Props to the mom

On Monday, I took the babies in for their six-month checkup. N is still a petite person, and A2 is an inch taller and almost two pounds heavier. No surprises there. But there was a surprise--a pleasant one, actually.

I had been gearing myself up for the "flu vaccine talk." Disclaimer: I am not against vaccines in general. I understand and support their use overall. However, I am not in favor of the way they jam them into our babies at such a rapid rate, all before they're two years old. I just don't think it's the best thing for their immune systems to be bombarded with so many different things, even if they are just vaccines. For the most part, we've done our kids' vaccines on schedule, with just a few later than normal. Our pediatrician has finally learned not to bug me about it. He started out years ago making awesome comments like, "Well you know, if you wait a few months to vaccinate, it's like you're driving your baby around without a carseat the whole time." Nice guilt trip, doc. But, I think the nurses must have put a note in our file (I'd love to see what that note said) because they don't push it as much anymore.

At the four-month appointment, the nurse (I think she was a student nurse practitioner) brought up the flu vaccine. The babies were too young at the time, but she was encouraging me to have the older three vaccinated. I told her our kids have strong immune systems and if they were to get the flu, I thought they'd be ok. She said that was fine. The doctor also brought up the subject later, but I pretty much nodded my head and ignored him.

So, I was a little stressed going into Monday's appointment because at six months, the babies were both eligible for the vaccine. I knew what I wanted to do, but when confronted with the medical establishment, it can be hard to stick with my plan. And also, I hate confrontations with a passion. They make me extremely nervous. But when it comes to my kids, I do have a little more gumption.

Anyway, we saw the nurse practitioner on Monday (a real one, not a student). We've seen her before and she's great. She mentioned the flu shot, but after I went through a bit of my rehearsed speech, she said, "I can respect that. No problem."

Wow. It was so nice to feel like my decision as a mom was not just tolerated, but respected. I know my kids and their bodies. I know their bodies are strong, and not because we're magically healthy all the time, but because we actually give them supplements to help their immune systems be strong. We've used antibiotics ONCE for my kids. Not once for each kid--ONCE total. I'm confident that if my kids do get the flu, they may get sick for a few days, but they will be ok.

I'm not saying anything about anyone who chooses to get the flu vaccine, because I do think it can do a lot of good. I think it's a trickier one since they have to guess the year before about which strain will be the most dominant the next year, but for high-risk groups, it can provide a lot of protection for a potentially nasty virus.

I think as moms it can be easy (or at least easy for me) to feel cowed or bullied by doctors or teachers or people in authority. Of course, they have extra schooling and expertise and it's important to defer to their knowledge in a lot of cases. But sometimes, a mom just knows best--like when I literally had to convince our pediatrician that N had reflux. He was sure it was a formula allergy because she didn't puke at every feeding and wasn't screaming all the time, like a classic case of reflux. But I had done my homework and I knew in my heart what was wrong. When I finally talked him into the Prevacid, she was a ton better a few days later.

Anyway, it was just nice to feel vindicated in the good decisions I make for my family.