Public Enemy #1

So, thirteen years ago, when I was pregnant with Satchel, there was a LOT of hooplah about vaccines and autism. Mothering magazine, which I considered to be extremely trustworthy, did many articles and special issues on the topic. Warren and I decided to delay vaccinations for Satchel until we felt more confident that we'd be doing a good thing, and not endangering him.

We made the same decision two years later when Jiro was born.

As the boys grew into strong, healthy dudes, the issue of whether or not to vaccinate them faded into the background. They didn't need vaccinations to attend private or public school and we were easily able to find a doctor who supported our decision.

Well here we are in 2015 and people are losing their shit. I even had a Facebook friend ask that anyone with unvaccinated kids unfriend him immediately. (He's a new parent, and I remember the fervor I had as a new parent, so I didn't let it offend me too much.) Anyway, in light of current science and the measles outbreaks across the country, Warren and I decided to go ahead and vaccinate our healthy boys.



Having never had a needle in their arms, they were a tad nervous. Satchel handled it like a champ (despite the above photo). Jiro needed some encouragement, but he survived. When he later told me it was the worst thing that ever happened to him, I told him that if that were true, he should consider himself lucky!



I did get a few, "Why didn't you do this to us when we were babies so we wouldn't remember?" complaints from the kids, but I explained my rationale to them and also reiterated the fact that they'd still need boosters and other shots at their current ages anyway.

Finally, to put it all into sharp focus, I told them how their dad and I spared them from circumcision and that at least we hadn't changed our minds about that!

Then we went to Belly Acres for a burger and all was right again.