Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Alternative Title: Being a Parent is Stinkin' Hard!!!!

Go ahead, tune out, I'm about to start ranting....

We are looking to switch pediatricians for a number of reasons. Come to find out, because we are delaying our vaccinations til we decide what to do about them, we are going to have a hard time finding a pediatrician. I do not mean that we are having a hard time finding a ped who is accepting of our choices. I don't think I'll find one. But, I have called two large practices that have both refused to take our family on because the kids aren't up to date on their shots. They told me that they follow the AAP guidelines to a 'T' and that we'd have to go elsewhere. What is a parent to do? Just a little bit of research can send you into a tizzy. Both sides have valid-sounding arguments, and both sides produce compelling 'evidence.' The tricky part is sifting through it all to find out what is true, what's not, and what is best for the health of my children. What I do know (from both pro and against vaccination websites) is that:

• Vaccines are cultured in eggs, monkey kidneys (which have been know to contain diseases), human embryo cells.
  
• They can contain mercury, formaldehyde, aluminum, detergents, and many other ingredients that would not be considered safe under any other circumstances.
  
• Each child is to receive 38 doses of vaccine by eighteen months of age. (I don't think the flu/H1N1 are counted in this)
• Pharmaceutical companies stand to profit immensely from the government mandating their vaccines. (So can they be trusted when they say they are safe?)
• Older girls are now strongly encouraged to get vaccines for STDs (under the guise of 'Cervical Cancer') (babies are also to start the Hep B at birth)
  
• And on and on it goes....I won't bore you with it all. (I'm really just venting!!)
  

It is a hard decision to make either way. We started out mostly following the 'rules,' but after an appointment where James was given EIGHT shots at once, it just seemed a little crazy. Anyway, here we are, me researching like crazy and trying to find a pediatrician. This is not the kind of stuff I'd like to be researching, but alas, here I am....