vaccines

AFwife1106

How did you ladies do your immunization schedules?  I want LO to get all of her shots, but I don't want to overload her immune system.. I want to space them out a little.  

I asked today, and the NICU said that they would usually give her 5 vaccines on one day before she goes home (Dtp, HIP, Pneumonia, Hep B and something else).  When I mentioned spacing them out a little, they said it'd be fine..

I need to do a little more research and figure out what I want to do but I thought you ladies would have some experience that I couldn't find on google..

SWMcFarland

We have followed the AAP's recommended schedule with no modifications or delays.

mommamorris

when you give the doses individually they have higher levels of thimerosal (the mercury that everyone references.) so be aware of that... but spacing them out or delaying is really better. i know dr. sears recommends going by adjusted age.

as i mentioned on a previous post, i've seen many babies in our nicu have major setbacks, and even delay going home due to adverse reactions to their vaccines. (including having more events-bradys, desats, apnea- to having to be put on trophic feeds because they stopped digesting their full feeds- stomach got very distended just over night, having to be put back in an isolette- not maintaing body temperature, having to be put back on cannula or even cpap in one case. nk['we decided not to put her through that for now. (i know it's a pretty unpopular opinion, but we're delaying for an undetermined amount of time.) all that said, i know there are many preemies and termies that have no evident side effects. it's up to you though, don't let anyone pressure you to their way of thinking. that's your precious little one!

we are doing the synagis... it's actually the antibody, not a live virus, so it doesn't have the same chemical content as others. (plus the risk of RSV is so huge- and the effects of it would be terrible.)

hailie

We also didn't delay or modify the schedule, but DS was born significantly later than your LO. I *think* some of the ladies here followed Dr. Sears' recommendations for preemies on vaccines...I'd check there for info.

lemen99

SWMcFarland:

We have followed the AAP's recommended schedule with no modifications or delays.

That's what we did too.

Rachel&Joe

we researched this issue for MONTHS.  I even contacted Dr. Sears directly & he recommended getting all of the shots before she left the NICU (she got them at about 2.75 months old).  With preemies, often the risk of the illnesses (Pertussis especially) is a larger concern than the vaccines since pertussis is often fatal in preemies (Stella's NICU has a pertussis outbreak not too long ago & it was devastating, especially to those babies with chronic lung disease that just don't have the capacity for whooping cough).  The pneumococcal one is a big one too, as is the HIB.  We were considering delaying the polio & the Hep B indefinitely but it turned out they were included in some of the combination vaccines along with other ones we really wanted her to get.  Dr. Sears stressed the importance of her having the shots while still in the NICU so her nurses could watch out for any adverse effects & she would be under medical care in case she took a big back slide.

We talked to many pediatricians about the subject & in our case, they all recommended doing them before departing the NICU.  Combined with Dr. Sear's personal recommendation, we did the shots and you know what?  All that worrying was for nothing.  She did great.  She was a little sleepy for a day or two but she stayed at her normal O2 level (1/4 ltr which she's still on now because of her chronic lung disease), continued with her normal feeds by mouth, & was pretty much her normal self (except for the sleepiness).

I also talked to lots of doctors about spreading the vaccines out over several weeks or days at least.  They recommended doing them all at once (and if you think about it, it makes sense): the babies are dosed with tylenol during the process to lessen the possible side effects of the vaccines.  I decided I didn't want Stella on & off tylenol for days/weeks.  And I also didn't want to prolong the sleepiness, etc.

So that is what we decided on.  We spent lots and lots of time making out decision.  And the NICU was willing to do whatever we decided on, which is great.  My husband and I are pretty crunchy parents so I was suprised that we ended up vaccinating in the end.  If I didn't have a preemie, I would have done a very delayed, selective schedule, but since I did have a micro preemie & she has been sick before with pneumonia which is one of the illnesses that one of the vaccines covered, I was compelled.

Let me know if you have any questions & good luck! 

TriciaJoy

Our NICU spreads them into 2 shots as normal procedure. He then got his 4 months shots all at once and didn' thave the greatest reaction (just really sick for a day) so his 6 months shots I spread out again. I went ahead and had his 12m shots done at once and he did totally fine.

 

gymrat

I highly recommend Dr. Sear's schedule in The Vaccine Book. We are doing his delayed schedule according to their adjusted age. Yes, it absolutely meant we had to be more careful with germs and exposing them during flu season. We kept them under lock & key all flu/RSV season and only healthy people could come and see them and no kids. 

Now, I probably would have done things a little differently if they had to go to daycare so keep in mind that mine are at home and not exposed a lot. 

I am very happy with the schedule and my pedi backs it 100%.