Information below includes developmental milestones by age, & immunizations. The latter section comprises recommended schedules, together with discussion about historical benefits, casualties resulting from aborted programs over the years, & proven genetic basis of autism.
Developmental Milestones:  1 month:  Lifts head above surface while on abdomen; hand & toe grasp;  alerts to bell.
                                        2 months: Smiles on social contact, follows light 180 degrees.
                                        3 months: Produces sounds on contact, tries to contact an offered object, supports head when drawn to sitting position.
                                        4 months: When on tummy, raises head & chest with arms extended, turns head to side, laughs, puts object in mouth.
                                        6 months: Sits alone with head steady, reaches for objects, transfers, pivots in pursuit of an object by seven months.
                                        9 months: Creeps or crawls, gets from lying to sitting position, says Dada Mama, objects to mother leaving the room.
                                       12 months: Peekaboo, patty cake, bye bye; picks up penny w/ thumb & index, releases to offered hand; walks w support.
                                       15 months: Walks alone, puts penny in glass, puts one block upon another, 3 to 6 words, uses spoon & fork.
                                       18 months: Runs, sits on chair, tower of 3 blocks, ten words, climbs stairs w/ hand held, takes off garment.
                                       24 months: 3-word phrase, verbalizes toilet needs, tower of 6 blocks, makes vertical & horizontal lines when shown how.
                                       30 months: Complete understandable sentences.  See M-CHAT discussion in FAQ below.
                                       36 months: State age & sex, alternate feet ascending stairs, pedal trike, count 3 objects, tower of 9 blocks, draw cross.
But Mom, I don't want any shots.  And we don't enjoy giving them.  But consider what we accomplished in the last century.  It's ironic that preventive medicine has provided such dramatic benefits that we became complacent about prevention itself.  Pediatrics is about child advocacy, & prevention through immunization has always been a cornerstone of that advocacy.
     Early in the 20th century, infectious disease had the upper hand.  In 1920, measles struck half a million Americans, mostly children, resulting in 7500 deaths.  That same year, 150,000 were infected with diphtheria, killing 13,000, & pertussis (whooping cough) attacked 100,000, killing another 5000.  All were eradicated by aggressive public health programs (at least until recently when pertussis re-emerged among susceptible nonvaccinees and adolescents whose protection waned).  As recently as 1950, there were 20,000 reported cases of polio (infantile paralysis) with 1800 deaths.  Polio has been eradicated in North America, & now we are able to use the killed vaccine.  HIB at one time caused over 20,000 reported cases of bacterial meningitis, and at least that many cases of epiglottitis (obstructive croup).  Thousands of infants & preschoolers died from HIB which was a leading cause of brain infection, postnatal retardation, hydrocephalus, & epilepsy.  Since the advent of HIBvax recently, HIB has been virtually eliminated to the extent that meningitis is rare & epiglottitis is a footnote in medical history.
     What's the price of complacency?  We've all heard the maxim that those who ignore the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.  Japan in 1974 relaxed its pertussis immunizations only to experience one of its worst epidemics.  In 1979, 13,000 cases led to 41 deaths.  They had learned little from England's experience earlier that decade.  The UK stopped pertussis vaccination & within 7 years several epidemics occurred.  In just one such outbreak, over 100,000 people were infected with pertussis, & 36 died.  Recently in McHenry County pertussis was reported among nonvaccinees and deaths resulted.  It is now known that adolescents' immune status has waned to the extent that they require pertussis boosters.
     Today's pertussis vaccine is acellular, or highly purified, & the safest preparation ever, unassociated with serious side effects.  Usually the worst problem we see with measles vaccine is a slight rash with low grade temp in 10 days, & only among a few percent of recipients.  HBV prevents serum hepatitis, an illness that until recently afflicted over 300,000 Americans yearly, causing 5000 fatalities including cancer.  When the hep virus attacks in the first 2 years of life it is more likely to become chronic, resulting in cirrhosis & possibly cancer.  HBV amassed an impressive safety record, & is the first vaccine to be licensed for the prevention of cancer.  The new Gardasil prevents cervical cancer, the number two cause of malignancy in US females, has proven 98% effective and remarkably safe.  And Varivax (chickenpox vaccine) has a 25 year history of safety & efficacy among children the world over, but requires a booster at the kindergarten physical.  Chickenpox is usually mild, but can lead to fatalities when infected with staph & strep causing necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease).  Fasciitis causes extensive bullae & skin sloughs, requiring IV antibiotics & topical management as with burns... but is preventable by giving Varivax.  But what of diseases we haven't seen in decades?
     Diphtheria until quite recently was still being reported in the former USSR, up to 100,000 cases in the past several years, so it's possible it could be imported with disastrous consequences here, considering the growing number of susceptibles.  We must not arbitrarily stop protecting our children.  And we must continue to protect our fetuses from rubella (German measles), because 90% of babies infected with rubella in the first trimester will develop congenital rubella syndrome (heart defects, cataracts, retardation, deafness).  Before routine rubella immunization, 20,000 babies a year were born with CRS, with 2100 newborn deaths & 11,000 miscarriages.  Of 20,000 born with CRS, 11,000 were deaf, 3580 were blind, 1800 retarded.
     Remarkable reductions, close to 100%, have been accomplished in the last century's war against preventable infections through vaccination.  The CDC's MMWR publication credits immunization as the number one factor in eradication of such public health menaces, but all of the epidemics of the past can and likely will return with any relaxation of our proven immunization programs.  Nobody wants to relive that century.  And nobody should heed alarmist media types who tout and blindly credit a preposterous causative relationship with autism.  Autism is not rising in incidence, just diagnosed accurately by modern standards, and is at the same constant rate in nonvaccinees.  Not only is it not immunologic, it is a genetic phenomenon as proven by subcentromeric deletions in the number sixteen chromosome...which explains why it tends to be familial.  All my children & grandchildren were fully immunized, as were those of my colleagues.  Kids rely on us to protect them.  We must.  Please check out this website: http://www.chop.edu which is Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the foremost authority on childhood immunization.
FAQ (frequently-asked questions):
     What signs of autism may be seen as early as one year of age?  Even as early as a year, an infant should respond to her name, should seem to enjoy interacting with other kids, should look you in the eye for longer than a second or two, should not stare blankly for several seconds, and should not give you the impression that she may be deaf even though you know her hearing test was normal at birth.  Please refer to the M-CHAT test, which we administer to all infants in the office at fifteen months of age.
     Why is breast feeding preferred?  Breast-fed infants are less likely to succumb to respiratory and intestinal infections, and enjoy better brain development particularly when nursed six months.  Developmentalists believe breast-fed kids have the edge in meeting their milestones, get better grades, & are less likely to smoke or use illicit drugs as adolescents.
     What about solid foods & vitamins?  Solids may be deferred until up to 6 months, although babies differ and feedings are individualized.  Poly-Vi-Sol (or equivalent) provides essential amounts of vitamins D, A, C, B complex, also iron.  Most breast-fed infants, if growing and developing well, do not need solids until six months, but the nursing mother and all infants need vitamin supplements.  AAP recommends 400IU vit D daily for all ages.
     What's the best feeding technique?  The stomach empties from left to right, so a good practice is to position the baby with her right side down, to facilitate gastric emptying & preclude reflux.  If nursing, it is permissible to supplement with formula if you first have nursed at least ten minutes on each breast, after which you may follow with an ounce or two of formula if required.  Done in that order, it won't interfere with milk production.
     What about skin care?  Clean the cord with peroxide four times daily until it falls off.  Sponge bathe daily until the cord is off, then may immerse in bathinette or small basin.  Avoid oils and powders, but Desitin or Balmex may be applied to the diaper area.  Shampoo each day with Johnson's, apply Eucerin or Aquaphor for dry skin (not on face).  A common rash is milia, or pinhead-sized pimples on nose, chin, cheeks, but disappear in a few weeks.  Blotchy or flea-bite-like red spots (erythema toxicum) appear on newborns over the trunk in the first week, are normal, disappear by 2-3 wks.
     Circumcision care?  Clean with water after diaper changes, apply neosporin twice a day until fully healed, then protect with Desitin or Balmex.