I Am 18 Months Old!

This is my butterfly. Grandpa got it and squeezed it for me at the walk. He said I could keep it.

My hair is getting long and as my mom would say: out of control. I definitely get it from her.

So, mom came up with a new hairdo for me. She said I look cute.

I love to try on mommy's shoes:

And of course daddy's shoes.
When daddy feeds me, I like to share my food with him and feed him.
Here I am with grandpa watching these bakers make beautiful bear breads.
And here is my stroller. Some people laugh at the way I push it - upside down, but that's how I like it sometimes.
And I love to run naked right before bath especially with those funny noodles stuck to my chest.
I love my grandma and grandpa! They always find fun stuff for me to wear.
Here grandpa is helping me to get ready for our dancing session. Somehow he got grandma's shirt for me to wear. She doesn't know about it yet. Hope she's OK with it.
I am 18 months old!

...sigh...

I received an email from my editor, Len, today with some remarks regarding my recent post. Before I get into details I thought I would clarify something. This blog is for our families who live far away and are unable to see us as often as we all would like it. It's for our friends so that we can share our lives with them. It's for Klaudia if she ever feels like looking back into her past, and for me to share what's on my mind.

In his email Len wrote that it looks like I bragged about the research I had done on vaccines, and yet I didn't know anything about the H influenza B shot when visiting our new pediatrician's office last week.

I'm glad he pointed it out because bragging about the research was the last thing I wanted to do. First of all, anything that I've read is thanks to Len and our friends; since having K, I don't have time and energy to look into the latest on anything including vaccines. So, Thank You to everyone who has sent /recommended books, CDs, articles, etc. When I first started looking into vaccines I was appalled with some facts and made sure that everyone around us knew about them. I soon learned that a lot of people are as passionate about vaccinating as I was about not vaccinating. I learned to accept that, and I don't share my views on this touchy subject any more. When I write about this in my blog, it's because it's on my mind, but i don't expect anyone to like it, agree with it, or comment on it if they don't feel like it. And, the last thing I would ever want to do here is to offend someone!

The point I'm trying to make here is that when I say that I've done research on vaccines I think I'm trying to defend our decision. We've received harsh comments from friends who somehow believe that with our decision we're hurting not only K but also kids around us. We've been asked not to expose K to some children, which was so painful to hear. And even though it's hard to even write about it, sometimes it feels like some people are waiting for a disease to strike K to be able to say: "See, we told you."

Len and I did our job finding out what the diseases and vaccines are all about. I personally talked to a mother whose 4-year old daughter died after having received a routine shot at the doctor's office (she had two other children after that - never vaccinated them, and while they are both teenagers, they've been healthy to the point that they never missed school). The decision we've made is an educated decision, not an experiment we're trying to do on K. We're parents who just like others are trying to protect our baby the best way we can.

If one truly believed in his heart that something may harm his baby, would he give it to her voluntarily, or would he do his best to protect her from it?

18-Month Doctor's Wellness Appointment

Klaudia's pediatrician whom we used to see has a policy that all children in his office have to be fully vaccinated by the age of 18 months. Since K had 0 shots so far and is turning 18 months next week, it was time for us to hit the road in search for a shot-free friendly doctor.

Can I just add here that the previous doctor had told us that if we waited with the shots until K was two, then there would be no need to give her any vaccinations since her immune system would be 'adult like' and able to fight off various diseases? Also, according to him, K wasn't supposed to 'make it' without the shots by the age of 1. Had I not known friends who chose our path and whose children lived healthy passed age 1 and more with no shots, I'd be scared.

Back to our new doctor... Dr. SK was recommended to us by a friend of ours. When I called to make an appointment, I was asked if I was switching the doctors, or if it was just a one time appointment. I chose the 2nd option since I still wasn't sure how Dr. SK would react to our 'no shots' decision.

First K and I were seen by a nurse whose one of the first questions was: How does K react to her vaccinations? When I said she hasn't had any yet, she stopped whatever she was doing, turned around and gave me the longest and weirdest look, to which I mumbled: 'What?' She asked: 'Why isn't she vaccinated?' First the look, then the question! I knew she wasn't ready to listen to all the research I've done, nor was there enough time for it. And even though I was irritated by her attitude, I ended our discussion with 'I'll be discussing this with Dr. SK.'

Dr. SK turned out to be extremely nice. The appointment lasted fairly long and it never felt as if she was rushing (can't remember such an appointment lately). She gave us a lot of information about K's development and what to expect within the next few months. She wasn't absolutely happy about our 'no shots' decision and was very willing to give us 2 that day but respected us when we said NO, THANK YOU and agreed to care for K regardless of our opinion on vaccinations.

One of the shots she was recommending was the H influenza B vaccine which was not a flut shot, we were told. Since I'd never heard of it, I agreed to listen to a short lecture about the disease. I learned that we don't die from it, but eventually we may become deaf and brain damaged after contracting it. Naturally I got worried and asked how many cases of this disease she had seen in her practice, to which I heard: 'None.' The disease has been spotted only in New York and Chicago, according to Dr. SK; the disease is not in California because of the great vaccination programs we have here. This triggered many questions in my head that I didn't ask: Why would NY's and Chicago's vaccine programs be so much worse than ours? How many Californians have been vaccinated against the H influenza B? Have all the NY & Chicago people who contracted the disease not been vaccinated? Why is it that those who haven't been vaccinated here in CA have not gotten sick yet? What are the stats on all the H influenza B shots given? Have all the children reacted wonderfully to the shots? I didn't ask any of those questions. Instead I said I'd talk to my husband about it. Dr. SK told me we had 6 months to make the decision because after K turns 2, she will not need this vaccination. I guess after 2, there is no brain damage nor deafness when contracting the H influenza B.

During our time with Dr. SK, I asked about how much a toddler should eat. K has been slacking on eating for a while now. She used to be the best eater on this planet, but recently everything changed. She can go forever with a teaspoon of food but will drink 8oz of milk whenever given a chance. Veggies are out of the question; however, fruit is being inhaled. Dr. SK said not to worry. K gets all her vitamins from the berries she eats but suggested to offer her veggies every day. Dr. SK told us that K looks very good and does not need additional vitamins. She's doing well lengthwise (75th percentile) and weightwise (90th percentile); her head is still off the chart.

After stopping breastfeeding, Ive been very concerned about K's not eating as much as she used to (she has days where she'll eat tons and then weeks where she eats only fruit). With our decision not to vaccinate, Len and I knew that there will be things we'll have to compensate with to keep her healthy. Keeping her immune system up and ready to fight is our priority. And the fact that K simply 'looks good' doesn't calm me down. I want her to get all the nutrients she needs during the day. So, we'll continue offering her meat and veggies hoping she'll one day pick some and eat.

Overall, the appointment with our new pediatrician went well. We're scheduled to see her again when K turns 2 unless we decide to vaccinate before that. We'll be seeing Dr. SK in 6 months.

Our Little Animal Lover

Klaudia knows how to bark, meow and moo. When we say 'DOG', she barks; 'CAT', she meows; 'COW', she moos. When we take her to the park and a dog passes by, K starts barking. When we show her a cow or a cat in her little book, she either moos, or meows, etc.

She has seen a cow in real life once, but I don't think she realizes that a cow normally is a big big animal since she knows it mostly from her little book.

A few weeks ago, I took K to the park, and out of nowhere she started mooing. I was surprised at first because we weren't talking about a cow, nor was there a cow anywhere near us. Well, while mooing, K pointed in the direction of a little black and white bulldog that came to the playground with its owner. After looking at the dog for a second, I realized that he looked like a miniature cow that's in K's book.

To add to K's confusion, we met another dog at the park whose name was Moo.

A Hard Worker

K is very much into pushing lately - pushing 'things' that is. It doesn't matter if it's her stroller, her doll's stroller or a shopping cart; as long as it's pushable, it's all good.

Here she is helping daddy take/push stuff to the storage.



Sometimes she gets distracted a bit but not for too long:

K's First Polish Words

1. Ciastko (meaning cookie) - We were all in a car one day and were playing with K repeating the word ciastko over and over again. She then joined us by repeating it ,too as if she's done it before.

2. Dziadek (meaning Grandpa) - One day, K looked at my dad and just said dziadek. We were all shocked because even though she's been blabbing around more and more, she is not pronouncing anything comprehensible. And, let's be honest, dziadek is not an easy word to say. We were trying to get her repeat it but with no success.

3. Babcia (meaning Grandma) - My mom must have been jealous because after the dziadek word incident, she said she'd teach K say babcia before leaving for Poland this summer. Well, one morning, K got up early, so I took her to my parents' bedroom to... kind of wake them up. K is very shy in the mornings, so it was very cute to watch her try to get my parents' attention. She would go half way to my parents' bed and come back running towards me. After trying it a few times with no sign of concioussness from my parents, she finally stood next to my mom's side of the bed and said: Babcia! My mom was so happy to hear it that it brought tears to her eyes.

From Bronchitis To Pneumonia

It all started last Wednesday when on our trip to the mall, I felt as if something (a bread crumb) got stuck in my lungs. I tried to cough it up but couldn't. On Thursday morning I woke up with a little bit of fever and some dry cough. By the afternoon (I did go to work that day thinking I have the whole weekend ahead of me to rest) my fever went up to 103.6 and coughing became painful. The doctor said it was Bronchitis, and I received an antibiotic.

For the next 3 days, my temperature stayed at a bit over 103 reaching 104 at one point. Tylenol would help drop it to 102 for a couple of hours. On Sunday, my fever was gone, but the cough didn't get any better, and I felt exhausted.

Monday morning I decided to end it by going to work. I lasted 30 minutes in the classroom before calling it quits. I had to pull over on the way home and call Len to come and get me; I was afraid I would faint behind the wheel. On the way home, we decided to stop at the doctor's and check to make sure I was doing better not worse. I kept thinking that the exhaustion was coming from all the antibiotics I took and a high fever.

The x-rays of my chest indicated I had pneumonia! I got a new set of antibiotics and am taking it easy. I took a week off from work (first time in my life! except for when I had K). Len keeps telling me to enjoy it, but it's hard when all the energy I have is just enough to stay in bed. We are SO lucky to have my parents here at this time. I really don't know what we'd do without them.