Vaccines

This is most definitely a hot topic. I have kept my opinion quiet (with the exception of those who ask me), but now that my son has the chicken pox the fact that I am not vaccinating my son is out in the open.

I always heard comments on both sides of the fence, but before becoming pregnant I never took the time to decide which side of the fence I was on. Once I was pregnant I knew I had to make a decision.

Now I certainly am not a "know it all" type of person, although my mother keeps making comments that leave me to believe that this is what she thinks of me. I try to keep an open mind, I LOVE doing research &, being a nurse, medical research is right up my alley so to speak. But of course not everything can be proven beyond a shadow of doubt. And so when it comes to those areas you really have to trust your instincts.

And that's so true with a lot of parenting issues. You just have to trust your instincts, don't always wait until you can prove things 100% or you most likely will end up having some major regrets.

I've said it before & I'll say it again: I have never felt anything so powerful as the instinct to protect my child from harm. It is an amazing thing & nothing I have ever felt prior to having my son. I have always felt protective of my family & loved ones, especially with medical stuff. I want to be there for them helping them understand & helping them make decisions & letting the docs know that they better be on their best behavior, but of course I don't step in & do this unless I am asked or welcomed. And this isn't quite the same as my drive to protect my son from harm.

As I was trying to decide for myself (well, for little J really) my cousin shared with me the most valuable piece of info in making this decision in my opinion. It is this: either decision is based on fear, so what do you fear most? the possible harm of the vaccine or the possible harm from the disease? That may not be word for word how she put it, but that was the jist of it & that helped me sum it all up & make my decision.

As a nurse A LOT of people ask me for my opinion on vaccines. Prior to being pregnant & doing all this research I always told people I honestly wasn't educated enough to give an opinion on either side of the fence & that was the truth. And now that I have my son I share with people what my cousin shared with me & I also remind them that only THEY can make this decision. I am in no way judging people for vaccinating their kids & I am not trying to sway people to not vaccinate their kids. It is entirely a personal choice. (although I have to say that the chicken pox vaccine really irritates me & just seems so pointless--you only have to get chicken pox ONCE in your life & we all used to do this & now suddenly everyone is so scared of chicken pox, just doesn't make sense to me)

But let me get to the bottom line. There are two major deciding factors for me.

1) Pharmaceutical companies just don't care about people. All they care about is making money. How many instances have we had where medications &/or vaccines are pulled off the market or recalled because they are hurting people? I am absolutely convinced that they KNOW it's going to hurt people (or at least SUSPECT, based on their studies & trials) but they want to make as much money as they can prior to it getting pulled.

2) I am not a true conspiracy theory kind of person, but I do believe, WITH ALL MY HEART, that there is a hidden agenda with vaccines. I don't know what that agenda might be & I certainly can't prove it. But based on experiences as a nurse as well as research, & also based on instincts I truly believe this with all my heart & absolutely cannot in good conscience vaccinate my son because of this.

So those two reasons really narrow it down, that's really my bottom line as to my decison. But like I said before, I do not judge others for vaccinating & I'm not gonna try to convince people to not vaccinate their kids. It's a personal choice that we all must make. I just wanted to share my reasons for anyone who might be trying to understand now that my decision is out in the open.