12 Month Shots

After watching my daughter being pinned down and given her shots my husband and I have had many "talks" and done a lot of research about shots and what we are going to do with the baby we are having in August. We have decided that we will not have any more than 2 shots a time and they will be spaced at least 2 weeks apart, that way if the child has a reaction to one of them you will at least be able to treat it!

Our daughter is 14 months and she hasn't had any vaccinations at all. All vaccines are optional!

We did a lot of research and decided that vaccinations just aren't for us. Before our decision not to do any shots I planned on doing just one at a time. Some shots are actually 2, 3, and sometimes 4 in one already! I would encourage you to do more research (try Dr. Tenpenny's website or even the CDC's own website) and if you're still sure that you want to do the vaccinations I would encourage you to do only 1 or 2 at a time. There are so many foreign ingredients in the vaccinations it's really a lot for their little bodies deal with.

I'm sorry if I've offended you or anyone else reading this. I know of too many mothers who wish they were more informed before doing the full vaccination schedule.

Take care,
K.

Hi S.,

You didn't ask for resources but this is my favorite site for vaccine information:

http://www.nvic.org//

I too felt like it was too many vaccines all at once and I only got my sons last DTap at his 12 month check up. I did some research in between his 12 and 15 month visit and decided I wanted to wait until he was older to get any more vaccines, especially the MMR. Also, they are starting to make the MMR again seperately in 2011 so that could be an option for you. If you are interested in doing more research on an alternative schedule, here's another good website:

http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/labels/alternati...

Good luck with your decision!

I ditto the www.nvic.org and www.askDrSears.com websites, as well as the Dr. Sears vaccine book.

I think there are too many at once and they overload the baby's maturing immune system. Many of those are not even needed. Be sure to check out all of the diseases on nvic. You'll be surprised.

Good luck. D.

HI S.,

I'm not a vaccine fan at all (I chose not to vaccinate) but I thought I'd throw some info out there that you might not know. The chicken pox vaccine is only supposed to be good for 10 years. You can either continue to vaccinate every 10 years for the rest of her life or you can try to keep her from catching it the old fashioned way and keep her from being exposed. I succeeded for many years doing that until a "friend" decided that I had made the wrong decision and exposed my children for me. Now that they have had it, albeit a mild case, they are better innoculated against it than if they had had the vaccine. I have also seen many kids get the chicken pox after they have been vaccinated. If your daughter has not had the chicken pox by the time she marries and expects to have children, then the vaccine may be appropriate to protect a baby....

My two cents :)

M.

We only ever get 2 max. shots at a time. I've always been uncomfortable with how many they are supposed to get all in one go. He is behind on his vaccinations, but that is actually my own fault - he will be caught up by the time he enters school.

Take a look at Dr Sears Vaccination Book. You can get it at your library or amazon.com for pretty cheap. He has a recommended schedule and then I just vary from there. You can get two this appointment and then in 6 weeks (or less or more), go back in for two more. You do have to be on top of it, though and make those appointments before you leave the office. Also, if your daughter is sick, you have to cancel and reschedule... I think they do all those shots at once for convenience sake!!

Good luck!

I researched vaccines when I became pg the first time and chose to postpone all vaccines until my daughter was 1.5 and then to pick and choose which ones she gets and space them out at least 3 months. I'm doing the same with daughter #2. Yes, that means waaaaay more inconvenient trips to the doctor's office (for us, nearly an hour away) and a lot more co-pays, but when it comes to my child's well being, it's a very tiny price to pay. My advice is get your hands on Dr. Sears Vaccine Book and do some research. Just the aluminum content in all those shots has got to be ENORMOUS, let alone all the other suspicious ingredients. Don't walk in there without knowing what you're really putting into your child. She has no one but YOU to look after her. Best of luck on these HUGE and scary decisions!

Due to a family reaction, I've separated all the shots. It's kinda a pain, but if my kids are reacting to something, at least I know what they're reacting to. My youngest is 2 and he still hasn't had his MMR. I'd stretch them out as much as you can, but remember, you have to wait at least 4 weeks between shots (not 'type' of shot, but between any shot) and at least 8 weeks if it's a live virus (MMR). We separated shots, but didn't wait the 4 weeks (Dr. felt that was unnecessary). Another Dr. thought that was a bad idea and had my old son's blood tested. It turns out he never developed the immunity to polio. So I'm of the more conservative nature -- separate all shots as much a possible. I use a spread sheet to keep track.

We spread ours out. Our daughter 5 is currently going through her preschool shots which they usually give in a huge dose like the 12 month, we started taking her in a year ago and are getting one ever 4-6 months instead of all at once. Some say this is cruel to make them go through it so many times but she doesn't even cry anymore and we do this for all of our kids. My daughter our first had a severe reaction to a shot when she was 6 months old and ever since then we have done them all separate in fear of not knowing which one she/they might have reacted too. You do need to make sure the shots are given spaced out well and within the time limit though but the doctor can help you with that. Our 12 month shots round I believe we did ever 2-3 months. Best of luck and stand up to what you want and they will work with you.

I cannot remember exactly what shots she got but there were quite a few and we broke them up to 12 months and 15 months. The doc did not feel she needed everything at once and no point stressing her on it. My doc office does push that vaccines should be administered but does listen when I say I want to give on a longer schedule.

Yes, we also did a 15 month appointment. I guess I didn't realize it at the time, but it probably was to break up all those shots. Do you have a 15 month visit? Some docs do it and others don't. Honestly, it's awful, but I would probably do it all together. She won't remember in the long run and it's less stress on you. We always give a little Tylenol or Motrin about 30 mins before the appointment to help the pain of the needle pricks. You can break it up if you choose, but you'll have to pay a copay each office visit and that can get expensive. Also, most offices put the specific shots in certain places on every kid so that if there is a reaction they will be able to tell by where they put it. Whatever reaction your child is having, it's also probably going to shop at the injection site. If you're unsure, have your nurse (or bring a sharpie yourself) write on top of each bandaid which shot went where. Just my advice!

It's interesting that we can pick and choose now about how and when to vaccinate. The new health care bill won't allow that. Just be prepared for having no options like we do now. Here's from a gov't. website:

Would Vaccinations be Mandatory?
The Federal Governments proposed mandatory health insurance will mean mandatory vaccinations/immunizations. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that for anyone who refuses to keep up-to-date vaccinations, under the new health reform, you will not be able to obtain any health care you may need until immunizations are current.

My son is on an alternative vaccine schedule. He will receive all of his vaccines, but not on the schedule proposed by the CDC. I agree that this is waaaaay too many shots. I very highly recommend that you check out Dr. Sears' "The Vaccine Book." In his book, Dr. Sears provides an alternative vaccination schedule that we use and love and it helps you keep track of the shots when they are not on the schedule your pediatrician recommends.

Why do an alternative schedule? Well, I look at it this way. What if your child has a reaction - moderate or severe, after her 12-month appointment? To what is she reacting? Do you know? Do your doctors know? How will they treat it if they don't know what set her off? How will you avoid it next time? We never give more than two shots at a time, so that identifying a reaction will be that much easier. For his 12-month appointment, my son received the DTap and the Hib. I went in a month later for a nurse's visit for the PCV. He will receive the Varicella at his 18-month check-up. We have decided to delay the HepA until he is 2 (it has a very mild risk of seizure that decreases as a child gets older - HepA is a very severe disease for adults, but usually mild in children, so we're not concerned) and we plan to delay the MMR until he is at least 2.5.

Our doctor is not supportive, but she works with us, which is good enough. She says it's cruel to make him go through the shots on separate days, but I think this is silly. My son has never had even a cranky afternoon after his shots - he certainly isn't upset for several days as other people say.

What you choose to do is, of course, up to you. The CDC schedule is used by many parents with no or only mild complications. But I suggest you do your research, especially if your gut is telling you something is wrong. Good luck.

my kids have all the vaccines at once with no problems ,they werenot crying or fussy ,what i do is give tylenol before the shots and after the shot give her a warm bath .
i do all once because i think is better than having a kid crying 3 days.

My kids got those too. It IS a lot of shots in one day, but I felt like I'd rather just have it all done at once rather than 3 one day, and then come back a week later for the rest of them. Of course as with every round of shots, they feel crummy for a day or two afterward, and my logic was that we would rather go through that one time rather than two or three times!