Why so many vaccines?

We just got back from the doctor where Caroline had a Hep A vaccine. It is the only one she had today and the first Hep A. Of course she screamed the entire time and it just breaks my heart. More than that, I think the number of vaccines given to children under the age of 2 is alarming -- they can receive up to 30 vaccines. In the early '80's most of us received only 10 vaccines as children. We have delayed giving Caroline the MMR (the controversial autism vaccine) and I just don't think I can give it to her. The rate of autism in this country is now 1:150. The most recent "outbreak" of mumps was seen in 64 children. I know these are very dangerous diseases, but I also don't want to blindly trust a system that has already failed us in so many ways, knowingly putting Caroline at risk. We have known several people with autistic children and the stories are unbelievably sad. One thing I would like (and RJ and I have discussed this at length and how it is never going to happen...) is to have a legitimate conversation with Caroline's pediatrician about the rate of autism and vaccines. I understand there are liability reasons, but every doctor Caroline has seen is unwilling to even discuss it. We have also thought about breaking up the MMR into 3 separate vaccines instead of one larger one, but if thimerosal is one of the concerns in the vaccines and she receives 3 individual ones instead of one, am I not putting her at greater risk? I don't know...it is such a touchy subject and we are on the fence about what to do.