We are in the grips of a Nor'easter. Driving home from the gym this morning my car told me that it was 38 degrees out. 38 and pouring, that is. Nate has been out of town most of the week and will not return until late tonight.I got flashbacks to this time last year ~ More specifically of Nate's trip to Germany (And Amsterdam! Let's not forget Amsterdam! :)). He was gone for a week. Both kids got sick. It rained the ENTIRE week. And life was really, really hard. Jules was 7 months old, crawling and eating solids, and Luke was only 19 months old and into everything. I remember feeling slightly panicked at times. I had very little help that week (I'm terrible at asking for help) and felt very isolated with sick babies and lousy weather.
This year, not so much. I'm rather enjoying the cozy cold rain, and the afternoons spent eating popcorn together on the couch as we read book after book. When the books get old its time to DANCE. Julia has found her dancing groove all of a sudden, and she and Luke will spend up to an hour ~ him doing this crazy flailing armed seizure-ish dance, and her shaking her diapered booty as she waves her hands in the air. Every few minutes they grab hands and sing "round and round" or "ring around the Rosie" as they spin around the modified dance floor until they crash to the ground in gales of laughter. I am grateful for good friends, a warm house, warm food, and healthy babies.
Have you guys heard about this thing called H1N1, or the "illness formerly known as Swine Flu?". Yeah, just kidding. You can't escape it. The hysteria is high ~ whether it is valid or not is not for me to determine. I have had several friends who have had it ~ all took Tamiflu, all have recovered nicely after a week or so of being down and out. I vacillate between fear and annoyance at the whole thing. As of right now (after talking to our Pedi, friends who are nurses, my OB and our prospective Midwife) we are choosing to not get the vaccine, but I am open to any and all information about it, and I reserve the right to change my mind on the vax at a moments notice. I'm not worried about the safety of it, necessarily. I feel it is no different than the regular flu shot as far as safety. Just like everyone else, I know nothing about the effectiveness of the vax, and don't know that I can justify injecting my kids (twice, three times if you count the regular seasonal flu shot) with something that has in no way been proven to be effective. None of us have ever gotten the flu shot before (nor have any of us ever gotten the flu). A new report which seems to indicate that those who got last years flu shot are MORE susceptible to getting H1N1 has me nervous ~ What's to say that there will not be another epidemic bigger and badder than this one next year preying on those who got this vax? Why not rely on natural immunity? My kids are healthy, they are fabulous eaters, they are fabulous sleepers, they have no underlying conditions like asthma or auto immune issues.
To throw another wrench into the decision is the fact that I am pregnant. That (if you read the papers) means that I will die. Okay, not die necessarily, but I am the equivalent of a swine flu ticking time bomb according to some news sources. That might make me more likely to get the shot ~ But for the fact that I am not just thinking of me, but the baby I carry. If the vax is not recommended/safe for babies under 6 months of age, why should I feel confident that it is safe for babies in the womb? Are they not even MORE delicate than newborns?
Anyway. I ramble. I know that there are strong feelings on this one on both sides of the issue. I respect those who are lining up to vax, and those who say NO WAY IN HELL. I get it that any and all decisions that we as parents make concerning this flu are coming from a place of love for our children. I am grateful for vaccines, in general. I feel 100% insanely confident that vax have NOTHING to do with Autism. I am grateful to have the luxury of not fearing polio, or whooping cough, or smallpox, thanks to vaccines. Our kids have had a slightly delayed schedule, and skipped one or two, but are fully immunized by the age of 2. I am a big believer in herd immunity, and believe that choosing to vax my kids is something that helps ALL kids, not just my own. I feel grateful that we can travel internationally with our family without fearing things that may not exist in our country these days, but surely do exist in other parts of the world. I think that *some* parents get on board with the trendy "Vax are so evillllllllll" bandwagon without enough research. Not all, but some. I admit, I was a bit that way before I read and read and read. Anyway. I'm so all over the place here. I have to bundle up the wee ones to get out to the farm this afternoon, and then we are all putting on our pajamas, ordering pizza, and settling in to watch the Phillies with Dee. I can't wait. Enough worrying about super flu's and vaccinations for the day.
