31 Days: Day 4

I'll admit, this is getting hard. Even 24 hours past is hard to remember, detail for detail. I can only do my best...

Calvin woke up early for work but Ollie and I laid around for a bit. When I was positive that he was content and ready to be alone for a few minutes I propped him up on our bed, where I could see him from the bathroom, and hopped in the shower. Fellow moms will know - this is a great victory. Every shower is a glorious reward. Once we were rip-roarin' ready for the day we bundled up and went for a long walk. We ended up at the library (pretty much always do) only to find out that I was wrong about my on-hold book being ready for pick up (incidentally it is ready today but I don't know if I'll have time to get it). We got home and I finished my grape juice oatmeal and unloaded the dishwasher. Calvin got off work early so he could pick the two of us up around 1 for Oliver's first ever pediatrician appointment. This doctor is incredible - I would recommend her to anyone. He was examined, and weighed (11 lbs, 1 oz - my speed grower) and then we discussed vaccination. His doctor is comfortable with us taking more time to decide although Ontario's recommended schedule begins at 2 months. (See my discussion below.) After that the day becomes a blur. At some point I ate lentils. Calvin and Jordan left to pick up a secondary Rogers box so that we can have cable downstairs on the projector (hello 100" screen for Leafs games!). We watched Glee. We ate acorn squash with tomato manicotti and baked shrimp. And somewhere along the line I fell asleep.

So what do you think about vaccination? I've been thinking about it since the moment my pregnancy test was positive and I still haven't come to a conclusion (not unlike my circumcision dilemma). What I know for sure is that I am opting out of any vaccines for non-life threatening illnesses such as chicken pox and influenza. If a situation arises that these illnesses would become more serious (pox after age 10, a severe strain of flu coming through our area) I would re-open the issue. But then there is the case of DTPT and MMR. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if Oliver contracted any of these things on my watch, at the same time how would I feel if he suffered side effects of the shot? I've been told there are aluminum-free options in Ontario, I will definitely look into that. Some people also recommend a delayed schedule which is interesting to me. I think it would be nice to wait until he's older to go through this stress on his body. If time allows I will try to read Dr. Sears' book on this subject to get better insight. What are the consequences of being unvaccinated in Ontario, especially related to travel and education? If you have an opinion feel free to post below. I know my blog is well-read (the page views are so encouraging - I can't believe how popular this is becoming!) but I don't often receive comments, so I'm encouraging anyone reading this to let me know how you feel on this post.

Thanks my friends!