To Vaccinate Or Not, That Is The Question

Today I have the joy of taking my daughter Rosa to her six-month checkup. I call it a "joy" in the most sarcastic light, in case you couldn't denote that from my writing. That's because with every checkup, comes more vaccinations.

Like every mother these days, I was torn when it came to vaccinations. There have been many studies and claims about how the mercury additive was to blame for the influx in autism cases. While I was pregnant, I grilled many health professionals, who all told me there was no proof at this time that vaccines caused autism, and in fact, the mercury additive under the spotlight had been since removed from all vaccines. They told me while there was a risk with the vaccinations, the benefits far outweighed the risks.

If you look at the history of child-bearing, before the scientific breakthrough of vaccines, many children died under the age of five due to illness. Vaccinations are a life saver. Can you imagine living in a time when it was considered 'normal' that your child may or may not live to age five?

Examining the history of my own family, my grand-grandmother died of cervical cancer, which is now linked to the HPV virus. My grandfather was crippled by the polio virus at the age of 32. He survived, barely, and lived the rest of his life on crutches. My mother died of the flu virus. All three could have been prevented with a simple vaccination. My child will be saved by these fates with a simple shot. How can we call these vaccines nothing less than a modern day miracle?

So this afternoon, when I am holding my beautiful girl in my lap, and I feel her body tense up as her doctor inserts a sharp needle, I will close my eyes, and remember this small moment of pain is really saving her life.

teeth, teeth, teeth

We spent Friday morning at the dentist's office. At his last dental check-up, out of the clear blue, Little Man had 6 cavities!!! I was shocked.... just shocked. We have fluoride in our water, I thought we did a reasonably ok job of brushing, but, well, he ended up with cavities anyway. All in the baby teeth. So, back to the dentist office we go, for the Big Guns.....

I've never had a cavity. BUT, I really don't think that I have myself to thank for this. I'm just lucky, and I have a family history of good teeth. The genetic dice fell in my favor on this one. This whole tooth decay thing with LM has been such a rich source of Mother Guilt for me. If only I had been more aggressive about brushing.... if only I had flossed for him.... if only I hadn't let him drink juice.... the dentist told me that decay is caused by bacteria, passed on by "caregivers." I don't have cavities, did he get it at daycare??? Ah, more guilt.... but it's not doing me any good. Can't undo anything. So we move forward, knowing that floss and fluoride swish are a permanent, and positive, part of the bedtime routine.

Can I just say for the record right here that if I ever have to have dental work, I want to have all the sedation my son had? He had some kind of sleepy cocktail, and then the laughing gas. He turned into such a loopy goofball he doesn't remember a thing, which is good considering that he had a LOT of work done in one fell swoop.

So he left the dentist minus one tooth, plus a shiny new stainless steel crown, five stickers, and four pencils. The Tooth Fairy visited our house that night (after all, despite the circumstances, he did "lose" a tooth). This time she brought a dollar.... and new Spongebob Squarepants toothpaste. Even if I feel upset about the dental bills, the Tooth Fairy is all love.