I just took my Son to have his 2 month shots on Monday. He had the worse time with it, I mean worse then I even imagined. It wasn't to plesant for myself either.. He got 3 shots and 1 in his mouth to drink. During the shots he cried and whimpered when they were done. The Kaiser nurse who did them was rude & rough with him. I wasn't to happy with her. After he cried and I gave him his bottle and some Tylenol. He slept, when he woke up about 3 hours later he was so unhappy. His legs were swollen and red, he had a fever. The Pediatrician said to put ice on his legs to bring the swelling down, yeah ice and a 2 month old don't mix well. He was even more upset, he cried for about an hour straight. Nothing would make him better, until he cried himself to sleep. I was at work when all this "fun" was going on, my Mom had him. When i got home from work his eyes were red and swollen from crying. He isn't a baby that normally cries unless he is hungry or has a dirty diaper. This crying made him exhausted but after he slept another 1/2 hour, he was back to my same old baby! Happy, laughing and quiet..
Is this something all babies go through after shots or should I be concerned? i'm a first time Mom and new to all to this! Any idea's to help make him a little more comfortable? thanks you!
*Also this is not a posting for you to state your opinion about shots causing Autism & such, so please don't waste your time posting the information. Thank you for understanding"
What I did was space the shots apart by a week or more so my child didn't take more than one at a time. More trips to the doctor, but less tramatic for the baby.
My kids never have more than one shot at a time. After the first shot they are already upset, I cannot imagine making them have one or two more after that. Since they only get one shot at a time they recover very quickly and usually don't have much of a reaction at all. I do have to go in between my appointments to make up some of the shots but it is so worth it.
So sorry you and your little guy are having a hard time.
I had kind of prepared myself for the worst in terms of how my daughter would respond to the shots and hence found myself pleasantly surprised when she didn't seem that uncomfortable afterward. Looking at books and online it sounds like infants have different experiences and can for up to about 10 days after the shot(s). So, as you maybe already know, your baby might still have some discomfort in the days to come.
My daughter did scream and cry for the shots themselves(which was awful), but was then just nuzzly and sleepy in the day or so to follow. My pediatrician and her aid were gentle and gave me some good tools if she was uncomfortable (gave me a Boppy to nurse right after the shot, info on dosing for Infant Tylenol if she experienced fever, how to massage her around the injection site, etc).
It sounds like the folks at Kaiser weren't particularly helpful in helping you and your little guy feel prepared and comfortable - I think this makes a huge difference in a family's experience of any medical goings-on.
Cozy thoughts for the days (and shots) to come!
Minus the rude nurse my son had a similar reaction to his first shot. I don't know if your peds talked to you but in the future for shots you might want to consider giving you baby some tylenol before the appt., it might help with the pain. My guy had a fever and swollen legs the first time, which I iced and also did bicycle motion to help the fluids from the shots move through their muscles since they aren't walking/ crawling yet. Ice wasn't fun for him but you just do what you can. And the sleep is totally normal to help them recooperate. In our case it did get better. By his four month shot he just slept but no swelling or fever. And now that he's a year when he's got shots at his one year (4 shots all together) he didn't have any symptoms at all. I think it depends on the child how the shots affect them, but if you feel like the fever is getting out of control or the shot sites look too swollen always call your doctor. They should give you paperwork, a handout explaining all the shots and possible side affects.
And I know several babies around my sons age, they too all had the same symptoms for two month shots, we used to check with each other to make sure that all was normal. Hope this puts your mind at ease. =0)
I agree with the other postings about making sure he doesn't have any allergies and also complaining about the nurse. Also, next time give him tylenol before he gets the shots. That is what they told me to do and that really helped. My son did have a little bruise though. I also agree with maybe not having as many at one time. Good Luck and don't stop until you get an answer.
It can be a normal reaction. Some kids have slight reactions while others have none, and others have bad reactions. My suggestion would be to only allow him to get no more than 1 at a time. Good luck!
Oh and talk with your son's doctor about what exactly his reaction was, because it is possible he could be allergic to an ingredient in the shots.
Good responses! Definitely follow through on trying to figure out if it's an allergy. If I missed it and this is a repeat I apologize but I wanted to mention Dr. Sears has an alternative shot schedule that spreads the vaccinations out more and his book "The Vaccine Book" might help. I haven't read it myself as my daughter is past that but from my understanding he has very reasonable approach. Just a note, you may need to stand your ground to get your pediatrician to follow through and not dismiss this. As you know from your post there is controversy around shots and Autism which at times seems to cloud other issues regarding vaccines.
Hi Dana,
congratulations on your baby boy! Next time, try giving him Tylenol a half hour before you take him. That helped with my 4mo. old son. I am pretty sure the side effects are a normal part of giving vaccines. It's horrible to go through that but know that you are doing it for his health. Good luck next time. It might help also if you can arrange to take him. Your comfort will make him feel better faster.
Dear Dana,
The only thing I would suggest is to let Kaiser know if you felt the nurse was indifferent and/or rough with your baby.
Otherwise, babies usually have a little reaction, fussy, low-grade fever when they have an injection. With a little extra love and cuddling + time, they are as good as new before you know it. The benefit of avoiding a disease far exceeds the price of temporary discomfort.
Sounds to me that you did just what a good mama does.
Blessings.....
Your son's reaction was NOT a normal reaction to shots. There should be NO swelling and pain like that. I would have him tested for allergies to egg protein and see if that might have been a cause. I would also be very careful with his next set of shots and express to the doctor your concern over his first adverse reaction and don't let them tell you that it's a "normal" thing, because it just isn't. That was his bodies way of saying something was very wrong with what was given him.
You're a good Mom to be concerned!
Cheers,
J
You can get less shots when you go. Whenever I take my son, he only gets two shots. We are a little behind on vaccines but will catch up.
