What vaccines did you give/not give your child?

arcook0307

I grew up completely ignorant to the fact that vaccines could be bad---or processed foods for that matter .  I am pregnant with my first child and I hear of people I know that don't give ANY vaccines and others who are choosy about which ones.  I don't even know which vaccines kids get these days but I was hoping some of you could enlighten me on which vaccines you avoid and which ones you think may be "okay".  If you have reasons, that would be great too.  I am fully willing to do my own research but just don't know where to begin.  Thanks!

wifeofadam

I don't think that vaccines are bad at all.  I am thankful that we have them available so my children don't die from diseases that could have been prevented. 

We chose to give everything except for varicella, rotavirus, and yearly flu shots with our boys.  With our daughter we decided to also skip Hep B.  With varicella we will vaccinate as teenagers if they haven't already contracted the disease and with Hep B we will leave it up to her to decide.

With all other vaccines, we only do one shot at a time and break up all combo shots that we can.  We go every two weeks until my kids are caught up.  For example, we get one shot at the 2 month appointment and then go every two weeks.  By the 4 month appt we are caught up and ready to start the next round.  

This is such a personal decision.  I would suggest that you do some research on the pros and cons of each vaccine and make the decision that is best for your family.  Good luck.

wheelsonthebus

This is a very controversial topic and I'm always hesitant to answer these posts. However, here I go. I weighed the benefits vs risks involved with each vaccine. I gave my son everything but the flu shot, rotavirus, swine flu, and chicken pox vax. I will say I gave him the flu shot during his first year of life. I also only gave my son one shot at a time. This involved many trips to the pedi, but even my pediatrician who is very VERY pro vaccine suggested this.  I'm not going to defend why I did what I did, but I will say that my H and I carefully researched each vaccine and weighed the benefits and the risks involved with each one. I believe vaccinating is a decision to be made by families and I am fully supportive of someone that chooses to not get any at all.

smerka

I would start with your pediatrician and go from there.  You will find a lot of information on the Internet both for and against vaccines and some of it from questionable sources.  If you are going to do Internet research I would stick with reliable sources like the AAP.  They are pro vaccine and I'm not exactly sure of any good anti vaccine sites since I am very pro-vaccine.  But start with your pediatrician.

JoeysLady

Dr. Sears Vaccine book is also a good resource, although it leans towards a delayed schedule for vaccinations.  I chose to give DD all vaccines besides the flu, although we did a delayed schedule and spit up everything that we could.  We will do the same with this next little one, except we will probably not give the Hep B either.  I had DD prematurely and they gave her the Hep B before I really had a chance to research it. 

wheelsonthebus

JoeysLady:

Dr. Sears Vaccine book is also a good resource, although it leans towards a delayed schedule for vaccinations.  I chose to give DD all vaccines besides the flu, although we did a delayed schedule and spit up everything that we could.  We will do the same with this next little one, except we will probably not give the Hep B either.  I had DD prematurely and they gave her the Hep B before I really had a chance to research it. 

Yes, I agree about the heb b. I didn't have a chance to fully research this one either and I'm thinking we will skip it for the next LO. And yes, the Sears book is a must!

wheelsonthebus

JoeysLady:

Dr. Sears Vaccine book is also a good resource, although it leans towards a delayed schedule for vaccinations.  I chose to give DD all vaccines besides the flu, although we did a delayed schedule and spit up everything that we could.  We will do the same with this next little one, except we will probably not give the Hep B either.  I had DD prematurely and they gave her the Hep B before I really had a chance to research it. 

Yes, I agree about the heb b. I didn't have a chance to fully research this one either and I'm thinking we will skip it for the next LO. And yes, the Sears book is a must!

Mamasaurus

We are going to skip the rotavirus vaccine for sure, and probably the chicken pox as well. I might skip the flu, but not sure yet. Hep B will be delayed, and we want to space out the MMR and TDP a little more than the CDC recommends as well. Because I have had bad reactions from vaccines in the past, and so has another relative, I might delay the polio and a few others until we can get some allergy tests done on LO to make sure there are no severe allergies to hidden vaccine ingredients like egg, shellfish, and peanuts.

dosafyre

I'd say either follow the recommended schedule, or do your homework. We also referred to the Sears book for ingredient info (but not schedule). We basically have gotten them all within the recommended window targets, but only 1-2 at a time (things like MMR got spaced even more from other shots).

We skipped rotovirus, flu after the first year, and delayed Hep A & B and HPV until older/teen/adult. I also tried to track the maker in case there are issues that come up later. If you are curious...here's our schedule:

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2 months           DTap:Daptacel + Hib:ActHib
3* months         PCV:Prevnar + IPV:Ipol
4  months          DTap:Daptacel + Hib:ActHib
3*  months        PCV:Prevnar + IPV:Ipol
6  months         DTap:Daptacel + Flu:Fluzone
7* months          PCV:Prevnar + Hib : ActHib + Flu:Fluzone
9 months            IPV:Ipol
12 months          PVC:Prevnar + Hib:ActHib
15 months          MMR:MerckII
16* months         VAR:Varivax
18 months          DTap:Daptacel + Hep A:Brand?
2yr                      Hep A:Brand?
3                                                        
4                          DTap:Daptacel (4-6y)+ IPV:Ipol (4-6y)
5                          VAR:Varivax (4-6y)
6                           MMR:MerckII (4-6y)
12                         MCV4 (11y+)+ Tdap:? (11-12y?) 
13                       
13+                       Hep B (std) + HPV (std: 3-dose)
16                         MCV4 booster (needed?)

*nurse-only shot visits
?Hep B (3 dose-series)  1^st,  2nd: 1-2months later, 3^rd: 4-12months later
?MCV4, 11-12y needs a booster at 16yrs. First shot 13-15yrs, needs a booster at 16-18years

 

carlinlp

We were once very pro vaccine. We followed the recommended schedule until our child suffered a horrible vaccine injury that almost took his life. We are lucky he's still with us and that he doesn't have permanent brain damage. Obviously, we no longer vaccinate our children. It is the biggest regret of our lives. 

rosiemomma

I get flamed for being in the middle ground mainly because people seem to think this subject is black & white. Here is some info for you:

this is the best  "middle ground"  one:

https://www.nvic.org/

 

https://www.canaryparty.org/

https://drtenpenny.com/about_drTenpenny.aspx

https://icpa4kids.org/HPA-Articles/vaccinations-a-parents-right-to-choose.html

https://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/ 

https://thinktwice.com/

 

I have more if you want! 

Soyager

rosiemomma:

I get flamed for being in the middle ground mainly because people seem to think this subject is black & white. Here is some info for you:

this is the best  "middle ground"  one:

https://www.nvic.org/

 

https://www.canaryparty.org/

https://drtenpenny.com/about_drTenpenny.aspx

https://icpa4kids.org/HPA-Articles/vaccinations-a-parents-right-to-choose.html

https://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/ 

https://thinktwice.com/

 

I have more if you want! 

Great resources! I posted about the vaccine debate, staying essentially in the middle, and got a lot of commentary--from both sides. You'll find some good resources in the comments.
https://healthfulmama.com/2011/10/the-vax-debate-neither-side-is-right/  

kdello

We vaccinate according to the AAP schedule, only we only do two shots per visit.

Dobie_Mama

kdello:

We vaccinate according to the AAP schedule, only we only do two shots per visit.

This, but we only do one per visit. Which means we go in a lot around well check time but meh, no biggie. 

Blackvelvet

The risk of the vaccine is less then from the ilness they are designed to prevent.  The more people who do not vaccinate the worse it is for every single person.  I hate people who think they are better then everyone else and don't vaccinate becasue they are risking others lives by doing so and that is just plain not cool.  The vaccines are not 100% at protecting so it only works if everyone does it.

lindy27

We are vaccinating on the normal schedule.  Something to look into is public schools here will not accept non-vaccinated children, you can also not send them to daycare. They can't go to school/daycare here without chickenpox as well.

My kid will also not have playmates that are non-vaccinated encase my child doesn't take all the vaccinations, not worth the risk to me.  I know I am an extreme case, but I am a decent believer in modern medicine. I do however think children are given too much medicine for colds/flu but that is a whole different story.

old_time_girl

We are not vaccinating.

I love it when people say, "My vax kid can't play with your non-vax kids because it's too risky"

Um, my child is not a 'carrier' of disease just because he wasn't and won't be vaxed. If anything, it's YOUR child whos a risk to mine because your kid is carrying dead or live virses! Thanks.

njh514

SouthSideDrea:

I gave my son all recommended vaccines on schedule.

This is what we did. We haven't done the flu shot. 

wheelsonthebus

lindy27:

We are vaccinating on the normal schedule.  Something to look into is public schools here will not accept non-vaccinated children, you can also not send them to daycare. They can't go to school/daycare here without chickenpox as well.

My kid will also not have playmates that are non-vaccinated encase my child doesn't take all the vaccinations, not worth the risk to me.  I know I am an extreme case, but I am a decent believer in modern medicine. I do however think children are given too much medicine for colds/flu but that is a whole different story.

This is completely FALSE. You can fill out the proper paperwork to say that it is against your personal beliefs to vax. I know many children in school right now that are not vaccinated. As for daycare, wrong again. I run a home daycare and no child can be denied care on those grounds. You must again state that it is against your personal beliefs.

Dobie_Mama

wheelsonthebus:

lindy27:

We are vaccinating on the normal schedule.  Something to look into is public schools here will not accept non-vaccinated children, you can also not send them to daycare. They can't go to school/daycare here without chickenpox as well.

My kid will also not have playmates that are non-vaccinated encase my child doesn't take all the vaccinations, not worth the risk to me.  I know I am an extreme case, but I am a decent believer in modern medicine. I do however think children are given too much medicine for colds/flu but that is a whole different story.

This is completely FALSE. You can fill out the proper paperwork to say that it is against your personal beliefs to vax. I know many children in school right now that are not vaccinated. As for daycare, wrong again. I run a home daycare and no child can be denied care on those grounds. You must again state that it is against your personal beliefs.

This is completely dependent on where you live. Some states allow philosophical exemptions, which sounds like what you're talking about, others offer only medical or religious. The state in which I live (WV) offers ONLY medical exemptions (MS is the same) so here, if your child goes to school or daycare, you vax fully. Unless, of course, your child has a proven medical reaction. Medical exemptions are extremely hard to get here. 

noryang

We have taken a long, hard look at this. But we are in an unusual circumstance. As a foreign service family this is a big issue for us. We "need" more vaccines than most. However, at a time when I was receiving many vaxes (prior to our last post) I suffered from a vaccination injury. And this when refusing some of the recommended vaccines and working on a very delayed schedule. Now when baby is four months old - we will be traveling back overseas (to live in a developing country) so skipping vaccinations altogether is a little too risky for us and LO. There are some nasty bugs out there that are just not a big worry in the States. However, we will be delaying many vaccinations for as long as seems reasonable. We appreciated Dr. Sears' ideas very much and are blessed to have a pediatrician with very sane and reasonable ideas about this issue.

MegDC

old_time_girl:

We are not vaccinating.

I love it when people say, "My vax kid can't play with your non-vax kids because it's too risky"

Um, my child is not a 'carrier' of disease just because he wasn't and won't be vaxed. If anything, it's YOUR child whos a risk to mine because your kid is carrying dead or live virses! Thanks.

This is the dumbest thing I have ever read on The Bump.   If, for example, your child gets polio the symptoms will not start on day 1.  But others will be able to catch it, before you know.  As a pregnant person who is in a high risk category and soon to be the mom of an infant too little to be vaccinated right away, your child could literally kill me or my baby.  Unvaccinated kids CAN be walking time bombs, especially for infants who are too young to be fully vaccinated.

Heather R

Please move to a 3rd world country, non-vaccinators who have no medical reason to decline vaccines.  Thank you.

 

 

JeniLovesNeil

I'm pretty impressed.  It sounds like there's so many of you on here with PhD's.  Oh, wait...   

+diana82+

JeniLovesNeil:

I'm pretty impressed.  It sounds like there's so many of you on here with PhD's.  Oh, wait...   

Dr. Google yo.

Sibil

Measles is one of the most dangerous diseases the world has seen. I believe it is currently the leading cause of death for children under 5.

There is so much misinformation in this thread. Viruses cam and have been eradicated. See smallpox. Polio was on track as well, but it is now resulting in parts of africa and india. Also, the polio vax the us uses now is the ipv, not the oral live version. That's just the beginning of the misinformation I saw scrolling through.

Heather R

old_time_girl:

We are not vaccinating.

I love it when people say, "My vax kid can't play with your non-vax kids because it's too risky"

Um, my child is not a 'carrier' of disease just because he wasn't and won't be vaxed. If anything, it's YOUR child whos a risk to mine because your kid is carrying dead or live virses! Thanks.

lol!  someone failed basic health class.

Also, please give some statistics on how often a live virus has mutated and spread as a result of a vaccine.

Yeah, vaccinated people are the ones to worry about. 

How do you people get through life being this woefully stupid?

 

 

Temp534591562502098

I vaccinated my daughter for all the recommended diseases including chicken pox and the yearly flu vax because I understand biology and don't want her to get any of those diseases.

Temp534591562502098

rosiemomma:

I get flamed for being in the middle ground mainly because people seem to think this subject is black & white. Here is some info for you:

this is the best  "middle ground"  one:

https://www.nvic.org/

 

https://www.canaryparty.org/

https://drtenpenny.com/about_drTenpenny.aspx

https://icpa4kids.org/HPA-Articles/vaccinations-a-parents-right-to-choose.html

https://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/ 

https://thinktwice.com/

 

I have more if you want! 

Do you have any actual medical resources? Because none of these are. 

 

JeniLovesNeil

majorwife:

sugrfrejaz:

I vaccinated my daughter for all the recommended diseases including chicken pox and the yearly flu vax because I understand biology and don't want her to get any of those diseases.

this and this thread reminds me that i need to fight for stronger legislation to make vaxxing mandatory in all states w/ no religious  exemptions

Please do. 

sandyapples

This!