When I had my first baby the immunizations were given at the hospital as routine. Not many mother's think too much about it, it's what "everyone" does now right?! I knew differently. You see, my mom studied things, researched them out and followed her own pattern of normal ways of life.
When my youngest brother was a baby his immune system wasn't up to par and for this reason my mom did not vaccinate him as she had the rest of us. He needed more time, more natural immunity's and time for his body to catch up. He was an at risk birth and was pumped full of antibiotics before being born, which may have been necessary, but didn't help with his well being. When he was in 3rd grade he still wasn't caught up on his immunizations. A county healthcare nurse called my mom to "remedy" the situation and my mom explained to her that she was not going to immunize my brother at this time. The nurse, thinking she was doing her "duty" told my mom over the phone that she would drive to our home and inoculate my brother herself. Threats?! Wow. Because he could cause an epidemic if something broke out, she then told my mom that my brother could no longer attend school if he was not immunized. My mom drove to the school and removed my brother, thus began her homeschooling journey (but that's another story).
Having this experience as an example in my life, I knew that as a mother it was my CHOICE whether I wanted to immunize my children or not. While I am not against all immunizations, in the back of my mind there was always this uneasy feeling, sometimes referred to as mother's intuition :) you may have heard of it. My decision to not immunize didn't come from simply observing what my mom had chosen, nor did it come from only the uneasy feeling. It started small and grew into something I knew was the right CHOICE for my family.
My beautiful baby girl was injected with the same vaccines most babies get at the hospital. When she was 2 months she received her immunizations and at her 4 month check up got them again. Except this time something happened...she developed a severe allergy to the shot itself causing her to breakout in a leopard like rash from head to toe. My beautiful baby looked like a jungle animal. The doctors told me that she was allergic to something in the shot....although they weren't sure what because they are given not just one at a time but several so pinpointing anything is a little hard.
(Now here me out... I am so grateful for modern medicine, for doctors, I LOVE this doctor and many other doctors that have helped my family and I!! I have to deliver my babies C-Section, so without modern medicine I'd be dead, my baby would've died and that would me my story. I know that doctors and nurses have helped numerous people in my family and I am most grateful for their talents and skills! However, I feel there are certain situations and things where modern medicine is needed, and other places where it is not. My issues with vaccines are the dosage that is given, and the mixing of more than one vaccine at a time, thus making it difficult to view the bodies reaction between one vaccine's. We as a family choose not to use modern medicine as a daily practice. As I stated I believe there is a time and a place. We do not go to the doctor for the sniffles or for the flu, or ear aches, etc. we go to the doctor when my husband slices his palm open with a knife, or when my son can't breathe because he has a bad case of croup and the cold air just isn't helping. We aren't freaks, we simply CHOOSE to do things differently than some, and we CHOOSE what is best for our family.)
So here I was a new mom with a baby leopard. Needless to say that was the last immunizations my first baby every had. When the next two babies were born I proceeded down the same path. One child had immunizations up to 6 months and the other only had them up to 2 months. I felt a very strong feeling with the second baby that 6 months was enough! In fact I felt an overwhelming feeling that his life could be in jeopardy if I chose to give any more. That was when I CHOSE to stop vaccinating. My children are all healthy, average kids. The older two (that I didn't have as infants) were immunized and they are as healthy as the 3 that were not as immunized. When I went in to get an exemption when school immunzations were upon us the nurse was a little agitated at my choice and gave me stacks of paper that I could read about the "danger" I was inflicting upon my children. I smiled as I thought to myself, "I could give you a stack of papers twice as tall that would show you the "dangers" of choosing to immunize my child". (Please note the nurse that helped me with my exemptions with my youngest two was a gem and she was very respectful of my choice and gave me options if I ever wanted to start slowly down the immunizing road! That is how situations should be handled.) She signed the paper and we were done.
I am not writing this to stand on my soap box and tell you that if you vaccinate you are killing your children. You can research whatever side of the story you want. But there is a deeper concern that applies to this and many other situations on the rise in this modern world. The freedom to CHOOSE! I have many friends, family members and acquaintances that choose to immunize their children. I do not think these mothers are bad mothers, I do not think that they should make the same choice I did. I do not believe that all immunizations are bad. I do believe that as an American citizen I should have the RIGHT to make the CHOICE to immunize or to not immunize. I do believe that we are all individuals and that the vaccines made do not fit the mold for every person. How do they know what effects it will have on my baby, toddler, teen? They don't! As the mother, I know my child more than the government or drug company does, and I know if I feel good or bad about something. Some people have severe allergic reactions to vaccines, some people's bodies do not accept the vaccine and therefore they don't develop the antibodies they are suppose to...or maybe they were naturally immune already, and some people accept them free of any effects whatsoever. But shouldn't that choice be mine? When people say to me....and yes they've said it..."If I'd have known your children weren't immunized I wouldn't have enrolled my child in the same preschool" I smile because quite simply, if you believe your vaccinated child will contract something from my non-vaccinated child what does that say about your belief in the vaccine? Yes I know that people at certain ages can't have the vaccine, I am aware that they may be exposed to something they don't know they are being exposed to. But, there are outbreaks of the very diseases that we have vaccines for, and a lot of the time the outbreak effects those who WERE immunized. Chickenpox for example, whooping cough. These are two that I personally know of. People I KNOW have been vaccinated and then contracted the disease anyway. Do your research and make your own choice. But know that YOU have a CHOICE!
The point is, if we are all forced to vaccinate our children then we give up our freedoms. Haven't we given up enough freedoms? Genetically modifying our food, Healthcare, and common core, just to name a few. When we give up our rights because we feel we want everyone to be the "same" to have to do something that may not be right for them isn't that communism and socialism? Too extreme?! Well it starts with a simple freedom and gradually we will have NO CHOICES left. I value my rights as an American, I value the freedom of CHOICE the freedom that we can CHOOSE what is right for our families, in education, in health, in vaccines, in religion, in so many things. I urge you to think about that before you tell people that don't immunize that they are making the wrong choice. Think about what freedoms you're willing to give up. As for this mom, I CHOOSE to have a CHOICE! And I choose the same for you!
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