Someday my son is going to hate me...

I read a lot of "alternative", "crunchy", or "hippie" blogs. Brian and I fall very much into the mainstream category, but I am very interested in seeing another perspective. What do I mean by mainstream? Well we buy our non organic groceries at the regular grocery story (although I will admit we have been known to buy organic when it is either a. on sale at sprouts for less that the other option, or b. the only option at costco), we very much believe in western medicine and have been known to take the occasional Advil and antibiotic, we eat food with preservatives in it (although I do try to make things from scratch, that's right MaryAnne, not from a box), we are going to have our baby in a hospital, he is going to sleep in his own bed and at some point in a different room, and we work for corporate america. We are okay with all of these things, but I just want to get a different perspective, because you never know what you are going to learn- Brian tried listening to NPR (while he was deeply entrenched in his Glenn Beck stage) and found that sometimes the other side is much more pleasant and informative (thank goodness). Anyway back to the subject of this post. As I have been reading these blogs i have come across several topics: cosleeping, vaccinations, and circumcision.

As much I have read about the benefits of cosleeping I cannot do it. This is not for us at all. I would be afraid to crush the little guy, I just dont think this is safe. And in addition, there just isnt room in our bed for another person. I need space to sleep, yes this is selfish, and some day my son might blame me for his seperation issues... if only I had been okay with someone breathing my air while I sleep he might have turned out to be Nobel lauret, but I cannot do it. How can you insure that someone wont roll over on to the baby or push them off the bed? What about all those loose blankets and pillows? Arent those dangerous, they say not to put those items in the crib with a baby, why would I bring him into my dangerous bed? Anyway... the solution... a pack and play located about 2 feet from the bed. That way we can all have our space and we wont be abandoning the little guy, and yes at some point the solution is going to be a permanent move to his own room. If this is one of the worst things that happens to this little guy I think he is going to have a pretty good life.

Next issue... vaccinations. If you are a regular reader of this blog (or have met me in person... which you all have) you know where I stand on vaccinations, but since the soapbox is getting dusty let me drag it out for a moment. I am vaccinating the little guy, yes even the day he is born. While there are some that argue that breastmilk and natural immunity will serve him fine I disagree. I also disagree that putting "foreign substances" in his little body are going to do more harm than good. Little Mug isnt going to be attending any chicken pox parties, and I am not going to pray for a mumps outbreak in nursery. I am going to stick the theory that at least 80% of the population needs to be vaccinated in order to limit the incidence of these preventable diseases and in order for that to happen I need to participate. So poor guy, day 1 he is getting a shot, I know I dont have Hepatitis, but I also dont know who he is going to come in contact with during his lifetime, why not do what I can to give him a healthy start? Just thinking about the people that wont vaccinate their kids (excluding those that dont because the child cannot receive a vaccination for a medical reason) makes me want to scream! Please please vaccinate your children!

Final topic... circumcision. Okay this is the one that he is really going to hate me for, or so I have read. I am opting for it. I know talking about this online is going to be humiliating for him some day, but come on after his ultrasound pictures everyone already knows he is a boy and that certain issues come up with little boys. We are going to circumcise him (well the pediatrician is actually going to do it). I have read lately that little boys remember getting circumcised... if he remembers the day after he was born I think he will be rich and famous not angry. He may think this was an awful decision some day, but realistically... he wont know the difference, and if this is an issue that comes up in therapy one day I will tell the psychiatrist that we tried to raise him well, but well we were doomed from day 2.