I sometimes wish i could do it and get it over with!

[NYMOM07]

just a vent..... My son is 3 1/2, and I originally had a plan to delay vaccines, then changed my mind to not do them at all, and now i feel like I am at a cross road again because a religious exemption is not guaranteed, especially living in ny, and i get worried about how i will get him into school. I also worry about him getting diseases such as whooping cough, measles, tetanus, etc. and in theory I like the idea of protecting my child but CAN NOT get over the ingredients, safety profiles, and long lists of side effects possibly caused by vaccines. the other thing that kills me is that every one I know vaccinates their children- and in the short term (and probably long term) they are totally fine with maybe the slighest reactions. I wish, sometimes, that I could be like them and just get it over with, feel confident and be *normal* ... not on the outskirts of society, not understood, and feeling like I could be putting my child at a great risks with diseases such as measles because the way people catch the disease now is so much more dangerous than when it used to naturally occur in childhood. I dont know when the day will come when I can put this behind me, either to not vax, and not look back, or vaccinate and getting into school no problem knowing this whole thing was behind me. it is extremely stressful, and taxing on my mentally. My son just got over pneumonia, which was terrible to see him go through, and i was actually shocked because in my mind I thought ... i breastfed for 20 months, no vaccines, healthy food, etc. why did he get so sick? I think that with not vaccining i feel a possible false sense of security that my kid isnt going to get sick- he wont catch whooping cough, or measles, because it isnt around anymore, or herd immunity, or whatever, and this is such a big issue that i feel like i am playing with fire. uuggghhhh sorry for the rant, i just really am stuck. if i could move to a state with philo exemption, this conversation would be over, but this is life, and im not moving and need to deal with this somehow. thanks

[DeerMother]

I understand. I feel like I'm always defending my choice, fending off the when will you question etc. I too worry about preschool and school, though my state's religious exemption seems a lot easier to get. I get frustrated too bc my science understanding is so basic. I can follow articles, but I feel like something is lost when I try to summarize them.

[bonamarq]

Oh mama I know just how you feel - I was there a couple of years ago - when dd was 3.5 we moved to wv - one of only 2 states without any exemptions

I managed to get her into day care without vx and considered long and hard how I could homeschool her, but there was just no way with my job that I could make it work and at the age of 5 I decided to get her vx one by one the ones I needed to get her into school - it was awful and I hated everyone of them, but she never had a single reaction to any of them and now I do feel at ease that she has had them - just my experience -

and I moved from MI where a simple signature on a form could have gotten her in with no problems.... it was a tough decision for sure

[NYMOM07]

it is nice to hear that you did it and moved on though i feel like that is what i should do but cant yet. did you have to get them all? hepb. polio, mmr? thanks

[13Sandals]

NYMOM - the problem with the 'just get it over with' idea is that the vaccine schedule no longer ends with Kindergarten....its never over now. think of the round of boosters that are required for 7th graders. Think of the yearly flu scaremongering. There are more vaccines in the pipeline for kids. Last year a 5th grader at my son's school came down with Shingles - Shingles!! Shingles incidence has increased 67% amoung 10-18 year olds since they introduced the cp vaccine. How long before they add that to the schedule? Not to mention the 100s of vaccines in the pipeline. There is something seriously, seriously wrong with this...that parents would have to go against every screaming instinct to let the doctor plunge those needles in.

[newmum35]

Originally Posted by NYMOM07

I wish, sometimes, that I could be like them and just get it over with, feel confident and be *normal* ... not on the outskirts of society, not understood, and feeling like I could be putting my child at a great risks with diseases such as measles because the way people catch the disease now is so much more dangerous than when it used to naturally occur in childhood.

It is? Never heard that before. Can you please clarify what makes 2010 a more dangerous time to catch measles than, say the 1950's or 60's? How do people catch it now that differs from back then?

[NaturalBirthGoddes]

I believe what you need to do is research the disease you are most afraid of your little one catching and then research the vax. Do a comparison and see which you are more comfortable with. I would take the disease over the vaxes any day.

I do not believe that catching any disease now is any more "dangerous" than 50 years ago. In fact, a lot of children who get vaxed still get the disease (measles, mumps, chicken pox). The WC vax is not to prevent infection or transmission. Just hopefully decrease the severity of the infection. People who are vaxed for WC typically have a longer recovery period than the unvaxed.

I was so nervous about not having my child vaxed, but I do not feel that way anymore. I have researched (and continue to do so) relentlessly, everything about the diseases and the vaxes. Just remember you can always give them a vax later on down the line, but you can never, ever take it back.