Ouch!

It was a sad and hard day for the Cohn family, and especially for Jonathan. He received his first immunizations today, and it hurt. He has the battle wounds to prove it... two big Sesame Street band aids on both of his thighs. So sad! It was beyond difficult to watch him get the shots, to hold him down and console him as we watched these needles going into his little tiny thighs. It also took a lot of prayer and faith to even do them. Like most people these days, we have our concerns about vaccinations. Our pediatrician talked to us for quite a while about them, and he said he feels completely comfortable with the ones given today, but that he also suggests and is fine with waiting on the MMR vaccination until much later (the controversial vaccination that is often blamed for the rise in Autistic cases). He gives it at 18 months when standard practice now is 12 months, but he is completely fine with waiting until he is 2, 3, 4, or even 5.

He has his own thoughts about the causes of Autism, one of which is actually my theory as well! He said he feels like children are overstimulated today. From Baby Einstein to bright colored toys that light up, move, AND play music all at once, it might just be a little too much for little ones to take in. I agree completely. Aside from being an eyesore to adults, these products are just too crazy for me. Our generation and the ones before us had simple toys, no videos to watch, no video games to play at the age of 2 or 3, and aside from the See and Say, no toys that talked back or read books for us. Instead we had our parents' faces, books read to us by family, boxes and Tinker Toys to play with... Like everything else, I love the simple stuff. I want Jonathan to know the joys of simplicity and peace. He certainly won't learn them if I sit him in front of a video of obnoxious toys and sounds. Save the baby brains of this world! I say let's rid our homes of all of these ridiculous toys and videos.

Okay, so that's my rant for the day. Now it's time to go comfort my sweet boy as he recovers from a traumatic day.