overwhelmed, frustrated, would like to hear more from those who've BTDT - Page 2

[BarnMomma]

Originally Posted by Bmorefarmgirl

but i am not sure how much protection breastfeeding gives. of course, the answer depends on who you ask. everyone has a horror story about the perfectly healthy breastfed baby who died from this, that or the other disease that is usually not a menace. i am not sure how prevalent these germs are. do i have to worry about taking my unvaxed infant to the supermarket? what if i want to join a playgroup? if we have a second child and the first is already in preschool or something, then i have to agonize all over again about the rota and pertussis, which are sure to be coming home from big groups of kids. i know i will be staying home for a while with the first baby, but i am not sure about my long-term situation and future family.

my thoughts are kind of spiraling here, and i don't know what to think! just wondered if anyone else went through this kind of vax mania.

it also makes me sad that this is what i am obsessing about. i think our kids will be pretty healthy, and i don't even want to go to a dr. the main reason i am even looking for a ped at this point is b/c we are having a home birth and would like to get the metabolic testing done, and our midwife doesn't do it. i don't go to a doctor myself. i rarely get sick and just try to eat my vegetables, and take some honey and tea when i feel a cold coming on. and i feel like a relationship with a doctor should be about more than just whether they will let you "get away with" not vaxing. i just have never had a great relationship with a doc myself, so i am having trouble finding one for my babe. argh!

can anyone commiserate? any advice?

As far as the what if's go, doesn't everyone have a horror story about someone they know having a horrific car accident? Does it stop you from driving? Heck, we've all seen horrific car accidents up close and personal at some point I'm sure. And if you drove with your child in the car and did get into an accident would you think, gee I should have never bought and driven a car? No.

My DS is 2.5 and is totally unvaxed and we will not be vaxing our next one due in July.

DS is healthy and happy and has had 2 3-day colds since birth. he doesn't get sick. I was at first very germophobic and I dealt with my own issues regarding that by insting upon breastfeeding, then at 8 months a perfect organic homecooked diet only, and when out and about I was consious about handwashing, not alllowing Ds to put hands in his mouth unless they were clean, not letting him put "community" objects in his mouth(like shopping cart handles, toys at playgroup, etc) Now at 2.5, I"m more relaxed but I still take normal percautions like wiping down the shopping cart before DS rides in it and we wash our hands before eating or after an activity like music class or a play date.

But never not once did I question my choice not to vax. What cinched it was that most times during an "outbreak" it happens to vaxed and unvaxed kids. So really, what is the point? The vaccines are a not a guarantee against disease.

Good luck and congrats on your new little one.

[BarnMomma]

Originally Posted by BarnMomma

As far as the what if's go, doesn't everyone have a horror story about someone they know having a horrific car accident? Does it stop you from driving? Heck, we've all seen horrific car accidents up close and personal at some point I'm sure. And if you drove with your child in the car and did get into an accident would you think, gee I should have never bought and driven a car? No.

My DS is 2.5 and is totally unvaxed and we will not be vaxing our next one due in July.

DS is healthy and happy and has had 2 3-day colds since birth. he doesn't get sick. I was at first very germophobic and I dealt with my own issues regarding that by insting upon breastfeeding, then at 8 months a perfect organic homecooked diet only, and when out and about I was consious about handwashing, not alllowing Ds to put hands in his mouth unless they were clean, not letting him put "community" objects in his mouth(like shopping cart handles, toys at playgroup, etc) Now at 2.5, I"m more relaxed but I still take normal percautions like wiping down the shopping cart before DS rides in it and we wash our hands before eating or after an activity like music class or a play date.

But never not once did I question my choice not to vax. What cinched it was that most times during an "outbreak" it happens to vaxed and unvaxed kids. So really, what is the point? The vaccines are a not a guarantee against disease.

Good luck and congrats on your new little one.

One more thing I forgot to add,

You might wish to expand your ped search. We drive 40 minutes for ours because he's awesome and we'd drive 2 hours if we'd have to. Who does your sister use? Also, maybe try calling some midwives in your area and see who they suggest.

[mrsfru]

Here's my advice: stop obsessing right now, b/c you have time to make decisions.

As for rotavirus...never crossed my mind to vax for this and never will. It's diarrhea, which bf babes rarely get diarrhea-type illnesses, plus the rota-vaxes have proven to be fairly reactive and problematic (even the newer ones). Rarely would a baby be at serious risk even if they got rotavirus. My friends non-bf babes ALL had it (3 of them) and they were fine! I'm sure other kids get it all the time, too, and never even see a doc about it.

As for pertussis...well, yes, vax are available for your baby at 2, 4, 6, and 18 mos, but until they've had that 3rd shot, they really aren't "well protected" at all anyways, and it's the first 6 mos that's the scariest when looking at pertussis. My whole family (myself, dh, and 2 sons, ages 4 and 1--4 yr old has asthma/RAD and other health issues and both were serious preemies) is recovering from it right now--I've had it the roughest--the kids have never had any vax and they are doing beautifully. DS2 did get an ear infection secondary to pertussis, and ds1 and I have needed our asthma inhalers (we only need them when we are sick), but it's been pretty uneventful. FWIW, my friend's fully-vaxed 3 yr old has the exact same symptoms as my kids...but her ped doesn't think it's possible for them to get pertussis since they are vaxed. I'm sure her son has pertussis..LOL He's doing just fine. I do think it can be fairly horrible and serious, however, I'm not sure even if you vaxed that a 2 or 5 month old baby is really that well "protected" anyways. If you really study how "effective" the pertussis vax against it, it's not that great.

As for the others you mentioned, I had some qualms about not giving those myself...esp as my kids were preemies and susceptible to respiratory illness...but now, 4.5 yrs in, my kids recover incredibly well from everything.

hths

Congrats!

[CorasMama]

my only suggestion is that if you don't have a science background, find someone who does, to help you separate the science from the pseudo science and anecdata.