Vaccinations... Yes or No?

This is something that has been weighing on my mind lately, so here ya go... this is going to be long!

Before we had Owen we did some research into the new accusations that the vaccinations we give our children are one cause for the increase in Autism. With the current rate of Autism in America, our son (being a white male) falls into the likelihood of 1:94 for being diagnosed with Autism. That means that one in every 94 white American boys will become Autistic. That is a scary statistic. I do think that there is a genetic component to those who develop Autism as well and don't think that vaccines alone are the cause. But, how do I know that my son doesn't have the predisposition? I looked at the current vaccination schedule that the AAP recommends and most pediatricians follow (this is the schedule we followed with Emma) and found that before Owen is 6 months old he would receive 24 components guarding against 9 diseases. That is crazy to me. Also, the vaccines he would be receiving would be the same dosage they would give Craig if he needed a vaccine.

After some research and reading Dr. Bob Sears book "The Vaccine Book" we decided to vaccinate on an alternative schedule. Then when Owen got so sick, we decided to hold off on vaccines altogether until his 4 month appointment. That appointment is coming up in a couple of weeks and we are faced with what to do now. We have already declined the Hepatitis B vaccine altogether that they recently included (given at birth, 1 month and 6 months) since there isn't any reason that my newborn needs to be vaccinated against an adult disease.

Just to give you an idea of why vaccinations are coming under so much scrutiny, here is the way the polio vaccine (which our children as meant to get at 2 months, 4 months, 18 months and 5 years) is made: WARNING this is gross! Taken directly from "The Vaccine Book" by Dr. Sears...

First, a culture of monkey kidney cells is nourished with calf serum (the liquid portion of cow's blood). The monkey kidney cells are then removed from the cow serum, and three strains of the polio virus (their origin is unknown, but presumably they come from individuals infected decades ago) are mixed with the monkey kidney cells in a culture medium called M-199, (which is a saline solution with vitamins, amino acids, sucrose, glutamate, and human albumin (proteins filtered out of donated human blood units). Three antibiotics are also mixed in to keep the solution sterile. The polio virus uses the monkey kidney cells to multiply. Batches of the virus are then removed from the kidney cells, purified, then warmed for 12 days in a solution of formalin to inactivate the virus. Formaldehyde and 2-phenoxyethanol ar added as preservatives.

Now, this isn't only in the Polio vaccine. Most vaccinations include aluminum, a known neurotoxin and formaldehyde, the preservatives used to embalm the dead, as well as many other ingredients we would never willing give ourselves in any other circumstance. I understand that vaccinations are an important part of our culture and we must vaccinate our children against these diseases. BUT why must we give them seven of these at once? Is is just because it is easier for the doctor? So we don't have to make as many appointments and come in so many times? I just doesn't seem logical to me to inundate my newborn with so many vaccinations for things that have been eradicated in the United States for many years. The last case of Polio in the United States was in 1985. Our children are at a particularly low risk for catching any of these diseases since they don't go to daycare and are/were only breast-fed.

So, in our quest to what is best by Owen (since we, as parents, can only do what we feel is best for our kids, right?) we will only be giving him one vaccine at a time, spaced a month apart. For us, a few extra doctors visits is a better than the alternative.