Stressing about vaccinations
I seem to keep forgetting to take Dylan to his 2-month checkup, for no particular reason other than life is busy and I am stupid. This week has officially become No Good Schedule-Wise so it'll have to be next week at the earliest, at which point he'll no longer be 2 months old. Will they refuse to see him? "I'm sorry, ma'am, but this child is THREE months old. You'll have to leave, and please collect your Bad Parenting Sticker on the way out."I also just realized that this upcoming appointment is the one where he is supposed to get, what, about seventy-eight shots? All in his defenseless Pillsbury-roll thigh? Okay: it's really five, right? Five vaccinations. All at once.
*giant, anxiety-filled sigh*
I am neither convinced I should delay vaccinations for Dylan (uh, delay them more than I already have by means of forgetfulness, that is) nor am I filled with a sense of conviction that I'm doing the right thing by getting those shots ASAP. All I know is that I want to keep my baby safe: safe from ALL diseases and reactions and, you know, random bolts of lightning that everyone says won't happen but hello, sometimes they DO.
So! You think we can talk about this subject without getting all pissed off at each other? I'm just curious about your take on vaccination schedules: did you go the typical route with regards to timing when your child was little (2 months, 4 months, 6 months, etc), or did you choose something different?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Shawna 5-01-2008 @ 2:24PM
I went with the standard recommended schedule - but here that's never more than two shots at a session. Five seems pretty nasty.
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Jessica 5-01-2008 @ 2:41PM
Why are you asking US if we can talk about it without getting pissed off. YOU are the one who lit the match on the last one. I don't read your articles anymore but I just had to bite on that little innocent statement you made. Reason 325877896325 I am over you.
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jes 5-01-2008 @ 2:48PM
And you are an incredible bitch!
Linda L. 5-01-2008 @ 6:12PM
Mel, my favorite thing about YOU is clicking on your name to see all the other comments you've been leaving lately. You're such a ray of sunshine!
Lesley 5-01-2008 @ 8:50PM
Jessica, if you're so over Linda why do you keep coming back to read her posts? Jealous much? Too much time on your hands? Perhaps you need to get out in the community and volunteer. Oh my, don't do that. We don't need you inflicting your horseshit personality on innocent people.
kim 5-01-2008 @ 8:51PM
For my son's vaccinations, I have done all on schedule except for the 15 month one, because my schedule has been too insane to get him in. I feel the same fear for having them all done so closely, however I also fear measles.
NOW, for the real issue at hand:
Jess if you don't read her articles anymore, how did you know what she wrote? Linda's RIGHT! You ARE cute!
And Mel, I'm a proud little minion. I will now hobble off to hide under my sink until Linda says I can come out and spit shine her flip flops.
Crystal 5-03-2008 @ 6:09PM
I love being a sycophantic minion. Linda, you rock! :)
Ellisa 5-01-2008 @ 2:41PM
Our babies are only a few weeks apart so I've been researching the same thing. I'm following Dr. Sears' guidelines in The Vaccine Book. Basically, the baby gets all of the vaccines, but they're spread out a little more so there isn't a huge dose of some of the bad things (like Aluminum) all at the same time. At the first visit he got Rotavirus (which was actually oral, no shot yay!) and DTAP. Then a month later he got Hep and Prevnar (or something like that, I forget and am too lazy to go look this up for accuracy). I'm not sure this would be the way to go for you though, because it makes for a LOT of doctor appointments. I couldn't handle him getting 5 shots at once though. /shudder
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AJ 5-01-2008 @ 2:43PM
For my daughter, we went with the recommended schedule. Part of that was because the daycare I use requires children to be up to date on immunizations. Have you reviewed the vaccination schedule published on the CDC's website? (www.cdc.gov) Some of the immunizations have age ranges that are appropriate. That allows a bit of flexibility if you prefer to try and space them out somewhat.
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biscuit 5-01-2008 @ 2:48PM
When it comes to the 1st year round of vaccines, I intend to get them when advised all @ once, no spacing. BUT when it comes to the more controversial vaccines (MMR) when she gets older, I am going to space them out because my brother has Autism. I want to play it safe. I think it's too much too soon nowadays, but don't want my baby to not have the protection. Spacing them out should be an option, hope I can find a pediatrician that is understanding.
I wanted to smack the piss out of the one we saw @ 2 months. She was ugly + argued with me about asking questions about the mercury/nasty stuff in the vaccs. She got all loud + snippy + kept chanting, "Vaccines are proven NOT to cause Autism" I still think I should fax her over the thousands of articles that say otherwise. IT IS NOT PROVEN! They still don't know. . . bitch. I should not be made to feel like a pain in the rear or stupid when I'm asking questions regarding my child's heath.
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Eric's Mommy 5-01-2008 @ 2:49PM
Eric got his shots when he was supposed to, I think. Since the Dr. scheduled the next appts.
I remember the appt. when he got like 8 shots in both legs. He cried, I cried, and his binkey went flying across the exam room.
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Sharon 5-01-2008 @ 2:49PM
I went with the schedule for both of my children. It sucked seeing them get the shots but I'd rather have the minor discomfort of the shot versus the scary disease it helps to prevent. I love your column I look forward to reading it (all topics)
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the goddess anna 5-01-2008 @ 2:58PM
We went with whatever the military schedule was for infant shots for all three kids, even the premie twins.
I was more worried about passing out from seeing the needle than from adverse reactions by the kids. So far, no reactions. I will say there is one shot I skip every year, and that's the flu shot. I'm allergic, but I hate dragging all the kids in to get them this specific shot - hubby is the only one who's ever really had one (except for my initial flu shot in boot camp, when we all discovered my wonderful allergy).
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Sara 5-01-2008 @ 3:03PM
I went with the recommended schedule -- the risks of not vaccinating just outweighed the (mostly alleged) risks of vaccinating in my mind. I don't know what my stance is on delaying vaccines; I think when we have our second child I'll probably follow the schedule again because I have a sort of "get it over with" mentality.
Also, for the record, I am a big fan of combined vaccines. When your kid can get five vaccinations with only two pokes, that is a win. Not that two pokes are easy, but... easier than five, for sure.
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claire 5-01-2008 @ 3:04PM
My son has been a month behind with all his shots (2mo shots @ 3 mos, etc.) because our Dr. didn't have an appt open when he was 2 mos. So, no, they probably won't kick you out.
My Dr never gave more than 2 shots per visit. If he's gonna have 5, I might consider spacing them. That seems like a lot to me.
My son is about to have his 12 mos shots next month (when he's 13 months, heh), and I'm a little anxious to say the least. At his last appt when I mentioned to the nurse that I might want to space his shots, she asked that I call and "remind" them before his appt. I guess they want to prepare themselves for the crazy hippie lady who's going to demand to see the ingredients label of their mixtures. Whatever. I love our pediatrician, and I chose to see him because I've always felt we're on the same page. I don't think we'll have a problem discussing and spacing my son's shots.
That said, I think the ideal situation when dealing with vaccinations is self-education on the parents' side and good communication and, if necessary, compromise between those parents and their pediatrician. Good luck!
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Erika 5-01-2008 @ 3:08PM
We went the standard route until the MMR. I had decided to wait on Measles until later but my Dr couldn't accomidate us and told me to go to another Dr. As it turned out no one would give us the shots even if it was a referral, we had to be patients.
After an exhausting search I ended up changing Peds make this happen.
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darah7 5-01-2008 @ 3:22PM
I read your comment right after I'd posted mine. I think we got lucky with our dr. Good for you for changing peds- even though it was exhausting. I'm sure you'll be happier with the care in the long term with someone you trust and will work with your wishes.
darah7 5-01-2008 @ 3:19PM
We chose to hold off until 18 months for most everything-- except pneumococcal and Hib which we started at 6 months. Our physician (who is with a huge University hospital system where people are usually extremely pro-vaccine) recommended those two earlier rather than later for efficacy, but was completely comfortable with us waiting on everything else. In fact, she suggested that for several of them it was fine to wait until our daughter went to school. That said, I work from home and so she doesn't go to daycare. Thus far she's had an amazing immune system. I'm still breastfeeding which, everyone says they go hand in hand, but I think there are a lot of other factors involved. If our situation were different- if she were in daycare or had a compromised immune system I might have gone about it differently. But for us and our doctor, this works. I was worried about bringing up our desire to wait with our doctor and was pleasantly surprised at her reaction and support, so I always encourage people to talk to their doctor and create a schedule everyone is comfortable with.
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minkajane 5-01-2008 @ 3:21PM
My son got three shots at 2 months, then we stopped. I did some research after those shots and decided not to continue. We have had a few people give us a bit of grief about it, but surprisingly little opposition. Most people just say ok when we say we don't do them. I don't feel that the vaccinations are safe (whether they cause autism or not), I don't think they're necessary when we can easily handle medically the side effects of these illnesses (not so much the side effects of the shots like brain swelling and cognitive disorders), and I don't think they're really all that effective. No one has ever looked to see if they really work, or if these diseases are being controlled by better health and hiegene and/or the diseases are now being called something else. That happens more than you'd think - a doctor diagnoses a kid with having a disease very similar to one he's been vaxed for and says "He can't have that! He got the shot! It must be a weird form of this other disease."
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Shannen 5-01-2008 @ 7:18PM
We did the EXACT same thing...that's funny. We got the 2 month recommended shots, I did some research on my own and said enough. My daughter is now 3 going on 4 and we are researching pre-schools. I'm hoping I don't get any grief over her lack of vacs, or even worse that she won't get in somewhere because of our decision. I guess we'll see but in any case, I stand by our decision. To be honest too, my daughter (knock on wood) has been sick SO MUCH LESS then all my friends kids. Even my doctor made a comment on how "blank" her chart is...she's never had any sort of illness to even warrant a prescription as of yet. I don't know if that has anything to do with the no shots but man, she's one of the healthiest kids I know! Peace to everyone :)