what was your "lightbulb" moment

[3monkeys]

You know the one where you go "hang on, maybe I want to read about this and learn about this and make an informed choice". I can clearly remember when the light went on.

I was talking to my BIL who is a chiropractor and doesnt agree with vaccinations. I was pregnant with Kyla and had already decided to homebirth her. One day he said to me "have you thought about vaccinations" I told him "no I havent but I would like to" So he gave me a huge wad of things to read and I went home and read them then and there. At that time I made a decision to at least delay until I was 100% sure of what I wanted to do.

I am so glad for that conversation with him, and I am so glad for him and his wife who were pro homebirthing and into informed choice re vaccines. I think I would have arrived at the place I am at eventually because its in my nature to ask questions. (actually I am going to email them now to thank them)

Anyway what was your moment if you have one that lead you to the place you are at now. Tell us about your "lightbulb" moment.

[Serephina]

A close friend who I have known since high school made a prophetic statement that as soon as a vaccine was available for chicken pox it would be made out to be this killer disease and all children would be vaxxed for it. I thought this seemed quite ridiculous at the time - chicken pox? I had had it along with most kids and it just wasn't a big deal. Turned out she was right and this got me thinking "Hang on, perhaps there is something to what the anti-vaccination people have been saying".

The second thing that happened was that one of my dogs suffered an adverse reaction to her yearly shots. It was really scary, my usually active happy dog went completely limp in my arms and was out of sorts for a good 24 hours. I swore I wouldn't do that to her again and started doing some research and looking at alternatives.

[Spy]

Unfortunately a death. I became acquainted with a woman whose son died at the age of 4 (!) from his first, one and only (!!) DPT shot that he received against medical contraindications (that was back when there were some medical contraindications other than death or near death). And the subsequent behavior of medical community regarding this death and their mistake.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

The birth of our first son.

But that was not all. The icing on the "cake of thoughtful critique", was on the third day, when on the one hand they were trying to tell me that he was seriously ill with sepsis, and on mallet-type antibiotics, and on the other, haranguing me because I refused to allow them to give him the BCG vaccine at the same time.

Standing aggressively around the hospital bed were three paediatricians and four nurses all silent ( but with facial expressions of "if looks could kill"), and then I said, "Don't you think it strange for you to be telling me he might die; you have him on heavy-duty antibiotics, and at the same time you are wanting to pump a bacterial vaccine into him?"

There was silence. Facial expressions were a picture, then the head paediatrician's beeper went, and they all disappeared into the corridor.

I didn't hear back from them on that. I wonder if the beeper was self-triggered?

That's when it dawned on me, that just maybe these people not only don't know everything, but often have their brains on autopilot.

[oloph]

At some point I learned some vaccines were made using aborted fetal cells and I was horrified. That made me wonder what else was in vaccines that I didn't know about.

[Green]

Along with things like birth and breastfeeding I was uninformed when my first child was born, so it was just what you did. Of course it was what all 'good' parents do.:eyeroll:
My second was born and I had only just begun really thinking about vaccinations. He had the birth ones as he was taken away from me to SCBU and was given them. By the time the 2 month ones were due I was still unsure and living in a nightmare from birth trauma so I consented to those. From the moment he had the shots he screamed and screamed and screamed. I cried with him as I tried to comfort him. He continued for quite a few hours after that.
I just 'knew' it wasn't right yk? I rang the nurse and she assured me that it was all 'normal' side effects. I then and there vowed NEVER to give another vaccination and to really look into it.

[Epona]

While i have always been "against the grain", not much thought was put into the topic of vaccinations until i hit my second year of University studying a degree which involved alot of teachings about the immune system and biochemistry.
I was 21 when i was pregnant with my son and despite having pressure to follow the grain, i did what came naturally to me and followed my heart when he was born and refused all vaccinations and routine checks. :)

[Cat]

Unfortunately, I just went along with common practice when I had my oldest. I could make excuses, but the truth is, I let others (mainly a pediatrician) make my decisions for me. Jarod was sick non-stop for the first 11 months of his life. After his 6 month shots, he came down with "croupe" that lasted for 3 months and required albuterol treatments from a nebulizer and nearly put him in the hospital. I finally listened to my gut, which had been telling me all along that there was something wrong, and delayed his vaccinations while I researched. He hasn't recieved any more shots, and Avery only had the HepB that they stuck him with in the hospital when he was born (:mad: that's another story).

[Cybertiger]

"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."

My lightbulb was Professor Sir Roy Meadow. The good doctor, a paediatrician, has taught me as much about evil as the Commandant of Auschwitz, SS Oberststurmbannfuhrer Rudolf Hoess.

[MinorityView]

Tigger Dear,

You just get into trouble if you pay attention to little details like flamboyant public lying that destroys lives.

Imitate the three monkeys and lead a safe life.

Probably too late.

[dame nellie]

my lightbulb was when I learned that my third son was "supposed" to be vaxed for hep b on the day of his birth :eek:

[jules]

In 1998 after my 3rd child received an MMR vaccine was never the same. However, the vaccine connection never really connected fully until 1999 when we got the 'net' and even then info was limited.

When dd was born in 2002, we were faced with the issue in full force once again. Her dad and I didn't agree on the issue either.:(

[MinorityView]

I started researching vaccines in 1999 when my granddaughter landed on earth. Thank goodness she has had the bare minimum. I'm pretty sure she would have had a bad reaction. She had sensory issues as a baby and is still pretty sensitive.

[justine]

I have an autistic nephew. He has been autistic from birth. We knew he was autistic from 9 month old. People don't know what autism is really like. If there is a remote possibility that something may cause autism (ie MMR) and you knew what it was like to live with autism - you would not touch it with a barge poll. Hats off to my sister and her husband.
Justine xx

[GreenGully]

I grew up knowing 2 children (in a small village of around 200 pop) severely affected by vaccinations. When I met my great aunt as an adult I learned that her son had also been severely affected and eventually died as a result of brain damage (many years later).
When I was pregnant I was loaned a book (Vaccination Roulette I think?) and that pretty much sealed the deal for me.

[jul511riv]

I was one of the very lucky ones.

I had a medical condition as a child that went misdiagnosed for years. IN an effort to "cure" myself, I began reading medical journals, et al and went into my doctor at age 16 with a diagnosis.

He laughed at me. Gave me one of those "you aren't a doctor, sweety...and furthermore, you are just a kid." Really grinding it in and embarassing me. Telling me that I was missing MAJOR POINTS in the diagnosis of this disease because I didn't have the skill and training that he had. This is why people NEEDED to go to doctors and it is very dangerous for them to diagnose themselves, he said.

I left, never went back, and 3 years later found a doctor who suggested that I might have the condition I had diagnosed prior.

After surgery confirmation, I was indeed diagnosed with this disease and then offered some medication to "cure" it.

I researched the medication, learned it was extremely dangerous, refused (this was at age 19, btw), was reprimanded again for my noncomplience and left and never went back. 7 years later that drug was pulled off the market in most of the world. :rolleyes:

Because my disease was a womyn's health issue, I went through a whole lotta bumping around with a whole lotta posers who claimed to know a whole lotta stuff but only could offer me things I had read about in the books, which had no proven track record. I gave it up, became vegan, got TCM and started coming out alright. Slowly I added fish, dairy and eggs back into my diet, but held the meat and have been doing, Thank G-d, really great ever since.

By the time my children came into the picture (I was 25 when my first was born), I was already "on to them". Neither of my children have ever been vaccinated or attended well-baby visits (well, dd went to ONE...her first...before I read Dr. Robert Mendelsohn's book How To Raise Healthy CHildren in Spite of Your Doctor, and put an end to that nonsense). I have no idea how big their heads measure, how tall they are or how much they weigh. ANd I like it that way.

I parent by knowledge and common sense. I AM Dr. Mom. :cool:

I trust my eyes and my senses (all 6+ of them), when I'm at my best.:giggle: And so far so good.

My son just began solid food a few months before his 2nd birthday. Until then it was BM BM BM!!! Everyone said it couldn't be done, but here he was doing it, and surviving. So, I now have some great BF insight that you can't find in books.

Anyways, I'm here (on earth and otherwise) to learn more and keep learning.

[Janet]

There is such a wealth of knowledge and experience in this thread! Wow!

My son had vit k at birth and the first round of vaxxes at 12 weeks or so. Then I slowly woke up to myself. *bangs head* There wasn't a lightbulb moment as such, more natural reticence to do stuff that made my child cry a lot and finding out that it was possible to at least delay vaxxing. In my PTSD fog I'd just trotted off like a Good Girl and had him done when told to. Uh huh....

The lightbulb moment came later when I realised that I didn't find it confusing at all about whether or not to vax and often those who say they're confused are only feeling that because they're positioning "vaxxing" with "nonvaxxing" as equally valid positions. They're just not but that's how effective the propaganda is. It suddenly dawned on me that the normal physiological process of infection or illness, or even WELLNESS, is the norm and the jabbing is the substandard gross ineffective response that could only be triggered by the way allopathic medicine has developed. As a birthkeeper, I see a lot of the same confusion with "surgery" and "birth" being equally positioned and likewise artificial baby milks being presented as on a par with breastfeeding. No contest, people, no contest.

[schatz]

I would say I had a series of light-bulb moments that culminated with the chickenpox vax. My dd was born 6 weeks early and in the NICU for 10 days. Two odd things there - when she was born her hematocrit level was very low (she was really gray looking). The docs couldn't give me a reason why - said maybe she was bleeding back into me. :confused: (I'm pretty sure it was connected to the Rhogam shot I had.) Then before she was discharged to come home, they wanted to give her a HepB shot. She shouldn't have even been born yet and they wanted to vaccinate her? We skipped that one but then I followed the "rules" through six months. But, it never felt right. My husband was really the one who questioned the HepB shot first.

Then, when my dd was 4 months, I had a seriously bad case of yeast thanks to the abx they gave me during delivery (I was too early for the groupB strep test so abx are automatic). This gave my dd thrush which we passed back and forth unknowingly until my nips were like hamburger. My doc was zero help in getting rid of it. I figured it out on my own. Hmmm... maybe these docs don't know everything.

Then, when my dd had hives at 9 months and I suggested it was from teething, they looked at my like I was crazy. She was getting six teeth at once. She and my son also got hives when they got their molars. Coincidence? I think not.

So then I found out that the chicken pox vax was on the schedule for 12 months. I thought, huh :confused: Chicken pox isn't deadly. Then I started reading and that was the end of vaxing in my family. Ironically, my husband who was concerned about the hepB shot was initially afraid to stop vaxing completely but he's a big anti-vaxer now. :D

I have a niece who has seizures. They don't know why and my SIL just trusts the docs - but she works in a clinic so she's pretty brainwashed.

[Daniel]

When I realised that our Department of Health were backed into a corner over autism (c.2000-2002). Every time you mentioned the rise in numbers they started burbling about vaccine - it simply wasn't logical. It was quite clear - though it was not a presumption on my part - that denying there was an autism epidemic and denying that vaccines (particularly MMR) caused autism were too closely linked projects. Earlier we had been persuaded that the reaction our son had had to DPT was routine - of course it was, and so now are unfortunately the consequences.

[thekidsandme]

Gut feel really. DH and I just felt it was not right in our gut. We delayed the first injections with our oldest until we had done some reading, we found a quite good british book which detailed out the disease, the vacinations and the medical research in a objective manner and decided that we would not vacinate at all. I feel more and more comfortable with our decision as time passes.

[Lexie]

jul511riv, my story is very similar to yours and (OT but) schatz, what a CUTE hammy! LOVE them dearly.

I didn't have misdiagnoses. I had really an absence of any diagnoses. I had lactose intolerance, constant colds, bronchitis, asthma, allergies, endometriosis, and by 13, it was a yeast infection every month after all the antibiotics my overzealous doctor prescribed pretty much every day of my childhood. Then after my gyno prescribed progestin shots for my endo, I ended up with PCOS. I had sonograms before and after which proved it. I have seen about 5 GPs and 1 gynecologist.

Since I was a child, I've invested the majority of my spare time in reading medical information. I realized I had lactose intolerance before my last GP switch. I stuck with that one because he was the first doctor who noticed it, and I didn't even have to bring it up. I was a little impressed...just a little.

Basically, by the time I was pregnant, I had absolutely no faith in any doctor. I myself refuse any and all drugs. I have no reason to give them to my angel. If anything happens, I reach for my calcium ascorbate first. I heart vitamin C. :) I think it's my true love.

Kinda funny story. I had a really bad ankle sprain one day while I was out. My mother picked me up and took me to the closest ER. I knew it was just a sprain, but she's a real worrier. They were going to give me a shot of antibiotics and I almost raised hell. The doctor looked at me like he just realized he was in the twilight zone. I even made him stutter. I could tell he was new. :D

[bbrandonsmom]

Well, I guess for me it was something just didn't seem right. That many all at once? Then Brandon would be so cranky, crying etc after wards for days. By the time 4m came around I was questioning the peds even more and then stopped. I still feel so badly. A year or so back my dh called me one day-he had met some one who mentioned that thier grandson stopped talking etc the day after he had this one vax. Then I met a mom who's son withdrew and they didn't even get ot the mmr yet!
When I worked as a vet tech, we had many animals have vax reactions-I don't know why I never put 2 and 2 together until after our son was born.

[MinorityView]

The animal bit is something I don't understand. It seems to be commonly acknowledged that vaccines are dangerous for pets and that an animal can get too many vaccines.

But you take two steps to the right and start discussing human vaccines and it becomes almost total denial and obfuscation. What gives?

It reminds me of two courses I took the same semester in college: Human Anthropology and Botany. The H.A. course was totally dogmatic about evolution, even though the evidence for human evolution is still pretty scanty and has a few large missing pieces. [I'm not going to bring my own thoughts into this, it was just what I observed about the data.] The B. class was quite relaxed. It assumed evolution had happened, but cheerfully admitted they didn't have a clue about co-evolution of bugs and plants who had an impossibly perfect fit with each other. They also said in passing that there was 150 million year gap in the fossil record between one sort of plant type and the next...shrug. The botanists were much more into actually observing the data/phenomena and trying to figure out how it all worked. The H.A. people were trying to prove a particular history for humanity, with scanty material.

The biggest difference was that the botanists didn't seem to feel as though they were stepping on anyone's toes. Very few Biblical literalists want to burn botany textbooks I guess. Or something like that.

Anyway, to get back to the topic, except that vets do lose money if people vax their pets less, there doesn't seem to be nearly the fanaticism around forcing shots into animals as there does about getting the needles into people. So which toes are being tramped and who is kicking who?

[waiting]

I wish there had been a 'lightbulb' moment. For me it was a slow dim light that took a long time to burn through the haze.

Twenty years ago I was very, very mainstream. Thank goodness I didn't have my children then! After my four years of institutional teaching in animal science the only decent job I could find was a Pharmacy Technician at a local hospital. (it was 1991, the US was in a recession, it was good to have a job.) Well, while I worked there I kept having Pharmacists walk up to me and tell me, out of the blue, how bad different meds were. I honestly didn't know what to think of this.
Finally one Pharmacists said, "They are all bad for you." Me, not understanding, said, "all of them??" and he stood up, expressivily waved his hand toward all the drugs, and repeated, "ALL of them." Then he grabbed a single dose Maalox and left the area.

but I was healthy and single and had bigger things to think about. Happily I quit that job and moved on.

But then one of the horses I was caretaking stepped on a nail, and as a result was given the tetanus antitoxin injection... which contained a very virulant strain of Hep C, which killed 3 (possibly 4) horses, had the vet just about to call CDC with an epidemic, before he figured out what was really going on. Terrible times. But it does give one something to think about.

Fast forward 5 years when I finally have a wonderful husband and am pregnant with my first. Since I knew nothing about having babies, aside from seeing the poor moms in the yucky hospital I had worked at, I hit the internet and learned tons. So after/during the research we decided to have a midwife assisted homebirth. But I still thought vaccines were good. :disbelief:

When I was 8 months pregnant I learned that my midwife didn't believe in vaccines... so off I went to research again. Oh boy. The debate is emotional and difficult to discern when one has to pee every 10 minutes, the brain is mushy and the emotions are raw. My heart rejoiced when I finally decided to not vaccinate and my head made me keep researching the issue until it too was convinced the decision was correct.

kudos for those who read the whole thing. :)

[MinorityView]

You did good! All it took was being hit over the head by several helpful people!

I've known folks who could have breezed right by all that good info.

[dressagemom]

Well, for me, it was a series of fortunate events. I grew up on a farm, which is important for several reasons. First, my parents were too poor for us to see a doctor unless it was an emergency (my youngest brother had to go in for something when he was 13, and they didn't even have a record for him). So, we had the bare minimum vaccines and amazingly, we survived (how can that even be possible?!!). I couldn't see how my children's lives would be improved by having all those vaccines that I missed.

Second, I grew up seeing how normal healthy animals function without constant medical intervention. Why should it be any different for people? It just seemed natural for the body to be able to keep itself healthy if you treat it right.

Third, as I researched the vaccine issue, it seemed odd that babies are given vaccines the day they are born. We vax our calves, but not until they are at least 6 months old. By that time, the calves are weaned, eating solid food; they are basically ready to live on their own. They are ready breed when they are 15 months. By comparison, my baby was still nursing at 2 years, didn't walk until 10 months, start solid food until almost 12, didn't talk until 18 months. Yet, we inject them with all sorts of vaccines right from birth. There was a huge disconnect here, and it made me really leery of trusting the "establishment".

I was also fortunate to have a very close friend become a parent first. She homebirths and didn't vax any of her children. When I was pregnant with #1, she opened the conversation for me; it was her questioning that helped me realize that one does not HAVE to vax.

#1 was born in hospital, and I was very distressed to learn that my new baby was supposed to have the Hep B on his first day. It made no sense to me, since Heb B is transmitted through contact with blood or through sex; I was pretty sure that my baby was not at risk from either way. I refused the vaccine, saying I would follow up with my own pediatrician.

I initially planned to just delay the vaxes, but when I looked at my new baby, I couldn't imagine putting anything into his body that would make him cry. He cried enough already, was super sensitive, had lots of trouble with new environments, easily overstimulated, etc. I can't imagine what vaccines would have done to him.

The longer I procrastinated on the issue, the more research I did, the less I could see the need for it. So when #2 was born, we had a homebirth, and there was no question of vaxing. We just didn't do it.

Shortly before #2 was born, DH's job tanked, and we lost our insurance, so WBV became a thing of the past. After that, vaxing became a total non-issue since we couldn't afford it. Besides, by that time, we had found out so much that we just couldn't take a risk of harming our children.

We are at the point that we just trust that our bodies have been created in an amazing way, and that we can do perfectly well without medical intervention. We have been parents for 10 years, without any vaxes, no abxs, no major illnesses, etc. I am sure that we would not be so much healthier had we had gone the route of conventional medicine.

[MinorityView]

Everyone's stories are really funny in a particular light--

I have spent some time browsing pro-vaccine discussion boards. Quite regularly, someone will pop up and say: "Let those idiots skip the vaccines, they and their kids will die, us fit vaxers will survive, why worry?" It doesn't really seem to work that way, does it?

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Everyone's stories are really funny in a particular light--

I have spent some time browsing pro-vaccine discussion boards. Quite regularly, someone will pop up and say: "Let those idiots skip the vaccines, they and their kids will die, us fit vaxers will survive, why worry?" It doesn't really seem to work that way, does it?

What ends up happening is that all the healthy people, both vaccinated and unvaccinated..., end up paying taxes for the benefits to shore up all the vaccinated people who have chronic diseases, which of course, have nothing to do with their vaccines :giggle:

who knows? If democracy is for real, then it could end up in the future, that the unvaccinated kids are the only really healthy ones. Perhaps they will use Darwin as an excuse and blame a genetic aberration?

[3monkeys]

whatever they blame it sure wont be the vaccines :D

[Sakura]

It had already been in my consciousness that vaccines could cause damage, as my career is in assisting children with special needs. Even when I was working as a young, single and then newly married, childless professional, I had had several mothers caution me about vaccines. Interesting that NOT ONCE did I ever have a mother tell me that their child was injured by a vaccine "preventable" disease (oh how I despise that term), but I had more than a few moms break down and cry in front of me as they told me the story of their beautiful children being injured by vaccines.

Then the aha, lightbulb moment for me was researching the Hep B shot when I was pregnant with DD. There I was, reading merrily along about it when I took a mental step back and was like "what-the-he** are they thinking giving a vaccine for Hep B to healthy newborns?" That started the cascade...and here we are!

[LovingMama]

Very good thread.
My lightbulb moment was much like Waiting's in that in was somewhat gradual. I have always been more of a naturalist, always questioned doctors (especially since they could never figure out my problems); but was no where like I am today. When I became pregnant I wanted to do things more naturally, and I definitely knew I wanted no medications during birth. I thought I was eating healthy (I now know it wasn't), and read many books on how to have a natural birth. I made appointments with all the doctors in the practice to get to know them, and during one appointment with what later turned out to be the doc who delievered my daughter, I asked her opinion about natural births. She responded with "If you want a painful birth that's your decision", and when I asked about epidurals safety she said they are completely safe (this is 2 weeks after a mother died from complications from her epidural). These were some eye opening moments.
When I was diagnosed GBS+, I was saddened because I knew it would make my natural birth harder, and attempted to discuss with my doctor the statistics of GBS and other preventions besides ABX. When he started to get hostile I began to wake up even more. Then when I had to fight for the natural birth I wanted in the hospital with 18 hours of back labor, nurses telling the doc I was ignoring him(I was having contractions), them pushing on my uterus during contractions with their stupid heart rate monitors, and feeling hostile the whole time; I began to realize they have no idea of what a natural birth is and they were far removed from the essence of health. To top it off when it was time for my daughters vax's I wasn't comfortable(instinct telling me not to) of the idea of injecting junk into her body after I fought so hard for a natural birth and pregnancy. I brought this up with her ped, and when I asked her opinion she replied "I think you should do whatever I tell you to". That was the hammer on the head saying this is enough. That she insisted I be a robot and follow her orders struck me to the core and told me to do the opposite. Since then I have realized so much about the world of healthcare and still learning more everyday. I am very grateful for the instinct that told me not to vax my daughter, and for all the information I have read online and in books (especially Hilary's).

[3monkeys]

I dont know if it happens here in NZ because I never birthed in a hospital but I read storys like your lovingmama more often than not from US mothers and it makes me so incredibly angry......... Have you seen that documentary Rikki Lake done about childbirth in the US - The business of being born. Its online I think and its FANTASTIC, a real eye opener for me about how bad the system in the states is.

[Niamh]

I had my first fairly young, and pretty much did exactly as I was told. The birth experience was awful, awful, awful.

I knew I did not want him circumcised, and was given a bit of pressure for that. After he was born, I was amazed at how beautiful, how sturdy and how perfect his body was. I just could not imagine it deficient.
When this ingrate of a nurse gave him his heel stick test (she was really terrible, he sobbed and sobbed, [second son didn't cry, I nursed him through his and the nurse was efficient]) I felt physically ill. I remember feeling as though I had a whole body nausea, and I needed/wanted to vomit and hurt the woman who was obviously fumbling around my son.
I realized she didn't know what she was doing. I realized I did not want anyone sticking him with anymore needles. When it came down to his appointment where vaccines were coming into play, when I declined them [just to do a bit more research], the pediatrician went from friendly to furious in about half a second.
I then realized I was not buying what she was selling.

Found mothering, read a bit, and really it was just a few posts before I deemed I was sold. Intuitively all of these vaccines didn't make sense, and I just needed a little support.
Found a pediatrician who was supportive, and then 18 months later a friend who had begun to question vaxing her son, she did more solid reading than I - she lent me a few books (one being Just a little Prick) and it just all made sense. Instead of feeling like I was skirting the issue, and instead of being passive about my decision (I knew it was right for us, but wasn't really solid in my reasoning) after reading more and more I went from passive to Angry. Furious, even.

And here I am. Angry, and aware that I will always always trust myself and my instincts over anyone or any industry again.
Owning this decision turned to an unassisted birth, and an unschooling lifestyle. And happiness. Simplicity.

[deesalie]

Sounds like an awesome life Niamh ;)

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

after reading more and more I went from passive to Angry. Furious, even.

And here I am. Angry, and aware that I will always always trust myself and my instincts over anyone or any industry again. Yeah, I know that feeling.


Owning this decision turned to an unassisted birth, and an unschooling lifestyle. And happiness. Simplicity.

You did very well. :thumb:

[momofsaa]

I really like reading this thread so it's my turn to share my very long story.

At 18, I was pregnant with my first child and fully on the mainstream path. I would have to work after the baby so it would be formula fed after a nice comfortable medicated delivery. I fully intended to cloth diaper because that's what my sister did and money was tight then.

I had great back pain but even then knew that you don't junk up your body with meds when you're growing something so delicate inside of you. My insurance covered a chiropractor at the time so off I went. He and his wife taught a childbirth class and would take payments so that's the one I started in. I had no idea the differences in childbirth classes. I had enrolled us in a Bradley Method class. These people were not only talking about medication free birth BUT to do it without a doctor. OMG. What they did impress on me was the breastfeeding and made me think about the meds.

I allowed induction but did not take the meds until it was clear that the pain was slowing my progression. (I tense up and fight contractions, or I did back then.) I had a very fast delivery 4 hours. (two hours post meds) I went on to nurse my baby and succeeded for 3-4 months. I was devastated. I never gave vaxing a thought.

This same thought progressed through children 2 and 3. Child 2 was C-section breech, breastfed for 8 months. That's when I learned about how quickly you can increase your supply with fluids. Child 3 with a midwife in the hospital with meds (4 hour labor), did not let them take my child for 2 hours post delivery. Breastfed him for 15 mos. This was my comfort time. He self weened.

Child 4--I had plenty of time (6 years) to think about things to do different. I decided I wanted to have the next one at the birthing center with the midwives. I was with husband 2 who left me at 6 months pregnant. It took some work but I was able to set up a birthing center birth. I started to consider a home birth but being a VBAC it was out of the question for that practice. She was a 13 hour labor. But I worked really hard to keep my pelvis relaxed. It was the worst delivery but the most rewarding. We breastfed for 15 mos when she self weened. We shared a bed because it was just me in my bed and it made night time feedings easier. I tell people to this day, I value my sleep more than having my own bed.

Through all this I had found chemical birth control was not for me. I had also home-schooled my older two for a couple of years and had enjoyed some involvement in a Montessori school.

The closest thing to a light bulb moment came with child 5. I had already changed pediatricians when my last one wanted me to supplement because #4 wasn't growing on schedule. He made the statement, "I'll believe it when I see it." in response to my mentioning her father's growth at the same age. Never went back. I feel doctor care is about trust. He didn't trust me, so I couldn't trust him.

Going into delivery, I could not find a legal out of the hospital birth because no one did them with VBAC's anymore. In fact, many practices didn't do VBAC's. (The first time a practice told me they didn't do VBAC's I walked out in shock. All I could think is, 'You can't leave the baby in.' before it occurred to me they always do cs after the first. I realized then that we had lost many years of progress to the insurance companies.)

I delivered in the hospital with no meds and no doctor or midwife. I progressed so quickly they didn't wake my midwife. I declined bathing my baby which was reinforced when she had trouble maintaining body temp. I never let her out of my or her father's sight. I declined the Hep B with intentions on delaying.

At her first few well baby appointments I inquired about her risk with declining the Hep B and was told it was if the mother is at risk. WTH!!! I jokingly assured fam and friends I always used precautions with my sleeping around and never share my drug needles. Needless to say, I declined. My daughter's health has continued to be an issue. Born anemic and receiving monthly transfusions, it didn't take long to write off vaccines for her.

She is high maintenance personality-wise as well and for the most part, I love it. She wouldn't do strollers so we used wraps. She hated the car so our long trips to the doctor were mostly by train and bus. She was not sleeping without me so we share a bed. She just turned a year and is still bf'ing with no signs of stopping. Developmentally, she is 6 months old. I fully expect the bf'ing to go until age 2, at least.

Another turning point for me with dealing with doctors was allowing them to try a steroid to diagnose for something we were sure she didn't have. She has been quite ill ever since. I will NEVER again, resist my gut for their convincing. I regret that one. I will not have another huge regret like that again.

So, there are all my small lightbulb moments. I know that was long but thanks to all that read it.

[Lexie]

That's kind of a sad story, momofsaa. I'm sorry your little one still isn't well. :( Glad, however, that you were able to see how 'progress' has ruined us.

[stepmumand1]

My light bulb moment came when a friend of mine was confident enough in her decision not to vax and mentioned to me that you don't 'HAVE' to vaccinate.

I had been complaining that my step-son who was formula fed and always very sickly. I always thought it was because he had never been breastfed. When my DS1 was born, drug free birth and breastfeeding through a 10 day hospital stay because of severe mastitis I couldn't believe it when he had his first ear infection at 6 months, then again at 9 months. I had done all the right things, breastfeeding is meant to prevent ear infections why did he have them. My friend casually asked if he was vaccinated, which he was. Just the mention that vaccines don't equal healthy child started me on my research. Unfortunately I still wasn't firm enough in my decision and DS1 also had his 12 month shots. This I believe led him to start going back wards in his speech. It is only just now he is catching up to his peers in his expressive language. DS2 has not had any vaccinations and I am now doing further reading on the topic to help convince DH of this decision. In regards to DS2, my intuition whilst pregnant has been that he won't be the same child if he is ever vaccinated. This gut feeling keeps getting stronger as he gets older.

[Tici]

My light bulb moment came when a friend of mine was confident enough in her decision not to vax and mentioned to me that you don't 'HAVE' to vaccinate.

This was the same for me and what started me on my path to looking into not having my daughter vaxxed.
Then I heard about the book 'Just a Little Prick'.
Read it and could not put it down, and my mind was definitely made up then. I would tell anyone who would listen and read them paragraphs!
Ive given up doing that now though. :rolleyes:
I'm just starting to read it again now.

[tbavrbab]

Light bulb moment?

When I was told my son, sick with pneumonia, should get a vaccine that hadn't been important when they didn't have "enough of it," but now (when he was so sick they were fighting me to hospitalize him) it was IMPERATIVE.

I decided to wait on the shot until he was feeling better. In the meantime I started researching to prove to myself that I was being foolish that it was perfectly safe...and while I was at it checking into the "absurd" things people on a local mommy group had said about vaccines.

Until then I was one of those idiots who thought those unvaccinated kids were out to smear their germ infested selves all over my vaccinated and protected child.

Oh yes, I was one of THOSE people. I was remarkably uneducated and just plain stupid. It's amazing the things a person will believe, let alone say, when they are still drinking the kool-aid.

Now I'm angry. Unbelieveably angry.

While I haven't entirely given up on modern medicine, it did save my life and probably my daughter's (though she was in better shape than I was!), I strictly limit it's usage. Even when I agree to using it, it's STILL limited. My poor OB had a ton of fun trying to work around my limitations. Ahhhh well, I gave his brain some exercise. :giggle:

[east carolina]

My son was fully vaccinated until 12 months. Never had a bad reaction. But, one day I read a thread by a mom who's baby was reacting severely. That was the first time I really heard or read about adverse reactions and it got me thinking and reading. And I stopped vaccinating.

[grandma of 4]

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[grandma of 4]

over the years i have probley had a few light bulb moments but had one the other day after reading an article on our local paper about the freeprevannor vaxfor all babies born after the 1st jan 2008 but what reallygot me thinking was when they listed all the vax that children get i didnt realise that they were pumping so many foreign bodies into our children they listed 13 different type, i thought what the hell is happining to our society and more what about the comprised immune system of our children no wonder we have a hight rate of asthma ear infections in our sociey.

[Lexie]

My poor OB had a ton of fun trying to work around my limitations. Ahhhh well, I gave his brain some exercise. :giggle:

hehe I did the same to my midwife. She probably thought I was crazy but was too polite to say so. She had to get out the old, archaic fetoscope for me every visit.

[3monkeys]

hehe I did the same to my midwife. She probably thought I was crazy but was too polite to say so. She had to get out the old, archaic fetoscope for me every visit.

What were they going to use otherwise? Ultrasound? We should start a thread on the overuse of ultrasound..... I dont agree with it but I dont really know why.

[Niamh]

hehe I did the same to my midwife. She probably thought I was crazy but was too polite to say so. She had to get out the old, archaic fetoscope for me every visit.

fetoscopes are the way to go.

[dressagemom]

hehe I did the same to my midwife. She probably thought I was crazy but was too polite to say so. She had to get out the old, archaic fetoscope for me every visit.

I did the same to my midwife. I didn't want any ultrasounds, so I told her to use the fetoscope. She actually liked it, because she said she needed to practice. Apparently most people like the hand-held Doppler, so they can hear the heartbeat as well.

[Lexie]

Yeah... I had a RN friend at the time who argued with me over the issue. One of her arguments was you get to hear the real heartbeat. The doppler manufacturer's website even tells you the machine listens and replicates what it hears. It's not just some kind of super microphone. I decided she was a tool and stopped indulging her after that. People think their education begins and ends with what they're taught in trainiing. The fact that her training ended 20 years ago means nothing to her.

[Aviendha]

When I was about 8 or 9 my cousin had a beautiful baby boy. She took him for his 8 week Vaxes and he screamed constantly for 10 days until he finally went to sleep one afternoon. My cousin fell into a coma like sleep from exhaustion after being up with her poor sick babe for so long. When she woke, he was cold, white and gone.

I don't really remember much of it, because I was quite young at the time. But my next slap across the back of the head was when my sister was pregnant with her first and also doing 1st year chiro and her lecturers started getting her to question vaxing. We were discussing it one day and I was really confussed, I thought everyone vaxed.

About 18mths later I was working in an R&D lab for a company that made vaccines. I had the pleasure of helping make DPTa and was shocked to find out that this experimental batch was going to be sent out as free samples to GP's. I soon left the job feeling sickened by some of the practises and looking at the sickness industry in a whole new light.

I started researching when I was pregnant with my first, not only the dangers of vaccinations, but how to raise healthy children, with strong immune systems who don't need protecting from dis-ease.

[natalie_sage]

I hadn't thought much about vax issues until we decided to have children. I was working on my PhD though and that was all about the problem with the medical model, so I already had a healthy distrust of the system. And my particular interest in women's bodies and medical maltreatment of women.

I was on a feminist email list and another woman on there is a fantastic biologist who would often give her critiques of RU486, HRT etc. and I learned from her. My PhD research led to me reading a lot about medical experimentation on women throughout the ages, so I wasn't surprised when I began reading about vax that it is largely experimental.

My DH was opposed to vax before we got together, but I only learned this when we had the baby. He inspired me to find out more. DD is only 1, so I'm early in my journey. Apparently she's missed a bunch of jabs so far. Having birthed and raised her outside of the system I don't know about these things (eg, what is scheduled when and why).