Imunizations

My husband and I feel that immunizations are important, but we agree that the number a baby gets at one time is too much. For our one-year-old daughter, we decided to split up all the vaccines. She would receive one on her well-check visit and then I would take in her in for "shot-only" appointments once a week until that round was finished. Be prepared to pay your co-pay every visit if you choose this option. Dr. Sears has a great book out called "The Vaccine Book." He has his own schedule for parents like us, that are concerned with the number of shots given at once. Check that book out for his suggestions. Also, consider the reality of certain diseases at 2 months. A baby should not be using illegal drugs and having sex, therefore receiving the Hep B shot this early is a bit drastic. I recommend still getting it, but waiting until they are closer to becoming sexually active.

Please don't even hesitate to have your child vaccinated. Not only are you protecting your child from seriously life-threatening illnesses, but you are also protecting mine from them. Every child who is not vaccinated is one more person who is vulnerable to diseases such as polio, and hepatitis B; diseases that have long been thought to be extinct. The reason they are not as prevalent (sp) anymore is because of these vaccinations. If people stop getting these vaccinations, then these diseases are sure to make a comeback. Why on earth someone would want to put their child in harms way like that is beyond me. I don't mean to be harsh on this one, but it is something I am very passionate about. I look at it like this... you wouldn't just let your child go play in the middle of a four lane road... why not, because he could get seriously hurt, and even be killed. The same is true if you choose not to vaccinate. Your child could become seriously sick or even die from the diseases these vaccines are meant to prevent. On a second note, if you plan on enrolling your child in school anywhere, you will be required to show proof of vaccinations.

We vaccinated our son on schedule from birth. You can stretch it out though, if you feel it is too much at once. I just went with what my doctor recommended, as I have complete trust in her and her practice tends to be more cautious about things than not. It's completely a personal choice.

It's definately better to vaccinate than not to, in my opinion. Sure, you don't ever hear about the stuff they vaccinate for happening to kids, but that's because of the vaccinations. But, I know some people that don't vaccinate at all, and that's totally their choice! Do what's best for you and your child!

Hi C.! I am a first time mom to my one year old son. Due to one of my best friends having a son with Autism, this was a VERY important topic for my husband and I. We discussed our concerns with our doctor and explained our fears with him. We decided together that we would still immunize our son, but to do it much slower than what is typically done. Our doctor explained that a lot of families are not able to afford the co-pays for more doctor visits, or were not able to get the time off of work to have more doctor visits to spread the immunization schedule out. Since we work shift work, the extra visits weren't an issue and the extra co-pays didn't matter if it meant our son would be healthy! So we opted to only do two shots at each visit and then to separate the MMR into three separate appointments. This made us feel that his tiny body wasn't being overloaded. During his first year our son was only sick two times and has no ear infections! We wouldn't have done it any other way, boy or girl. We have our next child on the way and due in September and we plan to use the same immunization schedule that we used for our son. It's just peace of mind!! Good luck!