Pacifiers and Vaccines

Jeff's been working hard on his proposal lately - since he's starting over and all. I am so glad that he is home right now and gets to be around when he's not writing or reading - because he's been working on his summer schedule and boy does it looks crazy. Lots of working down at the ranch. I'm not really looking forward to it, but at least I get to go home twice (once in two weeks!) and then my parent's are coming up in June.

I'm really updating this blog right now to distract myself from David's fussing. We took away the pacifier. Last night was interesting, but was ok eventually. This nap time isn't going so well. I have been going in to check on him in regular intervals - which only made him get more worked up when I came into the room. I tried rocking him, but he's tired and mad - which is always a good combo. I can hear him - he will cry for a minute, then start to fall asleep and get quiet and then realize and cry again. He usually goes right to sleep if we swaddle him and put a pacifier in his mouth, but when he gets his arms out and spits the pacifier out at night he is having a hard time putting himself back to sleep when we wakes up. So, no swaddling and no pacifier tonight - or anymore. He got used to it quickly last night and after his feeding, went back to sleep fairly well. But naps are different.

Whew- he has quieted now - it was really only about 4 minutes of crying and then 5 minutes of just fussing - I will go and check on him in a few minutes. We got a "BreathableBaby" mesh crib bumper because he kept getting his arms and legs in the crib railing and then wouldn't go back to sleep. I love it so far - it's only been on one night, but it sure served it's purpose. It's actually more cushy that I would have thought and, I doubled it over and then over again and I can still breathe through it easily, so it makes me feel better about him getting his little face shoved up against it in his tossing and turning.

We go to the Dr on Monday for two more immunizations and a check up for him. We are following a different vaccine schedule than what is typically done. My main concern with the AAP recommended schedule is the amount of alluminum given intraveneously with the 5-6 immunizations given in the first 6 months of life or so. We are getting David completely immunized - eventually. We are delaying the immunizations that are not as important for his age or circumstance. I read a bunch of books on the subject - both for an against vaccinating - and I finally decided I agree with Dr. Sears' "The Vaccine Book". The book itself is very balanced and presents a lot of info on either side of the debate. Dr. Sears himself is pretty much in favor of vaccinating, but admits that there are some things to be concerned about, so he recommends a different scheudle of vaccinating as well as recommends certain brands of each vaccine to request to alleviate some of these concerns. I don't agree with everything from Dr. Sears, but this book and schedule will work best for our family. Last time, David got the Pc (Pneumococcal) and the HIB (Influenza type A or sometimes referred to as Meningitis). This time - one month later - he will get Rotavirus and DTaP (Diptheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis). Most kids get the DTap combined with the Hepatitis B and Polio Vaccine, but David did not recieve the Hep B Vaccine at birth because we requested not to and we would like to wait on the Hep B and Polio vaccines until he finishes the series he is geting now. It does mean more injections in the long run - however they are spread out over more visits (not getting so many in one day) and keep him from getting large doses of aluminum. I still want to talk about the DTaP vaccine vs the DTaP+Polio+HepB to see what he thinks - but he is the one who recommended this alternative vaccine schedule to me as a good option.

Anyway - I'm going to go check of David - he sounds like he's fast asleep.