Is there anyone else here who knows absolutely NO ONE "IRL" who doesn't vax or at least REAAAALY significantly delays and selectively vax's?? Seriously, this is the only place where I can ask questions and get support.

Come to think of it, we don't know too many who don't vaccinate. But our whole family is pretty much on the bandwagon. I have three grown kids and two have children who do not believe in (further) vaccinating.

A few years ago I came across a young mother here on this board, who lives close to my own dd (out of state). I got them together because I figured since dd is so far away from the rest of the family and this mommy was also far away from her family, they ought to join forces. :lol They've been friends ever since and actually formed a pretty good circle of friends. But they are the only two who (they know of for a fact) don't vaccinate their kids.

Did you ever post under finding your tribe?

You can meet non-vax folk through holistic groups or at vegan meet-ups. They can all be found through a google search.

Or here is one that looks interesting - http://www.newcomersclub.com/oh.html

as far as i know there is no one else we know with kids who doesnt vax. i am prettys ure all the friends we have with kids are current with the schedule. i dont hide that we delay/dont vax (ds is one and has had none) i have talked to a few of them about it, they seemed interested enough, not put off like some people you hear about...but they still vax so..........*shrug*

my mom doesnt nec know, i havent hid it, think it has only come up once in me commenting on her vaxxing my brother (hes 17 with downs) so idk what conclusions she drew about my DS...but she didnt ask either.
we got some static from my MIL about why and how can we do that when DS was born (she asked about his WBV) but we put that to rest pretty quickly and as far as i know shes not said anything else about it (to me anyway) i am happy to have a happy healthy uncontaminated (as i refer to it around DH) baby boy.

has it been hard for you? i find that it really only becomes hard when people know about it or they are pushy about it. but i dont avoid the subject bc of that. i have no problem telling people to myob!

I only knew one other family that didn't vax. Luckily for me (or more, luckily for ds!!), the husband is one of dh's best friends. It was easier for me to convince dh that vaxes weren't good (since he won't read anything himself).

Now I've found the Holistic Moms Network (www.holisticmoms.org) and I will tell you, I have met LOTS of moms that don't vax! It's a nice "safe haven" for us crazy non-vaxers. I was shocked that there were so many people in this area that don't vaccinate. Thrilled, but shocked. Not everyone in the group is concerned about vaccines, of course - others want to learn about healthy eating or homeopathy or chemical-free homes. It's great. I highly recommend finding a group in your area, or perhaps starting one!

:) Melissa

Me :wave

When we switched dd to a Montessori school, I thought for sure there'd be other parents who had questions and concerns about vaxing. Nope. Just us, it turns out.

I'm pretty much alone here too. I knew of one mother once that didn't vax her kids, but her and I lost contact over the years. Sad thing, because she was really sweet. Most of my other friends(who I have known for years, some before we started having kids) are very mainstream. I'm the "weirdo" who dares question things. It frustrates me sometimes, because it is so ingrained in their head to just take what they are told. One friend even told me that I didn't vax because "I knew so much about them(vaccines)". Well, um yah, I HOPE that you would find out everything you can about a medical procedure before subjecting your child to it!!! It irritates me that parents will think to research or question othe procedures that are less dangerous, but yet when it comes to vaxes, they just go right along with the tide. FWIW, we are all pretty young too-under 25. I'm the "old one''..lol...I'm going to turn 25 in less than a month. I was also the first to have kids, too-and it's funny because my friends all tell me what a good mother I am-but yet they discount a lot of things I do.

I'm lucky to have ONE friend who doesnt vax (she introduced me to mdc..hi brit :wave ) but alllllll of my other friends vax and think I'm a loon for not vaxing. Im pretty sure that if I mentioned that we've stopped vaxing all together to either side of my/dh's family, that I'd start WW3 for sure. It's a lonely place to be but that's why I'm soooooo grateful for this forum....lots of super smart moms who lend support :) A big shoutout to all the non vaxin mdc mamas....:lol

I had a good friend who helped enlighten me about the risks of vaccines but we moved and have lost touch:( I don't know anyone else IRL who doesn't vax.

As Judy mentioned above, I have ONE friend IRL who doesn't vax either ... otherwise, yep, we are going it alone. (We had, probably obviously, wonderful support from my midwife when ds#3 was born - the other two are partially vax'd. :( )

I know a couple but we aren't that that close, so we don't chat about vaxs. I was sure that some of the people we knew, delayed or knew something about the dangers of vaxs, not true. When we all got pertussis, they freaked out. :irked: I'm pretty much the black sheep of the homeschool group, etc... now.

I have exactly one friend who doesn't vax. I'm grateful to have her... but I would love if a member of my family supported my decision. Particularly DH. I guess I should just be grateful that he doesn't vax DS behind my back.

It's lonely to be anti-vax. I don't know what I would do without this board. Just reading each day makes me feel less alone.

:wave I don't know anyone in my area. I have found though that most don't know the laws that you have a choice.

none at all - infact when I brought up the fact you can get exemptions in my child psyc. class - the proffessor said it would be "child abuse to not vax":dizzy:

I quickly remidied that :wink

I know a number of people who don't vax or delay. Waldorf school communities frequently attract circles of people who don't vax. One reason is that alternative health practitioners sometimes choose waldorf--in Chicago there were at least 3 chiropractors I knew who had their kids in waldorf--and the other reason is that the founder of the waldorf schools, Rudolf Steiner, criticized vaccines back in the early part of the last century. And then I know people through my daughter who has a lot of natural living moms as friends.

nope don't know any- then again, I don't ask. so it's possible someone could be in the closet about it so to speak. I don't go around telling people because I know how irrationally freaked out they get.

although- my gma knows we don't do them and supports that because she knows she and her siblings grew up without any vaxes, and that her kids had far fewer, and she doesn't trust the med establishment.

Nope. :( I have a lot of friends who know we are not planning to vax anymore (my twin DD's were fully vaxed until 6 mo). Fortunatly, no one treats me like a weirdo about it! I've in fact told them when their kiddos get the CP vax I want my DD's playing with them for days after!!! LOL

Part of it for me (why I don't know any other non-vaxers) I THINK is that DH is Army, and we live on post. I think a lot of parents here believe that they have no choice. They sure make it seem that way, if you want your kid in Daycare on post they make you believe you HAVE to have the vax's (I know you don't), same thing with the schools. And I know one person who changed her mind after the doctor at the clinic put on the pressure and scared her. (I'm already practicing for the girls 9 mo WBV next month and their 12 mo too... "No thank you, we will not be getting any vax's today. I do not wish to discuss our reasons.") So anyway, a lot of people around here just vax because they THINK they have to. *sigh*

Everyone vaxing (and circumcising) here. I thought my sister was non-vax (she lives a continent away) but it turns out she only delays the vaxes...

Just me as far as I know, and my daughter, who hasn't vaccinated her almost 2 yr baby. She won't vaccinate, not after she saw what they did to her little brother.

I tried to warn both of my SIL's, but neither heeded the warning. I don't know if it's just a coincidence that one baby was very slow to crawl, walk and talk and is very sickly,

and the other has asthma, even though there is no history of it on either side of the family, and is also a sickly child.

we are friends with one other family that doesn't vax.

that's it.

the thing that strikes me the most is that most people don't know or don't think that they have a choice. so many people talk about children needing vaxes for school, and i've been surprised by the blank looks that i get from people after i inform them that it is entirely possible and within everyone's rights to get an exemption here. it's like bursting a little bubble of denial.

people don't like that, i've found...so now i have somewhat of a reputation of being *that* mom who thinks i'm above it all and that my sh!t doesn't stink.

not that i care...

I know of quite a few different families who dont vac.

When I talk to them thought they just know that vac's aren't good for us but really dont have any deep info, like state laws, treatment of diseases naturally, problem's vac's cause ect. Its kinda of bothersome to me, that they know its not good but don't no the why's.

They dont know or have access to much of the info the people on this board have/know.

Most of them didnt know about C until I started spreading the word and passing around Levy book.

The only other person who know who doesn't vax is our dear bachelor friend with no children, but he is absolutely 100% against vaxing. Dear sweet man.

BIL/SIL don't vax, but that's more due to laziness and not wanting to get to appts than for health reasons. She was vaxed on schedule up to 1 yr, and then once her medicaid dropped they haven't taken her back. Either way, the kid is no longer getting junk shot into her veins, so I'm happy.

I don't know anybody who doesn't vaccinate. A few delay, but that's it. It's sort of lonely at times. There are a few people I care about who I've either suggested they really look into the issue and inform themselves, or I've actually told them that I changed my mind, from doing the recommended schedule to nothing at all between kids #1 and #2, hoping that they would at least consider there might be valid reasons for me to have done a complete 180. So far, no one has asked me any questions about why I changed my mind--I take that back, I talked with one friend who doesn't have kids yet at lunch one day and told him some of the things that struck me most about the whole issue of vaccination. He hasn't brought up the issue since then, and his first child is due near the end of January.

Even more than doing something different than everyone else, I realize I feel isolated because of the people I've talked to on the subject (and I just brought up the topic gently, not in a confrontational manner), no one has asked any questions. Even if no one makes the same decision, the fact that we can't even discuss it is really makes me feel alone. I know it's a hot-button issue, but our inability to discuss it rationally and unemotionally prevents so much knowledge from being shared.

1babysmom, this is the only place I can go for support, too, and the first place I go to get direction on where to look for information. I guess there are a lot of us lurking about.

i semi know one lady at my LLL group that doesnt...other than that im all alone

I don't know anybody who doesn't vax. Apparently there are other patients in our ped office because he said that he doesn't discriminate against parents who don't choose to vax and that he has patients who are non-vaxed as a result. One of my friends is very pro-vax and I dread the day she asks how ds is handling his shots. She likes to brag about how her 10mo dd barely cries. Then again, we are growing apart for lots of reasons lately...

There is absolutely no one I know IRL who doesn't VAX. Not even selective or delayed. The only people who know that I have decided not to vax anymore is my immediate family. Not even ds's ped knows tho I would think they could guess it since he hasnt been in for a wbc since he was 4mo :lol

Whelp, my chiropractors family doesnt, and his friend who is a chiro didnt vax his 3 kids, and they are kind of my friends. That was it for a while. But now my brother and sil didnt vaccinate their ds, and a friend of mine decided not to vax (whoopeee!!!) after hearing some of my info and then reading all my back issues of Mothering... THEN, when my ds started kindergarten, his teacher approached me bc on her medical issues list, they listed him bc he is unvaxxed, and she said... "I noticed Avery is not vaccinated... Im not, and neither is my son. My dad is a chiropractor and my mom is a midwife" I was like !!!!!! I couldnt believe it, and then she went on to talk about how if anyhting he is the healthiest one, and why would htey have him on a medical issues list...

craziness..

so my circle is getting bigger...

Even more than doing something different than everyone else, I realize I feel isolated because of the people I've talked to on the subject (and I just brought up the topic gently, not in a confrontational manner), no one has asked any questions. Even if no one makes the same decision, the fact that we can't even discuss it is really makes me feel alone. I know it's a hot-button issue, but our inability to discuss it rationally and unemotionally prevents so much knowledge from being shared.

.

i understand how you feel, but I think its important to keep doing what you are doing. Gently inform people that you dont. I think its good to just get the idea out there that its possible not to vaccinate. The comment I get the most is, "well then they cant go to school" which I immediately answer and inform them of exemptions. I know the exemptions for NH and ME, I live in ME on the border of NH, and my ds has attended school in both states, so it is possible :p , and thats a great way to prove to people that the myth is false.... I usually just explain all about exemptions and that most states offer religious and/or philosophical... (sorry got off topic)

Anyhow, i work with kids and I have spoken of it often but mostly only if the issue comes up. Sometimes people ask questions, sometimes they dont. I think its good to get the idea out there. Its like breastfeeding in public, the more its done, the more people see it, the better accepted it is.

All alone here, too.

I use to include my friends in the research I was doing and would tell them to come to MDC, but I don't think ANYONE has done it. I have a friend who's son is the same age as mine and at 9 months old, he stopped growing. He still weighs way below the norm. He has some type of major GI problem and is seeing lots of specialists. I told her for almost 2 years to please research vaccines because it could be the cause AND continuing to vax could make his condition much worse. As far as I know, she hasn't even questioned vaxes! COME ON!!! We rarely talk now. Her boy is VERY sick.

It is very important to inform people, though. I often think of a woman who tried to inform as many people as she could about vaccines in my area. I never had the chance to talk to her (I didn't have children at the time), but I have thought of her many times through my journey to not vaxing. She sort of gives me strength and support, even though I never knew her and she has now moved.

All alone here, too. Everyone I know vaxes fully and on schedule. I do bring it up to others, and a few have been receptive. I have no idea if they've done any research on their own or if it's affected their decisions to vax or not. It's almost like people DON'T want to hear it; maybe they'd just rather stay in their safe little comfort zones and not be challenged in any way. Or, maybe it's the fear thing. Just look at the scaremonging thread! "If you don't vax, you're child will DIE, and it will be YOUR FAULT!!!" :scratch

I used to be totally alone for years, IRL, not just w/ the vax issue either. Then my best friend had her first baby, looked into the vax issue, on her own initiative with some help/feedback from me along the way...and well now, at least we have each other. :lol

I guess we're lucky to have a veg playgroup that has many unvaxed children, plus some in our cooperative preschool, plus our old pediatrician (we changed due to a change in health insurance) didn't vax except for tetanus, and except for her older kids our midwife's kids aren't vaxed either, plus a local friend I met through MOMS Club no longer vaxes.
But when it comes to our mainstream activities, ie. Gymboree, YMCA playgroup, etc., most people vax on schedule, and they might ask about my choice not to vax, but they haven't freaked out about it. But I think I know far more parents IRL who don't vax than is the norm.

- Krista

I know many people who don't vax, but I only have one IRL friend who does not (after I introduced her to the idea). I've been to 3 chiros who don't vax and have joined a local board (via MDC) who has members that don't vax.

DD is the one and only person to ever attend her school not being fully vaxed.

I think that after we have kids, we slowly start to gravitate towards more like-minded people. Sometimes, we have to seek them out. I encourage all of you to hang in there. Once you put some feelers out, you may find that there are a few in hiding...just like you.

I know a fair number of people who delay or selectively vaccinate, but I am not sure that I know anyone else who is 100% no-vax. There are probably some that I 'know' but no one that I would consider more than a passing acquaintance.

(Watch, someone I know will read this and be offended at my characterization of our friendship! :lol There may be people! I just don't necessarily discuss it.)

when I first began researching, I had an 18 month old who had reacted to her first MMR and a friend who had a baby 6 months older who had been reacting to every shot he got :( Those "babies" are now 6.5 and 7.
She now has an unvaxed nearly 1 yr old and I have a very nearly unvaxed 3 yr old.

I also have a friend with a 3 yr old and newborn twins who has never vaxed, leaves her DSs intact, babywears, and breastfeeds.

I think they're it....

Oh and 2 business partners who won't vax anymore...

It pays to keep the issue alive :)

(Watch, someone I know will read this and be offended at my characterization of our friendship! :lol There may be people! I just don't necessarily discuss it.)

Ha ha! Not offended but you do know me.

Is there anyone else here who knows absolutely NO ONE "IRL" who doesn't vax or at least REAAAALY significantly delays and selectively vax's?? Seriously, this is the only place where I can ask questions and get support.

Right there with ya girlfriend. My kids ped and my older DS's school nurse think I am some sort of militant freak because I flat out refuse to vaccinate for anything, period, end of story. I am thinking that I am probably the only staunch non-vaccinator they have met based on their reactions. Oh well....:lol

Namaste,

Michelle

I know a few, but I met them all on an AP/NFL website. But most people I know vax.

Nope, not one.

And as far as I'm aware, even my natural-birthing friends back in my home state all fully vaxed their children.

And my SIL is as polar opposite from me as possible. I think if there were a new vax every week she'd be lining up to get it. She doesn't do any research but dismisses my choices categorically.

I know several people who do not. However, I don't discuss the issue with people IRL because I am very protective of my family. I know it would be safe to discuss it with certain people, but what if they mention it to people who shouldn't know?

We do not know anyone who doesn't vax and we don't tell anyone, including family (except for my parents, b/c they understand). We are CPS paranoid here. Also concerned that a religious exemption would be rejected if we ever talked about non-vaxing for medical reasons.

We are CPS paranoid b/c dh is a SAHD and a bit of a messy housekeeper (just mess, not dirt or filth, but it "looks" bad in at least some rooms most of the time) and b/c we have too many cats. Our realtor lied to us when we bought our house (he lived in the neighborhood; I was naive and thought he would know) about the village ordinance WRT how many domestic pets you can have. So I'm paranoid. If anyone took my dd away I think I'd lose my mind.

So yeah, basically doing it alone, and just paranoid here!

Julia
dd 9mos

I know several people who do not. However, I don't discuss the issue with people IRL because I am very protective of my family. I know it would be safe to discuss it with certain people, but what if they mention it to people who shouldn't know?


i dont know where you live, but i dont have to hide that I do not vaccinate from anybody. Its not against the law.

Lots of things that are not against the law are still kept private. It all depends on the local levels of tolerance of diversity.

Everyone has to judge for themselves what they feel safe revealing about their lives and who they want to share stuff with.

Now that I have a sort of public position (small town librarian) I'm finding myself much more reserved about my private life. It is as though I'm living surrounded by large picture windows. Weird.

Lots of things that are not against the law are still kept private. It all depends on the local levels of tolerance of diversity.

Everyone has to judge for themselves what they feel safe revealing about their lives and who they want to share stuff with.

Now that I have a sort of public position (small town librarian) I'm finding myself much more reserved about my private life. It is as though I'm living surrounded by large picture windows. Weird.

i see what you are saying, however i cant imagine who "shouldnt" know (in the US, anyhow), you know? I mean you can choose to be more private, but I just think its better educate people and familiarize them with the idea that vaccination IS an option...

My aunt stopped vaxing for awhile but she resumed and her children are now fully vax'd. She was the first non'vaxer I had ever heard of. I have no idea what caused her to allow her children to be vax'ed but I'm assuming pressure from her dh, dr, and public in general (she wasn't private about not vaxing was very vocal about the toxin's in vax's).

Since we stopped vaxing... almost two years ago, I've never met another non'vaxer at least not until two weeks ago... I went to the chiropractor for the first time and we got into a discussion about vaxing and the chiropractor is a non'vaxer!!! I told her about this site though I think she was already familiar.

I don't know anyone IRL who doesn't vaccinate, most everyone I know is very mainstream with other parenting choices too.

Me. I know one other person, but I'm not clear on whether she is just delaying/selective vaxing or not. I come here to get all of my vax info... I still cannot find a doc who is non-vax supportive.

I'm all alone

A woman at church who introduced me to the idea of homebirth did not vax any of her children until they entered school so they would have less vaccines, and I believe her last 2 were totally vax free.

I too am alone. My friends think I am nuts, but soon enough they will know the truth. I try educating some of them, I think the thing that bothers them the most is that they have never questioned vax's. When one friendsaid "what, is this your practice child", I replied "do you just blindly follow the advice of your doctor?"

I've had a couple of brief friendships with ladies I met online, then hung with IRL, but we don't live close anymore. :(

I don't know anyone else IRL who doesn't vax or selective vax's. My family thinks I'm nuts for being against the varicella vaccine so I'm sure they would think I am certifiable for not doing any at all. Technically both children have had shots - ds more than dd, but I have stopped and will reconsider them at a later date.

I am so lucky to have found a non-vax pediatrician through the local tribes! I just made our first appt today for dd's one year visit.

I don't know anyone IRL either. I have had 2 people ask me their thoughts becasue they were questioning some vax, but I believe they did get them. One I know for sure because she told me ( & she seems to be easily swayed by the 'ever knowledgeble' ped :Puke )

I need to get to the Find your Tribe board