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Help: Vacc, Baby, India Travel

germin8germin8 Raw Master

My husband and I are trying to figure out when to have our first baby… and there are a few things we need to consider. One of which is our trip to India in December 2009.

So, we are wondering if we should have a baby now… or after our India trip. If we have a baby now, the baby will by only months old on our trip to India. I am sure it’s difficult to travel with a baby! What’s really stopping us is vaccinations! Not for us, but for the baby! Would the baby be too young for the required vaccinations?

The CDC posts these vaccinations: Hepatitis A, B, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, poliovirus vaccine, polio, etc…

I read about the bad effects of vaccinations. And also about thuja, chlorella, cilantro… and even trying to get a ‘waiver’ if going for missionary purposes. I can see taking the chlorella, cilantro, etc. for an adult but, what about the baby?

The other option is to wait until we get back from India. But, we are not sure when we are returning. We are going to India for 2 weeks or a year (all depends). And, we are in our 30s… so time is a factor. We are 32 & 36. Not to mention, I just read this post on Compulsory Vaccination. I don’t look forward to returning to the States with all states mandating vaccinations. (Well, if that can really happen during that time…) Since this would be our first baby, would we still be “okay” having our first baby at ages 35 & 39? I’m sure we would… but, I just want to hear it from someone else who had their first baby in their mid-to-late 30s. :o) But one thing for sure is we are going to India around Dec 2009.

Not to mention, I also welcome your advice about traveling with a baby from the US to India too.

Comments

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    Thank you all for the great advice!

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    This is a tough decision, and of course you know you’re really the ones who have to decide. But, you asked for advice & info., so here you go. My opinion is that if you really want to be parents, it seems that the possibility/likelihood of having to vaccinate your child, or the difficulty of traveling with a baby would be a small price to pay versus the possibility of missing the opportunity altogether. So many people now are putting off having children and then finding out they can’t have any because they waited too long. The younger a woman is when having her first child, the more likely she will still be able to have children at an older age. So, yes, there are 40 year olds having babies, but they are often not the first children those women have had. I wonder if the cilantro, etc. would be effective for the baby if getting it through breastmilk? Good luck – India sounds amazing!

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    This is a tough decision, and of course you know you’re really the ones who have to decide. But, you asked for advice & info., so here you go. My opinion is that if you really want to be parents, it seems that the possibility/likelihood of having to vaccinate your child, or the difficulty of traveling with a baby would be a small price to pay versus the possibility of missing the opportunity altogether. So many people now are putting off having children and then finding out they can’t have any because they waited too long. The younger a woman is when having her first child, the more likely she will still be able to have children at an older age. So, yes, there are 40 year olds having babies, but they are often not the first children those women have had. I wonder if the cilantro, etc. would be effective for the baby if getting it through breastmilk? Good luck – India sounds amazing!

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    Having lived in Burma as a kid for a couple of years, I would say wait to have your baby until you come home and don’t fret about age. An infant is too young to clobber with all those vaccines and you shouldn’t take it over there without any protection. Just my own feelings after seeing some horrible illnesses. I just wouldn’t chance it that raw food will heal all diseases.

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    angie, Thank you for the great advice. You are right about the possibility of missing the opportunity. I also don’t think we could have a child right away upon returning to the U.S. (if say, we were there for a year) because we would need to find a job to pay for the costs. I have to sleep on it and pray about it. Although we would probably want our own kids, I can’t forget that I am adopted so this would be an option for us if it’s “too late”.

    I recently read that living a healthy lifestyle (i.e. raw) shortens fertility time. And here I thought that since I had a late start in puberty that I would be able to have children at an older age. I’m still hoping for it… because I don’t feel ready.

    More advice welcome!

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    Thanks Alix. I will keep this in mind too.

    I love being able to get advice from like minded people! I love it here!

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    Hey germin8, I just wanted to respond to your comment about traveling being hard with a baby. We’ve been traveling with our daughter since she was 3 months old and those first few trips were EASY because she couldn’t move around, she lived in my sling, breastfed, slept with us. We didn’t have to bring toys and gear. If you start them young you will all be acclimated in no time. I think people’s fears are far greater than the reality when it comes to traveling with kids. The great thing is, you tend to be treated REALLY WELL when you’re traveling with a baby, don’t forget that. And even now our daughter is still called a “baby” when we travel in other countries, people LOVE kids and they tend to want to help you. The vaccines are another issue, we got them all, but over the recommended time period. We didn’t travel anywhere that required extra vaccinations until she was 6, not by choice, that’s just the way things worked out. You’re a great parent already to be so concerned.

  • sarawsaraw Raw Newbie

    I would have to agree with amysue. tiny babies are very easy to travel with. Easier than a toddler sometimes I think. Get yourself a wrap style carrier like a Moby, and make sure to breastfeed. Breastfeeding will protect your baby from so many illnesses. If you learn to breastfeed with the baby in the carrier, you can do everything you wish to do with just a bit of extra weight attached to you.

  • You could wait to get pregnant until you get to India! What a wonderful souvenier!

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    I have been to India, and I would definately say to wait until AFTER!!! India is a crazy place, if you haven’t been before you may well get culture shock and have plenty of stuff to deal with just as an adult travelling. It is amazing and everyone should go there, but it can be tough too, especially the cities. I went with 4 girls when we were 18, we travelled through India, Nepal, Thailand and Malaysia, and India was the most difficult, busy, confusing and we weren’t very well for about 2 weeks during our time there. But our problem was that we only really were in the cities in India, we should have headed for the rural areas which are totally blissful, calm and peaceful.

    But anyway, personally I couldn’t imagine doing it with a baby in tow. If you and your hubby got ill, which is likely because of your body adjustng to the new food, culture, climate, pollution etc, everyone I know who has gone to India has got ill at some stage, it is just part of the adventure, then who would look after the baby? Me and my girlfriends got dysentry so bad we couldn’t even crawl out of our rooms for a week. Some nuns had to come to our hostel and give us vitamin injections!! We got so ill because we were drinking bottled water – as all the guidebooks told us to!, but we didn’t realise that we were buying it from street sellers who got empty water bottles, filled them with tap water and then re sealed them. Duh! We were all fine once someone told us about that and we only drank bottled water from people we trusted.

    I must say though that Nepal was like Heaven compared to India, it really was. So easy to travel in, no hassle from people like we got in India. We had crowds of 40-50 men following us everywhere we went, staring at us! In Nepal it was so beautiful and peacefull, ahhhh! India was mayhem, but I am going back, to the rural areas this time, I never want to visit those crazy cities again!

    BTW, you can get homeopathic vaccinations which have been proven as effective as the normal ones. They’ll try to make you take malaria drugs too, that is one to do some research on before you decide whether or not to take it.

  • ZanzibarrrZanzibarrr Raw Newbie

    Hello, when I went, for 6 months, I did not take any medication for malaria, I wanted to wait to be there and ask directly people there in India, who looked like they come often and know what they re talking about, and they all pretty much came up with the same answers, like : there is not one type of malaria, three are plenty and you can t have a vaccine covering them all, or the side effects are sometimes worse than going through malaria itself ; you can come out of malaria, contrary to what medics usually say ; you re not likely to have it outside of the hot season etc etc.. So i did not take anything. I did not even get ill, dysentry or whatever but at that time I wasn t raw, so I did not really care about what I was eating as long as it was boiled and hot and eating plenty of spices!.. but no bottled water from the street :) the fresh pressed cane sugar is delicious :)

  • greeniegreenie Raw Newbie

    I agree at least 500% with Zoe. I’ve traveled in India twice, staying for almost a year. It’s amazing, blissful, wonderful—and a huge physical challenge. Wait until after your trip to have the baby.

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