the season

Autumn has always been my favorite season - the foliage, the frost on the pumpkins, chilly days and cozy nights. And it is officially here as I watch the vines on our fence turn from vibrant green to burnt orange, fire engine red and eventually brown. But this year there is another sign that summer is gone and we must shift gears...flu shots. Everywhere I go I feel bombarded by the fear of influenza, or worse, gasp, H1N1. Signs outside of Walgreens have been displaying "flu shots here" for weeks now - there is even an ad on TV for them. And my email has been bombarded with discussions on the topic. Probably the best discussion of the topic I found here on a local blog, and it reinforced my natural instinct to NOT vaccinate Eddie. My pediatrician brought it up at his 12 month well visit back in August. And when I pressed her and asked, "really, what do you think, does Eddie need them?" She sheepishly answered that they are recommending them for all over the age of 6 months...of course because that's what the CDC and AAP are saying they have to say that. But I said I still wanted to think about it. And I have thought about it and feel pretty confident that we are not going to get either shot. Instead I am going to practice a strict regime of hand washing every time we enter the house from being out somewhere and if we have contact with other kids or public places. I will continue to wipe down the shopping carts with disinfecting wipes (I know it sounds silly). And we will be consuming foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, including salmon and flax seeds. I add flax seeds to our oatmeal now. And I just purchased a new supplement for Eddie that is full of omega 3's and vitamin D, called Eskimo Kids. That's the other big vitamin to push to protect against illness, vitamin D3 - for more info, go here. And I am taking vitamin D daily myself, which, since I am still breastfeeding, means Eddie will be getting extra doses of goodness. We have been very lucky with Eddie's health so far, and I am hoping that continuing to breastfeed and doing these other precautionary measures will mean that he stays healthy this season. Summer, and everything carefree and sunny about it, IS over...and for the first time I am sort of depressed. This is wrong. We should not be living in fear of the flu.