Vaccination Appointment

tarheelgirl8

Any suggestions or tips from BTDT moms on babies first vaccinations?  I've heard that it can be a little traumatic for them (and mom!).  Unfortunately DD will start daycare the week before she goes for her vaccinations.  Right now, the appointment is scheduled for first thing in the morning which is what I usually did for my appointments so I can miss less time at work.  But now I'm wondering if I should try to reschedule for the late afternoon so we can be together afterwords, instead of having to drop her off at daycare right after.  Thoughts?

AshleyM0125

DD slept almost all day after her shots. I wouldn't feel guilty about taking LO to daycare after. Honestly, it is very traumatic at the time, but at this age I don't think they remember too much. It's worse for us!

deviduke412

I know woman who BF while the shots were administered.

buckleyk

My DS never had any issues with the shots and always slept A LOT afterwards! He was also easily comforted afterwards with his pacifier and a swaddle. Personally, I didn't find it that difficult to watch but he had spent some time in the NICU so I had seen worse. Also, I reminded myself it was all for his own good.

CaliforniaDream87

If you BF-do it while LO is getting their shots it just eases the pain somehow. Also, some babies need Tylenol after so I would have some on hand. I've always taken off work for these appointments. I just needed to be with my baby after they get vaccinations.

Miz_Liz

CaliforniaDream87 said:

If you BF-do it while LO is getting their shots it just eases the pain somehow. Also, some babies need Tylenol after so I would have some on hand. I've always taken off work for these appointments. I just needed to be with my baby after they get vaccinations.

This 100%. I always BF after but am going to try during this time. I personally could not leave my baby after but I was able to get the time off. You have to do what you have to do, doesn't make you a bad mom!

blovemama

I would try to schedule for afternoon so you can be home afterwards. My little guy was super clingy. He just slept but everytime I put him down he would cry.

brookevirlaine

I would recommend at least having a boob or bottle ready for right after the shots, or as pps suggested, during. And schedule the appt so you can be with her after. With my first, DS, he had a "normal" reaction a few hours after he got his very first set of shots. He had swelling and redness from his hip to his knee. And muscle soreness. You could tell because everytime his leg would move even slightly he would cry. I'm not telling you this to scare you by any means, and I think this kind of "normal" reaction probably isn't that common but I just would want to be with my LO in case this happens. I scheduled my DDs shots on a day I have off and will be giving her Tylenol before the appt as well. Hopefully she won't have the same reaction as her big brother did! FX

ElleMF728

DS would just cry until I picked him up and then he was fine.  I felt worse than he did and compared to taking him to get his shots when he turned 1 year old, these first rounds are a walk in the park! 

tarheelgirl8

Thanks for your input, everyone!  I think I am going to reschedule the appointment for late afternoon vs early morning so I can be with her after. 

Funny side note: when I mentioned this to DH, he said "well if she is going to be fussy afterwards, wouldn't it be better to let daycare deal with it?"    @-)

MamaMandy2015

They tend to be fussy, my suggestion is to give them Tylenol about an hour before the appt, that way is has time to kick in and if they have any soreness or issues after the shots it won't be as bad. My kids pedi (which was my pedi when I was a child! How cool is that?!) told me to start doing this because it would help with the pain of getting the shot and the soreness afterwards. Also after all they will want will be mama