Vaccines

Today at 2:15 pm I take Raymond to the doctor for his 6 month check up which includes the dreaded vaccines!  I hate it I hate it I hate it.  I have rescheduled the appointment 3 times as I have tried to prepare myself with the perfect 36 hours to have him process the shots. 

I feel like we have made the right decision to keep Raymond on a traditional vaccine schedule (with the exception of refusing the Hepatitis B vaccine at birth but allowed him to get it at 2 weeks).  I thought about it long and hard and did a lot of research before we had him.  I also think it helps that our pediatricians office really took the time to talk to us about the vaccines before we started them and were willing to adjust the schedule based on what we felt was best.  My defensive gaurd didn't pop up as much due to this communication. 

I was not totally sold on keeping the schedule even after we had decided that we would do vaccines becuase I had heard about how hard getting all the shots at once could be on the baby - but then as I looked at our lives and how much we travel it was apparent that it was best to get Raymond protected as early as possible.  We flew to San Francisco, which is a hot spot for even rare diseses due to the number of immigrants and travelers that come into the area, when Raymond was just over 2 1/2 months.  This trip motivitated me to get things going and now we are in it.

I made the first time mom mistake of letting him get his first series of shots right before a road trip to DC to see Morgan's family in April.  He cried and pooped the whole way - it took us like 8 hours to get there and we all felt terrible.  But the next morning Raymond felt great.  The next round came at 4 months and Morgan and I put nothing in the agenda other than having a stress free loving day with Raymond.  He did not feel well for 36 hours and it was miserable. But then he bounced right back and didn't even cry later that week when he got his first two teeth! 

So today I am prepared for at least 36 unhappy hours.  I am trying to make sure he gets a good nap in this morning --- and have everything done around the house so I can focus on him.  Morgan will be home late tonight so it will be all me for the sad baby boy!  I just want to hold him, nurse him and love on him while the vaccines make their mark and constantly remind myself that the MAJOR benefit is that we are trading 36 hours of not feeling great for the potential of getting really, dangerously sick.  Right? 

Trust the system! Trust the CDC! Trust the doctor!  These things are not in my nature but I am doing it.  I am trying.  It is just so hard when he is hurting as a result of me trusting "the man."