Pre-pregnancy thoughts:

Who’s cute? Who’s sexy? Who likes who?

Baby thoughts:

Boy names? Girl names?

Nurseries, color schemes…

Car seats, strollers

Cloth or disposable?

Breast or alternative?

Babywraps, Baby monitors, Babysitters…

Baby Photographers – to capture every special moment –

A new camera – essential!

New cell phone WITH a better camera…

You might be an expectant mom, dad, grandma, aunt, good friend. Everyone shares the excitement over this new life, this brand new bundle of potential!

Are we researching and thinking about the most important things?

Are we getting the WHOLE TRUTH?

What medical procedures will your healthy newborn baby need?

If you don’t think about it, other people will have an agenda that they will automatically give you. It is best to think about it well in advance.

This could be the single most important topic your unborn baby needs YOU to know about. It deserves more research than any other significant purchase you might make for your new baby.

Flu shot in pregnancy? DTaP in pregnancy? Rubella shot? Rhogam shot? Vitamin K shot at birth? Antibiotic ointment in baby’s eyes at birth? Hepatitis B shot at birth (hepatitis, most of us don’t think about this in association with a baby because it’s the illness that prostitutes and IV drug users are at risk of developing)? 2 month well baby visits and the multiple injections, followed by 4 month multiple injections and 6 month multiple injections. Sorry to bombard you, but there is a LARGE NUMBER OF MEDICAL PROCEDURES someone else has already decided your healthy full-term newborn needs.

Expecting a baby can be such an exciting time. It is also natural to feel nervous and perhaps unprepared. There is the birth to consider and then everything after that is brand new and will involve a learning curve.

Please investigate vaccines before you allow anyone to inject your precious baby. Please do your own personal research. Asking your doctor or your friend their opinion doesn’t qualify as research. Reading the complete list of ingredients and reading the entire vaccine package insert for each shot is a great start. Joining an open frank discussion group can be a safe place to ask your questions without judgement or criticism.

Yes, it can be really hard and confusing to wade through a lot of information. People want to bombard you with information from all sides. Keep going until you find significant answers to the most important questions:

• What are the ingredients in this shot?
• Are there other ingredients too? (excipients)
• What disease is it targeting?
• What are my risks for this disease?
• Are there risks in receiving this shot?
• How will my baby’s immune system respond to this?
• Are there any factors in our medical history that suggest this shot is not the best thing for us?
• If I don’t give vaccines will my baby be healthy? Will my baby be at a great risk of catching some infectious illness?

Don’t just go along. Get answers from someone other than the person with the needle. You need some true unbiased research in making such important decisions.  AND…

Watch for your fear level. Some information will create a fear response. It is never a good idea to make a decision based on fear. Take your time and seek knowledge that will guide you to making a rational decision. This is an emotive topic. But emotions aren’t the best guide to great decisions.

Listen for your intuition. YOU are responsible to protect your baby. YOU will live with the results of whatever decision you make. You have been given intuition. Tune in.

I wish you all the best for the health of you and your new baby. I LOVE babies. The picture on the top is my husband and I with our three grandchildren. We have one more we are expecting any day now! Love, Becky

30 ways in 30 Days, Exploring Vaccines: Day 15

• Day 14: Is our Hope in Congress?
• Day 13: Worse than death?
• Day 12: Healthy Babies Don’t Just Die
• Day 11: Flu Shots in Pregnancy?
• Day 10: In a Nutshell
• Day 9: Tetanus Links
• Day 8: Number of Vaccines
• Day 7: Calling All Christians
• Day 6: Choosing Wisely
• Day 5: Our Microbiome
• Day 4: Voices of Reason
• Day 3: It’s not just Autism
• Day 2: Can good people confidently give bad advice?
• Day 1: Who do you trust?