Friday, June 24, 2011

Baby Immunizations

I'm pretty passionate about the topic of immunizations for babies.  There was a study a while back that indicated that shot injury could be the source of autism, which is my worst fear for my children!  That study has recently been confirmed as a big ole source of horse crap, BUT it still got me thinking and researching the topic, so that I feel educated to make the right decisions for my children.  You know, when I was young, we received like 15 immunizations and kids now receive like 50, and so many of them all at once; and really, a Hep B shot at birth?  It just doesn't FEEL right to me, and what does feel right to me is ensuring that my children do receive all their immunizations, yet spaced out a little bit.  It doesn't feel right to me to inject a 12 pound baby with 5/6 shots at a time, all including mercury and other preservatives that keep the medication for long periods in the doctors' cabinets.   So I found a pediatrician that respects my wishes, and we developed a shot schedule together that makes sense from a medical perspective, and that I'm comfortable with, as well.  It took a lot of research, time, and thought, so I thought I'd share it all of you, in case you ever embark on a similar project.  Let me know if you have feedback or insight.

Thanks!  Mer

Mer Show Babies' Immunization Schedule


2 months – DTaP, Hib, Rotateq (Rotateq isn’t a shot, it’s oral)
3 months – IPV, PCV
4 months – DTaP, Hib, Rotateq
5 months – IPV, PCV
6 months – DTaP, Hib, Rotateq
7 months – IPV, PCV
October (beginning of flu season) – flu
12 months – Hep B
15 months –Hep B
18 months –MMR
October – flu
24 months – IPV, Hep B
30 months – Varicella, Hep A
October – flu
36 months – Hep A
4 years – DTaP, IPV
October – flu
5 years – MMR booster
October – flu
6 – varicella booster
October – flu
12 years – Tdap, HPV
12.5 years – HPV
13 years – Meningococcal, HPV

Monday, June 20, 2011

Bubby Loves Sissy

Please ignore the broken slat on the blinds behind the kids. We recently had an 18 month old guest to the house that walked through the front door, straight to the back, and snapped the slat in half. :x I'll get to fixing it soon...

Meanwhile, Patrick loves Katie so much and these spontaneous kisses are frequent. I just happened to have my phone with me this time, and I caught the moment. Awwwwww...




Arent they sweet? <3

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Sunday, June 19, 2011

Memorial Day at Lake Travis

Sheridan and I went out to the lake over Memorial Day weekend with some friends and had a blast!  See?












Sunday, June 12, 2011

The Latest Ailment - Fifth's Disease

So a couple of weeks ago, our little dude came down with a nasty rash - he had welts all over this face, and although he seemed to feel pretty normal, he looked TERRIBLE.  We finally got nervous and took P to our fave urgent care (they know us well by now) on Monday of Memorial Day, because it was getting worse and worse.  They sent us home with some liquid steroids and said that they didn't know what it was, but thought it was food allergy related.

So the next day, we took P to school and upon looking at him, his teacher sent him home.  She said that one of the other kids in school had been diagnosed with something called Fifth's Disease, and wanted us to get a doctor's note confirming it wasn't this before sending him back to school


I immediately took P Diddy to the pediatrician, who said it was definitely not Fifth's Disease, and that's an often misdiagnosed rash.  He also thought it was a food allergy and told us to watch what he ate, and how he reacted (sheesh); he wrote up a doctor's note and sent him back to school.  The thing that just sat really wrong with me was that A) we had done blood testing for allergies and it had come back negative for everything and B) he went on a long diatribe about how I shouldn't send him to an allergist, because they're blood-sucking jerks who just perform expensive skin-testing, because they want cash, blah blah blah...

So of course, the next thing I did was schedule an appointment with a highly recommended allergist for the next day.  He got one look at Patrick's rash, and said "oh, this isn't allergies - this is VIRAL'.  WHAT?!  Three different opinions in 3 days from 3 different doctors.  Exasperation strikes!

So we went a few more days, and the rash moved from his face to his arms to his legs to his bottom... and would get worse when we went outside, or he'd play hard and get hot, or when he'd have tantrums (you know, like 5x/day, LOL).  It just wouldn't go away!!  By the next weekend, Sheridan was ready to take him to another urgent care for another opinion, and I said "you know what, let's google pics of Fifth's Disease".

And we ended up having a GOOD LAUGH, because the pictures we saw of Fifth's Disease were a dead on match for Patrick's rash.  And indeed, it flares with heat, stress, sunlight, and exercise, and once the rash shows up, apparently it's no longer contagious - thank goodness, since our pediatrician sent him back to school!!!

And fortunately, our little muffin Katie didn't pick this one up.  Whew!

Anywho, add it to the list.  Could this kid obtain anymore crazy childhood cooties?  He is such a magnet!!

Just in case your kid shows up with a weird rash, check this out and note - it's Fifth's Disease. (BTW, the name means that it's the fifth disease after Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Chicken Pox.) 












Sunday, June 05, 2011

Look Who's Sitting Up

Miss Katiebug is super close to sitting up on her own. Today, she's practicing against the couch. :)



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone