I'm getting my daughter vaccinated. She's already gotten the first sets of shots she will have in her life and she will continue to get them. Apparently in the eyes of some people that makes me a bad mother.
Okay anti-vaccine people. Time to leave me alone. The decision has been made.
It's very interesting how many people have come up to me now that I have a baby and have tried to freak me out about getting her vaccinated.
Every time my baby gets sick the first thing I hear is "did you get her vaccinated" with a scowl on the face of the person saying it thinking she's had a bad reaction. Or when my daughter developed eczema around 6 months old, automatically people I know who are anti-vaccine are like "oh it's the vaccines" trying to explain every little thing by putting the blame on the shots.
I'm really tired of it. I'm tired of people butting in and telling me all this research they're read on the internet is true and trying to convince me vaccines are evil. I don't care. I did my research before getting her that first set of shots. If I were truly afraid they would hurt her I wouldn't have done it. I've read plenty of stories of things going wrong but based on my own research I felt going ahead with the shots was the best thing. Not having her vaccines could hurt her as she grows older. It's a law she has to have them to go to school and college.
My daughter would lose her health insurance if we didn't get her shots. No one in my family has had autism or any mental/physical disabilities. I feel there is a low risk getting her vaccinated based on family history. My daughter's health insurance is necessary and I'm not going to risk losing it over what some guy my husband went to high school read on some other guy's blog on the internet.
Right now my husband is on the phone with some person he hasn't talked to in over 20 years he went to high school with.
They reconnected through social media. Randomly the guy asked my husband to call him and all they have talked about is anti-vaccine stuff. So you haven't talked to this guy in 20 years and you only want to call him to freak him out about your take on vaccines? I've found myself getting angrier and angrier as I listen to the conversation. This person I've never met is giving me advice on how to take care of my kid. I don't appreciate that.
I do understand the fears of vaccines.
I do believe that kids get a lot more shots today and I do think that there are links to autism, diabetes, and more health problems because of vaccines. That being said I choose to get my daughter her shots. Have I been terrified each time that something would go wrong? Yes. But nothing has gone wrong and I believe that her getting them is for the best.
My decision as a parent should be respected and people who disagree should leave me alone instead of continuing to pile on the research they've done to prove me wrong. Many of those same people I know harassing me have gotten their children their shots and they are perfectly fine. If your own kids are healthy after getting shots then why are you freaking out about my kid you've never met getting her shots?