H1N1 vaccine...update...

First of all....thank you all for your comments on my last post. They DEFINITELY helped me make my decision about what I am going to do about the H1N1 vaccine.

Today, I realized I finally feel confident in not getting Jaxon & I the vaccine.

It's not easy making the decision. Of course - the media and most medical professionals are advising people to GET the vaccine, and there is a ton of anti-vaccine stuff on the internet - but of course there is so much junk on the internet it's hard to know what's true. I found myself VERY torn, confused, and paranoid about BOTH options.

I prayed about it and asked God to give us confidence about what we should do...and today I realized He did that!

We've decided NOT to get the vaccines. As scary as that is! Yikes.

My friend Ashton is 3 months pregnant and got very sick with the flu this past week. The doctors were treating it as if it was the Swine Flu. She said that from her visits to the hospital and talking to 4 different doctors she learned a lot about this flu....

1. the symptom that you have to be most worried about is shortness of breath. The other symptoms should be given attention - but they won't kill you. If you have shortness of breath you need to get to the hospital ASAP. And you will have time to get it under control if you get to the hospital right away.
   
2. 3 out of the 4 doctors she talked to were under the belief that the anti-viral medications they give H1N1 patients (Relenza and Tamiflu) are ineffective, and a Pharmaceutical ploy. Also, that there are side-effects with those.
   
3. Those three doctors were also NOT in favor of the vaccine.
   

This made me feel more level-headed about the whole thing - YES, it's serious - but if you watch for the symptoms you will have time to get treated and you will be okay.

So....what I AM doing is this:

• taking Probiotics (Jaxon is too - you can get it in a powder form and put it in yogurt or whatever you want)
• Taking Vitamin D and mulitivitamins (for Jax we have liquid multivitamin with A,D and C in it)
• I bought some Sambucol (black Elderberry extract) from the health food store to have on hand in case we start getting flu symptons. It's a super flu fighter and is supposed to reduce the length of a flu by 4 days, and it's safe for pregnant women and children (just make sure it's the Original kind with no Echinacea). Thanks to Andrea for this tip!!!!
  
• staying home more
• not hanging out with sick people :(

I'm relieved to have finally made a confident decision. And for those of you who have decided to get the vaccine - or plan to - I totally respect that. I know it is a really hard decision and there are pro's and con's to both.

to get it or not to get it (the H1N1 vaccine)

I know this is yet another VERY controversial topic...but I'm very curious what you think about this.

As you all know, the H1N1 virus is something that a lot of people are talking about - and it is apparently very serious. I've heard on the Dr. Oz show and The Doctors that it's expected to get worse this winter, and that it's very important for especially pregnant women and children aged 6mo to 19 years to get the vaccine.

Before watching The Doctors this morning, I was convinced that I wasn't going to get the vaccine - as scary as that is - because I felt that it was too new of a vaccine and I couldn't trust that it has been researched and tested well enough, especially for long-term side-effects.

According to what was said on the show this morning, there are many people who are leery of getting the vaccine, for the same reasons I am. They went on to point out that the vaccine is not really a NEW vaccine - it's basically the same as the regular flu vaccine, just with a different strain of the flu in it. And of course - the line "the benefits outweigh the risk".

Now, being pregnant, I know it's not just about me anymore - and me getting the H1N1 flu could be very dangerous for the baby and me. The show also said this morning that the swine flu is very dangerous for children.

So here I am, once again, torn about what to do.

Let me know what you're planning on doing...I'm curious to hear. But please, be nice :)


ps. for those of you who remember me writing a similar post about getting Jaxon immunized - we have decided to go ahead and start getting Jaxon immunized - one at a time. We're not giving him ALL the vaccines...we're sticking with the tried and true ones that we got as kids. So far he's had his first does of the 5-in-1.

Hmmm....

I'll let you guess why Jax is looking at these books ;)

No-Knead English Muffin Bread

If you like English muffins, and you are scared of the kneading part of making bread, this recipe is for you! :)

I've made this twice now and it's SO easy, and SO yummy. You eat it toasted. We love how it gets so crispy when you toast it, just like English Muffins. Try it out! Here's the recipe:


English Muffin Bread
cornmeal
6 cups flour (I used 2 cups brown and 4 cups all-purpose)
2 packages active dry yeast (or 4.5 tsp)
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

1. Grease 2 loaf pans. Lightly sprinkle pans with enough cornmeal to coat bottom and sides; set pans aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine 3 cups of the flour, the yeast, and baking soda; set aside. In a microwavable bowl (I use my 4 cup glass measuring cup), combine milk, water, sugar and salt and microwave just until warm.

3. Using a wooden spoon, stir milk mixture into flour mixture. Stir in remaining flour.

4. Divide dough in half. Place dough in prepared pans. Sprinke tops with cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 45 minutes).

5. Bake in a 400 C oven about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove bread from pans. Cool on wire racks. Serve toasted.

(recipe taken from my Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook)

oh fall....how we love you

Fall....I love fall. I'm always a little sad when the trees START to turn color, because I'm never quite ready to say good-bye to summer, but it doesn't take long for me to love that cozy feeling that comes with the cooler, fresh air outside, wearing slippers in the morning, burning candles in the house, cooking soups and stews and lots of other warm comfort foods, and of COURSE, the bright beautiful colored leaves (to name a few).

Last week Dan, Jax & I started our 1st annual fall tradition of going to pick out a pumpkin at a pumpkin farm. These are some pictures from that little outing as well as some other fall pictures :)