schedules, see The Vaccine Book. I borrowed this book from a friend and found lots of detailed information that helped me make the best decision for my son. Also, the CDC has a page of vaccine information on its website.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Halloween

So Zeke was a bat for Halloween:





CUTEST BABY EVER!!!
Zeke and I had a somewhat lazy Halloween morning; we slept in a little bit while Adam went to work. I had a haircut appointment at noon, so I knew we'd need to leave in the late morning to get Zeke to my in-laws' house in time to make it. He decided to take a nap at about 9:00, which was fine, but then proceeded to stay asleep FOR NEARLY TWO HOURS!!! We made like a sheep herder and got the flock out and I managed to only be about 10 minutes late to the salon. It's amazing how a haircut can make you feel like a brand-new person, and I wasn't about to miss it :)

After my haircut we stayed at visited at Jack and Robbin's house for quite awhile, and Adam's grandparents came through on their way home from a family visit. They hadn't seen Zeke since Labor Day weekend, so they were excited to see how big he is and how much more sociable he's become. We took lots of cute Halloween costume pictures, but Zeke got grumpy after a few minutes so we had to cease and desist. I think he was broiling hot since it was 75 degrees in the house and his costume was made mostly of felt.

Finally we went out to Dustin and Megan's house for a cookout. Frank loved playing with all the other dogs (Kenzie, Jake, Dudley, Maggie, and Luther) and we had a good time visiting and eating good food. Unfortunately, the leftover burgers disappeared when Luther decided to try his hand (paw) at high jumping in the kitchen. Onto the counter. Where he ate all the burgers. Oh, well.
We finally got home around 10 (WAY too late for Zeke) and went to bed pretty much immediately. Church as usual in the morning, and we set the date for Zeke's baptism: November 22nd at the 11am service. Back to the in-laws' to pick up the Jeep (which turned into a four-hour visit), and finally home again to try accomplishing some household goals. That part didn't go well.

All in all, a VERY busy weekend, but it was wonderful and fun. I have two workdays this week and, since I don't give grades, I'm a little short on things to do. Not that I'm complaining :)


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