Not vaxing and daycare

[Psmileyf]

Hello ladies. This is my first post, but I've heard from a reliable source that you ladies are the ones to talk to about vaxes.

Here is my issue -
I have a 3 year old son, fully vaxed, no problems. I always assumed I would fully vax all my children. Then my daughter was born in May with Peter's Anamoly, which is a rare genetic disorder. She was born blind due to a cloudy cornea. Peter's Anamoly can also have heart and digestive componenets, as well as sensory issues. At that point, I decided to look more into vaccinating and from that research, decided on Dr Sears selective vax schedule.

It turns out my daughter had a corneal transplant to give her sight. The surgeon recommends no vaxes, as they may spark her immune system and it may attack her cornea, causing rejection. So I was ok with not vaxing. Then I went to my pediatrician today and he basically told me if I am not going to vax at all and since I didn't breast feed, she should not be in daycare. He suggested having someone come to our house to watch her and to wrap her in bubble wrap. He said at minimum to be in daycare she should have Dtap, Hib and Pc.

I want to make the best decisions for our daughter and our family. So I would like to hear what other moms think and specifically from anyone who put their kids into daycare unvaxed.

Thanks!!!

[ASusan]

Originally Posted by Psmileyf

Then I went to my pediatrician today and he basically told me if I am not going to vax at all and since I didn't formula feed, she should not be in daycare. He suggested having someone come to our house to watch her and to wrap her in bubble wrap. He said at minimum to be in daycare she should have Dtap, Hib and Pc.

I want to make the best decisions for our daughter and our family. So I would like to hear what other moms think and specifically from anyone who put their kids into daycare unvaxed.

Thanks!!!

Welcome!!

??? to the bolding part. If you breastfeed, she should be fairly well protected, whether in daycare or not. She will likely get the sniffles and "daycare nose" but, the other risks, *I believe*, are minimal. YOu need to do the research yourself.

DS is 21 mos, full-time daycare, and not vaxed. He's fine, WRT things they vaccinate for.

[Psmileyf]

I meant didn't breast feed. I think my mind is going a million miles a minute today.

[Marnica]

Sounds like vaxing would be risky for your LO. My son is unvaxed in daycare as well, no issues. He has been there since he was 3 months old, he is 1lmost 15 months now.

I happen to BF, but if I didn't it would not have changed my mind about vaxing. If you can have a nanny come to your home that sounds like a good solution. I would have loved that but we couldn't afford it.

[MyBoysBlue]

There is also the day home option. Usually less kids than a daycare, thus less exposure potential???

[ammiga]

I think I answered a post about you in another forum

Pedis LOVE to push vaxes. I don't think they ever find a reason to delay or avoid a vaccine. The fact that you have a doctor that knows your dd's condition and is telling you not to vax is HUGE!

Here's what I think about the vaxes your pedi recommends:
DTaP- Diphtheria is not a worry in this country. Not at all. Your infant is at such a slim risk of getting tetanus, it's almost not a concern. Plus, with proper wound care, she should be fine. Almost everyone I know that has had WC was fully UTD vaccinated. And they had bad cases. I think that part of the reason they claim an 80% success rate with the WC portion of this vax is because doctors refuse to test for WC if someone has been vaxed... they just write the cough off as croup, pneumonia, or something else.

HIB- odds of getting invasive hib are very low. And many people believe that serotype replacement occurs and the vax didn't lower overall numbers of invasive hi.

Anyway, I would ask your pedi if he recommended that people wrap their kids in bubble wrap before the Hib vax came out. Probably not, since over 95% of 5 year old kids tested immune to it without ever having any symptoms.

[tanyalynn]

I don't know anything other than what you've written about your daughter's specific condition, but in general, I've found that there are so many things that can be done to help kids (and adults) get through illnesses without complications. My son is a kid who gets (used to get? improving, let's say) sick a lot, a lot more than most kids. My son isn't vaccinated, but it wasn't vaccinateable diseases that we encountered in daycare, it was the usual stuff, lots and lots of colds, I think RSV once, croup a couple times, some diarrheal illnesses, like that.

Since you mentioned digestive stuff, I'd be open-minded to subtle food intolerances (not only IgE allergies) and probiotic foods (we do kimchee, for a pre-solids infant I'd just think a probiotic supp).

For nutrients, the biggies for us are zinc, vitamin D, and vitamin A. IME vitamin C (in high doses, possibly very high) helped a lot with keeping cold symptoms mild, but didn't prevent illnesses--but that was still a key thing for us, because I think it prevented a lot of bacterial complications from setting in. All are key for immune function and it's not shockingly hard to be low.

Putting together a toolbox of ideas to use when your daughter gets sick, vaccinated or not, is a real help. It was huge for me.

[Cristiaz]

Well, my little sister couldn't breast feed so she has her 1 year old on raw goats milk and gives him a powdered multi vitamin, probiotics and cod liver oil to supplement. Commericial formula will lower immunity because it lacks enzymes to digest it and is fortified with synthetic vitamins the body cannot utilize. So what are you feeding your baby? Aside from that, feeding no processed foods or sugar will help immunity. Keep your baby on a whole foods diet, as organic as possible. If you do these things, your child should have no problems going to daycare. As it stands, my little sister is doing all of these things and he has not gotten sick. Daycare would be fine for him. He's been around her sick and my 2 3/4 year old with a runny nose and has not gotten sick. You need to focus on strengthening the immune system. Sugar lowers immunity by 70%. The immune system needs nutrients to function properly so thats why commercial forumla doesn't work. Cod liver oil is a must and so are probiotics which you can get in a powdered form and sneak it in food or a bottle. My sis does not vaccinate, nor do I. Vaccinating lowers immunity and actually attacks the immune system, causing potential auto immune disorders. See if you have access to raw goats milk. If not, get regular goats milk which is at least better than formula. If you do, make sure to supplement with cod liver oil and a powdered multi. My sis uses the multi by Rainbow Light. Nordic Naturals makes some of the best cod liver oil. You don't want to buy cheap cod liver oil. Hope this helps!

[just_lily]

My kid is unvaxed, was only breast fed for three weeks, and I run a home daycare. I don't worry in the slightest.

But... you are really going to have to do your own research. The only thing that made me finally feel comfortable with this decision was to read everything I could get my hands on about vaccines.

[13Sandals]

He suggested having someone come to our house to watch her and to wrap her in bubble wrap.

WHAT!!! OMG. this is code for find a new doctor immediately. I mean, never, ever step into that doctor's office again. He is more concerned about pushing vaxes than making sure your daughter doesn't reject her transplanted tissue? I literally cannot believe my eyes.

Welcome! Please, make some calls to other peds and tell them your situation. They will be more sympathetic to you (as opposed to some of us who don't vax) since, as you said, you are not opposed to vaccination in general, just concerned for your daughter's health and trying to follow the advice of the specialist. Good luck!!