Daniel, my husband, and I are doing the Whole30 diet in January...not because it is a new year's resolution, but because a local friend of mine is doing it at this time and running a support group for it and it happens to be in January. Also, I'm off right now for maternity leave in December, so I feel like I can shop and prep for it way better right now, than when I'm working. Obviously, while I'm doing the program, I'll be working, but at least I'll be prepared first :)
How will I do this diet? It is a very strict diet. Most of my food will be purchased from BJ's Wholesale and my local flea market that has an organic produce section. I will be cooking most of my food in cast iron skillets, in my dutch oven, crock pot, cookie sheet, and glass Pyrex casserole pans. I'll be preparing MOST of the food in 4+ servings - 2 for my husband and I to eat for dinner, and 2 servings to go in our lunch croc-pots for lunch the next day - especially because I work Tuesdays and Wednesdays and I'll need to have something ready made that I don't need to take time to prepare. (Samuel, the 3 year old, eats small portions of our food, and he'll still have cheese and other normal parts of his diet) I'll also be cooking/prepping all on Saturday and Sunday. I have a newborn and a high-needs 3 year old, so I need all the help my husband can offer. Monday-Wednesday dinners will be mostly croc-pot style meals, Thursday - Sunday will be quick and easy meals. I LOVE cooking (it's actually my job) and I have a wealth (literally) of organic, non-irradiated spices in my home that I've been purchasing for the last few years - so I might make something with something you don't have readily available. You will need a sharp knife, good cutting board, blender, food processor, spiralizer, and a mandolin would be helpful...I don't have one, but I wish I did :(
Why are we doing such a strict diet, for only 30 days? Daniel will be basically 100% Whole30. (Disclaimer: I won't be 100% into it. I will be keeping oats to help keep my breastmilk supply sustained. My infant is going to be about 7 weeks when we take the plunge and formula isn't an option.) The reasoning behind me selecting such a diet for us is pretty simple - we need, especially Daniel, to starve out the bad bacteria in the gut that gear towards craving sugar, train the brain and pancreas to not need or want an insulin spike with every meal. This is basically the only diet that does that, while keeping you full, and doesn't require crazy shakes, juicing, etc and maintains a high protein content. I want to eat well, I want Daniel and Samuel to eat well, and this seems to be the best of all the worlds :-P And thanks to the blogging health community, finding Whole30 compliant recipes is insanely easy...my mouth watered the whole time I was looking up recipes on Pinterest.
What is the Whole30 diet? It is basically whole foods, for 30 days. It is also no: grain, soy, dairy, legumes, additives (MSG, carageenan, etc.), refined and artificial sugars...its basically quality fats, proteins, veggies, and fruits. It is sorta like jumping in the deep end of the paleo diet...Paleo does do substitutions - like you can have almond flour bread, or food sweetened with maple syrup. Whole30 encourages you NOT to do those things...because you are training your body to not need or want those things in your foods and drinks anymore. Here are the official rules. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are allowed(they are technically veggies!), however...so I'm very thankful, as an English-Scotswoman...I know that I will not starve, because...potatoes. And it's only for 30 days ya'll...we've spent well over 30 years eating whatever junk we want...we can give...no, we can TREAT our body to the break of eating nutritiously for a solid month...we're stubborn adults...we.can.do.this.
So with Jesus, a little will-power, my more-than-capable cooking skills, and a pinch of luck, we will be spending our January transforming our health.
So, let's start with breakfast:
Breakfast cups: I'm going to mix spaghetti squash and a little shredded zucchini to make a crust in muffin cups. Eggs and proscuitto go into the muffin cups with some seasoning...and enjoy. The recipe calls for ground pork, and I'm picky with my meat quality...and will have a hard time finding good quality meat. My proscuitto is pork and sea salt. That's it. It's pretty cheap at the BJ's deli too. And seriously...who doesn't love proscuitto!? I'm going to put homemade ghee in the muffin cups and a little on the veggie shred before I put them in the pan, so the crusts are nice and buttery and crisp! I'm going to make 3 cups per person, per day - a total of 42 cups per week. (I'll be having oatmeal in addition to this)
Lunch - lunch will be leftovers from dinner. I'm going to make 4ish servings of dinner each night, and put 2 solid servings away before we even eat dinner. The lunches will go in our lunch crock-pots and be convenient for heating up lunch the next day. Our first lunch will be fiesta chicken salad.
Dinner:
Monday - Jan 2nd: Turkey, kale, and cauliflower soup. This recipe uses really basic ingredients. I hate prepping kale. BJ's has organic kale and spinach though, in a bag, already done, and I'll be using that instead of fresh kale. This will double as lunch the next day while I'm at work - I'll have my lunch crock and Daniel can heat this up at home in his lunch crock - easy dish clean up - no microwaves either!
Tuesday - Jan 3rd: hearty vegetable soup. I will top this with diced avocado and jalepeno coconut cream. I will not use rotel, but regular diced tomatoes and add extra peppers or buy green chiles alone.
Wednesday - Jan 4th: chicken tikka masala. I will serve this with zucchini latkes and roasted broccoli. Both will be made in advance, and my hubs will put the masala in the crock-pot after I'm at work, and bring me my completed meal at work.
Thursday - Jan 5th: Thai chicken with "spicy peanut" sauce. I generally have time to make dinner on Thursdays, so this will be made fresh!
Friday - Jan 6th: lemon rosemary chicken and potatoes. We host game night on Fridays, and I generally feed people! I wanted something very acceptable and this seems as such! I'll serve it with balsamic roasted carrots too.
Saturday - Jan 7th: egg roll in a bowl. (note: we may not have leftovers after Friday game night, and the fiesta chicken salad will likely be our lunch today!) Saturday is my prep day, so this should be easy and fast, and easy to reheat after church on Sunday for lunch. Just don't use liquid aminos, use coconut aminos instead. And I'll probably use ground beef instead of turkey...we like really beef and have a good source of it!
Sunday - Jan 8th: paleo balance bowl - a fresh light dinner for Sunday night!
All snacks will be nuts(almonds and cashews), fruit(apples and bananas and frozen fruits as smoothies), the fiesta chicken salad, and any leftovers we accrue.
I'm hoping for success in this...I really am! Should we like this menu, I'll just repeat it four times!
I'll be making my grocery list next week to know exactly of how much I need to get with this.
I hope you've enjoyed!
In health,
Becca H.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
The Womb Trilogy: Healthy Pregnancy
I just finished my blog post on fertility and if that is something you're struggling with, please go read it here. This blog post will focus on a healthy pregnancy.
I have been pregnant with two full term pregnancies and had one extremely early miscarriage. I'm speaking from personal experience and research and this is NOT intended to replace questions with your midwife or doctor - only to assist in your own research.
I conceived early February both time, 3 years apart. First child was a boy and second was a girl.
Starting weight with #1 was 147(a little too heavy for me, but I was really healthy!) and ended at 189. Came home from the hospital at 169 pounds. (pregnancy gain was 42 pounds, I was 41 weeks and 1 day pregnant when I delivered my son and 27 years old.)
Starting weight with #2 was 171 (way too heavy for my body type, but again, very healthy!) and ended at 200, and was back down to 176 after the birth. (pregnancy gain was 29 pounds, and I was 41 weeks and 3 days pregnant when I delivered my daughter, and 30 years old. (psst, my daughter was 2 pounds larger than my son also!))
I chose midwifery care for both pregnancies. Home births for low risk women have been proven SAFER than low risk women having hospital births. There's a lot of other reasons why, but I can tell you they are extremely educated, they devote an HOUR to your visit - really get to know you and your family situation, it was cheaper for me as a cash patient to hire them than choose a hospital birth, I also enjoy the midwifery approach to pregnancy - your body is amazing and your pregnancy is your's and your's alone...they truly nurture you into the happiest, healthiest pregnancy you are made to have. There are several different types of midwives - lay midwives, licensed midwives, and certified nurse midwives. I used licensed midwives - a mother-daughter team, and they are freaking awesome. If you are looking for a different approach to pregnancy and delivery than your OB will provide, look into the possibility of midwives in your area.
Now, I'll break into what I did or didn't do while pregnant and break it into trimesters.
PRE-PREGNANCY:
You want to be on a good multivitamin (with FOLATE, not folic acid, read the very end of my fertility post for the article reasons why). A good prenatal/multivitamin BEFORE pregnancy has been shown to be beneficial to fertility and the baby's health...of course, I can't find that article now :-\ This is the prenatal that I used with baby #1, and this is the one with baby #2.
This is the omega supplement I used with baby #2. I don't need to mention the one I used with baby #1...it was okay, this one is much better.
And iodine. Pregnancy changes all the hormones in your body...it can wreck your thyroid...at least 1/3 of America's women is iodine deficient. Iodine is super important for breasts, brain, glands, etc. AND for your developing fetus. I take this all the time - pregnant or not. It is called iodoral, it is a 12.5 mg supplement. My chiro recommended it for basically all people to take. I take it while nursing too.
Eat lots of protein! A high protein diet is good for insulin levels, and it is good to help offset pre-eclampsia. In my fertility post, I also talk about the benefits of a high fat diet for hormone health. Eat quality fats!
I want this disclaimer put out - While medications make pregnancy tolerable for women when it might not ordinarily be, or even provide life saving measures, I want to encourage you NOT to use medications if at all possible. I have so many friends who are willing to take Zolfran instead of magnesium for nausea, or steroids for allergies, instead of an herbal allergy alternative. There are MANY natural options for a variety of ailments, you just have to educate yourself about them. I got pink eye while pregnant when out of town, as well as 2 ear infections. I didn't take antibiotics. I also had terrible allergies, as most of my county did this year, and took no meds - but used a neti pot. Many of these commonly prescribed meds can have severe consequences on the baby, as many aren't tested for safety or efficacy on the fetus or the pregnant mom. (Same goes for the "universally" recommended TDaP and Flu vaccines now offered to pregnant women). Some women NEED zolfran to keep ANY food down, and I'm not judging that decision...not at all. But I think many women are given these options before they've tried alternatives and many doctors are willing to write these prescriptions before trying to find the real cause of the problem. Even tylenol while pregnant is recommended by doctors, but has been proven unsafe. If you seek relief from pain - epsom salt baths, chiropractic care, and acupuncture are all better options! I never had so much pain in pregnancy that I needed pain killers...and I broke my ankle at work, 32 weeks pregnant, with #2!
Now, trimesters:
This is assuming you are already taking the prenatals, omegas, and iodine.
First Trimester:
You will be at the very least slightly nauseous and slightly more tired by the time you hit 6-8 weeks. With baby #1, I was EXHAUSTED and STARVING all the time. Baby #2, I had more nausea, but my energy levels were good and I had a fairly normal appetite.
B vitamins help with nausea. So does magnesium - which incidentally, helps with pregnancy constipation(very common). I took Natural Calm magnesium powder to help offset the nausea and it also helped with my constipation...I took .5 tablespoon every time I felt like I needed it. It didn't taste bad and almost immediately helped my stomach. Garden of Life just released a whole food magnesium powder - if I am blessed to carry another child (or more ;) ) I will likely use it if I have nausea like I did with Baby #2.
Try to get as much sleep as you can - sleep gets harder the more pregnant you get.
Take vit d! Vit D likely helps prevent gestational diabetes, it is important in uterine health and hormones too! I have used all the vit d options from garden of life - the chewable (tastes great!), the spray, and the capsules - they are all great, and I highly recommend! Try to get 5,000 ius daily and sunshine several times a week.
If you have the time and energy - stay active - moderate exercise is great! I worked my fairly physically intense job until 39w4d with baby #2 (even on the broken ankle) and I think it contributed greatly to my wonderful birth with my giant baby!
Second Trimester:
Nausea should subside, energy should increase. You might be more prone to headaches - drink plenty of water and don't forget your morning vitamins!
I started taking cal-mag at night for pregnancy insomnia and the off-chance of leg cramps - it also helps with developing strong teeth and bones in the baby. It is important to continue this while nursing also(see my healthy delivery and post-partum blog post that is to come!).
If you have used antibiotics in the recent past, and haven't used good probiotics, you should consider these. You will be tested for group B strep at 36 weeks, and having good probiotic balance is key to testing negative - (which is what you want!). Good gut health is important in absorbing nutrients, it is critical in immune health too! I ate a lot of yogurt, and haven't been on antibiotics since 2007 and generally use antibiotic-free animal products.
Third Trimester:
Game time! You have 13 weeks-ish left to nourish this baby into good health! Keep taking your vitamins and eating well!
If you have an OB, you will be strongly urged to get a TDaP vaccine and a flu vaccine at 28 weeks or so. I cannot stress enough how much you should NOT get these vaccines! Nether have been proven safe or effective...and have been linked to an increase in fetal death....It is a NEW thing to promote these to pregnant women - like last 4-ish years...moms to kids in elementary school likely didn't get them...the whole "all moms get them and are fine" doesn't hold water and I know a lot of women who ended up very ill or had pregnancy complications, even lost their babies, due to one or both of these shots.
Around 34/35 weeks, an extra measure to prevent testing positive for GBS is the garlic clove!
Read that article! You do not want GBS because if you have it, that means you get IV antibiotics during labor, and that is not healthy for you or the baby! I talk about that in the next post - healthy delivery and post-partum.
At 35/36 weeks, I start taking vitamin k complex. I don't do the vitamin k shot, unless there was a severe emergency that warranted needing it. Neither of my babies have had it. BUT, I did take vit k complex the last month of pregnancy and into the first month or more of nursing. I wanted to provide optimal vit k for the baby in natural ways. I also do delayed cord clamping to help with risks associated with no vit k shot.
You may test anemic at this point in your pregnancy also. I used this iron every few days - I wasn't anemic, but I was on the low end of normal. It is best to make sure you take this WITH vit C and NOT with calcium. Calcium inhibits iron absorption, and vit c increases absorption! Eating grass-fed cow liver is an excellent way to get iron and vit a! If you put a few small chopped up pieces in your spaghetti sauce or chili, you won't know it's in there, and it'll be a nice little iron boost ;)
I think I covered the trimester information. Now, onto other pregnancy things that may creep up:
Stretch marks- I used a variety of creams and oils with Baby #1, and ended up COVERED in stretch marks. With Baby #2, I took vit c through the majority of the pregnancy, at least 1000mg (which is perfectly safe), and most of my stretch marks were minimal and healed very quickly. I also did dry brushing all of this pregnancy on my belly especially. Here's tips on how to do it. It helps circulation and I think the vit c and dry brushing greatly contributed to the reduction of the marks and them healing quicker. I do not think there is a magic cream - some are just lucky and some aren't.
Swelling - I took alfalfa capsules to help reduce swelling. If you buy these on your own, make sure they are organic as alfalfa is most often genetically modified and/or heavily sprayed.
I think that is all, folks - feel free to message me on facebook with questions or topics you think I should address and edit into this post!
In health,
Becca H.
I have been pregnant with two full term pregnancies and had one extremely early miscarriage. I'm speaking from personal experience and research and this is NOT intended to replace questions with your midwife or doctor - only to assist in your own research.
I conceived early February both time, 3 years apart. First child was a boy and second was a girl.
Starting weight with #1 was 147(a little too heavy for me, but I was really healthy!) and ended at 189. Came home from the hospital at 169 pounds. (pregnancy gain was 42 pounds, I was 41 weeks and 1 day pregnant when I delivered my son and 27 years old.)
Starting weight with #2 was 171 (way too heavy for my body type, but again, very healthy!) and ended at 200, and was back down to 176 after the birth. (pregnancy gain was 29 pounds, and I was 41 weeks and 3 days pregnant when I delivered my daughter, and 30 years old. (psst, my daughter was 2 pounds larger than my son also!))
I chose midwifery care for both pregnancies. Home births for low risk women have been proven SAFER than low risk women having hospital births. There's a lot of other reasons why, but I can tell you they are extremely educated, they devote an HOUR to your visit - really get to know you and your family situation, it was cheaper for me as a cash patient to hire them than choose a hospital birth, I also enjoy the midwifery approach to pregnancy - your body is amazing and your pregnancy is your's and your's alone...they truly nurture you into the happiest, healthiest pregnancy you are made to have. There are several different types of midwives - lay midwives, licensed midwives, and certified nurse midwives. I used licensed midwives - a mother-daughter team, and they are freaking awesome. If you are looking for a different approach to pregnancy and delivery than your OB will provide, look into the possibility of midwives in your area.
Now, I'll break into what I did or didn't do while pregnant and break it into trimesters.
PRE-PREGNANCY:
You want to be on a good multivitamin (with FOLATE, not folic acid, read the very end of my fertility post for the article reasons why). A good prenatal/multivitamin BEFORE pregnancy has been shown to be beneficial to fertility and the baby's health...of course, I can't find that article now :-\ This is the prenatal that I used with baby #1, and this is the one with baby #2.
This is the omega supplement I used with baby #2. I don't need to mention the one I used with baby #1...it was okay, this one is much better.
And iodine. Pregnancy changes all the hormones in your body...it can wreck your thyroid...at least 1/3 of America's women is iodine deficient. Iodine is super important for breasts, brain, glands, etc. AND for your developing fetus. I take this all the time - pregnant or not. It is called iodoral, it is a 12.5 mg supplement. My chiro recommended it for basically all people to take. I take it while nursing too.
Eat lots of protein! A high protein diet is good for insulin levels, and it is good to help offset pre-eclampsia. In my fertility post, I also talk about the benefits of a high fat diet for hormone health. Eat quality fats!
I want this disclaimer put out - While medications make pregnancy tolerable for women when it might not ordinarily be, or even provide life saving measures, I want to encourage you NOT to use medications if at all possible. I have so many friends who are willing to take Zolfran instead of magnesium for nausea, or steroids for allergies, instead of an herbal allergy alternative. There are MANY natural options for a variety of ailments, you just have to educate yourself about them. I got pink eye while pregnant when out of town, as well as 2 ear infections. I didn't take antibiotics. I also had terrible allergies, as most of my county did this year, and took no meds - but used a neti pot. Many of these commonly prescribed meds can have severe consequences on the baby, as many aren't tested for safety or efficacy on the fetus or the pregnant mom. (Same goes for the "universally" recommended TDaP and Flu vaccines now offered to pregnant women). Some women NEED zolfran to keep ANY food down, and I'm not judging that decision...not at all. But I think many women are given these options before they've tried alternatives and many doctors are willing to write these prescriptions before trying to find the real cause of the problem. Even tylenol while pregnant is recommended by doctors, but has been proven unsafe. If you seek relief from pain - epsom salt baths, chiropractic care, and acupuncture are all better options! I never had so much pain in pregnancy that I needed pain killers...and I broke my ankle at work, 32 weeks pregnant, with #2!
Now, trimesters:
This is assuming you are already taking the prenatals, omegas, and iodine.
First Trimester:
You will be at the very least slightly nauseous and slightly more tired by the time you hit 6-8 weeks. With baby #1, I was EXHAUSTED and STARVING all the time. Baby #2, I had more nausea, but my energy levels were good and I had a fairly normal appetite.
B vitamins help with nausea. So does magnesium - which incidentally, helps with pregnancy constipation(very common). I took Natural Calm magnesium powder to help offset the nausea and it also helped with my constipation...I took .5 tablespoon every time I felt like I needed it. It didn't taste bad and almost immediately helped my stomach. Garden of Life just released a whole food magnesium powder - if I am blessed to carry another child (or more ;) ) I will likely use it if I have nausea like I did with Baby #2.
Try to get as much sleep as you can - sleep gets harder the more pregnant you get.
Take vit d! Vit D likely helps prevent gestational diabetes, it is important in uterine health and hormones too! I have used all the vit d options from garden of life - the chewable (tastes great!), the spray, and the capsules - they are all great, and I highly recommend! Try to get 5,000 ius daily and sunshine several times a week.
If you have the time and energy - stay active - moderate exercise is great! I worked my fairly physically intense job until 39w4d with baby #2 (even on the broken ankle) and I think it contributed greatly to my wonderful birth with my giant baby!
Second Trimester:
Nausea should subside, energy should increase. You might be more prone to headaches - drink plenty of water and don't forget your morning vitamins!
I started taking cal-mag at night for pregnancy insomnia and the off-chance of leg cramps - it also helps with developing strong teeth and bones in the baby. It is important to continue this while nursing also(see my healthy delivery and post-partum blog post that is to come!).
If you have used antibiotics in the recent past, and haven't used good probiotics, you should consider these. You will be tested for group B strep at 36 weeks, and having good probiotic balance is key to testing negative - (which is what you want!). Good gut health is important in absorbing nutrients, it is critical in immune health too! I ate a lot of yogurt, and haven't been on antibiotics since 2007 and generally use antibiotic-free animal products.
Third Trimester:
Game time! You have 13 weeks-ish left to nourish this baby into good health! Keep taking your vitamins and eating well!
If you have an OB, you will be strongly urged to get a TDaP vaccine and a flu vaccine at 28 weeks or so. I cannot stress enough how much you should NOT get these vaccines! Nether have been proven safe or effective...and have been linked to an increase in fetal death....It is a NEW thing to promote these to pregnant women - like last 4-ish years...moms to kids in elementary school likely didn't get them...the whole "all moms get them and are fine" doesn't hold water and I know a lot of women who ended up very ill or had pregnancy complications, even lost their babies, due to one or both of these shots.
Around 34/35 weeks, an extra measure to prevent testing positive for GBS is the garlic clove!
Read that article! You do not want GBS because if you have it, that means you get IV antibiotics during labor, and that is not healthy for you or the baby! I talk about that in the next post - healthy delivery and post-partum.
At 35/36 weeks, I start taking vitamin k complex. I don't do the vitamin k shot, unless there was a severe emergency that warranted needing it. Neither of my babies have had it. BUT, I did take vit k complex the last month of pregnancy and into the first month or more of nursing. I wanted to provide optimal vit k for the baby in natural ways. I also do delayed cord clamping to help with risks associated with no vit k shot.
You may test anemic at this point in your pregnancy also. I used this iron every few days - I wasn't anemic, but I was on the low end of normal. It is best to make sure you take this WITH vit C and NOT with calcium. Calcium inhibits iron absorption, and vit c increases absorption! Eating grass-fed cow liver is an excellent way to get iron and vit a! If you put a few small chopped up pieces in your spaghetti sauce or chili, you won't know it's in there, and it'll be a nice little iron boost ;)
I think I covered the trimester information. Now, onto other pregnancy things that may creep up:
Stretch marks- I used a variety of creams and oils with Baby #1, and ended up COVERED in stretch marks. With Baby #2, I took vit c through the majority of the pregnancy, at least 1000mg (which is perfectly safe), and most of my stretch marks were minimal and healed very quickly. I also did dry brushing all of this pregnancy on my belly especially. Here's tips on how to do it. It helps circulation and I think the vit c and dry brushing greatly contributed to the reduction of the marks and them healing quicker. I do not think there is a magic cream - some are just lucky and some aren't.
Swelling - I took alfalfa capsules to help reduce swelling. If you buy these on your own, make sure they are organic as alfalfa is most often genetically modified and/or heavily sprayed.
I think that is all, folks - feel free to message me on facebook with questions or topics you think I should address and edit into this post!
In health,
Becca H.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
My excellent grace...Emilia Anne...
You see, I was 41 weeks and 2 days pregnant with my second baby(9 days "late")...I had days...nay, weeks of false labor with my first...and again, with this baby...I was pretty tired of it...intense contractions that sorta follow a rhythm, and then fizzle out into nothingness...I go to bed, and likely, the same thing will happen the next day.
But these irregular contractions felt a lot more real! But I had been tricked before! So I was trying not to get my hopes up. My husband and I had such a good day that day! I had gotten a relaxing bath and nap that morning, we went to a matinee showing in 3D of Dr. Strange, and some delicious thai food for lunch, and then I rested that afternoon again...if there was a time for this baby to come, it would be that night! I was all rested and refreshed from having a great day!
After 7pm, I had some bloody show and was losing the mucous plus in dribs and drabs...this might be the real deal! I did stuff around the house, changed my bedsheets, and went to bed - around 11pm. After 1am (now 10 days "late") or so, I woke up with an intense contraction and knew I wouldn't be going back to sleep for a while!!! But they were still so irregular...so I labored at home for a while alone....I was binge watching Friends on netflix and *attempting* sleep...
Then I had a really bad contraction...and another one several minutes later...and again...another one. So I called my midwife at 3am - after 2 hours of laboring - I was planning a home birth for this Baby #2. I had a planned homebirth with my son, which ended up in the hospital, read his story here. My midwife, Muriaha, said she'd be over. I had already texted her that evening that I had bloody show, so she was aware she might get a call at 3am :P I called my mom shortly after...
When Muriaha arrived, it was about 3:30 am. I was definitely having real contractions! Still not super regular, but frequent and painful! Mur decided to check me...I was 5cm dialted, 100% effaced, with a bulging bag of waters. I started crying...I really was in labor, my body was doing all the right things, and in my tears I cried, "Praise the Lord!" So we trudged on - made padsicles, blew up the birth tub, put sheets on the couch, etc...
My mom showed up a little later - 4ish? And Pam, my other midwife and mother to Muriaha, showed up around 4:30 or 5? And then my dad came around 5:30 or 6...He was primarily going to fill the birth pool with hot water...and that's when we hit a glitch...every birth has to have a glitch! We had drained our hot water to the point of the bottom...and the sediment from our lovely Fl water made my pool water murky...so we drained it...tried again...murky. This took a lot of time...so we filled it with cold water and boiled water on the stove...a lot of it! I finally got in the pool, probably around 7am? I was in a lot of pain and it helped so much!!! I was able to change positions and labor freely...love that birth pool!
Then after a couple of hours, I was checked for the second time (in my whole pregnancy!) - almost 10 cm, head and waters only inches from being born! I was so freaking happy that the end was nigh! I was crying and thanking the Lord! I got back in the pool...I pushed when my body told me to, and didn't when I didn't feel the need to. Eventually, I knew the head was coming...I honestly started to get a little nervous, and there was a ton of pressure on my coccyx (tailbone). Pam applied counter pressure and I felt renewed and confident I could get this baby out...and as she crowned, I heard my midwives whisper how big her head was...trust me, I could feel it too!! I was literally feeling my pelvis opening up with these pushes. With Samuel, once he crowned, his body came out without any extra pushing....his little sister took some more coercion. I had to push several more times...it was only one minute, but that is a lot longer than the 5 seconds Samuel came out in! But she was here...10:16 AM. About 15 hours of labor, 9 of those being active labor. I turned over - I was leaning on the edge of the pool and delivered in a sort of hands and knees position..and pulled her near to me...I still didn't know she was a girl yet! I held her close...she was HUGE! I was crying...everyone was crying...so many prayers answered...I checked her and saw she was a girl, and I cried "I knew it!"
Her name - Emilia Anne. Anne is after her two living great grandmas - Daniel's maternal Grammy and my paternal Gramma. They both have the middle name Ann. But I'm a huge Anne of Green Gables fan, so Anne with an "e" was imperative. Anne also means "Grace, God has favoured me" Emilia was a tough one for us to choose. I liked its meaning "to strive or excel" This whole pregnancy journey from conception to birth has been nothing short of wonderful and excellent...Emilia is excellent. The grace God gives us is excellent...and I wanted everything in her name to point back to the Lord. My sister's name is Emily, so that was a cool link to that name also! Emilia Anne is an example of God's excellent grace in our life! (For those of you who don't know, I miscarried Oct 30th, 2015 and struggled with fertility issues before and after my son and conceiving Emilia.)
I got a shower after some skin to skin with her. I went to bed, and my heart started racing pretty good, so my midwives gave me some oxygen...but when my mom walked into the room holding Emi, my heart rate came right back down...it might have been the oxygen, might have just been my maternal self needing to be near my baby :) Or just might have been that I was starving and my blood sugar was low.
So we did the exams and weighing...she was, incredibly, 10 pounds and 12 oz and had already pooed a lot...so she very well could have been 11 pounds right at birth, or just under that! She is 22 inches long, of rolly polly arms and legs. Her head was 14 and a half inches...yeah...I knew it was big...We wiped her meconium off with organic olive oil as her "bath" (I do not bathe my babies until after the cord falls off, and even then, I don't use soap, just epsom salts in the water....I like the flora and fauna to get established on their skin as it is so important for immune health. Here's a good article on delaying the bath) We also don't do the eye goo, vit k shot, or hep b shots. She passed all her tests with flying colors, she's incredibly strong, and can hold that huge noggin up all by herself. I did tear slightly, but I only ended up needing 3 stitches. I am thankful, though - the tear was superficial and not internal. I actually tore worse with Samuel's birth, and he was over 2 pounds smaller. I am also thankful for midwifery care - most OB's in this area would have done a weight test ultrasound, seen that the baby was large, and insisted on an induction or c-section. I had my healthy full term baby, on my body's terms, with only 3 bitty stitches.
We sat down for a good nursing session...she latched great and nursed away for a long time...on both sides! And we've had lots of snuggles and kisses...welcome to the world my Emi Anne...we're so happy you came...
Here's a photo slide show and some other faves!
I hope you enjoyed this birth story...
Becca H.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
The Womb Trilogy: Fertility
Greetings readers that have stayed with me even through my political ramblings. I have oft received questions about fertility herbs/supplements/etc that have aided in my pregnancies - both conception and pregnancy....Even post partum as I was able to exclusively breastfeed, work part time, and lose all my baby weight plus 10 pounds. I AM NOT AN EXPERT! I'm only talking about my experience and my research and how it related to my body.
This is not intended to replace your own research, doctor's advice, etc., but to supplement or prompt you into your own.
Time for some background on my health:
So with Samuel I got pregnant right after I turned 27, and with this baby, right after I turned 30. I have never had regular periods, and if I had gotten proper testing, I would probably be diagnosed with PCOS - as I have most of the symptoms. I got my first period right before I turned 14 years old, and never had a 28 day cycle - but both my mother and my sister did. I also don't normally get much by the way of mood swings - like PMS type stuff. I have one or two heavy days, and my period usually lasts 6-8 days. Currently, I am pregnant, so I don't have one, and I'm going to be curious to see how my post partum periods are after this baby. In between Samuel's pregnancy and this one, I used the Keeper Cup as my menstrual hygiene choice. I had apparently developed an allergy to a chemical in mainstream maxi pads, I also became aware of all the chemicals in tampons and pads and uncomfortable with those options, and I was able to get the keeper cup through a co-op I'm in for just over 20$. It worked for all 6 periods I had - like a charm...the first month or two was definitely a learning curve, but with a little time and patience, I was hooked. There are many types of cups out there, so research what one you might think is best. A lot of the chemicals in tampons and maxi pads actually interfere with hormones. It makes me wonder how much of the problems I had as a teen and young adult were related to the chemicals I was sensitive to, causing me issues. Not everyone is sensitive to things like this - which is why some people can eat junk food and stay thin, and others of us look at a soda sideways and gain 5 pounds....I am the sensitive one, so I simply take more precautions than "normal" people. However, sometimes we aren't aware of the damage being done, so being "sensitive" is sometimes a blessing too. Anyways, I digress.
I have skipped months of my period when I was in college especially(and I was celibate). I blame it on stress of college plus living in a dorm with so many other women. When I graduated in '07, I also started birth control...I used the NuvaRing - several girls at work recommended it, and it was a lose dose birth control, non-abortive, and it gave out consistent hormones, right to the vagina, vs. taking a pill that runs through the digestive system, blood stream, and eventually gets to the source - this happens every day - hormone levels rise and fall and this happens daily...that concerned me. I am still confident in my choice of NuvaRing at the time...I wish I had made other choices in life all together at that time...and didn't go on it at all.
While on birth control, I didn't get pregnant, but my periods weren't as predictable as they should have been. I'd still be a day or two late from time to time. I still had acne issues, thin and greasy hair, etc. After being on it for about 2.5 years fairly happily, my need for it was gone, I had moved to FL from PA, didn't have a prescription or a doc down here, so I decided to stop it altogether...and then I waited for a period. And waited...and waited. After several months, I mentioned it to my chiropractor, and she put me on two liquid herbal supplements through Standard Process and I got a period - a normal one - as if I had been menstruating all along. These supplements were expensive, and my chiro was far from my house, and I figured I must have "reset" my uterus, so to speak, so I stopped the supplements after I ran out....and waited again...for a LONG time. A total of a year after I stopped NuvaRing, a period finally returned on its own - without supplements. So in the 12 months of being off birth control, I had one herbally induced period. It was still extremely irregular at that point when it came back on its own...I probably got 6-7 periods a year - whenever they wanted to show up- never 28 days apart, always very late. I told my now husband, when we were dating, that conceiving might be difficult because of all these things...he loved and married me anyways :)
So after about a year of marriage, irregular periods, several pregnancy "scares" that ended in tears of frustration, I delved deep into fertility diets, supplements, etc. We weren't trying to get pregnant, but I was OVER my hormones being ridiculous. SO much of what I read and researched said "exercise 3 times a week, eat healthy, and take your multivitamins." - *eye roll*...I already did all of that, probably more so than the normal pregnant person at the OB. I had a period Sept 2012, and then nothing for Oct/Nov until Dec 2012. I went to the OB to get a pap smear since it had been a while, and mentioned my ideas about PCOS testing and she said "oh, those tests are expensive and you're a cash patient and don't have a real job [I was working for the state as an independent contractor in the local courthouse] - you probably just have weird hormones - I'll see you next year for your pap". I didn't love that answer.
So I learned a lot on my own, and two months later, found myself pregnant with my dear son, and had a great pregnancy. With this current pregnancy, I had a completely different story. I'll be brief. Basically, after I had my son in November 2013, I didn't get a period until I completely weaned him from nursing - May 2015. After about 5 periods, I experienced a miscarriage(Oct 2015), and then 2 missed months of no period(but I lactated, that was fun :( ), followed by one "rough" cycle, and then got pregnant with my current pregnancy. I did a few things differently with conception this time, so I'll put it all in one list but under Baby 1 or Baby 2. I don't think all of this is necessary for most women, but it is what I did and I went pretty gung-ho...so hopefully it helps someone. All of these things I continued until my supplement ran out, as they are safe during pregnancy as well. Many I continued into pregnancy and nursing, but that will be covered in the later blogs.
Baby 1:
- Vitex (chaste berry): There are studies, probably lots of studies, but this has been used for centuries to help with hormones and fertility. It has been found to increase follicle stimulating hormone, progesterone levels, etc. This is my FIRST thing I recommend to people with hormone problems or seeking fertility.
- evening primrose - this is a good one to take....I can't find much info on it, but my midwife recommended it, so I took it.
- oatstraw - This one is supposed to help calm nerves and encourage ovulation.
3. I also did a lot of the same things I listed above with Baby 1. I did my prenatals, the healthy hormones omega supplement, and the iodine - I always do all of those. I didn't eat as well or as high of fat, and when I was going to buy my probiotic cleanse, I found out I was pregnant.
4. Chinese herbal teas - I have no idea what was in them, but my acupuncturist blended and sold them to me - some tasted terrible, some were ok....it was a very potent and strong blend each time though, so I think it helped, for what it was worth.
5. Checking cervical mucous - this is often recommended to check for ovulation, as well as checking temperature. I wasn't diligent about the temping...it seemed so daunting and annoying. But I shower every morning, so I would check it in the shower...not so hard.
With all of these changes in diet and supplements, my acne has cleared up substantially(basically gone) and my hair is thicker and less greasy. I sleep well and have reasonably good energy, even while pregnant.
I am sure there are TONS of other things out there to do, or not to do, but these are what I researched and felt comfortable with. I also don't have insurance, so that was absolutely a factor in my decisions, because of cost and such. I also don't respond well to medications, overall, so I definitely wanted to give herbs, vitamins, and acupuncture a good try before trying medications.
I also highly recommend this book, Beautiful Babies. I didn't read basically any books about babies except for Beautiful Babies and one about birth (which I'll cover in the next blog). I felt very prepared with just that one book for all kinds of baby stuff and didn't need to read "what to expect"... :) It talks about fertility/pregnancy/post partum and it is easy to read, not very expensive either.
A great FREE resource - Chris Kresser's "healthy baby code".
I hope this has helped you :)
In fertile health,
Becca H.
P.S. do not take folic acid. If you are wanting to supplement with folic acid, take folate instead.
This is not intended to replace your own research, doctor's advice, etc., but to supplement or prompt you into your own.
Time for some background on my health:
So with Samuel I got pregnant right after I turned 27, and with this baby, right after I turned 30. I have never had regular periods, and if I had gotten proper testing, I would probably be diagnosed with PCOS - as I have most of the symptoms. I got my first period right before I turned 14 years old, and never had a 28 day cycle - but both my mother and my sister did. I also don't normally get much by the way of mood swings - like PMS type stuff. I have one or two heavy days, and my period usually lasts 6-8 days. Currently, I am pregnant, so I don't have one, and I'm going to be curious to see how my post partum periods are after this baby. In between Samuel's pregnancy and this one, I used the Keeper Cup as my menstrual hygiene choice. I had apparently developed an allergy to a chemical in mainstream maxi pads, I also became aware of all the chemicals in tampons and pads and uncomfortable with those options, and I was able to get the keeper cup through a co-op I'm in for just over 20$. It worked for all 6 periods I had - like a charm...the first month or two was definitely a learning curve, but with a little time and patience, I was hooked. There are many types of cups out there, so research what one you might think is best. A lot of the chemicals in tampons and maxi pads actually interfere with hormones. It makes me wonder how much of the problems I had as a teen and young adult were related to the chemicals I was sensitive to, causing me issues. Not everyone is sensitive to things like this - which is why some people can eat junk food and stay thin, and others of us look at a soda sideways and gain 5 pounds....I am the sensitive one, so I simply take more precautions than "normal" people. However, sometimes we aren't aware of the damage being done, so being "sensitive" is sometimes a blessing too. Anyways, I digress.
I have skipped months of my period when I was in college especially(and I was celibate). I blame it on stress of college plus living in a dorm with so many other women. When I graduated in '07, I also started birth control...I used the NuvaRing - several girls at work recommended it, and it was a lose dose birth control, non-abortive, and it gave out consistent hormones, right to the vagina, vs. taking a pill that runs through the digestive system, blood stream, and eventually gets to the source - this happens every day - hormone levels rise and fall and this happens daily...that concerned me. I am still confident in my choice of NuvaRing at the time...I wish I had made other choices in life all together at that time...and didn't go on it at all.
While on birth control, I didn't get pregnant, but my periods weren't as predictable as they should have been. I'd still be a day or two late from time to time. I still had acne issues, thin and greasy hair, etc. After being on it for about 2.5 years fairly happily, my need for it was gone, I had moved to FL from PA, didn't have a prescription or a doc down here, so I decided to stop it altogether...and then I waited for a period. And waited...and waited. After several months, I mentioned it to my chiropractor, and she put me on two liquid herbal supplements through Standard Process and I got a period - a normal one - as if I had been menstruating all along. These supplements were expensive, and my chiro was far from my house, and I figured I must have "reset" my uterus, so to speak, so I stopped the supplements after I ran out....and waited again...for a LONG time. A total of a year after I stopped NuvaRing, a period finally returned on its own - without supplements. So in the 12 months of being off birth control, I had one herbally induced period. It was still extremely irregular at that point when it came back on its own...I probably got 6-7 periods a year - whenever they wanted to show up- never 28 days apart, always very late. I told my now husband, when we were dating, that conceiving might be difficult because of all these things...he loved and married me anyways :)
So after about a year of marriage, irregular periods, several pregnancy "scares" that ended in tears of frustration, I delved deep into fertility diets, supplements, etc. We weren't trying to get pregnant, but I was OVER my hormones being ridiculous. SO much of what I read and researched said "exercise 3 times a week, eat healthy, and take your multivitamins." - *eye roll*...I already did all of that, probably more so than the normal pregnant person at the OB. I had a period Sept 2012, and then nothing for Oct/Nov until Dec 2012. I went to the OB to get a pap smear since it had been a while, and mentioned my ideas about PCOS testing and she said "oh, those tests are expensive and you're a cash patient and don't have a real job [I was working for the state as an independent contractor in the local courthouse] - you probably just have weird hormones - I'll see you next year for your pap". I didn't love that answer.
So I learned a lot on my own, and two months later, found myself pregnant with my dear son, and had a great pregnancy. With this current pregnancy, I had a completely different story. I'll be brief. Basically, after I had my son in November 2013, I didn't get a period until I completely weaned him from nursing - May 2015. After about 5 periods, I experienced a miscarriage(Oct 2015), and then 2 missed months of no period(but I lactated, that was fun :( ), followed by one "rough" cycle, and then got pregnant with my current pregnancy. I did a few things differently with conception this time, so I'll put it all in one list but under Baby 1 or Baby 2. I don't think all of this is necessary for most women, but it is what I did and I went pretty gung-ho...so hopefully it helps someone. All of these things I continued until my supplement ran out, as they are safe during pregnancy as well. Many I continued into pregnancy and nursing, but that will be covered in the later blogs.
Baby 1:
- Eat FAT! I would eat bacon and eggs, with avocado on top, with buttered toast for dinner many nights a week. (all sourced well, organic, etc.) I didn't gain an weight doing this either.
- Probiotic cleanse: I wanted to restart my gut and make sure my flora and fauna were working FOR me, instead of against me. This cleanse was easy, short, and relatively affordable - even Daniel did it with me.
- Omega 3's - healthy hormones: I swear by this supplement. I used it with both babies as a fertility aid.
- Vitamin D and Vitamin B: I used both of these also. Vit D is important in fertility and B vitamins are important for brain health, overall. In human biology, we learned that hormones often start in the brain, and then get sent through the body in a complex system from gland to gland, before the message is truly "sent"...I wanted to make sure that the brain itself was getting what it needed as far as fat - to transport the messages, and B vitamins to properly nourish the brain itself to send the right messages.
- Iodine: I use this brand, Iodoral. Everyone knows that iodine helps the thyroid and it is key to a lot of health issues, but iodine doesn't JUST nourish the thyroid - it nourishes the brain, uterus, breasts, etc. This particular brand is doctor formulated, recommended by my chiropractor, and is very affordable. The 12.5 mg is a daily pill, and 180 pills lasts you 180 days - about 6 months for about 30$. Again, safe while pregnant and nursing...to be covered later. Kelp supplements contain FAR LESS than one pill of this and this is in the proper ratio for optimal absorption...kelp supplements are ok, but are far more inferior as a supplement, unless you are taking like a whole bottle at a time - which I don't recommend. 1 pill of iodoral has over 30 times the amount of iodine that 1 capsule of kelp has. (12.5 mg vs. 400 mcg) So you're saving money and increasing efficiency by going with a more potent supplement.
- Multi-vitamin: I shouldn't have to explain why this is a good thing. We don't always eat well, or absorb nutrients well, so this is something to sorta help us along in our dietary journeys. I use/d whole food, organic multivitamins and think they are just good no matter who you are. I use the Garden of Life brand - you pick what suits your needs. I've used both their prenatals - RAW Vitamin Code and Mykind Organics.
- Acupuncture: It is getting a lot of press lately for improving lots of different health concerns, not the least of which, fertility. PCOS seems to be helped by acupuncture too. I have a great local acupuncturist who has very affordable prices. She is great for all kinds of things! I highly recommend her and if you aren't local, email her, and she will help you find a good one in your area! This was absolutely my favorite too...it helped lower my stress levels, I generally took a very deep nap during it, and seriously loved it each and every week. I started in late August 2015, and got pregnant Feb 2016 - just to give you a timeline...and I'm the only one who testifies to this kind of rapid results.
- Tinctures: tinctures are essentially extracts of something...in this case, herbs. My midwife recommended several to me. You can take them in capsule form, but they are just dried herbs and still need to be digested, where as the extract is more powerful. I prefer to just put them all in one little glass and chug. I take enough other pill forms of supplements, taking some non-pills was nice! The ones recommended were:
- Vitex (chaste berry): There are studies, probably lots of studies, but this has been used for centuries to help with hormones and fertility. It has been found to increase follicle stimulating hormone, progesterone levels, etc. This is my FIRST thing I recommend to people with hormone problems or seeking fertility.
- evening primrose - this is a good one to take....I can't find much info on it, but my midwife recommended it, so I took it.
- oatstraw - This one is supposed to help calm nerves and encourage ovulation.
3. I also did a lot of the same things I listed above with Baby 1. I did my prenatals, the healthy hormones omega supplement, and the iodine - I always do all of those. I didn't eat as well or as high of fat, and when I was going to buy my probiotic cleanse, I found out I was pregnant.
4. Chinese herbal teas - I have no idea what was in them, but my acupuncturist blended and sold them to me - some tasted terrible, some were ok....it was a very potent and strong blend each time though, so I think it helped, for what it was worth.
5. Checking cervical mucous - this is often recommended to check for ovulation, as well as checking temperature. I wasn't diligent about the temping...it seemed so daunting and annoying. But I shower every morning, so I would check it in the shower...not so hard.
With all of these changes in diet and supplements, my acne has cleared up substantially(basically gone) and my hair is thicker and less greasy. I sleep well and have reasonably good energy, even while pregnant.
I am sure there are TONS of other things out there to do, or not to do, but these are what I researched and felt comfortable with. I also don't have insurance, so that was absolutely a factor in my decisions, because of cost and such. I also don't respond well to medications, overall, so I definitely wanted to give herbs, vitamins, and acupuncture a good try before trying medications.
I also highly recommend this book, Beautiful Babies. I didn't read basically any books about babies except for Beautiful Babies and one about birth (which I'll cover in the next blog). I felt very prepared with just that one book for all kinds of baby stuff and didn't need to read "what to expect"... :) It talks about fertility/pregnancy/post partum and it is easy to read, not very expensive either.
A great FREE resource - Chris Kresser's "healthy baby code".
I hope this has helped you :)
In fertile health,
Becca H.
P.S. do not take folic acid. If you are wanting to supplement with folic acid, take folate instead.
Sunday, October 9, 2016
2016 - a year of political insanity...
Dear 2016...can America claim temporary insanity...???
We have a long term politician, who is both a known liar and federal criminal...a cheater who "won" the DNC nomination...a defender of rapists, a victim-blamer, racist...so heavily "pro-choice" that hours before a baby is born, it has no rights - I'm sorry...I cannot understand that ideology.
annnd then we have a schmuck, with no political experience...a known hot-head, a pig-headed womanizer, a cheapskate...a bad citizen - doesn't pay a dime in taxes...alleged rapist, aggressive bigot, and adulterer.
Some how...those two people...these two wealthy, educated, "low-lives" have somehow bubbled to the surface of American politics and are the two main nominees for the American presidency.
And I don't know how we got to this point...
and I'm pleading with you...
don't vote for either of them.
People are worried that Hillary is too liberal...I agree.
People are worried that Trump is politically inept....I agree.
Neither one of them deserve a vote, in my opinion...I'm not being critical of Hillary because she's a woman...I'm not being critical of Trump because he's a jerk...they simply aren't qualified. They aren't trustworthy. A good chunk of America would agree with that statement. I'm not the only one who thinks this...many a political commentator, religious leader, and political leader agrees...neither of them deserve a vote.
So why are you voting for them?! SO many people say a vote for one is a vote against the other...or that voting 3rd party is a waste of a vote, and therefore, voting for the alternative.
I'm sorry people, no. No, no, NO! A vote for someone is a vote for someone. Period. It isn't about voting for who will win, or who has a shot, or keeping the alternative out of office...we have a crap-covered pig and a cotton-mouth snake for our candidates...there isn't a "lesser evil"...it's what issue you choose to vote about. Trump said he "might" put in a list of conservative Supreme Court Justices, so that is why people are voting for him....that's a lot of faith in the word "might" from a man who is known for not keeping his word. PLUS, the end goal with pro-life justices is ending abortion, and honestly...that's not even remotely going to happen. I'd like conservatives in those seats as much as anyone...but I'm not willing to cast my precious vote on a "might" from a man who rarely keeps his word... I appreciated this article about the problem with voting on this one issue - Supreme Court. The pro-life v. pro-choice argument is a moot point. Trump is totally a fan of killing women and children in the name of defeating terrorism...that's not pro-life. Trump has never been pro-life before being a republican, and I have a hard time believing he is genuinely pro-life now. And again, abortion will not be overturned, and he seems to have very little regard for life after the womb, so that isn't "pro-life"...
Now, I'm not ok with a hyper-liberal liar being president either...which brings me back to my original plea:
It is time for Americans to rise up...it is time for us to put good people in office. Or at least BETTER people.
Neither DESERVE our votes...our votes are precious. We shouldn't degrade ourselves to "have" to vote for one of them, because Dr. Dobson or Dr. Carson endorsed him...or Sanders or whatever liberal face endorsed her. We know they aren't ideal...so why are we putting up with less than mediocre?!
I keep seeing "well, one of them will win"...ok. Or "a 3rd party doesn't have a shot"...
Since when do those things matter?! When Obama first ran, it was pretty obvious that McCain wasn't going to win...and yet millions upon millions of Republicans went out and voted for him...knowing he probably wouldn't win.
Have wars been fought when the odds were bad? Have you only ever applied for a job you KNEW you would get? Played a board game only if you knew you would win? No...you don't. This isn't a way to live, so why are you insisting by voting with this crazy thought process! Voting for one party or the other, simply to vote "against" the other, is an awful philosophical position to hold. Don't lower yourself to that. Voting for a "lesser" evil, is still voting for evil.
Now is the time to cast a vote FOR someone. Vote for someone you believe in. You'll sleep better at night! There are many other options...MANY! You are not throwing your vote away...in fact, I would argue that voting for an awful person, because they have a better chance of winning, and jumping off the cliff with the other lemmings...that IS throwing your vote away..."join the sheep, vote with two major party system just because!"
You say a third party can't win...did you know 55-60% want a third party?! If the 45% that like the D-R system vote D or R...let's say, 25% vote for D and 20% vote for R...and 26% vote 3rd party?! That's it ya'll...that's all we need for an upheaval of the system.
So, your options...look them up...Evan McMullin, Darrell Castle, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, Chris Keniston...and there's more than that...you just need to look it up! Our country deserves the time you NEED to spend researching alternative candidates...because this country is worth it...And these two clowns will ruin our country, in very different ways.
There's never been a more important time to research and REALLY vote for someone. I think MOST of the 3rd party candidates are literally better options in so many other ways. They have served in the military, they are smart, educated, worked in government and have GOOD records of doing so...
I cannot sit by and vote for one of these two wack jobs, because I'm told I need to...to prevent one or the other getting in. I feel like I'm repeating myself...but perhaps it is because of my frustration...I see social media and I do NOT watch mainstream TV...and I cannot understand why people stand so firmly behind either of them...and then with the mud-slinging....If you, as a Christian, can stand by, hold your nose, and vote for D or R...go for it. Support them for all I care! It isn't going to hurt my conscience. But if you don't agree with them, do not vote for them. Christ has called us to do the right thing...David cut Saul's robe, and didn't kill him, because he knew the Lord would take care of the situation...and David did the right thing. I need to do the right thing, in my heart, before the Lord...and voting for either of them repulses me, in my soul...
So, I'm sorry, 2016...I'm sorry this happened this way...
P.s.
A great article from the Gospel Coalition on this very topic - "“So I vote twice by doing nothing? I didn’t realize inaction was so powerful!”"
We have a long term politician, who is both a known liar and federal criminal...a cheater who "won" the DNC nomination...a defender of rapists, a victim-blamer, racist...so heavily "pro-choice" that hours before a baby is born, it has no rights - I'm sorry...I cannot understand that ideology.
annnd then we have a schmuck, with no political experience...a known hot-head, a pig-headed womanizer, a cheapskate...a bad citizen - doesn't pay a dime in taxes...alleged rapist, aggressive bigot, and adulterer.
Some how...those two people...these two wealthy, educated, "low-lives" have somehow bubbled to the surface of American politics and are the two main nominees for the American presidency.
And I don't know how we got to this point...
and I'm pleading with you...
don't vote for either of them.
People are worried that Hillary is too liberal...I agree.
People are worried that Trump is politically inept....I agree.
Neither one of them deserve a vote, in my opinion...I'm not being critical of Hillary because she's a woman...I'm not being critical of Trump because he's a jerk...they simply aren't qualified. They aren't trustworthy. A good chunk of America would agree with that statement. I'm not the only one who thinks this...many a political commentator, religious leader, and political leader agrees...neither of them deserve a vote.
So why are you voting for them?! SO many people say a vote for one is a vote against the other...or that voting 3rd party is a waste of a vote, and therefore, voting for the alternative.
I'm sorry people, no. No, no, NO! A vote for someone is a vote for someone. Period. It isn't about voting for who will win, or who has a shot, or keeping the alternative out of office...we have a crap-covered pig and a cotton-mouth snake for our candidates...there isn't a "lesser evil"...it's what issue you choose to vote about. Trump said he "might" put in a list of conservative Supreme Court Justices, so that is why people are voting for him....that's a lot of faith in the word "might" from a man who is known for not keeping his word. PLUS, the end goal with pro-life justices is ending abortion, and honestly...that's not even remotely going to happen. I'd like conservatives in those seats as much as anyone...but I'm not willing to cast my precious vote on a "might" from a man who rarely keeps his word... I appreciated this article about the problem with voting on this one issue - Supreme Court. The pro-life v. pro-choice argument is a moot point. Trump is totally a fan of killing women and children in the name of defeating terrorism...that's not pro-life. Trump has never been pro-life before being a republican, and I have a hard time believing he is genuinely pro-life now. And again, abortion will not be overturned, and he seems to have very little regard for life after the womb, so that isn't "pro-life"...
Now, I'm not ok with a hyper-liberal liar being president either...which brings me back to my original plea:
Don't vote for either of them.
It is time for Americans to rise up...it is time for us to put good people in office. Or at least BETTER people.
Neither DESERVE our votes...our votes are precious. We shouldn't degrade ourselves to "have" to vote for one of them, because Dr. Dobson or Dr. Carson endorsed him...or Sanders or whatever liberal face endorsed her. We know they aren't ideal...so why are we putting up with less than mediocre?!
I keep seeing "well, one of them will win"...ok. Or "a 3rd party doesn't have a shot"...
Since when do those things matter?! When Obama first ran, it was pretty obvious that McCain wasn't going to win...and yet millions upon millions of Republicans went out and voted for him...knowing he probably wouldn't win.
Have wars been fought when the odds were bad? Have you only ever applied for a job you KNEW you would get? Played a board game only if you knew you would win? No...you don't. This isn't a way to live, so why are you insisting by voting with this crazy thought process! Voting for one party or the other, simply to vote "against" the other, is an awful philosophical position to hold. Don't lower yourself to that. Voting for a "lesser" evil, is still voting for evil.
Now is the time to cast a vote FOR someone. Vote for someone you believe in. You'll sleep better at night! There are many other options...MANY! You are not throwing your vote away...in fact, I would argue that voting for an awful person, because they have a better chance of winning, and jumping off the cliff with the other lemmings...that IS throwing your vote away..."join the sheep, vote with two major party system just because!"
You say a third party can't win...did you know 55-60% want a third party?! If the 45% that like the D-R system vote D or R...let's say, 25% vote for D and 20% vote for R...and 26% vote 3rd party?! That's it ya'll...that's all we need for an upheaval of the system.
So, your options...look them up...Evan McMullin, Darrell Castle, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, Chris Keniston...and there's more than that...you just need to look it up! Our country deserves the time you NEED to spend researching alternative candidates...because this country is worth it...And these two clowns will ruin our country, in very different ways.
There's never been a more important time to research and REALLY vote for someone. I think MOST of the 3rd party candidates are literally better options in so many other ways. They have served in the military, they are smart, educated, worked in government and have GOOD records of doing so...
I cannot sit by and vote for one of these two wack jobs, because I'm told I need to...to prevent one or the other getting in. I feel like I'm repeating myself...but perhaps it is because of my frustration...I see social media and I do NOT watch mainstream TV...and I cannot understand why people stand so firmly behind either of them...and then with the mud-slinging....If you, as a Christian, can stand by, hold your nose, and vote for D or R...go for it. Support them for all I care! It isn't going to hurt my conscience. But if you don't agree with them, do not vote for them. Christ has called us to do the right thing...David cut Saul's robe, and didn't kill him, because he knew the Lord would take care of the situation...and David did the right thing. I need to do the right thing, in my heart, before the Lord...and voting for either of them repulses me, in my soul...
So, I'm sorry, 2016...I'm sorry this happened this way...
P.s.
A great article from the Gospel Coalition on this very topic - "“So I vote twice by doing nothing? I didn’t realize inaction was so powerful!”"
Saturday, July 30, 2016
No, it is not morally good to vote for Trump...
Definition of moral, thanks Merriam-Webster. Moral: considered right and good by most people : agreeing with a standard of right behavior.
I didn't want to write this post - but after seeing this article go viral on my facebook feed, it warranted a post.
I need to preface this by saying I'm very much NOT supporting Hillary, for the obvious scandals, lies, DNC conspiracy, and mishandling of classified information, let alone that I disagree most of her policies in general.
So this is my response to Dr. Wayne Grudem's article...a friend privately asked me for my perspective, so I read it last night, and penned this perspective/response this morning while watching my toddler get yogurt on many different article of furniture...
I went into this article...hoping, praying...with an open mind...please, someone convince me
from a Biblical standpoint, why I should vote for a man such as Trump...I was actually very eager to read this article, despite my known disdain for this man...
So I think Grudem is probably a really great guy...very godly. He's obviously a thinker...but he's running off of several fallacies that I don't think is okay. I will also state that after the DNC pulled their shenanigans, the FBI not pursuing charges with Hillary, and this whistleblower dying, I highly doubt anyone's vote matters at this point, and I wouldn't have said that a week ago. I believe very firmly that Hillary will win regardless of if every eligible voter voted for Trump or not. So his fallacies - He is not a "good guy with flaws". He is a ridiculously flawed, politically inexperienced guy with a few good things on his resume. And even those good things...it is more of a worldly definition, than a godly one. We can do no good, apart from God and Trump has made it pretty clear, all that he has done has been of himself, NOT of God. I really don't care that he "declared his faith in Jesus"...actions speak louder than words. Also, he was interviewed after his declaration, after having recently selected Pence, and the interviewer asked if Pence was religious - Pence said yes, and Trump said "I won the evangelical vote"...essentially making the argument that because religious people voted for him, insofacto, he is also religious...That doesn't fly with me. Grudem makes the assumptions, because he is wealthy and successful as a businessman, that he is therefore not a bigot/racist/etc. This is just a HUGE leap...plenty of wealthy and successful people are racist and bigoted, etc. So defending him, and making that claim is just unsubstantiated. I am not saying Trump IS those things, I'm just saying defending him is wrong. He's said some pretty awful things - worst of which in my opinion, is him saying he'd sleep with Ivanka (his daughter) because she's attractive...that's pretty sick in my opinion. He has said very inflammatory and extremely rude and disrespectful statements in front of hundreds of millions...whose to say that temper and brashness won't be present at UN meetings? At delicate meetings with known US-dislikers? Grudem references Trump's kids as "remarkable"...I don't know much about them. But awful people have raised remarkable children, as well as remarkable people have raised awful children. And again, remarkable by whose standard? The world? They are educated and wealthy and therefore remarkable? They've done charity work in their own names and for their own glory and are, remarkable? I don't think their "remarkable-ness" is any reason to or not to vote for them man. Grudem leaves out many of the man's notable flaws that have substantial weight, in my opinion. A. Trump likes Putin - a dictator. This is alarming to me on so many levels. B. He has been involved in many criminal rape cases and while found "Not guilty", it scares me how verbally he has stated he likes women, young attractive women...and how forceful he is in business....I just cannot believe all these allegations are without a shred of merit. C. Trump University scandal...yeah...all of that. D. The fact that he's had many bankruptcies and has essentially made his billions owning gambling/alcohol institutions...SO tax payers have bailed him out more than once in his bankruptcies, and those casinos are nothing short than cess-pools of sin. It's not like he's "run his honorable business" with the "sweat of his brow and a Bible in his pocket"....And had his father not already been a millionaire to help him out time and again, he wouldn't be where he is today...So the whole "he will run this country like a business" doesn't hold water...just because he is wealthy and successful now, doesn't mean he won't run this country into the mud. Grudem completely disregards that third party options are even options. Johnson is doing VERY well in polls right now, and quickly gaining on Trump...Hillary is not doing well by many also. In this instance, simply voting to vote against Hillary may not even result in Hillary not winning(provided our votes even count). SO many people are disgusted with the both of them, and that shouldn't be ignored. Grudem puts a LOT of trust in Trump...The basis of the entire argument rises and falls based on if Trump is trustworthy or not. The SCOTUS list is great...but Trump only said he "may" put in justices "like" that. Those are vague words from a man who is a known manipulator. Sure, if Trump appoints 5 extremely conservative justices, all will be merry and peachy in the US...that's basically the argument he makes! But...and a huge and important BUT...will he do it? Trump's entire persona and livelyhood have always been looking out for himself. He broke his marriage vows time and again...he's been involved in fraud...I really am not comfortable putting my trust in a man like that. Yes, his character absolutely matters. Grudem calls him a patriot...I don't know where he has any evidence of that(yelling "I love this country" isn't patriotic, by my definittion). He makes a lot of strong opinions without much evidence....Also, he makes assumptions that these theoretical conservative justices will even get the opportunity to overturn all of these things that have been in place for years, or even decades. A case has to be made and brought to them...they don't just go and find those old case files and rip them up. And in the mean time, they are doing you know, "judge stuff" and hearing all of the other pressing matters before them...I highly doubt their first priority will be to overturn these things... I have the pleasure of raising a strong willed toddler...he's going to be 3 in November. When he wants me to obey his "commands", believe a need, etc. he says a phrase, usually three times, ever more emphatic with each repetition. It reminds me of virtually everything I hear Trump say. He stands on a stage, says something, says it louder and more upset, and then yells it. This isn't dignified...it isn't a way to win an argument or convince someone of anything...it isn't a way to lead....I believe that for all "Trump's policies" that they were written by someone else, who is very familiar with party lines, and says exactly what the Republican party wants to hear. If you ask Trump about abortion he simply say "I hate abortion" 3 or 4 times, when he was an avid pro-choicer (and democrat)for a long time - like, his entire life. He supported a lot of Obama's failed policies that put our nation in this mess and I truly think he is CLUELESS about being a Republican, the US government, etc. He also avidly supported the Clintons for a very long time...the very person he is running against. And you know who isn't clueless? The senators and congressmen currently in office...they are savvy and will absolutely will take advantage of him. Trump has seemingly no understanding of the Constitution and doesn't seem to have a desire for it either. Grudem uses the argument that Trump will "most likely" do what he says...Obama did the exact opposite of what he said on more than one occasion - so we know "most likely" isn't a valid argument and Trump has already flip-flopped on many of this strong statements within mere hours of Cruz dropping out of this race...Trump seeks only his own glory and pleasures...and is highly unpredictable...I don't think ANYTHING could be said of Trump that he will "most likely" do anything...because, you know what...he's a jerk. He's rebellious by nature, and if we so much as think he will most likely do something, he would more likely NOT do it, just to show he can do what he wants. This is the nature of Trump. This is not someone I want running our country, signing bills and acts, and establishing trade policies! He knows he has billions, and he can make horrible decisions knowing he's still going to be more than fine in the end...it doesn't matter if he screws the little guy...he's been doing that with his businesses for decades... Essentially, Grudem paints a picture of apocalyptic nature with Hillary as president and an idyllic bed of roses with Trump as president...honestly, I think either of them as president results in a very distorted view of America. I absolutely think it does matter who we vote for, however. I think that God has pretty clearly given us an image of what a good leader looks like. Unfortunately, none running for president are "godly" persay...but some are well experienced and don't have dead bodies, mistresses, and scandals in their closet...I think Johnson has a great chance at winning, I really think he does. I don't like everything about him, but I think he would stand by the Constitution, and make good calls for this country, as well as his policies for taxes and such are great - and we have excellent examples of where they have already worked - in NM when he was governor. New Mexicans are supportive of him running, and Weld(Johnson's running mate), from Massachusetts seems to have garnered a lot of support as well. They were both Republican governors and had a lot of support from democrats as well, and had two terms with good results as far as unemployment, taxes, etc. I'm comfortable voting FOR him, not using him as an "against Hillary/Trump" piece. Jill Stein(Green Party) even seems intriguing, as well as Darrell Castle(Constitutionalist party)....I honestly think any of those three would be better than our current front-runners. They have understanding of the law, experience, and very different ideas on how to lead our country wisely. I want to close with this - I don't think that voting Trump in is the right thing for me. I'm morally convicted not to vote for such a man who I believe has no business in one of the most viewed and prominent seats in the world. James 4:17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. For me, it is sin to vote for him or Hillary. I hope this has made sense and I hope you all have a blessed weekend!
Edited to add, on 10-10-2016 - Wayne Grudem has recanted his position and wrote a new post on this topic, which you can read here!
I didn't want to write this post - but after seeing this article go viral on my facebook feed, it warranted a post.
I need to preface this by saying I'm very much NOT supporting Hillary, for the obvious scandals, lies, DNC conspiracy, and mishandling of classified information, let alone that I disagree most of her policies in general.
So this is my response to Dr. Wayne Grudem's article...a friend privately asked me for my perspective, so I read it last night, and penned this perspective/response this morning while watching my toddler get yogurt on many different article of furniture...
I went into this article...hoping, praying...with an open mind...please, someone convince me
from a Biblical standpoint, why I should vote for a man such as Trump...I was actually very eager to read this article, despite my known disdain for this man...
So I think Grudem is probably a really great guy...very godly. He's obviously a thinker...but he's running off of several fallacies that I don't think is okay. I will also state that after the DNC pulled their shenanigans, the FBI not pursuing charges with Hillary, and this whistleblower dying, I highly doubt anyone's vote matters at this point, and I wouldn't have said that a week ago. I believe very firmly that Hillary will win regardless of if every eligible voter voted for Trump or not. So his fallacies - He is not a "good guy with flaws". He is a ridiculously flawed, politically inexperienced guy with a few good things on his resume. And even those good things...it is more of a worldly definition, than a godly one. We can do no good, apart from God and Trump has made it pretty clear, all that he has done has been of himself, NOT of God. I really don't care that he "declared his faith in Jesus"...actions speak louder than words. Also, he was interviewed after his declaration, after having recently selected Pence, and the interviewer asked if Pence was religious - Pence said yes, and Trump said "I won the evangelical vote"...essentially making the argument that because religious people voted for him, insofacto, he is also religious...That doesn't fly with me. Grudem makes the assumptions, because he is wealthy and successful as a businessman, that he is therefore not a bigot/racist/etc. This is just a HUGE leap...plenty of wealthy and successful people are racist and bigoted, etc. So defending him, and making that claim is just unsubstantiated. I am not saying Trump IS those things, I'm just saying defending him is wrong. He's said some pretty awful things - worst of which in my opinion, is him saying he'd sleep with Ivanka (his daughter) because she's attractive...that's pretty sick in my opinion. He has said very inflammatory and extremely rude and disrespectful statements in front of hundreds of millions...whose to say that temper and brashness won't be present at UN meetings? At delicate meetings with known US-dislikers? Grudem references Trump's kids as "remarkable"...I don't know much about them. But awful people have raised remarkable children, as well as remarkable people have raised awful children. And again, remarkable by whose standard? The world? They are educated and wealthy and therefore remarkable? They've done charity work in their own names and for their own glory and are, remarkable? I don't think their "remarkable-ness" is any reason to or not to vote for them man. Grudem leaves out many of the man's notable flaws that have substantial weight, in my opinion. A. Trump likes Putin - a dictator. This is alarming to me on so many levels. B. He has been involved in many criminal rape cases and while found "Not guilty", it scares me how verbally he has stated he likes women, young attractive women...and how forceful he is in business....I just cannot believe all these allegations are without a shred of merit. C. Trump University scandal...yeah...all of that. D. The fact that he's had many bankruptcies and has essentially made his billions owning gambling/alcohol institutions...SO tax payers have bailed him out more than once in his bankruptcies, and those casinos are nothing short than cess-pools of sin. It's not like he's "run his honorable business" with the "sweat of his brow and a Bible in his pocket"....And had his father not already been a millionaire to help him out time and again, he wouldn't be where he is today...So the whole "he will run this country like a business" doesn't hold water...just because he is wealthy and successful now, doesn't mean he won't run this country into the mud. Grudem completely disregards that third party options are even options. Johnson is doing VERY well in polls right now, and quickly gaining on Trump...Hillary is not doing well by many also. In this instance, simply voting to vote against Hillary may not even result in Hillary not winning(provided our votes even count). SO many people are disgusted with the both of them, and that shouldn't be ignored. Grudem puts a LOT of trust in Trump...The basis of the entire argument rises and falls based on if Trump is trustworthy or not. The SCOTUS list is great...but Trump only said he "may" put in justices "like" that. Those are vague words from a man who is a known manipulator. Sure, if Trump appoints 5 extremely conservative justices, all will be merry and peachy in the US...that's basically the argument he makes! But...and a huge and important BUT...will he do it? Trump's entire persona and livelyhood have always been looking out for himself. He broke his marriage vows time and again...he's been involved in fraud...I really am not comfortable putting my trust in a man like that. Yes, his character absolutely matters. Grudem calls him a patriot...I don't know where he has any evidence of that(yelling "I love this country" isn't patriotic, by my definittion). He makes a lot of strong opinions without much evidence....Also, he makes assumptions that these theoretical conservative justices will even get the opportunity to overturn all of these things that have been in place for years, or even decades. A case has to be made and brought to them...they don't just go and find those old case files and rip them up. And in the mean time, they are doing you know, "judge stuff" and hearing all of the other pressing matters before them...I highly doubt their first priority will be to overturn these things... I have the pleasure of raising a strong willed toddler...he's going to be 3 in November. When he wants me to obey his "commands", believe a need, etc. he says a phrase, usually three times, ever more emphatic with each repetition. It reminds me of virtually everything I hear Trump say. He stands on a stage, says something, says it louder and more upset, and then yells it. This isn't dignified...it isn't a way to win an argument or convince someone of anything...it isn't a way to lead....I believe that for all "Trump's policies" that they were written by someone else, who is very familiar with party lines, and says exactly what the Republican party wants to hear. If you ask Trump about abortion he simply say "I hate abortion" 3 or 4 times, when he was an avid pro-choicer (and democrat)for a long time - like, his entire life. He supported a lot of Obama's failed policies that put our nation in this mess and I truly think he is CLUELESS about being a Republican, the US government, etc. He also avidly supported the Clintons for a very long time...the very person he is running against. And you know who isn't clueless? The senators and congressmen currently in office...they are savvy and will absolutely will take advantage of him. Trump has seemingly no understanding of the Constitution and doesn't seem to have a desire for it either. Grudem uses the argument that Trump will "most likely" do what he says...Obama did the exact opposite of what he said on more than one occasion - so we know "most likely" isn't a valid argument and Trump has already flip-flopped on many of this strong statements within mere hours of Cruz dropping out of this race...Trump seeks only his own glory and pleasures...and is highly unpredictable...I don't think ANYTHING could be said of Trump that he will "most likely" do anything...because, you know what...he's a jerk. He's rebellious by nature, and if we so much as think he will most likely do something, he would more likely NOT do it, just to show he can do what he wants. This is the nature of Trump. This is not someone I want running our country, signing bills and acts, and establishing trade policies! He knows he has billions, and he can make horrible decisions knowing he's still going to be more than fine in the end...it doesn't matter if he screws the little guy...he's been doing that with his businesses for decades... Essentially, Grudem paints a picture of apocalyptic nature with Hillary as president and an idyllic bed of roses with Trump as president...honestly, I think either of them as president results in a very distorted view of America. I absolutely think it does matter who we vote for, however. I think that God has pretty clearly given us an image of what a good leader looks like. Unfortunately, none running for president are "godly" persay...but some are well experienced and don't have dead bodies, mistresses, and scandals in their closet...I think Johnson has a great chance at winning, I really think he does. I don't like everything about him, but I think he would stand by the Constitution, and make good calls for this country, as well as his policies for taxes and such are great - and we have excellent examples of where they have already worked - in NM when he was governor. New Mexicans are supportive of him running, and Weld(Johnson's running mate), from Massachusetts seems to have garnered a lot of support as well. They were both Republican governors and had a lot of support from democrats as well, and had two terms with good results as far as unemployment, taxes, etc. I'm comfortable voting FOR him, not using him as an "against Hillary/Trump" piece. Jill Stein(Green Party) even seems intriguing, as well as Darrell Castle(Constitutionalist party)....I honestly think any of those three would be better than our current front-runners. They have understanding of the law, experience, and very different ideas on how to lead our country wisely. I want to close with this - I don't think that voting Trump in is the right thing for me. I'm morally convicted not to vote for such a man who I believe has no business in one of the most viewed and prominent seats in the world. James 4:17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. For me, it is sin to vote for him or Hillary. I hope this has made sense and I hope you all have a blessed weekend!
Edited to add, on 10-10-2016 - Wayne Grudem has recanted his position and wrote a new post on this topic, which you can read here!
Monday, June 6, 2016
Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe - my review!
Disclaimer: If you have not seen the film, do not argue with me. I am not going to provide many links....this is an opinion piece and you are welcome to do the research yourself...I have many such blogs loaded with scientific medical journal articles you are welcome to pour through. This is not that post. Here is the website to the movie: Vaxxedthemovie.com
I'm one of the many thousands now, that have seen this film Vaxxed...it didn't play locally, no matter how hard I, and many friends, tried...but it was worth the drive into Winter Park, even the high ticket cost....it is a film every American should see....
This is not just better diagnosis...this it not society suddenly noticing that children just aren't functioning the way they used to "back in the good 'ole days"...this is a problem...a huge problem...estimates say that 1 in 2 children will be autistic in 2032 and 80% of boys. (Stephanie Seneff is the MIT research scientist who said this in the film...)
Please understand the gravity of this issue....as my '80's generation ages, we will be taking care of these autistic people...many high-functioning "autistic" people write sappy blogs about how autism isn't that bad, they just have special brains, etc. I'm sorry...the autism I know, doesn't look like that. It is a 15 year old boy, with a GPS unit on his ankle...who lost the ability to speak, who "forgot" how to use the toilet appropriately and it took him 5 years to regain that ability(still has accidents, still needs diapers sometimes), who has many medications, who has seizures that require hospital visits, who suddenly became this way at 5 years old - right after his kindergarten shots. This is my vaccine injured cousin. This is severe autism...this is the "dark side" of austim only weary parents blog about because their children cannot speak for themselves - and these parents are labeled -demonized as quacks, or oblivious to the problems the child had...These severely autistic people will never be functioning members of society, and their numbers grow by the hundreds of thousands every year. Over 1 million children are diagnosed with autism a year. A YEAR! Sure, not all of them are "low functioning"...but if these numbers continue to sky rocket, we will have a societal problem with no fix, that will be upon everyone's shoulders.
The film goes over what autism is, how it is diagnosed, experts in the field of autism...parents of autistic children...their stories are heard and seen...and they break your heart. My husband saw this film with me, as well as two dear friends and my parents...My husband drew upon the fact that all documentaries play on emotions, but this film did a particularly good job of keeping that to a minimum.
So, because of Wakefield's paper...So many parents were questioning...waking up...concerned...autism was still on the rise...So the CDC in America finally steps in...they need to put this to rest...too many parents and doctors too, were pitching a fit about all of this MMR nonsense...So they set out to publish a study to calm all of this to down...vaccines do not cause autism. 5 scientists were on the team to do this. One of them was Dr. William Thompson - aka #CDCwhistleblower(google it). The team was dispatched to prove MMR to be "safe and effective" and that's exactly what they found. The study was published in the medical journal "Pediatrics". It has been used as the pinnacle of vaccine science and the disprove for those crazy anti-vaxers...those Wakefield followers...what do they know!?
But then, Dr. Thompson made a phone call, about ten years later...to another doctor, Dr. Brian Hooker. Hooker, also a parent of an autistic son, recorded these conversations and Thompson made some pretty serious accusations about this study. But before he said too much, he told Hooker how to inquire at the CDC for raw data on this study...and Hooker is a numbers guy...so he started analyzing. He found some pretty startling results. He found that African-American children, but especially boys, vaccinated with MMR before the age of 3, were over 200% more likely to be diagnosed with autism...yeah, you read that right.
Thompson goes on to explain that the data was alarming and not proving the point it was designed to...so they found loopholes and threw out that data - literally, stood by a trash can and threw it out - he went and saved copies of it, because he knew it was wrong. His 4 co-authors deny this accusation. So there was no statistically significant findings? This raw material has been reviewed by other doctors and the numbers check out...there is a serious linkage here. This material has even been presented to congress and crickets began to chirp. Please watch this clip. The CDC has covered up, committed fraud; it has been swept away and it is a catastrophe.
This is also not the first time Merck, the makers of the MMR vaccine, have been caught committing fraud! 50,000+ deaths have been attributed to Vioxx...and there's some claims against Merck's MMR for issues, unrelated to autism, that are fascinating also... It's of no consequence that Julie Gerberding, former head of the CDC, was given the position as president of Merck...oh, you know...nothing to see here...
On the way home, my husband and I discussed the movie, basically the whole hour and a half drive.
2 - So why do we trust vaccines, made by pharmaceutical companies, so explicitly?
Del Bigtree- the former producer of "The Doctors" produces this film. He is a medical journalist.
I'm one of the many thousands now, that have seen this film Vaxxed...it didn't play locally, no matter how hard I, and many friends, tried...but it was worth the drive into Winter Park, even the high ticket cost....it is a film every American should see....
because it isn't "anti-vax"...
it isn't fantasy...or fiction...
It's a history lesson of how autism went from 1 in 15,000 in 1978...to 1 in 45 in 2014, and only continues to climb, at exponential levels.
This is not just better diagnosis...this it not society suddenly noticing that children just aren't functioning the way they used to "back in the good 'ole days"...this is a problem...a huge problem...estimates say that 1 in 2 children will be autistic in 2032 and 80% of boys. (Stephanie Seneff is the MIT research scientist who said this in the film...)
Please understand the gravity of this issue....as my '80's generation ages, we will be taking care of these autistic people...many high-functioning "autistic" people write sappy blogs about how autism isn't that bad, they just have special brains, etc. I'm sorry...the autism I know, doesn't look like that. It is a 15 year old boy, with a GPS unit on his ankle...who lost the ability to speak, who "forgot" how to use the toilet appropriately and it took him 5 years to regain that ability(still has accidents, still needs diapers sometimes), who has many medications, who has seizures that require hospital visits, who suddenly became this way at 5 years old - right after his kindergarten shots. This is my vaccine injured cousin. This is severe autism...this is the "dark side" of austim only weary parents blog about because their children cannot speak for themselves - and these parents are labeled -demonized as quacks, or oblivious to the problems the child had...These severely autistic people will never be functioning members of society, and their numbers grow by the hundreds of thousands every year. Over 1 million children are diagnosed with autism a year. A YEAR! Sure, not all of them are "low functioning"...but if these numbers continue to sky rocket, we will have a societal problem with no fix, that will be upon everyone's shoulders.
This is your problem, your children's problem, and this will be your grandchildren...
The film goes over what autism is, how it is diagnosed, experts in the field of autism...parents of autistic children...their stories are heard and seen...and they break your heart. My husband saw this film with me, as well as two dear friends and my parents...My husband drew upon the fact that all documentaries play on emotions, but this film did a particularly good job of keeping that to a minimum.
It mentions that vaccines are labeled as a public health measure, not a pharmaceutical drug and are not held up to the same testing because of that.
The parents of many autistic children told their stories...and many of these stories were almost identical: neurotypical healthy baby, got all the infant shots, maybe had a round or two of antibiotics for ear infections or respiratory stuff, went in for their 12/15 months shots(MMR is one of the 12/15 month shots), got a high fever, high pitched screaming, head banging, stopped walking (if they were already walking), no more eye contact, words no longer spoken, terrible bouts of either diarrhea or constipation, etc.
The film explained what "vaccine court" is, and the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 and how 3 billion dollars have been paid out to vaccine injury...and autism is exempt from being a vaccine injury...so this isn't even to autistic kids!
A French virologist and Nobel Prize winner, Luc Antoine Montagnier, was briefly mentioned...he mentions how wherever the MMR vaccine campaign goes, so autism follows.
Enter: Dr. Andrew Wakefield...duh dum DA!!!!! THE ANDREW WAKEFIELD...the Brittish, discredited, psychopath, anti-vax, anti-science, lunatic, baby killing, gastroenterologist(essentially, a doctor who deals with the digestive system - stomach, intestines, etc.) with that horrible paper that the Lancet(one of the most reputable medical journals in the world) published then retracted...Not him...anyone but him... He goes on to tell his story...he is a well educated gastroenterologist who was contacted by a mother of an autistic child. She said the autism happened after vaccination, but specifically, that her child had severe digestive issues and she needed a doctor to take her seriously. He did. So he did a little investigating, and eventually published an article, with several peers, about this anomaly of autism, in several autistic kids that they observed, related to their digestive issues - not their vaccination. Wakefield's co-author has been exonerated, just for the record. Here is his retracted article, in case you are curious...It simply states that "We have identified a chronic enterocolitis in children that may be related to neuropsychiatric dysfunction. In most cases, onset of symptoms was after measles, mumps, and rubella immunisation. Further investigations are needed to examine this syndrome and its possible relation to this vaccine." Simply put, they found that autistic kids have problems in their gut that may be related to their autism symptoms. It also states that it often happened, after the MMR vaccine. In an interview, with Wakefield at the time, he didn't even remotely suggest getting rid of/stopping vaccines, but simply stopping the combo vaccine of MMR and using the separate, monovalent M, M, and R vaccines, that had been used previously. That's it folks...the big "anti-vax" doctor, simply suggested to use separated vaccines in the interview when talking about his paper. His paper didn't even remotely suggest to stop using vaccines, but to do more investigation on the combo MMR. Boom. Yeah. Bet you didn't know that...
A French virologist and Nobel Prize winner, Luc Antoine Montagnier, was briefly mentioned...he mentions how wherever the MMR vaccine campaign goes, so autism follows.
Enter: Dr. Andrew Wakefield...duh dum DA!!!!! THE ANDREW WAKEFIELD...the Brittish, discredited, psychopath, anti-vax, anti-science, lunatic, baby killing, gastroenterologist(essentially, a doctor who deals with the digestive system - stomach, intestines, etc.) with that horrible paper that the Lancet(one of the most reputable medical journals in the world) published then retracted...Not him...anyone but him... He goes on to tell his story...he is a well educated gastroenterologist who was contacted by a mother of an autistic child. She said the autism happened after vaccination, but specifically, that her child had severe digestive issues and she needed a doctor to take her seriously. He did. So he did a little investigating, and eventually published an article, with several peers, about this anomaly of autism, in several autistic kids that they observed, related to their digestive issues - not their vaccination. Wakefield's co-author has been exonerated, just for the record. Here is his retracted article, in case you are curious...It simply states that "We have identified a chronic enterocolitis in children that may be related to neuropsychiatric dysfunction. In most cases, onset of symptoms was after measles, mumps, and rubella immunisation. Further investigations are needed to examine this syndrome and its possible relation to this vaccine." Simply put, they found that autistic kids have problems in their gut that may be related to their autism symptoms. It also states that it often happened, after the MMR vaccine. In an interview, with Wakefield at the time, he didn't even remotely suggest getting rid of/stopping vaccines, but simply stopping the combo vaccine of MMR and using the separate, monovalent M, M, and R vaccines, that had been used previously. That's it folks...the big "anti-vax" doctor, simply suggested to use separated vaccines in the interview when talking about his paper. His paper didn't even remotely suggest to stop using vaccines, but to do more investigation on the combo MMR. Boom. Yeah. Bet you didn't know that...
The monovalent (single dose) M-M-R shots were discontinued on Oct 21, 2009.
It's almost funny now...but in a horrific way...because other such studies have been done linking gut problems and autism and have found the same thing...and those doctors didn't get discredited, their names weren't smeared in an internet frenzy by millions of people, they didn't receive death threats...they were praised for their discoveries long after Wakefield made the same one, just a lot sooner in 1998.
Ok, back to the film...Sorry, I just had to hyperlink some studies...just couldn't help myself...
So, because of Wakefield's paper...So many parents were questioning...waking up...concerned...autism was still on the rise...So the CDC in America finally steps in...they need to put this to rest...too many parents and doctors too, were pitching a fit about all of this MMR nonsense...So they set out to publish a study to calm all of this to down...vaccines do not cause autism. 5 scientists were on the team to do this. One of them was Dr. William Thompson - aka #CDCwhistleblower(google it). The team was dispatched to prove MMR to be "safe and effective" and that's exactly what they found. The study was published in the medical journal "Pediatrics". It has been used as the pinnacle of vaccine science and the disprove for those crazy anti-vaxers...those Wakefield followers...what do they know!?
But then, Dr. Thompson made a phone call, about ten years later...to another doctor, Dr. Brian Hooker. Hooker, also a parent of an autistic son, recorded these conversations and Thompson made some pretty serious accusations about this study. But before he said too much, he told Hooker how to inquire at the CDC for raw data on this study...and Hooker is a numbers guy...so he started analyzing. He found some pretty startling results. He found that African-American children, but especially boys, vaccinated with MMR before the age of 3, were over 200% more likely to be diagnosed with autism...yeah, you read that right.
But there's no link?! The study showed NO LINK!? WHY, oh pray tell WHY does the raw data show otherwise?!
Thompson goes on to explain that the data was alarming and not proving the point it was designed to...so they found loopholes and threw out that data - literally, stood by a trash can and threw it out - he went and saved copies of it, because he knew it was wrong. His 4 co-authors deny this accusation. So there was no statistically significant findings? This raw material has been reviewed by other doctors and the numbers check out...there is a serious linkage here. This material has even been presented to congress and crickets began to chirp. Please watch this clip. The CDC has covered up, committed fraud; it has been swept away and it is a catastrophe.
This is also not the first time Merck, the makers of the MMR vaccine, have been caught committing fraud! 50,000+ deaths have been attributed to Vioxx...and there's some claims against Merck's MMR for issues, unrelated to autism, that are fascinating also... It's of no consequence that Julie Gerberding, former head of the CDC, was given the position as president of Merck...oh, you know...nothing to see here...
On the way home, my husband and I discussed the movie, basically the whole hour and a half drive.
Daniel, who is NOT anti-vax/non-vax, but considers himself moderate on the issue, mentions these questions:
1 - do you trust pharmaceutical companies?
Many people say no...
1 - do you trust pharmaceutical companies?
Many people say no...
2 - So why do we trust vaccines, made by pharmaceutical companies, so explicitly?
3 - why is the media so loudly unanimous that vaccines do not cause autism? Or that vaccines are so extremely helpful to all people, when clearly there are a lot of glaring issues?
It certainly seems like media outlets are just putting out fluff pieces for propaganda...and America listens so well.
It is extremely worrisome when all media outlets all super agree on any one issue.
It is extremely worrisome when all media outlets all super agree on any one issue.
4 - why is there no vaxed vs. non-vaxed study comparing rates of autism, developmental delays, autoimmune disorders, etc?
If their point is that vaccines are so safe and effective and contribute to long life and health, then the "placebo" of a non-vaxed population should be the benchmark for their claims.
I can't convince you that being autistic is "worse" than measles, mumps or rubella...or that there's plenty of studies associating ingredients in vaccines and specific vaccines, not just MMR, with autism. I cannot tell you the tens of thousands of stories of parents who've witnessed the many different side effects...I also can't convince you that there's fraud in the efficacy studies, if there were any done at all...Can I show you my research? Yes...but I can't make you believe it...I can't make you believe that there are aborted fetal cells in certain vaccines, for diseases that are NOT life threatening (MMR, Varicella, and Hep A are all non-fatal diseases in America and all three of those vaccines have one or more ingredients derived from aborted fetal cells). I can't make you believe facts, if you aren't willing to accept the piece of humble pie and admit you might be wrong. If you have questions, please contact me or better yet, research the heck out of this topic. Please. For the love of your children and grandchildren...for your nieces, nephews...for society...
There are 4 things you can do:
Demand-
1) That Congress subpoena Dr. William Thompson and investigate the CDC fraud.
2) That Congress repeal the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and hold manufacturers liable for injuries caused by their vaccines.
3) That the single doses of measles, mumps, and rubella shots be made available immediately.
There are 4 things you can do:
Demand-
1) That Congress subpoena Dr. William Thompson and investigate the CDC fraud.
2) That Congress repeal the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and hold manufacturers liable for injuries caused by their vaccines.
3) That the single doses of measles, mumps, and rubella shots be made available immediately.
4) That all vaccines be classified as pharmaceutical drugs and tested accordingly.
I hope you've enjoyed my review...there was so much info I still couldn't cover in it...and I'm long-winded enough as it is...please, PLEASE go see it, rent it, or purchase it - once it is available...talk about it...
Becca H.
I hope you've enjoyed my review...there was so much info I still couldn't cover in it...and I'm long-winded enough as it is...please, PLEASE go see it, rent it, or purchase it - once it is available...talk about it...
Becca H.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
The sweetest sound I've ever heard...
There are some pretty great sounds in this life....
Birds on a crisp spring morning...or dusky summer evening...I love birds singing.
My child laughing with my husband - pretty amazing sound.
My husband singing...he has a beautiful voice!
But, I think the sweetest sound I've ever heard was the sound of a heartbeat.
It wasn't my heart, nor my husband's, nor my son's....
It was my baby - still tucked away inside of me.
And I heard it today!
Today, it was officially confirmed that we have a baby on the way. I had taken many tests, thrown up a time or two, ate a lot of mustard covered things to satisfy certain cravings.
But today I heard the heartbeat....
A long time of infertility, a miscarriage, so many prayers, tears, and heartache...to be answered quelled in one sweet sound...a beating baby's heart.
We are so blessed to have this baby however long God lets us. We know life can be there one minute and not the next. We are honored to have made it this far.
Our God is gracious...He is Healer and Comforter...and we thank Him!
I heard the sweetest sound today....a precious heartbeat that I love so much already...
From my blog in November after my miscarriage - Psalm 20:4 "May He grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!" vs 9b "May He answer us when we call."
All full of joy and glowing emotions,
Becca H.
Birds on a crisp spring morning...or dusky summer evening...I love birds singing.
My child laughing with my husband - pretty amazing sound.
My husband singing...he has a beautiful voice!
But, I think the sweetest sound I've ever heard was the sound of a heartbeat.
It wasn't my heart, nor my husband's, nor my son's....
It was my baby - still tucked away inside of me.
And I heard it today!
Today, it was officially confirmed that we have a baby on the way. I had taken many tests, thrown up a time or two, ate a lot of mustard covered things to satisfy certain cravings.
But today I heard the heartbeat....
A long time of infertility, a miscarriage, so many prayers, tears, and heartache...to be answered quelled in one sweet sound...a beating baby's heart.
We are so blessed to have this baby however long God lets us. We know life can be there one minute and not the next. We are honored to have made it this far.
Our God is gracious...He is Healer and Comforter...and we thank Him!
I heard the sweetest sound today....a precious heartbeat that I love so much already...
From my blog in November after my miscarriage - Psalm 20:4 "May He grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!" vs 9b "May He answer us when we call."
All full of joy and glowing emotions,
Becca H.
BBQ bacon green beans
bbq bacon green beans for home size.
3/4 cup of ketchup
2 Tbsp + 2tsp of mustard
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp brown sugar.
^mix together. (use organic if you can- that is what I did)
cook about 1/3-1/2 pound of bacon. SAVE GREASE. cook about half an onion in the grease until soft and clear. Put bacon, onions, and grease into the ketchup sauce and put that in blender or use immersion blender to break up bacon and onions in the sauce. You don't want it smooth, but you might not want it super chunky.
Use 1 14.5 oz can of del monte green beans and about 1/3 cup of sauce. This recipe should make enough for 3-4 cans. I use del monte because they are non-gmo, use sea salt, and I believe BPA-free can lining. I doubt this would come out the same with fresh/frozen beans. Bake in the oven at 375 for about 20 - 40 minutes. I have only baked this in a convection oven - both at my job where we made this in NJ and my job in FL. So let me know if bake time or temp is off :-P I also had to DRASTICALLY reduce this recipe, so it might not taste quite the same. The original recipe used gallons as quantities.
Hope that helps and it tastes awesome...
3/4 cup of ketchup
2 Tbsp + 2tsp of mustard
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp brown sugar.
^mix together. (use organic if you can- that is what I did)
cook about 1/3-1/2 pound of bacon. SAVE GREASE. cook about half an onion in the grease until soft and clear. Put bacon, onions, and grease into the ketchup sauce and put that in blender or use immersion blender to break up bacon and onions in the sauce. You don't want it smooth, but you might not want it super chunky.
Hope that helps and it tastes awesome...
Monday, April 11, 2016
Another health rant....Vaccines, then and now...30 years...
I often hear how "I was vaccinated and turned out fine"...and how, by this logic, vaccinating infants today is the same as vaccinating 30 years ago. Well, my mom recently found my vaccine records from when I was an infant 30 years ago, and I would like to bring some clarity to this myth.
First of all, newborn Hep B vaccination was not a thing in '86. Hep B campaigns didn't start till 1991 in most countries and were not found to be effective as the cause for the decline in the disease. (source) And Hep B vaccination is thought to wear off, even with the "complete series" being done on infants, in as little as 15 years.(source) So if you are trying to protect your infant from drug/prostitution related disease, like hep b, it will probably wear off by the time your infant is a teenager or adult and becomes sexually active. In my mind, if the 3 doses don't work for long term protection, I have doubts about them working at all. Another interesting study on the hep b vaccine - here. And here is one showing adjuvants in the hep b vaccine cause auto-immune disease - here. Keep in mind many of the adjuvants in hep b vaccine are the very same in many other vaccines...aluminum specifically...I'll talk about that more towards the end.
So hep b vaccination wasn't a thing...in fact, the entire infant schedule of today wasn't a thing. HiB, IPV, Hep B, DTaP, Rotavirus, and PCV-13, plus flu shot at 6 months - I received NONE of those as an infant...and survived! Wow! I received DTP and OPV at the 2,4,6 month appointments. Both of those vaccines have been pulled from the US market because of so many adverse reactions...again, I say, Wow...I survived! OPV is still used in other countries and it still causes problems there too... (source, source1) DTP caused a lot of problems, so it was pulled, and DTaP became the vaccine of choice. It changed from a whole-cell pertussis bacteria, to an acellular pertussis bacteria(aP). It provides a "chunk" of the bacteria, instead of the whole thing. I can't even find the ingredients in the DPT/DTP vaccine...it's as if it ceased to exist once DTaP became available in 1996. It took a LONG time for the government to admit these were problematic and dangerous...I actually have a childhood friend who almost died from the DTP....anyways...
For the ease of my comparison I will refer to "1986" simply as my schedule...not the actual year they were given in, but the schedule I was subjected to, as a 1986 baby.
so to compare:
1986: DPT, OPV - 4 antigens at 2,4,6 months(I actually was given OPV at 2,4 months, 3rd at 18 months.)
2016: HiB, IPV, Hep B, DTaP, Rotavirus, and PCV-13 (plus flu at 6 months) - ~23-27 antigens at 2,4,6 months old.
So yeah, no...ZERO similarities. So the "I was vaxed and was fine" doesn't apply...because children today aren't even getting the same vaccines and not remotely on the same schedule. So that's the first 6 months...let's continue...
My next vaccine series was given at 15 months - MMR, but it seems to be that they were separated into 3 separate vaccines - M, M, and R monovalent vaccines no longer available, as of Oct 21, 2009. MMR and Varicella, Hep A, IPV, PCV-13, Hep B, DTaP, and Flu would all be given at the current schedule's 15 month appointment. Side note, MMR is almost always given in the MMR+V vaccine DESPITE the CDC's recommendation of separating the two into separate shots. Depending on the doctor, there is a 1 year check up where most of these are given at 12 months(DTaP generally is held off until 15 months, but all the other ones can be given and are recommended at 12 months).
So to compare 1 year old vaccines:
1986: M, M, and R monovalent vaccines at 15 months.
2016: MMR II, Varicella, Hep A, IPV, PCV-13, Hep B, and Flu vaccines at 12 months, or at 15 months, including DTaP also.
1986: DTP and OPV at 18 months.
2016: Hep A, Flu, and any others that may not have been given at the 12/15 month appointments at 18 months.
At two years old, the schedule seems to slow down quite a bit...I actually got a HiB vaccine at this point, and the norm is to give it to infants now. It had just been licensed a mere two months before I received it. Flu shot is also recommended from 6 months till death nowadays, and wasn't when I was little....and didn't die of flu. Something to keep in mind with the HiB shot, is that it only "covers" strain B. Only about 1-4 dozen cases of the B strain happen each year in children under 5 - so it is really rare. (source - CDC 2015) HOWEVER, hundreds of cases non-serotype b and unknown serotype happen every year. Hundreds of cases, amongst millions of <5 year old children is STILL rare. My point is, the strain the vaccine protects against is very VERY unlikely to be caught by your child, vaccinated or not.
Again, comparing 2-3 year olds vaccines:
1986: HiB given at 2 years.
2016: Flu shot given at 2 and 3 years old, as many as four shots in 6 month intervals.
4 years old...the big "kindergarten shots". Again, I was given M, M, and R monovalent shots, a DT "booster". And a current "kindergartener" - DTaP, IPV, Flu, MMR, Varicella(generally MMR+V). This is the 5th dose of DTaP...you'd think that their protection level against those diseases would be high...so high, there would be amazing immunity to pertussis especially. (Diphtheria basically doesn't exist in America, less than 1 case per year, and tetanus is non-communicable, which is why I focus on the pertussis portion). It has been shown, in the NEJM that protection "wanes" after the 5th dose...which makes me think that the first 4 doses don't provide any protection anyways....Wouldn't extra doses elicit a BETTER protection? More antibodies equal more protection...right?! There are also NUMEROUS cases where outbreaks occur in 100%, or at the very least 95%+ vaccinated population. (source, source1, source2, source3, source4)
The "kindergarten" shots (given between 4-6 years old):
1986: M, M, R, and DT.
2016: DTaP, IPV, Flu, MMR, Varicella.
That's it. My shots are done. I DID get a DTaP before a missions trip in 2002, followed by contracting whooping cough in 2003(four DTP and a recent DTaP and still got whooping cough!) I also got a Hep B vaccine in 2004, before living in the dorm at college, I might have gotten all three rounds, I don't really recall and can't find the documentation. So let's continue on this comparison...
5-11 years old:
1986: none.
2016: annual flu shots.
Then we get to the "7th grade" shots. Another TDaP - only this is the adult version, instead of the DTaP. The meningococcal - a completely unnecessary vaccine. Your child is more likely to get typhoid fever than this form of meningitis. Literally. And here's a helpful link that helped me evaluate the facts about it. Flu, yet again...and then there's the infamous HPV. The American college of Pediatrics thinks you should asses the risks of HPV with the risks of the shot- which include ovarian failure and menopause - in teens! (source) It has been shown to cause you to be susceptible to more dangerous and virulent strains AND in the study, 11% of the HPV-4 women still got the strains of HPV they were vaxed against, vs. 20% of the unvaxed. (source) So really, the risk between unvaxed and vaxed is pretty clear - might as well not get vaccinated for it. It is recommended for boys now too. According to the CDC, HPV generally clears itself out, with no health risks. Having pap smears every THREE years will even be frequent enough to detect HPV and treat it if there is an abnormal pap smear. You can easily google dangers of HPV vaccine and hear and watch horror stories of this vaccine damaging hundreds of women, killing over 100. Japan doesn't recommend it for their girls anymore, either. I believe there are lawsuits from several countries suing Merck over this vaccine as well. I hope that I have given you enough info to avoid these vaccines.
12 years old:
1986: none.
2016: TDaP, Meningococcal, flu, and HPV.
This is a pretty accurate visual comparison:
First of all, newborn Hep B vaccination was not a thing in '86. Hep B campaigns didn't start till 1991 in most countries and were not found to be effective as the cause for the decline in the disease. (source) And Hep B vaccination is thought to wear off, even with the "complete series" being done on infants, in as little as 15 years.(source) So if you are trying to protect your infant from drug/prostitution related disease, like hep b, it will probably wear off by the time your infant is a teenager or adult and becomes sexually active. In my mind, if the 3 doses don't work for long term protection, I have doubts about them working at all. Another interesting study on the hep b vaccine - here. And here is one showing adjuvants in the hep b vaccine cause auto-immune disease - here. Keep in mind many of the adjuvants in hep b vaccine are the very same in many other vaccines...aluminum specifically...I'll talk about that more towards the end.
So hep b vaccination wasn't a thing...in fact, the entire infant schedule of today wasn't a thing. HiB, IPV, Hep B, DTaP, Rotavirus, and PCV-13, plus flu shot at 6 months - I received NONE of those as an infant...and survived! Wow! I received DTP and OPV at the 2,4,6 month appointments. Both of those vaccines have been pulled from the US market because of so many adverse reactions...again, I say, Wow...I survived! OPV is still used in other countries and it still causes problems there too... (source, source1) DTP caused a lot of problems, so it was pulled, and DTaP became the vaccine of choice. It changed from a whole-cell pertussis bacteria, to an acellular pertussis bacteria(aP). It provides a "chunk" of the bacteria, instead of the whole thing. I can't even find the ingredients in the DPT/DTP vaccine...it's as if it ceased to exist once DTaP became available in 1996. It took a LONG time for the government to admit these were problematic and dangerous...I actually have a childhood friend who almost died from the DTP....anyways...
For the ease of my comparison I will refer to "1986" simply as my schedule...not the actual year they were given in, but the schedule I was subjected to, as a 1986 baby.
so to compare:
1986: DPT, OPV - 4 antigens at 2,4,6 months(I actually was given OPV at 2,4 months, 3rd at 18 months.)
2016: HiB, IPV, Hep B, DTaP, Rotavirus, and PCV-13 (plus flu at 6 months) - ~23-27 antigens at 2,4,6 months old.
So yeah, no...ZERO similarities. So the "I was vaxed and was fine" doesn't apply...because children today aren't even getting the same vaccines and not remotely on the same schedule. So that's the first 6 months...let's continue...
My next vaccine series was given at 15 months - MMR, but it seems to be that they were separated into 3 separate vaccines - M, M, and R monovalent vaccines no longer available, as of Oct 21, 2009. MMR and Varicella, Hep A, IPV, PCV-13, Hep B, DTaP, and Flu would all be given at the current schedule's 15 month appointment. Side note, MMR is almost always given in the MMR+V vaccine DESPITE the CDC's recommendation of separating the two into separate shots. Depending on the doctor, there is a 1 year check up where most of these are given at 12 months(DTaP generally is held off until 15 months, but all the other ones can be given and are recommended at 12 months).
So to compare 1 year old vaccines:
1986: M, M, and R monovalent vaccines at 15 months.
2016: MMR II, Varicella, Hep A, IPV, PCV-13, Hep B, and Flu vaccines at 12 months, or at 15 months, including DTaP also.
1986: DTP and OPV at 18 months.
2016: Hep A, Flu, and any others that may not have been given at the 12/15 month appointments at 18 months.
At two years old, the schedule seems to slow down quite a bit...I actually got a HiB vaccine at this point, and the norm is to give it to infants now. It had just been licensed a mere two months before I received it. Flu shot is also recommended from 6 months till death nowadays, and wasn't when I was little....and didn't die of flu. Something to keep in mind with the HiB shot, is that it only "covers" strain B. Only about 1-4 dozen cases of the B strain happen each year in children under 5 - so it is really rare. (source - CDC 2015) HOWEVER, hundreds of cases non-serotype b and unknown serotype happen every year. Hundreds of cases, amongst millions of <5 year old children is STILL rare. My point is, the strain the vaccine protects against is very VERY unlikely to be caught by your child, vaccinated or not.
Again, comparing 2-3 year olds vaccines:
1986: HiB given at 2 years.
2016: Flu shot given at 2 and 3 years old, as many as four shots in 6 month intervals.
4 years old...the big "kindergarten shots". Again, I was given M, M, and R monovalent shots, a DT "booster". And a current "kindergartener" - DTaP, IPV, Flu, MMR, Varicella(generally MMR+V). This is the 5th dose of DTaP...you'd think that their protection level against those diseases would be high...so high, there would be amazing immunity to pertussis especially. (Diphtheria basically doesn't exist in America, less than 1 case per year, and tetanus is non-communicable, which is why I focus on the pertussis portion). It has been shown, in the NEJM that protection "wanes" after the 5th dose...which makes me think that the first 4 doses don't provide any protection anyways....Wouldn't extra doses elicit a BETTER protection? More antibodies equal more protection...right?! There are also NUMEROUS cases where outbreaks occur in 100%, or at the very least 95%+ vaccinated population. (source, source1, source2, source3, source4)
The "kindergarten" shots (given between 4-6 years old):
1986: M, M, R, and DT.
2016: DTaP, IPV, Flu, MMR, Varicella.
That's it. My shots are done. I DID get a DTaP before a missions trip in 2002, followed by contracting whooping cough in 2003(four DTP and a recent DTaP and still got whooping cough!) I also got a Hep B vaccine in 2004, before living in the dorm at college, I might have gotten all three rounds, I don't really recall and can't find the documentation. So let's continue on this comparison...
5-11 years old:
1986: none.
2016: annual flu shots.
Then we get to the "7th grade" shots. Another TDaP - only this is the adult version, instead of the DTaP. The meningococcal - a completely unnecessary vaccine. Your child is more likely to get typhoid fever than this form of meningitis. Literally. And here's a helpful link that helped me evaluate the facts about it. Flu, yet again...and then there's the infamous HPV. The American college of Pediatrics thinks you should asses the risks of HPV with the risks of the shot- which include ovarian failure and menopause - in teens! (source) It has been shown to cause you to be susceptible to more dangerous and virulent strains AND in the study, 11% of the HPV-4 women still got the strains of HPV they were vaxed against, vs. 20% of the unvaxed. (source) So really, the risk between unvaxed and vaxed is pretty clear - might as well not get vaccinated for it. It is recommended for boys now too. According to the CDC, HPV generally clears itself out, with no health risks. Having pap smears every THREE years will even be frequent enough to detect HPV and treat it if there is an abnormal pap smear. You can easily google dangers of HPV vaccine and hear and watch horror stories of this vaccine damaging hundreds of women, killing over 100. Japan doesn't recommend it for their girls anymore, either. I believe there are lawsuits from several countries suing Merck over this vaccine as well. I hope that I have given you enough info to avoid these vaccines.
12 years old:
1986: none.
2016: TDaP, Meningococcal, flu, and HPV.
This is a pretty accurate visual comparison:
We know that chronic childhood illness is CLIMBING. We don't know the cause, but we know that that the mainstream community isn't looking at vaccines as the cause. However, we know over-vaccinating pets is causing huge problems....why is it so hard to believe we are over-vaccinating our babies? Long before the "anti-vax trend", a doctor bravely put together this information about the linkage between type 1 diabetes and vaccines. Diabetes puts you at much greater risk for heart disease, obesity, cancer, etc. This link connects chronic illness with vaccines, but there are plenty of studies that say otherwise, too. I see chronic illness growing. I see vaccines disrupt the immune system. I see some studies saying vaccines are causing chronic disease, and it totally makes sense to me... My husband's family, as well as my own, has lots of diabetes. Our son has 8 great grandparents, 5 of which had diabetes of some kind. One had Parkinson's and skin cancer. The two remaining that are alive currently - one has a severely atrophied brain, and the other has had a variety of problems her whole life. With this genetic linage, I cannot risk diabetes and neural issues for my children. Aluminum is to be avoided for infants, yet, it is the main adjuvant in almost all vaccines and it is heavily linked to nervous system issues and dementia! According to Dr. Sears,
"But wait. You are probably thumbing back through the book right now to see exactly how much aluminum was in each vaccine. Put your thumb away. At the risk of being repetitive I’ll just list it right here again:
"But wait. You are probably thumbing back through the book right now to see exactly how much aluminum was in each vaccine. Put your thumb away. At the risk of being repetitive I’ll just list it right here again:
- Hib (PedVaxHib brand only) – 225 micrograms per shot.
- Hepatitis B – 250 micrograms.
- DTaP – depending on the manufacturer, ranges from 170 to 625 micrograms.
- Pneumococcus – 125 micrograms.
- Hepatitis A – 250 micrograms.
- HPV – 225 micrograms.
- Pentacel (DTaP, HIB and Polio combo vaccine) – 330 micrograms.
- Pediarix (DTaP, Hep B and Polio combo vaccine) – 850 micrograms.
OK, I’ll do the math for you. A newborn who gets a Hepatitis B injection on day one of life would get 250 micrograms of aluminum. This would be repeated at one month of age with the next Hep B shot. When a baby gets the first big round of shots at 2 months, the total dose of aluminum can vary from 295 micrograms (if a non-aluminum HIB and the lowest aluminum brand of DTaP is used) to a whopping 1225 micrograms if the highest aluminum brands are used and Hep B vaccine is also given." And for those of you that don't do metric, 1225 micrograms is 1.2 mg- that's kind of a lot - especially for an infant! And not to mention the other unsavory ingredients you can check out here. Please research...please message me with questions...join a facebook group, like Gentle Informants, to help give you studies to back up this less-than-popular opinion.
So I ask you, are you really "fine"? This 80's generation is afflicted with all kinds of problems like PCOS, food allergies, metabolic disorders, cancers, diabetes, depression, etc. Several 20/30 somethings I know, are on many medications....but this is considered "fine"? And they are now seen in our children! I can't tell you how many birthday parties I cook/bake for, where there are multiple children with life-threatening allergies, and on more than one type of prescription medication. Are "we" really fine? Are our kids "fine"?
I hope this comparison helps you in your journey...I hope you make an informed decision, whether or not you vaccinate.
And I only scratched the surface...
So I ask you, are you really "fine"? This 80's generation is afflicted with all kinds of problems like PCOS, food allergies, metabolic disorders, cancers, diabetes, depression, etc. Several 20/30 somethings I know, are on many medications....but this is considered "fine"? And they are now seen in our children! I can't tell you how many birthday parties I cook/bake for, where there are multiple children with life-threatening allergies, and on more than one type of prescription medication. Are "we" really fine? Are our kids "fine"?
I hope this comparison helps you in your journey...I hope you make an informed decision, whether or not you vaccinate.
And I only scratched the surface...
In health,
Becca H.
P.S. I went through this carefully researched blog without mentioning autism, Dr. Wakefield, or Jenny McCarthy. A non-vaxer isn't always just following a trend...they might just be finding solid research...Becca H.
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