In The Pink

Well, after my last (clearly very controversial) post, I thought you might need some light relief. I know I do. Rest assured, the vaccination debate will continue to rage on at Part Mummy Part Me - and as a result you may well find youself becoming dis-illusioned in the true sense of the word.

But for now I am feeling flippant and fun.

Loving being a mummy, but feeling a bit mumsy I have not only gone blonde for the summer - as per usual - but have added pink bits. Something I've hankered after for years and can now indulge in for a while now that the meetings in London have been replaced with mum and baby meet ups.

Because 'crazy colours' tend to be semi permanent, fading after a few months, I am flirting with the idea of a few purple streaks next time. Or maybe both pink and purple? Hubby is getting in touch with his inner hairdresser - he even did the blonde for me. Not a bad job hey?

MMR, Autism and Why I'm Not Vaccinating

I recently had a chat with a friend who is worried about getting the MMR due to her nephew becoming autistic shortly after the jab. The current official medical line is that there is no proven link, but many medical professionals and researchers are still saying otherwise.

Please, please look into this for yourselves so you can make an informed decision. Here are a couple of short articles to get you started:

http://sanevax.org/blog/?p=2070

http://www.ageofautism.com/2011/02/new-medical-journal-review-vaccine-injury-is-a-documented-cause-of-autism.html

I will be posting a lot more on childhood vaccination as I have been reading a lot about it and am completely appalled by the lack of scientific for their efficacy, and the reality of what is actually in those shots we allow our babies and children to get - and what harm they can really do.

Vaccination seems to be a sacred cow. Something you can't talk about in mum and baby groups for fear of being a pariah or labelled a freaky conspiracy theorist. Believe me, when you start scratching the surface it is a murky world of half truths and lies - and big, big profits for the pharmaceutical industry.

My eldest daughter is fully vaccinated (MMR too) I had a few concerns about MMR but her dad urged me to press ahead and I didn't even think to do my homework on the vaccinations she had as a baby. I mean, they've got to have been fully tested right? Vaccination is responsible for wiping out smallpox and other nasties right? Hmm, think again.

I had a gut feel that vaccination wasn't right for Alicia, I was only barely aware that you could choose not to get them done - or at least pay for separate shots privately to avoid toxic overload.

So, I started to look into the topic with what I admit is a huge a bias. That is, I didn't want her to be vaccinated at all and I wanyed to find out if that was a sensible choice and to reassure myself that I was doing the right thing for her.

I've read so much, and retained so little of it as per usual, that I am convinced I'm making the right choice. I only wish that I had known what I now know when Ella was a baby.

I will post more on this topic over the coming months, along with resources and links so you can do your own research too if you like. If your kids are already vaccinated but you know friends who haven't gone ahead yet please encourage them to at least look into the subject.

Here's a few resources I have found easy to read and useful:

Free report signed by medical professionals concerned about the dangers of childhood vaccination: http://www.naturalnews.com/031173_vaccines_science.html OK so if you're a PhD student you can refute everything in here as just 'opinion' but I think it puts forward some of the major points of concern around vaccination and there are other fully referenced publications, proper scientific reports etc I have read which back up these views.

The Vaccination Bible - Lynne McTaggart this is a great book, it really helps you to make an informed decision

Make a Wishbomb

Ok it's time to get rid of the baby weight (and the weight I put on before I got pregnant!).

I really want to be 9 stone again - the same weight I was when I first met my lovely hubby three and a half years ago. I was running regularly at the time, went out dancing a lot and didn't have quite so much of a chocolate addiction. So, I know I need to add much more activity into my life and rein in my sweet tooth.

Unfortunately, my weak ankles and fallen arches do not make me a great candidate for running. Since I've stopped running my back is so much better. Unfortunately I am so much podgier too. Perhaps some fast walking with the buggy will do the trick..although my ankle is still not good. I went over on it again four days ago - and this time dropped Alicia.

How stupid of me to be holding her again. Well, my ankle was feeling much better and I was wearing a support, and I was doing the short walk across the road to accompany Ella from my car to her school. It didn't seem worth it to pop the baby in the buggy. I have truly learned my lesson.

Anyhow, I digress. I completely subscribe to Stephen Covey's philosophy “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” It's the only way to get anything done. I tend to have a million and one goals, plans and dream whizzing through my head and bumping into a hundred and one items on my mental 'to do' list. I'm not sure that will ever change, but as from today I am making a firm commitment to keep weight loss as my main priority until I am 9 stone once again.

To this end, I have logged my goal (to be 9 stone by 1st July 2011) on wishbomb I'd love your support and encouragement. It will really help me stay focused on my goal. Visit Wishbomb a search for me, 'Anna Higgs'. I think you need to register first (it's free). Maybe you want to start a goal of your own on Wishbomb? After all, they do say 'what gets measured gets done'.

Wish me luck! Any weight loss, exercise tips etc gratefully received.

Anna xx (currently 11 stone 6. Eek. Although that was on the scalkes in Boots fully clothed and with shoes on. Very heavy shoes on obviously!!)