Do you go to all the scheduled well-baby visits if you are selectively vaccinating?

[RImama179]

Our 2 month visit was very uncomfortable - the dr was really pressuring me into getting the recommended vaccines and I only want to do one at a time - and even delay some further...do you still go to visits if you don't plan on getting any of the vaccines offered at that visit?  I am dreading the 4 month check. This is my 2nd baby so I don't have many questions for the Dr that I did the first time around....so the appts seem so pointless to me?

[motherhendoula]

We are also selectively vaxxing - and i didnt want any vaxes in the first year - my Doc made me sign some waiver saying that I was making this decision after being told what the recommendations of the AMA were - (or something to that effect) and i think we went every two months for the first 6 months ...i liked to go to get a weight and height - this kid grew MUCH faster than my others did!    After 6 months we started going every 4 months - he had his first vax in Oct and will have another in January.   Im guessing soon we will go down to every 6 months.   (DS is 16 months old now) 

[kythe]

I didn't start vaccinating my kids until they were a year or older each, but we still went to every well baby check up.  I think it's good to be well established with a pediatrician.  If your child ever gets sick or injured, you have a good relationship with a provider who will see them, rather than hoping for the best with emergency backup. 

I know what you mean about the appointments seeming pointless, I believe the well-baby checkup schedule is actually based around the recommended vaccine schedule (not the other way around).  But you never know what may come up.  My second child was healthy at birth, but had some growth issues that needed to be addressed, so it turned out to be a good thing we were monitoring his growth.  He later tonsil and allergy issues too.

On a somewhat darker note, if you ever end up with legal issues, such as from CPS or a custody battle during divorce (I've btdt with both), you may find yourself needing to prove you've been providing medical care for your child.  Even without vaccinating, it makes you look more responsible to be able to show you have taken your child to the doctor on the recommended schedule, not just when they are sick.

[chel]

I selected-vax my first and none for my youngest.  Never followed the schedule.

My insurance has a cap for well visits and doesn't even cover the recommended amount.

[ghannit]

Even without vaxing, I take my almost 4 year old DD and my month old DS to the doctor regularly. They have not been sick, so I go simply to maintain the relationship.

[Turquesa]

Sorry if this response sounds simplistic, but I don't think this question is whether or not to go to all of the check-ups....but whether or not you're paired with the right family doctor or pediatrician. 

The fact that you're "dreading" well-child checks is a red flag indicating a lack of trust in your doctor.  If your doctor won't respect your vax decision, believe me, this disregard for parental autonomy could pour into other areas of your child's health.  With the right doctor, you'll actually *look forward* to the opportunity to touch base and discuss your child's well-being and have your questions addressed.

Unfortunately, that list of respectful doctors is getting increasingly smaller.    I'm on a doctor search myself, so I do feel your pain.  Rumor has is that family physicians and DOs get don't get as hysterical as pediatricians over this issue, so I'm narrowing my search to them. 

Head over to your Tribal Area in the Find Your Tribe section and ask if anyone in your area can recommend somebody: http://www.mothering.com/community/f/7/finding-your-tribe

Good luck! 

[cristeen]

To answer the question asked, no I did not, nor will I with the new one.  There are more important uses of my time, energy and money (insurance doesn't cover) than WBV if I'm not getting a vax.  We still saw the ped 4 or 5 times in the first 2 years. 

But I do agree with Turquesa - sounds like you might want to do some doctor shopping.  A doctor who does not listen to your desires but tries to push you into their own desires on something like vax will do it in other areas as well. 

[Aimee1224]

I LOVE our DO who is our family physician.  I had a great old school pediatrician when my first was little, but after changing insurances we were no longer able to go to him.  I went to one visit with a pediatrician and immediately changed to a family doc.  He is great and absolutely non-hysterical! I love it.  Its a great working relationship.  So I do think the rumor is true on that front. 

[Cassiani]

I'm a home-birthing selective vaxer who goes to as many well-baby visits as I can.  Because insurance covers it, and it gives me a chance to have a relationship with my doc, which will be useful if anything comes up, I struggled through selectively vaccinating my son for the first year. My husband and I alternated a few visits, and that helped my doc understand how serious we were about taking it slow in the vaccines.  

I do it for the medical records, for my family (all in medicine and scandalized by home birth and skipped vaccines), and so that our entire family has a real trusting relationship with our primary care doctor.  He seems to like seeing us and after the first year, stepped back and said he would wait for me each visit to bring up vaccines I was interested in.  

by the time one is seeing the same doc w/ healthy baby number 4, he's far more relaxed about the decisions made by the parents.  time helps a lot.  i'm also asking him honestly about what he's seeing in trends and for his input on my children.  

i love the respectful and open relationship- it is totally worth it. 

[Honey693]

We go to all the well baby checks, but we don't get the recommended shots at each one.  Our doctor is completely ok with this.  If she wasn't I wouldn't be thinking about skipping visits, I'd be thinking about finding a new doctor.