2 Month Old Vaccination Schedule

L.,
Whatever you decide make sure it is the right decision for you and your family and be determined. I have lucked out with good Dr.'s and schools who don't have problems that my child isn't vaccinated. I never was vaccinated, nor my cousins, or nieces. In the past 10 years most developed countries have decided to wait until a child is 2 before starting the vaccines to help them build an immune system. If you want to proceed consider waiting. Your doctor will probably, ironically, fight you more on this and your child will probably be a little more under the weather afterward because she does have an immune system to fight it off but if you decide to go ahead with them then this is a better way to go.

I so thank you for thinking about this and taking it seriously. Please run and get two books
The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert Sears
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations by Dr. Stephanie Cave

If you can't get the books start at www.tacanow.org and go to the Vaccine section on the left or go to www.generationrescue.com and look around or to www.909shot.com .

You do not need to get ANY vaccines right now. You can wait and do your research. Do NOT let any doctor ever pressure you or guilt you into doing something as invasive as a vaccination until you are fully informed as to what YOUR child needs at THAT time.

Please email me offlist if you want to discuss this further.

____@____.com

Good for you, L.! Many moms just pump their kids with whatever is the latest the pediatricians make available. You are wise to do the research. And, no pediatrician can force you to have any shots. It is your choice. And, schools can not legally restrict a child from entering due to lack of vaccinations (this is archaic thinking and was allowed 30 years ago).
Like you, I did some research...and it only took an hour or so. Not bad considering yo're making a decision that will help your wee one the rest of her life. You can choose to have some, all, or no vaccinations.
Tell ya what I did. Being a practitioner myself, I wanted to do what was best for my baby and only have her vaccinated for things that she could actually contract nowadays. And of those things, vaccinate her for only those that were life threatening (i.e. flu is not life threatening and changes each year). So for those things that are prevalent and have the risk of causing meningitis/death in infants we did DTaP, HIB, and pneumococcal.
If she decides to go to a foreign country when she's older, she can choose polio or those other non-North America bacteria. If she was at risk of stepping on poopy farm equipment or needle-sharing, I'd have her vaccinated for tetanus and HepB respectively. Chicken Pox (Varicella) is not life threatening and the child is only sick 3-4 days and I'll make my MMR decision when that time comes.
Hope I've helped.

Hi L.,

I heard that the Dr. Sears book is very good, I also recommend you pick it up. I guess it's been a while since my kids have needed the rash of vaccinations that babies get. But SIX? OUCH!! Although I do not believe that my kids have suffered any ill effects from all the vaccinations they got, I wish I was as informed then as I A. now. After everything I've researched, it seems like doctors should be more willing to give an alternative vaccine schedule. I don't believe that the right studies have been done to accurately assess the effects of so many vaccines given at once. In any case, whatever you decide to do, I don't envy you your position and great job researching this subject...Good Luck!!

Hi L. ,

The Vaccination book by Dr Sears. I follow his selective
vaccination schedule. He has a list of Drs in the area
that are willing to work with you. Lucky for me my Dr will
do whatever I want for vaccinations. Please find another
Dr and go with what you feel his right for your baby.
Good luck

An excellent book on the topic is The vaccine Book, by Dr. Sears. I am currently doing his alternative vaccine schedule for my baby and wished I'd known about it with my toddler when she was a baby. Their Ped. tried to talk me out of it, but ultimately he said he would do whatever I wanted (which is the recommended response by the American Board of Pediatrics.)

I totally regret giving my children the Hep B vaccine and am upset the hospital pushed it on me. I wish I had done my research before hand. If we have any more babies I will stick to my gut feeling now that I've educated myself a bit.

Hi L.,
I have a 5 1/2 month old daughter and I have delayed her vaccination schedule. I've done a lot of research and have found a pediatrician who supports an alternative schedule.
I have a few suggestions for you:
First - find a better ped. Do not let him/her guilt you, lecture you, make you feel like you aren't doing what is best for YOUR baby. I'd be happy to recommend my daughter's ped - he's at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. Contact me and I'll give you his name and number. You must go with your gut when it comes to health care for your child.
Second - Google "alternative vaccination schedules" and you'll get a lot of information. If you get a chance, check out www.generationrescue.org - they have a couple different vaccination schedules (ranging from very strict to moderate). Also, I really like the info found on www.askdrsears.com - click on "vaccine news." A great book is "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations" by Cave and Mitchell (Amazon).
Finally, my ped and I sat down at an appointment (no baby) and discussed a schedule. He HAS to recommend the CDC schedule or what the Academy of Pediatrics recommends. You must be prepared with a schedule of your own -- I've found that the onus is on the parent.
FYI - my baby has only received the rotovirus vaccination (oral) so far. She got this at 3,5,and next at 7 mos. HIB beginning at 6mos. and again at 8,10,19 mos., DTaP at 7,9,11,21 mos. Pneumococcal (Pc) after 2 years is ok. MMR - request that you want these broken up into separate shots (you may incur some out of pocket expense) and not until after 18 months.
Best of Luck - Go with your gut!
W.

Our peditrician is Dr. Sears and he has a book (The Vaccine Book) that presents optional vaccine schedules to parents who want to vaccate; however, are questioning the amount and types given. The website is www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/
hope this helps you. Congrats on your new baby!

Hi L., I was wondering if you have heard of "The Vaccine Book" by Dr. Robert Sears? I recently got the book and it was very helpful in explaining all the vaccines, risks, etc. He also has an alternative vaccine schedule that he recommends for parents who want all the vaccines but would like to spread them out. I have a two year old that received all his vaccines as regularly scheduled but after reading this book I have chosen to spread them out with my daughter who is now 3 months. When I spoke with my pediatrician she of course told me that it was not necessary to spread them out and they are completely safe. I pushed back and said I would just like to be cautious. I think it is important enough to get all the vaccines but I too think it seems a little bit much to put so much into a little body at once. Also, as Sears points out, if they only have a couple vaccines at a time and then have a reaction you will better know what it is they are reacting to.
It does require visits every month but if she is not due for a well baby check up I just take her to the nurses clinic for shots. BTW he also suggests putting off the HEP B for the same reasons.

Ditto on Dr. Sears' THE VACCINE BOOK. And, no matter what your doctor says, your baby can only receive shots with your permission. If your doctor won't see you unless you adhere to her desired vaccination schedule, then switch pediatricians! If you are in South OC, both Dr. Sears' office and Seaview Pediatrics are good places...
Stick to your guns, it's up to you to be your baby's advocate!!
(My last litte one reacted to his first round of 4 shots and we ended up in urgent care that night - now only 2 at a time!)

L.,
I dont understand why doctors push the shots so much. I have three children. My first daughter had all her shots. I worked in a family daycare and I saw first hand the affects of vaccinations. The day after the kids got their shots they would come sick. Runny noses coughs whatever. I then spoke to someone about the vaccinations. All in all they are not so good for our kids. I know a lady who has two children with autism due to the vaccinations. You may have heard all the buzz on the news lately about this. People have the misconception that your kids have to have their shots to get into school. This is also not true. After seeing all the sick children and talking to this other person and some research I decided not to give my other two children vaccinations. For school i just flip over the form you fill out for their shots and sign the waiver. If I were you I would do some research before you head to the doctors. Good luck.

Hi L.,
I do not vaccinate my son. He is a VERY healthy 2 yr old. I did a lot of research, including all the books listed here, plus "Vaccines, Are They Really Safe and Effective?" by Neil Z Miller and took a class on the vaccines and childhood diseases. I highly recommend educating yourself and then making the best decision you can for your daughter.
Good for you for taking such a leap! Many of us want to just trust and not explore for ourselves - it is really hard to take responsibility for your own health and your own decisions. Way to go for considering it (I think you're right on with the Hep B!) and good luck making this difficult decision.

I am responding before reading what any one else has to say.

I am so darn pro vaccine. If you ever had a child that had a deadly deseases, and they got it because you chose not to vaccinate-how would you feel? If you are worring about 6-at once, I do not blame you. I'd ask the pediatrician about each and every shot. What each one is for, and why your baby needs them. And I would spread them out over time. Doing 1 a month, or what ever you feel comfortable with. If the pediatrician is snooty to you about your decision find a new pediatrician. Remember I would never ever not have my kids vaccinated, but, you are your childs mom, and you need to feel good about your decision.

HI L.,

I actually posted a question about vaccines a while back and got some awesome feedback. The whole vaccination issue is very confusing and scary. What really helped my husband and I decide was reading Dr. Sears Vaccine Book. He takes a very objective approach with minimal opinion. He also provides selective and alternative schedules for vaccines. I really feel that his book helped us make better informed decisions. So often you get the all or nothing approaches and that isn't realistic for most of us. Good luck figuring out what to do for your little angel!

It sounds like you have done your research on the vaccinations so I won't get into that. There are alternative vaccine schedules that you can do however, that can spread the vaccines out more so that your baby is not getting any combo vaccines. If your doctor is not open to discussing this I would check to see if there is another doctor in that practice or another practice all together that may address your needs and concerns more openly. The most important things to remember when vaccinating is that your baby does not have a temperature or any signs of a cold or compromise of the immune system when getting the vaccinations.
All vaccinations are suppose to be thimersol free now, by law, so that should no longer be an issue for us moms. I always ask anyways before my kids get any kind of vaccination. Just to be sure. If you feel that your doctor is not addressing your concerns though or is lecturing you on this topic, I would consider finding someone else. You are your childs advocate and your doctor needs to respect that and any concerns that you have in regards to what they are putting into your childs body.
Hope this helps.

M. D.

Hello,
Obviously this is an old post, your child is much older now and you have survived through the agonizing ordeal that many physicians can make this into be. I am a second degree nursing student and am surrounded by health care professionals and the industry. I recently had a baby, she is a beautiful 6 week year old and I too had to and am having to struggle with immunizations. I have a history of Multiple Organ Autoimmune Diseases, I have three. Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Differential Autoimmune and lupus anticoagulant. Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with Auto Immune disease it is a hereditary disease that may or may not be triggered by an environmental or chemical stress. So you may have the genetic code to develop an Autoimmune disorder/disease but that does NOT mean you will. If you do there are various ways in which it can display itself. Some of the more prominent ones are Lupus and MS. What happens is that your body creates Antibodies (usually your body creates these to attack foreign tissues, eg cancer cells, cold viruses, etc.) that attack your own organs and healthy tissue creating many problems. It is a problem of having an OVER Active Immune System. Now back to the point...when deciding on interfering with my newborns own immune system by way of vaccines I had to give this a lot of thought. I had a couple different doctors give me their variation and thought process on what would be best for my daughter by way of vaccines. Now like many of you I am PRO-vaccines. However, the schedule that they have these babies is problematic, unnecessary and and frankly in my opinion irresponsible. It seems to be the fast food of health care and http://www.dreliaz.org is correct when stating that the current vaccine schedule works best for a lower economic situation in which you are unsure if the parent will return in the future to vaccinate again. But even that should be amended and resources more readily available to provide parents of newborns and children access to better healthcare. For parents who have good health care insurance and resources the vaccine schedule does not appear to be in the best interest of my child. I refused thew Hep B shot for my baby in the hospital. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. On my 2 week appointment with a doctor that I seem to like, I addressed this issue. I asked her, "you and I never had a Hep B vaccine and we survived, don't you think its a little ridiculous?". She said that if your child goes to daycare and a person there has it and they have a cut on their finger and they put that finger in your child mouth, your child could be in danger. Again...I thought this was ridiculous but it made my husband go into a nervous panic so I allowed her to give my baby this Hep B shot. I was after all already emotional with all the hormones running through my body. Now that I have had more time to research I am definitely altering the vaccine schedule. I saw a lot of recommendations for the Dr. Sears book on vaccines and I think it is a great book. It is important to remember that the immune system is so complex that it is very difficult to understand. Doctors they have a vast amount of route knowledge that some-not all are able to expand on. It is up to you to consider where they get this information and what variables influence how they use them. I believe that there are many cases in which the current vaccine schedule has no effect on the individual child. But I do believe that it can effect some, everyone is unique biologically and for me it is unnecessary and not worth the risk of my child's health. I will make sure she gets vaccinated on a schedule that does not have a potential to cause her harm.

Hi L.

I read your post and thought I better respond. I tell you sister I have been there!
First of all, I am not against shots but we did create our own vaccination schedule for ourselves and there is still two shots I never felt comfortable with and he is 3.5 years old.

I quit one pediatrician who wanted to force the issue. For some time I was driving 45 plus minutes to a Dr who has written literature about vaccination schedules etc. I decided I wanted a local pediatrician in case we ever had an emergency-I found a great local Dr and asked him if he would pressure me and he said he wouldn't-although he like most push the vaccinations.

If you love your DR ask if he/she is willing to break up the shots saying you do not feel comfortable getting a cocktail. When we were kids it was not like this by a long shot.

Believe me this is not something I talk to family or friends about-people get really fired up BUT I could not inject my little one with so many shots at one time- I agonized over it. You have to do what you feel is right for you. If your Dr agrees to a modified schedule that might ease your thoughts on it. We did not get the HEP B until my son started school.

I hope this helps and don't worry-you know the right thing!
Best wishes to you and your baby girl!
B.
PS I also have the Dr Sears book and he was our pediatrician for the first two years-(TOO LONG OF A DRIVE) but he does practice with his brothers and his Dad wrote many books (groundbreaking ideas on attachment parenting and they do not follow his ways-it's for each to choose what they feel comfortable with-and I sign waivers when I take my son to school

We just did this. She got three shots in one syringe, then two shots, then one oral. I nursed her right away and she was fine. We should have gave her tylenol right away because she got a fever but that is very normal. She was fine after 24 hours! :)

A little about me:

I'm 30 years old and have been happily married for almost 4 years. I am a first time mom of a gorgeous baby girl.

I raised 2 boys who rec'd all their shots on schedule and suffered no serious adverse affects, and I am not personally aware of anybody's children who have, nor have I heard from word of mouth~~friend of a friend thing. The reason is because serious adverse affects are so extremely rare. However, if you want to modify the vaccination schedule, your pediatrician should be willing to work this out with you. If he/she's not, then obviously you need to find another doctor.

As for the poster who said vaccines weren't necessary, they were developed to save lives, and they've done that. Diseases that killed, maimed or crippled thousands to millions every year---smallpox, the various plagues, polio, german measles, TB, etc. With so many parents opting out of the vaccinations, TB in the U.S. is on the rise and has been found in many of our schools, along with a handful of other illnesses that we haven't seen in years. We've become complacent and have forgotten the severity of these diseases that vaccines have protected us from for so many years. However, if we raise a generation of un-vaccinated children, they will re-surface and our children will see the results firsthand---in their own families. For ME, I'd rather have one or two days with a fussy infant!

Hep B can definitely be postphoned til baby is older. It can be transmitted by body fluids contact, which means the obivious.....blood,etc., but also the less obvious....sharing toothbrushes.