Flu shots

ElRuby

Obviously a potentially controversial topic and one that hopefully doesn't breakdown into a vaccine debate but I am wondering what you are all planning on doing since LOs will soon be 6 months.... Here goes nothing

ElRuby

I have never received or given my child a flu shot but every year I feel anxious when the topic comes up.

caitlincunn

I have always gotten my dd her flu shot (born in February 2010 so didn't get it till the next winter) . I sometimes get it- like when I was pregnant. My fiancé doesn't get it because he never goes to the doctors/ or is sick. I am not sure if we will be doing it right when she is 6 months because that will be middle of December but I am planning on doing it. Unless if I am still EBF she gets immunity from me getting it? 4 month shots didn't go so well. I am thinking of doing 1 at a time at 6 months instead of the 3 togethter Plus a flu shot I think will be too much at once

YouAreMySunshine15

I never got the shot, until I ended up with a really terrible strain of the flu. After experiencing that, I'll do what I can to keep LO from getting it. So, she'll get the vaccine in December. I've already gotten it and DH is about to as well.

ETA: I also got one while pregnant and am BFing, so I guess my LO has some protection right now...maybe?

mishmardhiono

We are in aus so LO had her flu shot when I was pregnant but next year we will be getting it. A nurse on my facebook said to ask your doctor if they can give the vaccine in thirds. I believe its a specific vaccine but apparently its  common for children to react to the fluvax so giving it in smaller frequent doses lessens the chance of a reaction. 

Mommaswizz

ElRuby said:

I have never received or given my child a flu shot but every year I feel anxious when the topic comes up.

This exactly. I've never gotten a flu shot and im inclined to keep it that way but like you said, im already getting anxiety about whether or not I should do it for LO

aj1327

I got it and am breastfeeding. Don't know what I'll do at 6 months for LO, but if I decide to get it, I will be spacing it out.

ETA: I rarely get it, but I got it pregnant and this year because I wanted to give LO immunity as well as try to keep the flu out of our house. DH got it for the first time ever.

aresee

I never used to get it because I never get sick, but now that getting sick would affect me and my family a lot more, I don't see a downside. DH and I both got ours, and I plan to get LO vaccinated too, following his doctor's recommendation.

ChardeeMacDennis

If you are unsure about getting the shot yourself remember that it's not just to protect you: you are young and strong. It's to protect the very young, elderly, and immunocompromised people you see everyday, including your baby.

That said, LO is just 4 months and likely won't get the vaccine this season. The rest of us will, though.

delujm0

Our pedi said at our 4 month appointment that LO would get hers at her 6 month appointment.  That was before she had a reaction to her 4 month shots though - i don't know if the pedi would want to wait for a future appointment or still do it because of her adverse reaction to whatever vaccines happened at the previous visit.

 

LO goes to daycare so i'd really like her to have it...that place is a germ emporium.  I got mine at work as i do every year (it's free, so it can't hurt); DH got his for the first time ever because the pedi told him to (he has had absolutely terrible cases of the flu in 2 of the past 5 years, but still usually refuses to get the shot for some reason).  I see no downside to us getting it, seeing as I've never had a reaction to it other than a slightly sore arm.  But we'll see what the pedi says about LO.  I'd really like her to have the vaccine, but at the same time i would also like to not be up until 2am with her vomiting and running a 102 degree fever the night after getting her 6 month shots (which is what happened at 4 months).

 

ETA: our pedi also said that there have been no conclusive studies that prove that any immunity from the flu shot given during pregnancy or while breastfeeding make it to the baby.  It is theorized that that could be the case, but it is not generally accepted among the medical community that LO getting the vaccine second-hand does anything.

HayesRN13

Nope

caitlincunn

@HayesRN13 do you have a reason why? Just wondering since your a nurse and you probably have better information about the flu vaccine

KaLikeAWind

In the past 15 years I have had 2 flu vaccines. One last year while pregnant, and one 15 years ago. I usually don't get them, obviously. DH, being military, MUST get his every year. LO doesn't go to daycare and is not out and about much, tho hopefully that will change around 6m when we start going to shrimp dip (mom and baby swimming). I should have asked about this at his 4m appt (which we had just last week). Making a note of it to do so at the 6m around the holidays. I'll discuss our lifestyle with the pedi and if she wants LO to get it, I'll probably OK it. Like PP said - its to protect the very old, very young, immune compromised. Which means I'll probably end up getting it, too, so the household is covered. What a drag.
I'll probably ask the pedi to separate the flu vaccine from the other vaccines, tho. He tolerates vaccines very well (just is very sleepy that day and night) but I don't want to push my luck on that. I know they don't like to do that because people aren't compliant (they 'forget' to come back), but I'll be complaint.

caitlincunn

I have the opposite problem with shots.. She won't sleep during the day. So I'm hoping to spread them out

KarasTwin

I always get mine.  Missed year before last and got really sick, not the flu, but I thought I was dying.  I had the flu when I was 3 and a I remember wanting to die.  I'm going at lunch to get mine.  DH already had his.  LO won't be 6 months till right before Christmas, but I'm getting it at the 6 month appointment. 

dancegurl1118

We're required to at work now (or they shame you into requiring you to wear a mask or you lose your job). It's not for health, it's because Medicare/Medicaid reimburses facilities where a certain percentage of employees get the shot. They send roving vaccinators to every unit. It's disgusting.

That being said I get mine anyway, I had asthma as a child and always needed to get one. With how sick LO has been in the 1.5 months since she started daycare, I will be asking her doctor about it at our 6 week appointment. I got the swine flu one year and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

Emilywooddesign

I've never had a flu shot and I don't plan on giving flu shots to my kids- they did get their regular vaccines ( minus the oral vaccine) but I feel like the flu shot is unnecessary and their little immune systems will get strong on their own. I think it should only really be giving to the elderly. Uh ohhhhh, yaaaa I said that.

ElRuby

My Peds office was recently taken over by a larger organization and one of the obvious changes seems to be a greater push for vaccines (they used to not give the rotavirus one and now they do). Again, I am not referring to the major vaccines.... I am leaning toward continuing not to do the flu vaccine as that is what has always made sense for me. DH gets it though.

Sammy K

I don't get a flu shot but DH always does. He's a professor and in contact with many more people than me. DS will get his at his 3 year visit next week. LO hasn't had it and I forgot to ask at her 4 month appt. If our pedi recommends it, we will.

I have mixed feelings about the flu shot. 1. It's yearly so that's a lot of shots. 2. It isn't as effective as other vaccines. Last year the common flu strain wasn't in the vaccination so it was <50% effective. That said, I will vaccinate the kids until they are older. Sometime around age 12 I will explain the risks and let them decide. If I was in a profession where I was in contact with a lot of people, I probably would get it. I just don't think it makes sense for me.

virginiaunicorn11

I have gotten it for the past 5 years after being flat on my back with the flu for 11 days. Total and utter hell.
LO's doctor gives two half doses, at 6 and 7 months. I will follow that recommendation.
I work with flu researchers who always get their flu shots. That's reason enough for me to get mine, too. DH will get his first flu shot this year.

janat1717

No flu shots here

jessieR358

LO will get his at 6 months. I get the flu shot every year and so does my family. I'm also only hiring sitters that are up to date on the flu shot.

ashleymc09

I know they say they've improved it from last year, but I feel just like taking extra precautions to stay healthy and keep her healthy is the best route for us since the strain in the shot last year didn't match the flu that everybody got anyway (myself included). I've never had the flu shot in my life and never got the flu except for last year..but I didn't get tested so it could've just been a serious cold. I guess I've just heard too many stories of people getting the shot, then getting sick than I have of people getting the shot and not getting sick..so no for us.

btm013

I am a firm believer in the shot!! We used to live in Florida and never got sick but when we moved back to Pennsylvania I started getting them again and have avoided the flu. However, my husband never got one until one fateful year he got the flu. And it was baaaad. Fever of 104, almost hospitalized for pneumonia. I didn't so much as get a sniffle. I saw how badly it crippled my husband and I can't fathom having that happen to such a small infant. I'm all for them but I respect those who aren't. To each their own mamas!!

jessieR358

ashleymc09 said:

I know they say they've improved it from last year, but I feel just like taking extra precautions to stay healthy and keep her healthy is the best route for us since the strain in the shot last year didn't match the flu that everybody got anyway (myself included). I've never had the flu shot in my life and never got the flu except for last year..but I didn't get tested so it could've just been a serious cold. I guess I've just heard too many stories of people getting the shot, then getting sick than I have of people getting the shot and not getting sick..so no for us.

I tell my patients that getting the flu from the flu shot is like getting tetanus from the tdap vaccine. It just doesn't happen. The flu shot is a dead virus. you may get a strain that wasn't in it, but not from the actual vaccine itself. I always hope that helps people who are on the fence about getting it.

ashleymc09

jesshrou said:

I tell my patients that getting the flu from the flu shot is like getting tetanus from the tdap vaccine. It just doesn't happen. The flu shot is a dead virus. you may get a strain that wasn't in it, but not from the actual vaccine itself. I always hope that helps people who are on the fence about getting it.

It's not that I think you can get the flu from the shot, I don't know what the cause of the correlation is, but the only people I've known who get the flu are people who get the shot...really what it probably is, is that I make a mass assumption based on a few instances haha.

ElRuby

@ashleymc09 don't feel bad I have had the same experiences with this as well ...

ahall0358

No flu shot for us!

MouseMama817

DD isn't old enough yet but DH and I got it to keep her protected. Good thing too since my mom, dad, stepsister, and both cousins all have it right now!

HayesRN13

^^ I would still stay away (you and babe)..don't think you are protected just because you got the shot

ElRuby

I think that may be one of the reasons people get sick after the shot because they think it is like a super force field and common sense hygiene goes out the window!

MouseMama817

HayesRN13 said:

^^ I would still stay away (you and babe)..don't think you are protected just because you got the shot

Totally agree. I don't go out unless it's absolutely necessary. And I know the shot is basically a guess each season

upandbelow

There is also a difference between influenza and the everyday stomach flu. Our doc walked DH through this the other day. When LO is 6 months old, she'll be getting her flu shot, I got mine today and DH has promised he'll get his!

addingon

We don't do flu shots and I'm inclined to do the same for LO.

delujm0

upandbelow said:

There is also a difference between influenza and the everyday stomach flu. Our doc walked DH through this the other day. When LO is 6 months old, she'll be getting her flu shot, I got mine today and DH has promised he'll get his!

This is true. Also a lot of people claim to have "the flu" when it is really just a bad cold. The actual flu is a nightmare, like @virginiaunicorn11 said above, that typically leads to extremely high fevers and being bedridden for many days. One of the times dh had it he fainted due to his fever, smacking his head on a counter on the way down, and bit through his lower lip, requiring stitches...so he was a complete disaster for over a week. He also had a bad case of H1N1 a few years back.

This is why I get the shot even though it's not 100% effective...I'll gladly take whatever protection I can get against anything similar to what dh had. And some studies have shown that when vaccinated people do get the flu, it tends to be less severe. I think it's worth it. LO will have hers mainly bc of daycare...they send her home at the slightest provocation as it is and I have no idea what we'd do if one of us had to take a week+ off of work to care for her if she got it. So hopefully it will work!

aj1327

^^^^ A previous coworker of mine got the flu a few years back and also fainted, chipping her front tooth when she fell. I've definitely heard from many that once you get the real flu, you will start getting the flu shot.

YouAreMySunshine15

delujm0 said:

upandbelow said:

There is also a difference between influenza and the everyday stomach flu. Our doc walked DH through this the other day. When LO is 6 months old, she'll be getting her flu shot, I got mine today and DH has promised he'll get his!

This is true. Also a lot of people claim to have "the flu" when it is really just a bad cold. The actual flu is a nightmare, like @virginiaunicorn11 said above, that typically leads to extremely high fevers and being bedridden for many days. One of the times dh had it he fainted due to his fever, smacking his head on a counter on the way down, and bit through his lower lip, requiring stitches...so he was a complete disaster for over a week. He also had a bad case of H1N1 a few years back.

This is why I get the shot even though it's not 100% effective...I'll gladly take whatever protection I can get against anything similar to what dh had. And some studies have shown that when vaccinated people do get the flu, it tends to be less severe. I think it's worth it. LO will have hers mainly bc of daycare...they send her home at the slightest provocation as it is and I have no idea what we'd do if one of us had to take a week+ off of work to care for her if she got it. So hopefully it will work!

Yes! I hate it when people assume their cold is the flu. No... The flu is the flu. I can totally understand how it kills people. I couldn't move for a week!

HoosOnFirst

Sigh. Please gets your flu shots, folks. Some of us have asthma. We will get ours and LO will get whatever the doc allows, because it's the right thing to do for society. Any benefits totally outweigh the risks.

aj1327

^^^Honestly I've never really gotten it until I was pregnant. I think my mom used to make me as a kid, but can't tell you the last time I got it as an adult. I sure got it this year and now that I have a baby that's too young to get it who the flu could be extremely serious for, people not getting it seems so irresponsible and kind of annoys me. I realize this makes me a total hypocrite.

KaLikeAWind

Ha! ^^ this exactly. Tho, what correlation between the flu and asthma? I feel like I should be able to connect these dots but am not able to right now. Is it because if someone with asthma gets the flu it can become pneumonia? Because like I said before, until last year I never got a flu shot, but I am pretty sure I have undiagnosed asthma. You've piqued my curiosity, @hoodoll82

HoosOnFirst

Ah yes, I'm so cryptic @mellymar!

If you have asthma, the flu affects you way worse, supposedly. My primary care doc always reads me the riot act to get the shot every year. Dr Google mentions increased asthma attacks since flu and asthma are both respiratory, and increased likelihood of pneumonia. DH has asthma too, and so LO almost certainly will. Crappy lungs FTW!