makins of a jenkins

oh no, did i open a can of worms?

did you vomit that i mentioned vaccines?

well too bad, this is my blog. towards the end of my pregnancy….we went from learning all in-utero things and switching to….outside the womb topics. actually, you have the opportunity to receive vaccines *while* pregnant (flu & Tdap) but i did not. I have never gotten the flu shot…so i definitely wasnt going to get my first one *while* carrying a child. anyhow we dont need to get into that….this is about vaccines for the baby.

anywho, as you may or may not know vaccines are quite the controversial topic. and CJ and I werent necessarily on the same page, so this topic needed to be addressed and we needed to decide as a couple what we would do since its not just my body we’re talking about…a child is half his and half mine…. so.  #marriage #compromise

one of my good friends, Chris and Des just had a baby in October, and he recommended a book to me, The Vaccine Friendly Plan by Dr. Paul Thomas (MD) and Jennifer Magulis (PHd). I bought it right away because i trust them, but i didnt really know what to expect or what the position would be. La la la, I really devoured this book 1) because the topic is really important and i just drank up all the info and 2) it was really important that i felt educated and in the know about what each are, ingredients, side effects, risks, commonality of the disease, all that….because this will affect my child. so i was motivated to read and i highlighted up a storm page by page. i felt like a college student….but who actually cared about what i was reading. 

Now, you may say bla…I’m just gonna go with the CDC’s schedule and thats that, i dont need to know anything. or you may say….not ONE vaccine for my child! and really, its no one’s effing business what you do…and I’m not going into detail what our plan will be because its such a personal decision…no one should ever just say ‘yea i’ll choose what they’re doing’…everyone should research whats right for them and their family. but i just wanted to pass along something i really enjoyed reading and that helped me a lot make very important decisions.

HERE IS WHAT I REALLY LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK

• He is a pediatrician with over 11,000 children in the life of his practice. 
• He is a father of 9 (ninnnne!)
• The book takes you thru pregnancy, child birth, infancy, 2 mo, 4 mo, and numerically thru all of their checkup ages thru toddlerhood.
• Its NOT just about Vaccines…by any means, he approaches health, immunity & realistic topics, almost like an encyclopedia of what you will eventually bring up to your Pediatrician.
• Its written so well and so easy to read, its not too science’y and its not too conversational. He does a great job of breaking down the topic, the science based evidence, CDC’s recommendations, possible side effects, how common each disease is and his personal opinion and plan for that topic. I really like that you can go topic by topic and know what to expect with the breakdown of knowledge and info.
• In my opinion….its completely UNBIASED. he is not a pro or against Vaccine Dr. (he is a Vaccine “Friendly Dr) and approaches each vaccine individually and uses reason and science depending on each one and weighs the pros and cons of each one and ultimately if (in his opinion) one outweighs the other, which impacts his decision for pro or against each one.  I never felt led to blindly believe anything or that his opinion overshadowed science and reason.
• I felt so prepared to talk to our Pediatrician after reading this, i felt educated and in the know and thats really what i wanted….I wanted to feel like I could come up with a plan for her that fit our family and needs and that comes only with education in order to do it properly…and I feel like I am now. I dont like to blindly just believe anything or go along with what is advised unless i know what it is and makes sense to me and I can decide for myself what it right.

Okkkay. I think I have gone on enough for one topic. I think, regardless of where you stand, we should be educated and feel prepared when making such large decisions that impact our children. Making a decision that affects their lives should never be done without thought and consideration and definitely not without knowing what we’re putting into their bodies.

I know there are many sides, opinions and passions here…I’m not writing this to start anything or really even say what we will be doing, because as I said, i think its a personal and individual decision per family…..my main goal was share a source that i felt brought information in a relatable, realistic and easy to understand way on a topic that i feel like is typically only presented with a visible bias to either side. 

That’s all for now folks.

byyyyye.