Alternative Vaccine Schedule - Muncie,IN

Hi A..
We are following the Dr. Sears delayed schedule, however I have made a few changes to it. I did not and will not do the Hep B or A until my son is much older. I am NOT doing the MMR until he is at least 5 or 6. With my pediatricians input, we did the polio vaccine a bit earlier than dr sears suggests. I also did not do any of the flu or swine flu and will not do the varicella (chicken pox) until he is 5 or 6, if at all. Send me a private message if you need more info. Good for you for delaying and doing your research. PBS has a "vaccine debate" airing tonight.

I worked out a schedule ahead of time with my pediatrician. If they do not support you and make it easy for you, then for sure find someone that will. We just decided that we would give no more than 1 or 2 shots at a time. And, we would not give them any closer than 2 months apart. Additionally, I do not get my kids any of the flu shots. And, I wait until the kids are 3 or 4 for the MMR. Once I stated that to the pediatrician, we then wrote up an exact schedule with the exact shots and when all the shots would be done. They kept a copy in their file so everytime we went in, they could just pull it out and no more questions/discussions had to occur. It has been pretty easy and I have felt so much more at ease doing it this way.

Good for you. Smart too. Statistics say that the most educated families are investigating how to proceed here. Most doctors don't get involved in saying anything but encouraging you to do it on schedule so asking them is like talking to a broken record.

Read books written by doctors who question it but want to proceed wisely. Try Dr. Sears' book, etc.

I've heard the Dr.Sears book has a great alternative schedule written out. Good for you in making an informed decision as to what's best for you and your family!

I would first check with your pediatrician to see if they will even allow it. If they don't, you then have the choice to go somewhere else. My pediatrician told me that I would be asked to go somewhere else if I didn't get my baby vaccinated. I told them I wasn't refusing to vaccinate, just wanted to delay certain shots. They got testy with me and tried to bully me into getting them done on their schedule. My older kids were all vaccinated in another state, so I was shocked by my baby's pediatrician's attitude. I just don't want you to figure out a schedule, go to the appointment, only to be told no. There were a couple of the vaccines that they didn't seem to be all that concerned about, which were the hepatitis, rotovirus, pneumovax and varicella(chicken pox). Good luck!

I like Dr. Sear's schedule!

You should talk to your doctor and see their recommendations. We decided how many shots we were going to have at one time, or how many vaccines (since some are combined). During the flu season she actually recommended waiting longer to do the delayed section due to the sick patients (no point exposing him unnecessarily). I think that is the main risk with spreading them out...it means more doctors visits and more exposure.

We would start the vaccine on time, and then just half it or whatever we decided, then have an additional visit a week or so later. It let us see how he reacted to the injection, and were ready the next week. We really didn't want him to have to go in every week, and have it be shots every time. He had this during flu season (with flu shot, booster, and normal vaccines), and would scream the moment he was in the back room - it was awful.

I would spread out MMR. I have heard a few similar stories. I do vaccinate but it does worry me!
I do many natural things to ensure their safety. I would love to swap ideas, shoot me a message!
M.