I've written about vaccines before, but if you're struggling to find the balance between being a good steward of public health and keeping your kids safe, this might be an option.

Working in the news can be a curse sometimes, especially when you're a parent.  I read and consume every horrible thing that's out there to hurt your children.  I go home at night with my head filled with probable cause statements about child molestors, recalls of cribs that will strangle and studies about toys that will poison your child.   If you try to digest it all, you'll get sick.  So ignoring some of it, is the best policy.  But you have to figure out what the biggest risks are for your children....or at least in YOUR mind, what are the biggest risks?

I can not get away from the parents I've talked to over the years, who are convinced that Vaccines caused a severe problem with their children's health.  From Autism, to the rare case where a child died after getting the MMR Vaccine. 

When Jude was born and that vaccine scheduled was laid out for me again, I felt like I had to do something to calm the fears in my head.

I'm one of those people that can see both sides of it (I guess that's a good thing for a journalist)  When my pediatrician tells me how important the vaccines are for my kids and it could save their life, I nod my head and understand.  I DO understand...I know vaccines are considered one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in the last two centuries.  I don't want my child to come down with Hep A or Chicken Pox or Rubella, so YES, please protect them.

But then, there's Ruth Dunigan, who swears her son David developed Autism after getting his DTP vaccine.  I've heard from other parents with similar stories.  Being a parent, you can't just discount these mothers and their instincts.  I believe a mother knows, she knows if something changed her child.

It's a dilemma and a controversy that won't be solved anytime soon.  Here's the approach I decided to take.  Instead of letting the doctor's office give Jude 4 vaccinations at one time.  We spread them out.  Somehow the thought of her little body taking in 4 vaccines at once doesn't make much sense.  So we do one shot and then we wait 2 weeks to do the next one. 

Yes it takes a lot of time and yes we make a lot of trips to the doctor and YES, they seem kind of annoyed by it.  But you have to stay strong.  Take the steps you feel good about to make sure your child's health care is exactly what you think it should be.   

One more story to leave you with, a friend of mine took her daughter to her pediatrician here in Springfield.  Her 2-year old had a fever of almost 104.  The doctor examined her, said it might be Strep, but then sent the mother and child home without doing a swab to test for strep.  It makes no sense, I know.  This is a good doctor too, I know his reputation.  Maybe he was having an off day. 

My friend didn't feel right about it, but she left the doctor's office with her daughter because the doctor didn't do anything else.  When she got home and called HER mother, her Mother said "You go back to that doctor and demand a strep test"  So that's what she did.  And it was positive. 

Moral of the story:  Mother's have an instinct about their child's heath and you need to follow that instinct.  Doctors CAN be wrong. 

The other Moral of the Story: Grandmothers always know what to do :)

 

Jude turns 1 year old today. Life has not been the same since she was born.

In a good way. 

I look at her now and it still brings a twinge of pain.  When she was born, Joe and I were so heartbroken over the challenges we perceived she would be facing, because she looks different. Her surgery at 6 months old was the hardest thing I've gone through in my life.  I never thought cutting her arm open, narcotics and painful rehabilitation would be something my baby daughter would have to go through.  But she did.  

It was a valuable lesson to me that you can't take anything for granted, like "getting pregnant will result in a perfectly healthy child with no problems"  It's not a given, like I thought it was. 

A year later I'm little wiser, just a little bit.  I don't fear for her future like I used to and I think she is going to blow us away with everything she will be able to do.

 A shorter arm, 3 fingers. ... What does it really matter?  If she can do everything she wants to do, who cares if she looks different?  I don't and neither does the rest of her family.  Hopefully she will come to realize that it's not important.  What's inside is all that matters.

She's learning to crawl right now, using both her arms.  She's starting to stand up and balance on both her legs. She makes this funny giggle when we give her a new food she likes.  She lights up when her big brother or our Labrador Duey come in the room.  She scoots on her butt to get around and she laughs if we tell her "No, don't put your hand in Duey's water bowl"  She loves the water and bathtime.  She cries if she's lonely.  She is starting to say "uh oh" and "hi" and she waves bye-bye when I leave for work in the morning.

All reasons to celebrate.  It's been a year of what I perceived to be a tragedy in the beginning, but now I realize a triumph over my own pre-conceived notions of what is right and what is wrong.  What is good and what is bad.  What is really hard to deal with and what is not. 

 We'll be doing a big family birthday party for Jude this weekend and I can't think of a happier occasion since her birth a year ago.

Our weather lately reminds me of the scene from the movie "A Christmas Story" where Randy can't move because he's so bundled up.

Our weather lately reminds me of the scene from the movie "A Christmas Story" where Randy falls over and can't move because he's so bundled up. 

This picture of Jude is her lying in the snow in our front yard.  I didn't take her out and lay her in the snow.  I took her out and sat her down, backed up to take a picture and she tipped over backwards into the snow.

It was a short fall and there is so much cushioning on her head, she didn't even wince as she fell back into the snow.  She had so many clothes on she couldn't move so she just laid there and looked up at the snowflakes falling.  Very un - Randy - like.

Of course single digit temperatures are not the time to be outside with a baby, even our childless Meteorologist Kevin Lighty knows that.  But when the 4+ inches fell last weekend, Joe and I could barely wait to get the kids dressed and out to enjoy the rarely seen white stuff.

Our fervor dampened as we spent a good 20 minutes tugging on long johns and undergarments, tracking down hats and gloves and boots that fit.  And then undoing it all when a diaper needed changed.

The one piece snowsuit Jude is wearing makes her look like Nanook of the North Joe said.

But when everyone was bundled up appropriately we trudged out into the falling snow and enjoyed a rare winter moment here in the Ozarks.  The chance to play in falling snow, with several inches already on the ground.

We tried a snowman, too cold, the snow wouldn't pack.

We have a saucer sled and Joe took turns pulling Joey down the sidewalk and then me holding Jude (yes, I rode on the saucer sled, it was fun!)

But then I saw their little cheeks and noses starting to turn red and the mother in me trumped the former Northern Ohio native who loves snow and I decided we should all go back inside.

Still 20 minutes of prep time, was well worth the 15 minutes of great family memories, playing in the snow!

A kitchen, a guitar and a Pittsburgh Steelers helmet. All beneath our tree this year.

Joe and I have a Christmas Tradition, actually it was Joe's idea last year.

3 presents for the kids for Christmas. That's it, 3. That may be a lot to some kids, I realize. Or not very many to others. But Joe's rationalization was "that's all Jesus got, that's all our kids get"

Pretty logical, I thought. It will teach them to be grateful for what they get and we can work in the Reason for the Season as well.

I failed to estimate the generosity of others.

Grandma and Grandpa from Kansas City came in with a Steeler's Football uniform for Joey ... he wouldn't stop wearing the helmet all day and I don't think my Dad has ever been prouder.

Joey looks so serious in the picture because he was just told the Steelers have all but been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

Grandma and Grandpa in St. Louis really brought the big guns. A play computer, a big Playdoh set, books, clothes and a Candy Backpack (thanks for that one Marcia :)

It's fine, Grandparents will be Grandparents I know and I don't begrudge them giving to their grandkids....that's what they love to do.

But let's talk about our friends Jerry and Shannon. Good Friends. The best really. Also Jude's Godparents.

A bag full of wrapped gifts magically appeared beneath our tree Christmas Eve, right after Jerry arrived to visit. Hmmm

The next morning as Joey continued to open gift, after gift, Joe and I looked at each quizically and said "where did that come from"

Joey's favorite from Jerry and Shannon, a toy electric guitar....it's noisy and it plays nursery rhymes in a very "Jimi Hendrix" way....over and over again. Appreciate that you guys.

But here's the real kicker. Even Joe couldn't stick to his own rule. We got Joey a big play kitchen, that was the big present. We also got him a blow up snowman, he really wanted that. And the 3rd gift? Let's just say it was the Playdoh Joe bought Joey.

But wait! Where did that big candy cane full of M&M's come from? What about the stickers and the pencils and pajamas? From Daddy, that's who.

So much for 3 presents only. Joe admits he got caught up in the season and bought a little more than planned.

That's okay, I got a nice new vaccuum cleaner out of it. Thanks Babe.

Happy Holidays everyone!

There's a popular blog called "Stuff my Dad Says" Here's my version on my 3 year old son, with a lot less swearing.

A guy started a blog site called "Stuff my Dad says"  It's pretty popular and the concept has actually been picked up by CBS which is developing a pilot based on the blog.

It's is pretty funny, although his Dad does swear a lot.  I have a G-rated version.  My 3-year old son Joey says things daily that crack me up and make me look around to see if anyone else heard it. It's likely these remarks are just remarkable to his mother and father, but I'll share anyway. 

1. After one particular bad spell of Joey being ornery, he was running away from me when I told him we had to go take a bath.

Me: "Get your butt upstairs"  

Joey: "Where's my butt Mommy?"

2. We were at the park and there was a little girl playing on the swings. 

Little Girl: Hi, my name is Olivia. 

Me: "Joey, tell her your name"  

Joey: "I am the Masked Retriever"

(this is a reference to his favorite TV show, Nick Jr's Backyardigans)

3. Me: "What do you want for Christmas Joey?" 

  Joey: "Nothing, I want nothing!"

 Joey: "What do you want for Christmas Mommy?"

 Me: "I want you to be happy."

 Joey: "Okay, I'll get you that"

4. Joe trying to get Joey to eat his dinner

  Joe: "Joey, this pizza is the best thing on the table"

 Joey: "I know Daddy, you should eat it right away"

5. Joey, Jude and I riding in the car and Jude is babbling away, while the radio plays.

Me: "Joey is Jude singing?"

Joey: "No, she said she wants a Lollipop"

6.  As I was cleaning up from dinner and Joey was playing in the living room by the nativity scene under the Christmas Tree.

Me: "Joey come in here and help me clean up"

Joey:  "Mommy I'm busy with Jesus!"

Me:  "What is he doing?"

Joey: "He's trying to go to sleep!"

Three is a great age.  Almost everything this kid says brings a smile to my face. 

I invite you to spread some cheer, post your funny kid comments here for all to read!