I'm freaking today - Vax or Not?

[Dixielane]

My daughter is 2 months old and goes in tomorrow for her 2mth vax. I am freaking. Freaking. lol

I am in a toss up about if I want to do her vax as the CDC recommends, or follow Dr. Sears alternative method since his method seems to space them out. Part of me feels vaxing is okay, I just don't want to cram them all together. The other part is considering NOT vaxing because of the unknowns.. so many of them. Would the diseases be the lesser of two evils?? I am so nervous about putting anything in my daughters body.

Can someone share opinions? Why did you choose how you did? I am possibly thinking I might just wait to start her vax... not decline them, but just wait until she is a bit older and better equipped. Has anyone ever done this? Does it mean you have to just stay cooped up in the house?? I am also breastfeeding, if that matters..

Any help would be nice. I'm so nervous today.

[ma2two]

I didn't even need to read the rest of your question. The title says it all: "freaking out." If you are freaking out, you should do no vaccines. Vaccines are not emergency medicine. You can always give one, but you can never take one back. Just tell the doctor you are delaying for further research. Don't let the doctor bully you or talk you into "just one."

Edit: I got around to reading the rest of the question, lol. No, you don't stay cooped up in the house. I don't know of any non-vaccinating parent who does that. You just live your normal life, and enjoy your baby.

If you think the only purpose of the 2 month visit is vaccinating, you need to cancel or reschedule. If there are other things you want the doctor to do, such as listen to her heartbeat, check for hip displasia, etc., or to simply get her on the records as a new patient, you can go for that.

[chaoticzenmom]

When I was trying to decide with my 3rd child, my naturapathic dr. explained that before 6 months old, vaccines are pointless because the baby's immune system isn't equipped to have a proper immune response to the vaccine. Since you are breastfeeding, why not put the vaccine issue on hold until after 6 months while you look into it more. If you haven't done enough research to be able to tell the Dr. "no," then cancel the appointment and ask around in your tribe for suggestions for doctors that support parent's decisions.

You really don't have to freak. It's your child and you're not disobeying anyone by waiting or choosing not to vaccinate.

[willandbaby]

I would trust your mothering instinct. If you are nervous or uneasy, wait and do more research....then decide.


I have a 3 1/2 year old and 10 week old..neither are vaxed.

[bcblondie]

I agree. If you're freaking, just wait. The cahnces of them contracting anything in that time is really small. Once you vaccinate, you can't undo it. If you delay, you can always still get them, if say, being out in a crowd makes your heart race. Then maybe you'd feel more comfortable getting the vax.

[Dixielane]

ma2two, thank you. I just called my pediatrician and told them I might not be vaccinating tomorrow, just to let them know. I told them I still want to come in for a weight check and general health. The receptionist seemed a bit skeptical and said if I choose to not vaccinate at ALL, the doctor won't see me. She said I can choose to delay.

I am not going to NOT vaccinate. I think vax have a purpose, I however don't want to not have a choice in which ones I give my daughter and I certainly don't want to shove 6-7 at a time into her underdeveloped body. I understand the theory of "they are given for a reason", however, given my circumstances = stay at home mom, I breastfeed, we don't do a whole lot in big crowds.. I feel I can choose when she gets them a little more than say, someone whose baby goes to daycare.

[bcblondie]

I think breastfeeding is great protection. You're making the right choice for your family.

[Dixielane]

Originally Posted by chaoticzenmom

When I was trying to decide with my 3rd child, my naturapathic dr. explained that before 6 months old, vaccines are pointless because the baby's immune system isn't equipped to have a proper immune response to the vaccine. Since you are breastfeeding, why not put the vaccine issue on hold until after 6 months while you look into it more. If you haven't done enough research to be able to tell the Dr. "no," then cancel the appointment and ask around in your tribe for suggestions for doctors that support parent's decisions.

You really don't have to freak. It's your child and you're not disobeying anyone by waiting or choosing not to vaccinate.

I know, but theres a fear of "am i doing the right thing?" - Mainstream says to vaccinate. However, I feel so scared to just cram her body full of that much, all at once. I was practically in tears last night over it, I am worried my baby won't be the same, like those horror stories you hear of. I don't want to be responsible for that, if its possible to just wait till shes more mature and can handle it all.

I kept my appointment tomorrow, to weigh her and get her general health looked at. To pacify the receptionist I told her I am doing vaccine research and will talk to the doctor about it, but might not give them tomorrow. I have NOT done enough research to just say NO and feel 100% confident... but I do want her seen, I just don't want to be pushed. He did say at my last visit that he is fine with patients staggering vaccines. He personally doesn't feel it does anything, he didn't do it with his kids, but he said if its something I choose thats fine.

My husband and I talked, and hubby thinks we should do research and wait atleast till 4months. Would that be considered delaying to a doc, or would my doc just say he won't see me since I am not vaccinating at the 2mth?

[Dixielane]

Originally Posted by willandbaby

I would trust your mothering instinct. If you are nervous or uneasy, wait and do more research....then decide.


I have a 3 1/2 year old and 10 week old..neither are vaxed.

I am just scared of the unknown. I don't know enough about vaxing to think its 100% safe. When I was pregnant, I did not vaccinate myself against flu/swine flu. Some say I took a gamble, but I felt much more comfortable with my "risks", than polluting my body with the vaccine, and exposing my unborn baby to it. The one time I did take a flu shot, I got the flu that year anyways..lol!

My sisters 2 kids are not vaxed..

I realize if we all said "hey lets not vaccinate anymore", we would have outbreaks. We are lucky to have vax to control sickness in the population, BUT.... I know its selfish, but I am concerned about my baby and her health, her reaction to vax.. not the general population.

[Dixielane]

Originally Posted by bcblondie

I agree. If you're freaking, just wait. The cahnces of them contracting anything in that time is really small. Once you vaccinate, you can't undo it. If you delay, you can always still get them, if say, being out in a crowd makes your heart race. Then maybe you'd feel more comfortable getting the vax.

Well, we avoid BIG crowds. It does make me uneasy when I get a sense there are too many people hovering over her. Like a shopping mall, we don't do those. However, I take her to JCpennys, to a resteraunt, etc. where I can keep her close to me in her sling, or in her covered carrier. I don't let strangers touch her. So isnt that protecting her already? I mean, aren't MOST sicknesses either contact and/or airborne (meaning she'd have to be coughed on?) We hand sanitize religiously, and I am thinking of making her daddy get UTD on his vaccinations himself since he is the one who works outside the house.

Hubby suggested we wait till she's 4 months. Atleast then we can start the series if we are comfortable in our research. But like you said, if we give them now, we can't undo. And chances are, it would be FINE like it is for hundreds of babies whose parents get the shots. I know plenty of parents who don't KNOW they can question their doctors. But... since I know I can choose for my daughter, I don't want to take it lightly, or ignore my rights..esp not when I am feeling so nervous

[Pirogi]

Originally Posted by Dixielane

My husband and I talked, and hubby thinks we should do research and wait atleast till 4months. Would that be considered delaying to a doc, or would my doc just say he won't see me since I am not vaccinating at the 2mth?

I don't know what your doc would say, but you are honestly delaying, not declining, at this point. Be confident!

Something else to chew on: do you want to continue with a care provider who threatens to refuse care to a patient because their parents make a decision to research? This is your child, and your doctor is a paid consultant, no more and no less. You are legally and morally responsible for the decisions you make regarding your child's health. The doctor's responsibility is to make sure you have the information he/she believes to be correct, that is all. Any doctor that would pressure or bully or threaten me because I made a decision he didn't agree with wouldn't be caring for my child anymore.

[Dixielane]

Originally Posted by bcblondie

I think breastfeeding is great protection. You're making the right choice for your family.

Ok, clarify for me.. I heard BFing is not as much protection as believed... that you have to have NATURAL immunity for your baby to recieve immunities. Like, in order for baby to get flu immunity, you have to have had it and fought it naturally... the baby won't get immunity if you've had the flu VAX. Is this true? Or..?

[xmasbaby7]

I would do two things:

Just say tomorrow that you are going to delay them for a bit longer, as you are just figuring out what you are vaccinating for, or something like that.

Second, keep an open mind and spend the next six months here, reading books, and looking at CDC resources for physicians, not parents, to determine which vaccines seem to make the most sense to you.

I had planned on delaying for one year when my child was born, but by a year, it was so obvious to me how much stronger an unvaccinated child's immune system was, that I kept delaying and researching until I eventually came down very confidently on the no vax side.

It was a long journey to get here. I remember reading these boards the first few months thinking non-vaxers were CRAZY. Now I have had enough years here to understand all points of view.

None of us here are fans of making decisions while you are freaking out. That won't end well. Take your time to research, and it may mean that you do have to find another practice that will allow flexibility with vaccine schedules.

Good luck!

[Dixielane]

Pertussis is also going around right now. I am worried my doc may fear monger me. I already had someone say how awful it is to see a baby gasping for air, drowning in mucous...
that does worry me. How do you weigh the risk vs. benefit of vaxing too soon? I dont want to overexpose my infant, but I also do not want to see her suffer with an illness.

But then, also, vax don't PREVENT illness..

[Mama Khi]

You are not selfish!!!! You are a good mama who is looking out for her baby's health. I freaked out about vaxing my dd, too. I told the dr I was delaying. I have been researching and still haven't let dd have any vaxes and might not vax at all (although "officially" we are delaying for now). Do some research and vax when you are comfortable and if you want to. Don't let anyone pressure you. It is your baby and your decision.

Also, it is none of the receptionist's business if you are vaxing or not. I wouldn't even mention it in the future if you make any more appointments.

[Dixielane]

Originally Posted by xmasbaby7

I would do two things:

Just say tomorrow that you are going to delay them for a bit longer, as you are just figuring out what you are vaccinating for, or something like that.

Second, keep an open mind and spend the next six months here, reading books, and looking at CDC resources for physicians, not parents, to determine which vaccines seem to make the most sense to you.

I had planned on delaying for one year when my child was born, but by a year, it was so obvious to me how much stronger an unvaccinated child's immune system was, that I kept delaying and researching until I eventually came down very confidently on the no vax side.

It was a long journey to get here. I remember reading these boards the first few months thinking non-vaxers were CRAZY. Now I have had enough years here to understand all points of view.

None of us here are fans of making decisions while you are freaking out. That won't end well. Take your time to research, and it may mean that you do have to find another practice that will allow flexibility with vaccine schedules.

Good luck!

Thank you, you sound really educated in this, kudos! I want to also be as confident, whichever way I choose. My husband said "lets wait".. I asked how long. He said, "2 weeks.. 2 months.. 2 years? Who knows, let's just research first". I guess I like that mentality, I just feel a little like I am poking around in the dark. I don't know where to begin, and I don't want to put her at risk while I am checking around.

My sister did not vax her two children, then vaccinated her last child. They didn't get any vax till kindergarten.

[Dixielane]

Originally Posted by Mama Khi

You are not selfish!!!! You are a good mama who is looking out for her baby's health. I freaked out about vaxing my dd, too. I told the dr I was delaying. I have been researching and still haven't let dd have any vaxes and might not vax at all (although "officially" we are delaying for now). Do some research and vax when you are comfortable and if you want to. Don't let anyone pressure you. It is your baby and your decision.

Also, it is none of the receptionist's business if you are vaxing or not. I wouldn't even mention it in the future if you make any more appointments.

Well, what I mean by selfish is... if EVERYONE in the world didn't vaccinate, I dont know how well that would go. I think we would have alot more outbreaks. Vax I think do help control outbreaks. If we all did that, I think we'd have more illnesses, so its good MOST people are OK with vaxing.. does that make sense? I for one, am protecting my child and am not totally thinking of whats best for the world, but whats best for her, because she's MY world. You know?


edit: I think I told the receptionist, so that I could let the doc know what I was coming in for. I don't want to waste any of his time slots. If he knows I am coming in ONLY for a weight check and general exam, maybe that would mean he could schedule someone else in since he has more time available? I was just being courteous I guess. I was suprised a bit though when she just outright said "the doc wont see you if you decide NOT to vaccinate" Hm

[Plaid Leopard]

You have gotten some good advice here. You are also fortunate to have a husband that is willing to wait and research the pros and cons of vaccines with you before you make a decision.

The fact that you are breastfeeding your baby and that she is not in a childcare setting definitely lowers the risk of her getting sick.

There are many good resources out there to learn about vaccines, but it takes time. I started reading and researching when my ds was almost a year old. He is almost 12 now and I am constantly learning new things about vaccines. This ds received his first few rounds of shots, then we stopped, and my other three dc are not vaccinated (one child had one tetanus shot but that was due to my DH freaking out about in injury).

One of the most important things you can do is to learn about each of the so-called "vaccine-preventable diseases". Know the symptoms of each disease, the treatments, the possible risks and complication of contracting a disease vs. the risks of giving the vaccine, try and calculate the risk of your child actually catching one of these diseases (she will probably come into contact with chicken pox, for example, while the chances of being exposed to diptheria and polio are much lower).

The diseases sound scary, but once you know more about them you realize that not all of them are always life-threatening. And of course, the illnesses that your daughter (and you) are most likely to catch are things for which there is no vaccine.

On a related note, while researching vaccines as one form of disease prevention be sure to read about the other forms - maintaining a healthy immune system by eating whole foods, avoiding processed foods, getting plenty of sunshine and exercise, avoiding toxic ingredients in cleaning and household and beauty products... Of course you may already know about all of that.

In any case - congratulations on your new baby and I hope to see you around the boards!

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by Dixielane

I just feel a little like I am poking around in the dark. I don't know where to begin, and I don't want to put her at risk while I am checking around.

There is risk no matter what you choose. I did not live life any differently in not vaxing my children; I took them everywhere. When they were little I slinged them--the Moby is good for covering them up; otherwise they were out and about at the mall, zoo, and the children's museum (oddly enough my unvaxed kiddos were never the ones with a hacking cough).

Breastfeeding is always a beneficial to their immune system.


Here are some questions to answer for yourself in deciding about vax.

1. Name of the disease
2. Description of the disease
3. Length of time from initial infection to end of all symptoms
4. Infectious period
5. Normal symptoms of the disease
6. Known serious consequences of the disease
7. Proportion of persons infected developing serious consequences
8. Transmission route of the disease
9. Prevalence of the disease
10. Treatments of the disease and efficacy of those treatments
11. Relevant research about the disease
12. Name of the vaccine
13. Company that makes the vaccine
14. Contents of the vaccine
14A. The significance of whether or not the vaccine is live
15. History of development of the vaccine
16. Known side-effects of the vaccine and rate of incidence of those side-effects
17. Possible side-effects not yet acknowledged by the vaccine maker
18. Relevant research into the vaccine
19. How effective is the vaccine at preventing the disease?
20.What is the vaccine meant to do? (Many vaccines are not meant to prevent infection or transmission).
21.Number of cases reported each year.
22.Number of deaths reported each year from the vaccine and natural disease.

Here are some sources to help you out:

Vaccines: The Risks, The Benefits, The Choices 1/18DVD, By Sherri J. TENPENNY


http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_wk.html (download the current issue)
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pin...k-chapters.htm
http://vaers.hhs.gov/pdf/PackageInserts.pdf
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...40451107552&q=
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...87981735&hl=en
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pin...ses&deaths.pdf

Health Sentinel Graphs

WHO GRAPH

Vaccine Injury Table

Beyond Conformity Resources Page
Do you have a quick-fire summary?

Inside Vaccines

Mothering: Ending the War on Disease
http://www.mothering.com/health/heal...m-just-growing


For an even handed treatment of the issue I recommend "Vaccinations, A Thoughfull Parents Guide" by Aviva Romm. For keeping your dcn healthy and to treat VPDs: "Naturally Healthy Babies and Children: A Commonsense Guide to Herbal Remedies, Nutrition, and Health" by Aviva Romm and "How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor" by pediatrician Dr. Mendelsohn.

[Dixielane]

Thank you for your links. I will check them out. But can I ask you to elaborate on this?

"20.What is the vaccine meant to do? (Many vaccines are not meant to prevent infection or transmission)."