Staying home sick after vaccinations?

ball.and.chain · January 2015

So B got another round of vaccinations yesterday and a flu shot to boot. He was sleepy and cranky and running a fever all afternoon and wouldn't let us put him down for bed. He ate a little bit but basically wasn't interested in bottles. S slept with him and he moaned pathetically half the night. At 1:30 am his temp was 101.9. We gave him Tylenol and he slept decently until I got up with him at 6:15.

In the past he's been fussy/out of sorts/a little feverish from vaccinations, but this was worse (I'm guessing bc of the flu shot). This morning I was hoping he'd have slept it off, as he has before. But his temp was 100.6 at 6:30 am and he was fussy again. I really wanted to send him to daycare since I know he's not contagious, but he was so miserable I couldn't bring myself to do it. I ended up calling in sick to work, and I feel totally guilty about it because my co-worker is on vacation today so this leaves us pretty short-staffed.

Of course once I called in sick, he's been acting JUST FINE. I put him in his jumper seat to occupy him while I wrote some work emails, and he's having a grand time. I feel like banging my head against the wall.

So I'm curious -- do you keep your kids home from daycare/school if they are running fevers the morning after vaccinations? I feel like he's not really "sick" but since I'm not supposed to send him in with a fever and he's not himself, it seems wrong to send him.

2momsinCA · January 2015

We don't go to daycare but I just wanted to say that after my boys had their 6 month vaccinations (which included a flu shot) they also ran temperatures for a full 2 days after. Owen acted normal and had we been doing daycare, I would have sent him since that fever was just a bit of an inflammatory response. I wouldn't have even thought to check O's temp, but Ben seemed sick so we checked both. Ben was noticeabley fussier and just totally out of sorts so I would kept him home.

I think at their next appt they are supposed to get another "flu booster" which I'm not looking forward to. Especially since I've been reading bad things about the flu shot this year like it doesn't cover the most common strains going around.

Karlamo · January 2015

So for us we don't deliberately keep him home after vaccines; only if he's not feeling well. Our dc is strict with fevers and kids have to be fever free for 24 hours without meds before you can send them. They will kick parents/kids out who break the rules on purpose.
So with that in mind, I would be keeping him home just in case it's not the shots but him actually coming down with something.

ball.and.chain · January 2015

Thanks, @2momsinCA, based on your response and the poll results so far I am thinking I am not a nutjob after all for keeping him home. Phew!

I have heard the same about this year's flu shot, but they are still saying that even though it isn't as effective as hoped, it is still better to have it than not! B is due for a flu booster in a bit as well. I think that may have been the clincher this time. Ah well. I'd rather he has a day or two of fever than get pertussis, measles or end up in the hospital with a bad case of the flu!

ball.and.chain · January 2015

Karlamo said:

So for us we don't deliberately keep him home after vaccines; only if he's not feeling well. Our dc is strict with fevers and kids have to be fever free for 24 hours without meds before you can send them. They will kick parents/kids out who break the rules on purpose. So with that in mind, I would be keeping him home just in case it's not the shots but him actually coming down with something.

Fair enough! Our dc is kind of lenient with things like that so I tend to wonder sometimes if I'm being crazy but it sounds like I'm not! Sometimes I just need a reality check to ease my working mom guilt.

ball.and.chain · January 2015

I should add that after I posted this thread, he finally ate a whole 6 oz bottle and then totally passed out in his crib. Obviously exhausted, and I know he sleeps better at home than at daycare so that alone is worth it!

redrockmama · January 2015

I said I'd keep him home if he didnt seem to feel well. In the past he just sleeps after vaccinations so I went back to work. His pedi appointment is tomorrow so we'll see. Since we don't use day care, I would go to work if I had a big deadline or something. I'd most likely call in to work though cause sick babies want their mommies right?

ball.and.chain · January 2015

redrockmama said:

I'd most likely call in to work though cause sick babies want their mommies right?

That's how I feel! I'm interested to see how M handles this round since this seems to be the toughest for B. Is he getting a flu shot too?

No big deadlines, work's been slow and I have unlimited sick time. I just feel guilty sometimes because I don't want my co-workers to feel like I am getting special treatment or something. Stupid I know. I am feeling less guilty though now! I'm glad I stayed home.

jennicole85 · January 2015

There's something horrible about the 6 month vaccinations and flu shot. D had a super high fever (103 - 104) that had me terrified accompanied by frequent projectile vomiting and a midnight ER visit. It was the worst illness we've had to date. However I SAH so we didn't really have the daycare issue.

If I were in your shoes I would have done exactly the same thing. Daycares around here have a super strict 24 hour no fever rule too, so there wouldn't have been a choice.

ball.and.chain · January 2015

Yikes, @jennicole85, that is high! I checked Baby 411 last night when B got close to 102 and it said you need to call the pedi if a) the fever is more than 48h after vax or b) the fever is over 105. I was like, 105??? There is no way I would make it that far without calling the pedi!
@-)

jennicole85 · January 2015

Nope, I called the pedi at 103 and then it went up. There's no way I'd let it get to 105 before calling! Unfortunately, the only thing I could give him at 6 months was alternating Tylenol and Ibuprofen along with Benadryl every 4 hours. Looking back I guess I didn't HAVE to go to the ER but I'm still glad I did. 6 month vaccinations are evil.

JGY · January 2015

I voted "Buck up, kid" but I'm not really that inflexible. G's never had a reaction to any vaccinations, so I just don't have any experience with that particular connundrum.

That being said, he's getting his flu shot on Monday (after already having influenza A this winter) so I might change my mind.

About the high fevers ... we haven't had many but anything between (or above, yikes) 103-104 makes me really nervous. Of course they always seem to have those high fevers in the middle of the night, so I thank god for the 24-hour nurse line.

@ball.and/chain - if B continues to feel good and act normal this morning do you have the option to bring him to DC for the afternoon and head into the office?

ball.and.chain · January 2015

JGY said:
@ball.and/chain - if B continues to feel good and act normal this morning do you have the option to bring him to DC for the afternoon and head into the office?

They might take him since they know he had vaccinations yesterday and that is most likely the reason for the fever. But my commute is long so I hate going in for half a day -- it feels like a waste to spend 2 hours (round trip) commuting for 4 hours of work. I am actually logged in to my work email now and doing a couple of things since B is napping. And I was able to keep an eye on my email earlier in the morning, which was actually when we had the most significant coverage issue. So I think I'm probably good either way. And he is probably better off at home at this point.

Andplusalso, though this did not factor in to my decision to stay home, S gets off early today (4) and I'm excited about getting a couple of extra hours of time with her!

JGY · January 2015

ball.and.chain said:

JGY said:
@ball.and/chain - if B continues to feel good and act normal this morning do you have the option to bring him to DC for the afternoon and head into the office?

They might take him since they know he had vaccinations yesterday and that is most likely the reason for the fever. But my commute is long so I hate going in for half a day -- it feels like a waste to spend 2 hours (round trip) commuting for 4 hours of work. I am actually logged in to my work email now and doing a couple of things since B is napping. And I was able to keep an eye on my email earlier in the morning, which was actually when we had the most significant coverage issue. So I think I'm probably good either way. And he is probably better off at home at this point.

Andplusalso, though this did not factor in to my decision to stay home, S gets off early today (4) and I'm excited about getting a couple of extra hours of time with her!

Yeah, I thought I remembered you had an icky commute. In that case it makes no sense to go in for half the day. I'm glad you've been able to provide the coverage that your colleagues need, I'm sure that helps.

I always feel really conflicted about working from home (which I'm doing today). I know that the reality is that I can get a ton done as long as G isn't home too, but I feel like the perception is that no one works when they're at home. Ah well. Likely my own issues, and I need to get over it if I want to change the culture.

Yay for extra family time!

ball.and.chain · January 2015

JGY said:
I always feel really conflicted about working from home (which I'm doing today). I know that the reality is that I can get a ton done as long as G isn't home too, but I feel like the perception is that no one works when they're at home. Ah well. Likely my own issues, and I need to get over it if I want to change the culture.

Yes, this! And the official policy in our department is that we can't work from home -- even though we are technologically capable of doing so -- unless there is a good reason for it (e.g. they let me do it when I had to do my 24h urine collection! Thanks, guys!

)

KH826 · January 2015

I voted I just wanted to see the results, because our kiddo isn't in daycare.

However, I will add that after Will had his 6 months shots (with flu shot) he was fussy and had a fever (I think highest it got was 100.5 though) for about 36 hours. He never had a reaction to any other shots until the 6 month visit. I think it was the flu shot!

So I am a total nutcase about fevers b/c of what we experienced when he was 4 weeks old that landed us in Children's Hospital for a week. Anything over 101 and I tend to panic a little and my wife has to tell me snap out of it. Luckily he has only had a fever 3 times since our stint in the hospital (one of which was after his 6 month shots -- the other two we are pretty sure were teething related).

I think you did the right thing to stay home with him today. Sounds like he just needed a mom and a PJ day in his own house!

Also, can I please come work for your company?!?! Your benefits legit sound like the best I have EVER heard of!

ball.and.chain · January 2015

KH826 said:
Also, can I please come work for your company?!?! Your benefits legit sound like the best I have EVER heard of!

Ha, they are pretty good, and one of the major reasons I suck it up in terms of my nasty commute. I think they are not unusual for a large law firm though as a few friends at comparable firms have similar benefits. However, I don't think I know anyone outside of the legal industry with benefits like this.

Too bad we don't have a Philly office! Go Google Philadelphia's largest law firms and start checking their HR pages.

KH826 · January 2015

ball.and.chain said:

KH826 said:
Also, can I please come work for your company?!?! Your benefits legit sound like the best I have EVER heard of!

Ha, they are pretty good, and one of the major reasons I suck it up in terms of my nasty commute. I think they are not unusual for a large law firm though as a few friends at comparable firms have similar benefits. However, I don't think I know anyone outside of the legal industry with benefits like this.

Too bad we don't have a Philly office! Go Google Philadelphia's largest law firms and start checking their HR pages.

You know I'm going to jump on the Google now... This could be dangerous!

2MamazInSeattle · January 2015

This is helpful! I need to make S's 6 month appt for next month, and I'll make it so the next day is one at home w J (she does two weekdays w S as a SAHM).

JGY · January 2015

I feel like a moron. Even after reading every response in this thread, I still (stupidly) scheduled G's appointment for a Monday. Today. He's getting the flu shot. I don't have the PTO to take if he doesn't feel good tomorrow.

:-SS

JGY · January 2015

Good luck today, @winstan1!

The flu shot was no big deal for us (well, I mean, he screamed when he got it but no residual fever or anything). But poor kid had a ragin double ear infection. This morning when I looked in there to give him his drops, it was DISGUSTING! Poor kid.

Not sure why I just dropped that info into this thread, but there it is.

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