What is in that Vaccine?!

Gelatin

Fetal Bovine Serum (derived from aborted baby calfs)

Human Diploid Cell (derived from human fetuses in a laboratory setting)

Chick Embryos

These are current ingredients in the MMR vaccine.

Formaldehyde? Yep, that is in the IPV vaccine.

Some kids are exposed to 40 pricks and prods before they turn 2!

Don't believe me? Think this can't be true? Contact your local pharmacy and ask for the ingredient list and then go further and ask your pediatrician for the information on the specific maker of the IPV vaccine they use. Call that company for a full listing of every single ingredient.

In my circle of friends, vaccine talk is one topic of discussion that really gets heated. Most of my friends have opted to follow the alternate vaccination schedule recommended by Dr. Sears. For those of you who aren't familiar with Dr. Sears, take a look at his website and his famous writings on vaccines. Many people do not "jive" with Dr. Sears, but he spoke directly to us. His opinions aren't for everyone (nor should they be). This is information that we find useful and we know that some parents feel the traditional schedule suits them.

It is an individual choice.

This is simply our journey.

Even before Dalia's birth, H and I spent a long time discussing vaccines and did plenty of research. We knew that we definitely did NOT want her to receive the routine eye medication after birth. Some hospitals still use silver nitrate which can burn a baby's eyes. More often than not, hospitals are using Erythromycin instead. While it causes little physical harm to the baby, it does give the baby blurred vision for quite some time, and YES, newborn babies can see right after birth. We knew we wanted our little Dalia to see the two people who helped her make it into this world.

Dalia did not receive the HepB vaccine. We did not want to unnecessarily expose her to possible fever, lethargy, and the inability to suck with gusto in he first days on earth. This vaccine is extremely important if the mommy has HepB or if the family is residing in a part of the world where HepB is more common than not. We do plan on giving Dalia this vaccine later in life when it makes more sense for her. That time is certainly not now.

Most pediatricians recommend administering the IPV (polio) vaccine at 2 months. I gave Dalia her first dose of IPV today at her 10 month appointment. I was pressured like you wouldn't believe. It was a bad situation. This would never happen if we signed up for a practice listed on the Dr. Sears website as vaccine-friendly. Dr. Minkus does generally start the IPV series at the 10 or 12 month appointment, but he listens carefully to concerned parents and then often alters the course of action with empathy.

So what did I do upon returning home? Contact the pharmacy etc etc... I feel disappointed and angry right now. Upset and confused. It will all get better with time, but I just want to know why the orthodox practice of medicine is so stifling, secretive, and rigid.

Being a parent is hard enough, but I just can't let this go! I am a researcher (always have been, thanks mom) and the vaccine world is really unknown to most parents. We assume things are good because the doctors say so, but not all doctors say so!

Even if you give your child every single vaccine, at least research beforehand a little bit and know that the decisions you have made are right for you and your baby.

On the Move

So yesterday's post was bad timing.

We have a moving Dalia on our hands. Something tells us life will never, ever be the same!

After ten amazing months Dalia is sporting some serious red knees post an army crawling marathon day.

Let the fun begin!

Back to Blogging

Hello everyone!

Things have been crazy in the Horowitz household. We finally settled into our *temporary* abode and have just about ten months before we move *again* back to good old Chicago. God I can't wait to get back to that city. Virginia is not my favorite place and lets just leave it at that. Positive thinking! One fun thing about being in Virginia and having a hubby working at the United States Supreme Court is that Dalia gets to meet important people and had the opportunity to play "hands" with our newest Justice.

Here we are visiting daddy at work:

Dalia is a whopping TEN months old at this point. Crawling? Not really! Standing? With help! Teeth? Two! Sleeping? Sometimes! Talking? She says uh oh and dat dat dat dat dat and points--too cute! She is about 21 pounds these days (read: bigger than your average little munchkie) and very, very tall. She is adorable and just because you might not believe me I have added some new-ish photos:

We were lucky enough to have a house FULL of visitors (and toys... yes too many of those) nearly every day since we moved into the condo. Here is a favorite of mine:

Yep. My favorite (well only) sister came in for a visit and she brought her very own munchkie, Chase. We had a fabulous time! A girl like me needs serious quality sister time.

Most recently we celebrated two very special holidays: Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. These are HUGE holidays in Judaism and this was Dalia's first time celebrating them. It was so special for us! We were in NYC for the first and in Virginia for the second. We can't wait to have many more years celebrating these together.

So what does 5771 have in store for us? Hmmmmm... we aren't telling anyone just yet (kidding, seriously) but we want to do our best to be better people and to love one another even more. One thing that will happen in 5771 is Dalia's 1st (gasp) birthday. How can we be this far into parenthood already? 5771 is also the year I get to go back to Chicago. Counting down the days........

I will be posting much more regularly now that things have settled down. It is nice to be back!

xoxoxoxoxo

Promise to Fill You In!

I promise to fill you all in soon. Things have been very crazy, but we are all doing great in our new home.

xoxo

MOVIN'

Dalia doesn't seem to mind at all.

Yet another reason why the Ergo is dad's best friend. Just 5 minutes before this photo was taken, Dalia was screaming uncontrollably. Daddy put her in this and she was "a ok" for another hour while he packed and got lots of stuff done!

One of the best baby purchases (buy it by clicking on the left link, my favorite baby store here in Chicago) made by far.

Totally worth every single dollar.

Agar What?

We are going to try this bad boy from one of my favorite baby food sites: wholesomebabyfood.com

Adjustments? We don't eat gelatin (it isn't kosher and it isn't vegetarian) so we will use agar agar instead. Applesauce is still out of the picture so I am going to do this with mango sauce and blueberry juice.

Fruited Gel Squares

(I know my baby better than this site and I know she can handle this recipe)

Ingredients:

1/8 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce (or add thin dices of banana, peach, pear, grapes, blueberry etc)
2 cups apple juice
3 small packages unflavored gelatin

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix cinnamon into applesauce and set aside.

Pour 1 cup cold apple juice in 8x8 pan and sprinkle gelatin on top. Heat remaining 1 cup of apple juice in the microwave for 3 minutes or until boiling.

Stir boiling juice into the gelatin and cold apple juice. Stir in applesauce.

Refrigerate for 1/2 hour and then stir to keep applesauce evenly distributed. If you do not stir when in the fridge, the applesauce settles to the bottom, but it still tastes great.

Refrigerate for an additional 2 1/2 hours or until firm. Cut into squares with a knife, or use cookie cutters to cut into shapes, and serve.

Purees Bite the Dust

yes, those are piles and piles of boxes in the background--another starbucks, please

With the exception of some food Grammi got for Dalia to help us on the road while we are moving, Dalia is past pureed foods (at only 8 months). She has been eating chunks with her hands for about a month already, but I have "let go" and allowed her to self feed. It is scary at times (um, she looked at me with a mouth FULL of sweet potatoes), but I know this is an important step in her development and she is ready ready ready.

Example #2:

the smaller the chunk, the more annoyed and frustrated she gets...too much work for not enough food!

Did Ya Know We Were Movin?

Yep. We are moving, again. Washington DC (ahem, Alexandria) here we come.

Why, you ask?

Well Steve was selected (like two years ago at this point) to be a law clerk for the United States Supreme Court with Justice Kennedy. Pretty sweet gig, no? Maybe all those Harvard Law Schools loans are worth it! And after a brief break in DC we will likely be back buying a beautiful home in the windy city. Real estate research is in progress :) Steve hasn't picked a law firm yet, but has a lot of good options.

And what will I do next year? Probably play mommy and take a few private educational consulting families. I did end up declining the free (yes free, actually salaried) PhD option at the University of Maryland (call me crazy, I know). But it wasn't the right thing for me for next year.

I don't need a PhD.

I don't need 5-8 more years of school.

I am not ever sure I want one.

I don't need up-all-nighters writing and grading papers.

I need another year to figure out what I want to do. And no matter what I decide, it will be the right decision for me.

Sidenote:

If you know me you know I am a total clean freak and organization nut. This move is driving me bonkers--boxes everywhere, paper strewn throughout the house, packing tape stuck to the floor, and dishes everywhere. Let us not forget there is a baby in the picture whom requires lots of love and kisses...I can't wait to get to our condo and unpack (this is one of my strong points). At 7 months prego, we moved to Chicago and I unpacked dozens of boxes in two days. Steve came home and the house looked like we had been there for years. Lets hope I still have this kind of energy next week!