Day of Reckoning

Today Bella is off to the pediatrician's office for her first set of immunization shots. She is now at her 2 month mark (Happy 2 months, Bella!) and is due for her Diptheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis shot (DTaP), her Haemophilus influenza b shot (Hib), her pneumococcal, and her polio shot. She is also supposed to get the second of her Hepatitis B shot, but we deferred her first shot at birth and will not begin this series until she is older (by law, children need to be fully immunized against Hep B by seventh grade so we have some time).
Lately, I've been doing my own investigative work regarding immunizations for children. There's a lot of information out there on the web and unfortunately, even for someone with a health-related degree and experience in doing literature research, it is still difficult to separate some of the facts from fiction.
Immunizations are often viewed as modern medical marvels because they have minimized the incidence of several life-threatening diseases in children and in some instances, have nearly irradicated them (e.g., polio). However, they are not without risk. For example, several years after using the activated oral polio vaccine (OPV) to vaccinate, researches suddenly saw several cases of the disease cropping up in patients. They concluded that, although it is very rare, OPV actually caused the disease in some children. Since these cases, doctors no longer use OPV and now use an injectable inactivated polio vaccine instead.
Several sources also site an increased incidence of autism, encephalopathy, and other severe reactions in children who receive immunizations. Specifically, researchers are concerned about levels of thimerosal (a mercury-derived preservative used in the manufacturing process of some vaccines). While several clinical trials have yet to prove a correlation between thimerosal and autism, most vaccine manufacturers have decided to reduce the amount of thimerosal used in the manufacturing process. Nevertheless, some vaccines still contain trace amounts.
Which brings me to my current dilemma. Should I defer more of Bella's shots to reduce her amount of exposure? Am I being overprotective? or prudent? Obviously, the benefits of getting vaccinated against these diseases are much greater than the likelihood of having a severe reaction from the shots. But I just don't quite understand why these young children have to be bludgeoned with so many shots at one time. Why not separate the shots so that their little immune systems can better process what they are given? Again, I see this as the medical community's way to treat a population at their own convenience. Of course doctors would like to minimize office visits just for immunizations! So let's just give all the shots at once and hope for the best! What's a mother to do? I'm hoping Dr. Lam can shed some light on my dilemma...

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Well, we're back from the pediatrician's office and Bella did great! Dr. Lam did a thorough exam of her reflexes, eyes, ears, belly, heart and lungs. She answered many of our questions regarding her everyday habits. She also checked her neck muscles (Bella holds her head upright when lying on her tummy) and her grip (strong for her age).
Then, for the weigh-in: After 2 months and 2 days, Bella is now a whooping 12 pounds, 12 ounces! Nearly 3 pounds more than last month (recall her last weigh-in was 9 pounds 14 ounces)! She also grew an inch to 23 inches. Man, Bella is growing like a little flower! Now that the physical was complete, only one issue left: her immunizations.
After discussing my concerns with Dr. Lam, she agreed to continue holding off on the Hepatitis B shots but recommended the remaining 4 shots for Bella. Bella was beginning to be noticeably cranky so I quickly fed her a few ounces of milk and shoved her binkie into her mouth before being led into the injection room. I knew she would need her binkie to console her from the pain.
As we entered the room, I had the sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach, like when visiting the dentist. I was obviously more scared of the shots than Bella would ever be. Dr. Lam sensed the concern on my face so she reassured me, "Don't worry, Mommies usually cry more than the babies do." Sure enough, she was right. Once I saw the four pre-prepared syringes neatly laid out on the exam table, my throat began to tighten.
I put Bella gently next to the syringes while she contently chewed on her binkie. Little did she know of the pain she was about to endure - Poor Bella! The nurse commented on the nice-sized pork-chop thighs she had to work with and I forced a smile in acknowlegement.
As soon as she was placed on the table, her look of contentment turned into screaming pain. Her little round face turned so red, I thought her head would explode. The worst was her shrilling cry that pierced my heart. I tried consoling her by hugging her and gently repeating, "mommy's here, mommy's here", but I could hold my tears in no longer. Before I knew it, I was crying along with her! Poor Mommy!
Just as soon as it begain, her shots were complete. Bella's face returned to normal and she actually stopped crying. I quickly lifted her and held her near, rocking her softly. She immediately fell asleep in my arms and slept all the way home. Way to go, Bella! That wasn't so bad! If only Mommy could be such a champion...