I’m completely lost on the topic.

So far, Ethan is on the regular childhood immunization schedule outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Despite the fact that he was born prematurely, Ethan has had:

1. Two Heb B shots, one at birth, and another at one month old.
2. Two DTaP shots, one at two months, and another at four months.
3. One Hib shot at two months.
4. One Polio shot at four months.

I don’t know what to think of the pros and cons of the current vaccination schedule simply because I’ve only started reading up on it. All I know right now is that children today get twice as many shots as kids did in the 80s. Then there’s the rate of children diagnosed with autism increasing threefold. (Both statements found on this recent article in TIME). Is there a link? Do the types and number of shots given cause autism in some children? Or has the number of cases of autism increased because more and more families are coming forward?

I suppose this is the current great debate that has no hard scientific evidence of one way or the other. Which, frankly, sucks because as parents, it’s not as if we already don’t have very important things on our plates. We put more than enough effort to raise happy, healthy, and kind children (or at least that what we strive for). Then we have to make decisions on whether or not to give our children these medications in order to prevent certain illnesses. Oh, and by the by, those medications may cause a brain development disorder that can impair our children’s social behavior and communication skills. No pressure, right? Riiiiiiight.

A friend recommended the Vaccine Book by the Sears people. I tried to look for it at Barnes & Noble today, but they were sold out. (Hmm, I guess that’s a good sign.) In it is a recommendation of an alternative schedule to the one put out by the AAP. I’m really interested in checking this out, so I may just have to order the book online.

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I have to take Baby E to his apnea clinic today. He’s been doing well for a while now, but to be honest, we’ve stopped using the monitor on him a few weeks ago. It was just a pain to keep the probes on him, especially since the placement would get wonky in the middle of night because he’s squirmy, and we end up running into his room to turn off the alarm (then readjusting the probes, which he hates). Before we stopped using the monitor, he hadn’t had a spell for a good week or so, and now that he’s actually full-term, I’m more confident that he’s got the whole breathing thing down pat.

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Wooooo. So I recently had my cholesterol checked ’cause … well, my entire family has high cholesterol, and I do too. I was just lazy/dumb to wait three years to have it checked again.

What’s kinda scary this time is that my triglycerides were pretty high; and when you’ve got a family history of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes … yeah, I’m a little freaked. On top of that, I also thought I was doing quite well as far having a healthy diet. I haven’t eaten red meat or poultry in about a year and a half (though I get the occasional sushi), I eat a lot more salads and fruits, and I rarely eat any bread or pasta that’s not whole wheat or whole grain.

Is it the cheese? I love cheese, and usually every day, I have one lite cheddar cheese stick. On my salads I sprinkle a little shaved Parmesan (dressing is usually low-fat ranch or balsamic vinaigrette). I hardly think that’s overboard. Dairy? I tried drinking a cup of 2% milk to get the calcium, but I’m really not much of a milk drinker. For the past week or so, I’ve switched to unsweetened soy milk (half a cup) for my morning cereal (fiber rich).

So what gives?? Granted, I’ve stopped working out since the winter began, so there’s that. This week I’ve started again, having done a 1-mile power walk on Monday with 3lb hand weights (ouch), and a 3-mile power walk today with 1lb weights. I suppose I need to keep this up for a while and cut down on the cheese and breads more.

Categories: health
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I sneeze a lot. Quite violently, too. Despite some rather icky (and often bloody) stuff found in my left nasal passage, both my regular doctor and an ear-eye-nose specialist tell me I’m perfectly fine and that I just need a little ointment twice a day. I suppose it makes sense … after all, the ointment will keep all the insides moist while I dry sinuses up with some anti-histamines, which I take because I sneeze so much my nose is always runny, and the more mucus there is, the more it builds up, which then blocks the passage making it hard to breathe, but when I blow my nose really hard to clear it out, the mucus-y bits get ripped off the walls (so to speak), therefore leaving me with a bloody nose.

(Yay for run-on sentences!)

Anywhoo, I’m rather tired of taking Claritin, and I don’t really want to use Vaseline to lube up my nasal passages, so I’m looking into experimenting in more natural remedies. Specifically, there’s the idea that taking a little bit of bee pollen every day can help build some sort of immunity or tolerance against pollen allergies. I did pick up a bottle of bee pollen tablets tonight, though I may check out the granule variety at this Saturday’s farmers’ market in order to control how much I’m consuming; there’s a local honey vendor who’s always there, and I’ve definitely seen some at their table. While I don’t have severe allergic reactions to anything (as far as I know), obviously I’m wary about purposefully introducing something to my body that I may have some sensitivity to.

The other part of my experiment is a bit safer; basically, instead of greasing up my nasal passages with a petroleum-based product like Vaseline, I’m trying some Un-Petroleum multi-purpose jelly. It’s made by the same people who make Avalon Natural Products, Alba, and Avalon Organics. The ingredients include: castor oil, coconut oil, beeswax, castor wax, soybean oil, tocopheryl acetate, and tocopherol (vitamin E); it’s made without petrolatum, parrafin, mineral oil or artificial fragrances. Hypo-allergenic and not tested on animals, natch.

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