I guess it is that time again, to explore the world of vaccines! I stopped vaccines when Annie was about 1 year old. I just had a gut instinct about those 18 month shots and just stopped..cold turkey on all the kids. I have researched SO much about these shots. The hardest part of this information gathering process is that when you look at information the positions are extremely left or right and nearly nothing in the middle. I feel like I am in the middle or at least the 60/40 mark. I think some of the older vaccines that have been around for years are important to get and are worth the risk....I feel like some are just silly (why get a vaccine that can cause death rather than the Z-pack to treat the illness)...and then I think some are down right dangerous and too new to administer.
I also think that our children are "recommended" triple what we got as children, meanwhile cases of ADD, ADHD, allergies, asthma, SIDS, Shaken baby, learning disorders etc seem to have tripled...ironic huh! So you might find the occasional post on a vaccines....because now that the adoption is over...I may have to time to dwelve into this area again!
I do not want any haters please ..however if you have had experiences on either side please share. EX. Your child was helped from a vaccine or contracted the disease through the vaccine or did not get the vaccine and contracted the disease.
`thanks Bethany :)
Vaccines - Know the Hidden Dangersby MT from The Bon Bon GazetteAs parents we bring our children into the world and obligate ourselves to protect them. Vaccinations: a necessity to keep your child healthy and to provide immunity against life-threatening illness. Or, so we are taught and are told to believe.
But, could these same vaccines cause our children to be sick, or even die?Sadly, yes.
I write this from the standpoint of a mother. A mother of a child who has been hurt by the shots that I trusted him to receive at the hand of a respected pediatrician. I was a first time mother who listened to my doctor and didn't ask questions. My son received a total of 8 shots over 2 visits shortly after his first birthday. After returning home from his well-visit where he received a cocktail of shots including the then Thimerosal containing MMR (this was in 2001) he wailed in his Pack 'n Play crib and began to bang his head repeatedly on the top rail. He had never done this before and it scared me. When I lifted him out of the crib he was hot and feverish - the crying did not stop. He had trouble breathing and we took him to the ER where they gave him breathing treatments and told us he had "reactive airway disease" or Asthma. He proceeded on a path of always being sick. He stopped babbling and did not develop speech the way that a child his age should. What happened to the words he already had? We had his hearing tested and it came back fine. My child who had been otherwise healthy, hitting milestones as a baby should - slipped away. He later was diagnosed with PDD-NOS.
My son has Autism. I believe it was triggered by all the shots he received. Too many shots, packed with toxins were too much for his fragile immune system to handle.
Our story is not all that unique. More than hundreds... thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of parents of children with Autism will recount similar histories. The rate of Autism is 1 in 150 children or 1 in 94 boys. In my state (New Jersey) it is 1 in 60 boys and 1 in 94 children. New Jersey also mandates more vaccines than any other state.
But, haven't the studies shown that the MMR is not linked to Autism? Hasn't Thimerosal been removed from vaccines? Depending on who you ask, the answer is Yes or No, or even Maybe. Trace Amounts = Yes.
Sadly, mercury is not the only neurotoxin or "problem" with vaccines.
They may have removed thimerosal (they claim) from vaccines but other neurotoxins (i.e. aluminum) remain [and thimerosal in some still]. The number of vaccines for children has also increased, drastically. In the past when kids got 10 shots, not they get more than 30! With that we have also seen a rise in other auto-immune and neurological related disorders. More children with autism, asthma, severe food allergies, irritable bowel, ADHD, sensory processing disorder, "failure to thrive",.. the list goes on. More infant deaths than ever from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and SBS (shaken baby syndrome). Related to Vaccines? I say, Yes.
Before you do any vaccinating, do your homework.
Educate yourself on the risks and hidden dangers
- Become familiar with the vaccination law in your state. Start with the NVIC (National Vaccine Information Center). Find state by state regulations here. Heed their Vaccination Tips.
- Read the inserts that your doctor provides about the shots your child will be receiving.
- Do not vaccinate a sick child. Ever. Their immune system is already compromised.
- Avoid giving Tylenol before your child gets a shot to help alleviate anticipated side effects. It will hamper their effect to naturally de-tox from the shot.
- Research the ingredients in each shot. You will find toxins - Formaldehyde, Aluminum, Antifreeze, Aborted Human Fetal Tissue, Methanol, MSG, Latex and more. An eye-opening list of vaccine ingredients
- Watch the movie, Vaccine Nation.
- Read the books: The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child (Sears Parenting Library)
, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations
- Use the "University of Google" and read, read, read.
Where to start:
Vaccine Awakening
Vaccine Nation Documentary
National Vaccine Information Center
Vaccines Exposed
Vaccination News
Vaccine Safety
Immunization Action Coalition
Vaccine Ingredients
VAERS - Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
Vaccines and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
What I am saying is this:
Vaccines are not without risks. Kids are getting sick, hurt, and even dying. My personal stance is not anti-vaccination. I believe in vaccination choice. The right for parents to decide whether to vaccinate or not, all/none/or some.
Educate before you Vaccinate.
This is America, there should be no forced vaccination here.
To learn more about the author and vaccines visit The Bon Bon Gazette I have to thank Mary Tara for taking the time to put this together for my blog, and here's a little more of her story....So, for all of us who may not know, tell us a little about what autism is exactly.Autism is a neuro-developmental disability that affects 1 in 150 children. It is a spectrum disorder meaning the symptoms and characteristics present themselves in a variety of ways ranging from mild to more severe. Diagnoses on the Autism spectrum include: Autistic Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder- NOS (not otherwise specified), Aspergers Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, and childhood disintegrative disorder. Characteristics of someone with autism often include: difficulty in communicating, poor eye contact, self-stimulating (ex. flapping or spinning), sensory processing issues. However, it is important to know that Autism is not a "one size fits all" disorder - it is exactly the opposite from that. Two children with the same diagnosis may behave and function completely opposite from each other.
So when was it that you realized that the problems your son was experiencing were a result of the vaccine?My son was developing typically until he received shots after his 1st year well visit. He got very ill after receiving the shots and then proceeded to miss milestones (he even lost the language he did have). I asked my doctor if his illness was related to his shots, of course they told me no. By 2 years old when he was clearly not hitting the milestones he should have we had him in Early Intervention services receiving therapy. I tried to believe what the doctors told me - that it wasn't related to shots, but the more and more I talked to other parents and did research for myself I could see that my gut was correct.
Tell us what was going through your head when you realized this.Anger, Guilt, Blame. I was mad that my son wasn't getting the childhood that I envisioned and would likely not have the future we would have hoped for him. I blamed the doctor, the shots, and myself. I was packed with guilt for letting them poison my son and hurt his brain.
I felt it was my fault. It made me depressed but at the same time I knew that I needed to snap out of it, get over it, and get to helping my son. I couldn't and wouldn't sit around and have a pity party for myself because that would get my son nowhere.
So what did you do from there?I don't even really remember those months after the diagnosis. It truly is a blur. I think like most mothers when their child gets diagnosed - I proceeded fast forward in every direction to make sure that my son had every therapy service in place for school and home. We had a lot of doctor's appointments and therapy sessions. My door was a revolving door of therapists coming to help Alex and I remember thinking during that time about how I'd completely lost any sense of privacy for myself but that privacy was no longer my priority. My priority is/was my child.
So, from your research, what have you concluded is a possible reason for some kids' negative reactions to the vaccines and not for others? I subscribe to the belief that genetics pre-loads the gun and environment pulls the trigger. I believe my son's immune system was not great and he got too many shots that were loaded up with too many toxins for his brain and body to handle. In the Hannah Poling case, they were able to show that her Autism developed after receiving shots which "aggravated a pre-existing mitochondrial condition".
And what lifestlye changes has your family made to help your son's autism? The biggest thing we have done is to put my son onto a special gluten and casein free diet - essentially no wheat and no dairy. You may have heard about it from Jenny McCarthy, but parents with autistic children have been 'onto' this diet for years. It doesn't work for all kids with autism, and there is a alot of debate in the community about it. It also takes a lot of commitment and can be costly - not every can do it but I am a firm believer in giving it a try. I struggled with doing the diet in the past too but when my son was 6, we were able to put him fully onto the diet. Everyone noticed a change in him immediately - relatives, teachers, neighbors. I don't need any convincing now about the gfcf diet, it has made a huge difference in my son's life. Looking at cleaning up his diet and what that did - it made me pursue a greener approach for the entire family. I try to get organic foods as much as possible and use household products that are non-toxic. I'm very mindful about what goes into my kids bodies.
Do you have hope that your son will ever be cured? I have hope that my son will live a happy, healthy, rewarding life. I do not believe that he will be "cured", there isn't a "cookie-cutter" cure for Autism, though I do know many people who have been able to reverse Autism though DAN! protocol (biomedical practices).
Hello Kittie Mama shares the joys and struggles of her life at
The Bon Bon Gazette.
Above the children made little pouches decorated with their own designs.
Here is Madelyn's 3D map of Jamestown.
The kids made leather pouches similar to those the native Americans would have stored items in. Madelyn had to make hers a purse!
One day with our advent activities we made Christmas cards for the family.
Carson puts the tree on day 1!
Lincoln was evidently quite bored with our activities!!
The "littles" watching the Veggie Tales St.Nick video. Funny thing is Carson originally said he was too old for this movie and has now watched it 3 times! The kids are so sad that St.Nicks parents died....they will not stop talking about it. It has really opened up good questions for the holidays. I asked Madelyn if she could tell me why the story of St. Nick and the giving of gifts are are all around the same time as Jesus' birthday. She answered with "Because when God sent his Son he sent us a gift, it was a perfect gift.We can't give perfect gifts, but we can still give the best gifts we can and that makes God happy!"
He looks older in these pictures, but in person he looks about 1 year younger!
Here is Camden and myself. Photograph by Annastyn
Here is Lincoln (2 years) just playing with the Seasons Change file folder....he is not there quite yet!
Annie is the one who tried out the Seasons Change game for "real". She loved it! You dress up the fox in the clothing for each season...so she enjoyed putting on his raincoat and hat and putting an umbrella in his hand..picture paperdolls that teach!!
If you sign up for the email newsletter you can receive a file folder game for FREE!! 
I do specifically remember looking at Yishake in this picture and thinking he looks like Paul...short, big forehead and curly hair!!!LOL I also remember that sneaky little grin on his face and thinking "Oh yeah he is a Maynard!!".
Carson acting silly!
Wildly enough the boys were not afraid of good ole' Santa...they bear hugged him. Looks like if we visit Disney again we have 2 moe character hogs!!
Here is our little reading area. This area is usually used by Annie when she is done with her school work but wants to stay with us in the room.
Want to see more schoolrooms?? Visit the Sweetman Schoolhouse or the C-family Classroom or how about the Britt Classroom!?! So let's see your rooms!!!
