non- vax in daycare? should I be scared?

[logansmom109]

Hey all. New here and had a question. We let the dr. give our DS the DTap at 2 months old (believed we would do delayed/sel. vax at that time), but he developed eczema 2 days later, so I said no more. Well things have been fine until now that I have to go back to work. We had not intended for this to happen, but b/c of a very long story and to prevent forclosing on a house I have to work. So I have started panicking about daycare.

Do any of you have your kids in daycare without vax? I'm still not willing to risk the vaxes, but wonder what I should do to keep him as safe as possible? He is 9 months now. I am BF and will continue to pump so he can have it as long as I can make the milk. I give him probiotics, vit D and I try to eat as healthy as possible. The solids we do give him are organic if at all possible. I say all this just for your background.

Thanks!

[applejuice]

Do you have a mother or MIL nearby to help you out so that you can at least keep the child care in the family and maybe $ave on childcare at least?

I sounds to me as if you are doing well. With daycare outside the family, in a situation with other children, I would be wary of caretakers who do not wash their hand between babies while wiping noses, tushies, and food preparations. This is the reason that most daycares require vaxes for the babies who attend, to cover up the sloppiness and absentmindedness, AFAIK.

Good luck. Hope you get a good job and it all works out for you!

[New_Natural_Mom]

We are completely no vax and my 9mo has been in daycare since 12 wks. He is competely fine even after being exposed to Hand-Foot_Mouth and RSV (I know those aren't VPD, but they are still nasty.) He is the only breastfed infant there. I just dose myself with CLO and vit C to keep the immune system up and he gets it through the milk. I wouldn't worry.

[natural_mama89]

my son has been in daycare since 8 months and my daughter has been in daycare since 6 weeks and neither is vaccinated and neither has had a VPD as far as I know.

[tanyalynn]

I didn't worry about my son, but I did find it very useful to develop a plan of what to do when he got sick. I originally did that because he wasn't vaccinated, but in reality we haven't had a VAD yet, but lots of unnamed illnesses.

[EVC]

My unvax'ed dd has been in daycare since she was about 10 months old. She is now just over 3. In my experience the VAST majority of viruses and other bugs that go around in that setting are not things you vax for anyway. Lots of colds, coughs, and runny noses, though. We don't do anything special to keep her safe--just try to eat right and wash hands. So far it has worked pretty well for us.

[melissabb]

I am a home daycare provider and would be more than willing (actually prefer) to take non-vaxed kids.

Maybe try the home daycare route??? Perhaps you could go to the "Tribal" area here on MDC and post in the Texas section asking for a home daycare provider who might be on this board or know of someone who does provide care for non-vaxers.

Regardless, you could still sign and exemption for centre based care. If they get any government subsidies, grants etc then they would have to accept your exemption.

[Layna]

We take DD to a in-home daycare. Jessi's actually her only daycare kid. She has a 3 yr old and a 10 & 12 yr old herself.

[Marnica]

My 9 month old son has been in daycare since he was 3 months old. He is unvaccinated. I'm not worried. Your son will get sick with colds and bugs, but this is ok...this is what will strengthen his immune system
As for VAD. I get concerned sometimes when i let the fear mongering get to me, but not so concerned that I would risk the vaccines which I believe to be potentially dangerous for diseases that for the most part are no big deal. I BF and keep my son'r immune sytem strong with probiotics and Sodium ascorbate and vit D

[groovynaturemama]

dd has been in daycare very part time since 11m (now 21 mos), but sometimes up to 8 or 9 hours if i have a birth during the day. she is totally unvaxed. she was bf'd (actualy geting milk) until 19 mos., and dry nurses now that i am 5 mos. preg. i also give her an echinacia/astralagus tincture any time before i drop her off at daycare. in the back of my mind i do occasionally worry, but like a pp said, the vast majority of illnesses aquired through daycare are not vaxed for anyway. i will say that over the last several months, any illness dd does get has been milder than when she first got sick from being in daycare. i think the germ exposure did some good for her immune system, actually.

[Qbear'smama]

DD started in a home daycare at 10 months (with 2 other kids), a larger preschool/daycare at 18 months and now attends preschool full time, unvaxed. She is almost 3 now. I agree with others that there are all kinds of bugs going around, she got stomach bugs and colds-a-plenty that first year in the big daycare, but no issues with any VPDs thus far. Being breastfed helped a lot. I am confident that her homeopath can handle whatever crops up and has so far.

[ammiga]

Dd isn't in regular daycare, but she does go to the child center at my gym 4-5 days a week. She is bf and I think that helps her a ton. I'm not worried about her getting a VPD. After doing a ton of research on the diseases, I decided that I wasn't that worried about most of them (although there are some that I would prefer she gets after she is 2 or 3, if she has to get them).

To be honest, dd was diagnosed with mumps last week. Her face is a little puffy, sometimes she is a little cranky from the swelling so we give her Motrin, and that is it. It's no big deal at all. She almost certainly got it from the child center, since that is the only place she has access to things other kids have their spit on.

For me, a big part of being comfortable not vaxing was accepting the fact that dd might get a VPD and being ok with that, and not just crossing my fingers and hoping that she never got sick. It wasn't just about being afraid of the vaxes, but also letting go of my fear of her getting sick.

[Rosebud1]

Dr. Sears

I don't think you should be scared, but just be informed and make the best decision you can. I do think you should look into home daycare though. I recently read the Dr Sears vaccine book. He recommends that non-vaxers (of which I am one) breastfeed for two years and keep their children out of large group of children situations. This is what I am trying to adhere to.