We have not given Laa any shots and don't plan to until she is 2.... slowly and ultra selctively
What I would like to know, for those who have gone down this or a similar path:
Which diseases have you come up against?
How have you handled them?
Did you have younger siblings to concern over? If so, how did you handle this factor?
Anything else you would like to add....
PLEASE - this is to be a thread based solely on experience, not on opinion of those who have not gone down this path TIA
For us - DD1 is in school and is all but fully vaxed (well fully vacc'd according to her original sched, she was born in 2001, I knew none the wiser). DD2 has just hit 12 months and has been BF'd and sling worn the whole time - she has had one cold. That's pretty much all we have come across, so far.......
I'm not sure if I can respond or not - we only have the one partially vaccinated child and we've not come up against any vaccine-preventable illnesses yet.
You probably know all this from past threads..but anyway.
My un vacced kids have both had mumps. They were about 2 and 3. I just kept them cool, plenty of fluids and away from everyone else.
To make sure it WAS mumps I did take them to the doc, but I called first and asked that an area was provided for ds to be alone. We whipped him straight through to that room. Oh how I HATE playrooms for kids in Drs rooms!
DD showed signs about 12 hrs later.
It was over fairly quickly though, they weren't too uncomfortable and had plenty of jelly to ease the fever.
Their temps didn't go too high though, not scary high but I did let them go as far as I felt comfortable before I gave them panadol. I don't like to interfere in their own immune responses.
The dr seemed really panicky and didn't know much about it - I spoke to the Health Dept (as needed as Mumps is reportable) and the lady was more than happy with the way I was handling things. She did ask about vacc status but didn't give me the 3rd degree or anything.
DD has had measles. For some reason DS didn't catch it. The worst part was over in 3 days. Again, the care was the same as mumps but I didn't let her out into the sunlight for a week or so afterwards and during.
I delayed vax DD14 until she was 2... She had a terrible reaction - she was very well before hand & I had given her echinacea, homeopathics and high doseage vitamin c in an attempt to aid the vax.
Anyway she was a very ill little girl. It was advised she not have further vaccinations. She had a mild viral illness when she was about 4 with a rash that looked rubella like to me... The Dr declared it was not rubella. Anyway fast forward to adolescence & I had her immunity to rubella checked and she is immune so I would say what she had was rubella!
She has been exposed to chicken pox and measles in children she has gone to school with - she hasn't had any of these.
My other children are unvaxed. They too have been exposed to measles, mumps and chicken pox. None of them have ever got these illnesses. If they did I certainly wouldn't panic - but would treat symptoms and ensure they were isolated from other children. I would also cnoose to isolate my other kids in case they were not yet symptomatic but could be able to pass on the illness...
My children attend a school where the majority of kids are not immunised. So, there are no hassles with kids being unimmunised & this not being accpted...
We don't vaccinate at all - we may selectively vax when the kids are older (5 years +)
We used Day Care for a short amount of time and I ran Family Day Care for a little while. I did not come up against one vaccine preventable disease.
How have you handled them?
N/A - but if we were to get any, it'd be common sense and a Dr's visit.
Did you have younger siblings to concern over? If so, how did you handle this factor?
Yes I am pregnant with our second child and the ONLY thing I fear for is whooping cough - but plenty of vaccinated children get whooping cough.
We are very particular about where our children go in the first year of life, they are worn in a sling to avoid open air and we are very particular with who handles them etc. Further, if we are visiting where other children are going to be (friends, family etc) we ALWAYS ask if their children are so much as sniffly before taking our kids and even then we are careful with communal toys etc.
Making the choice to not vaccinate for us is the only choice - BUT it means we are a little more 'over the top' with socialisation with other children and adults.
Anything else you would like to add....
Not really except if this is a path you are looking at going down, I would strongly recommend you get your thick skin coat on - because you WILL cop crap and you WILL be made to feel like a terrible human being.
You just need to make informed, measured decisions and once you've decided don't look back.
Either way it is a choice of which one you feel MOST comfortable with. I am not 100% with vaccinating and I am certainly not 100% with NOT vaccinating - but I know which I feel MORE comfortable with IYKWIM?
We have chosen not to vacc our children. They all had Vit K at birth (as there is a family history of brain hemorrhage), but I still wonder if this was truly necessary....
None of my children have had any vacc preventable diseases. Where I live, there are a large % on non-vacc children. We know many non-vacc kids. My DD starts school this yr. When I enrolled her, the school asked me to provide vacc info OR exemption letter from DR (which I have). I was stoked that they mentioned the conscientious objector document, as it obviously means they frequently come across students who aren't vaccinated (well that's my interpretation anyway).
I am an advocate of extended bf, and natural health. I am not anti-DR, but prefer to avoid conventional medicine if there are natural alternatives. My children occasionally catch colds or gastro bugs.
There was a whooping cough death in our region last year (sadly, a newborn) so there has been a very strong vacc push in the local media. I feel that there are people who would not understand out non-vacc stance, so I haven't told them.
DS hasn't had any vax, he is 11 months old. We are undecided - not 100% for or against so we are just delaying them until he is at least 4 years old. I'm actually really anxious about his 12 month MCHN app next month as I know she will make a big deal about it
Which diseases have you come up against? He was hospitalised with bronchiolitis when he was 10 weeks old, however it's not a disease prevented by vax. Very contagious and common at his age and that time of year (near winter). He's also had quite a few colds, which I have also been told is common in infancy
How have you handled them? Doctors visit, Fess, wearing him in a sling...not much you can give a 10 week old.
Did you have younger siblings to concern over? If so, how did you handle this factor? N/A
He has not had any vaccine-preventable diseases, yet he has been exposed to a lot of germs. We often have visits (once a week) from my 2 and 4 year old cousins who go to day care and are almost always accompanied with a snotty nose! It's actually a bit annoying and inconsiderate that my aunty brings them over like that, but I'd feel bad saying something...
We vaccinated DD at birth, just because I didnt question any of it. By the time her 6 months ones were due DP and I chatted and decided after much reading and questioning that we would either partially vax or possible not vax at all. We luckily havnt come up against any diseases so far, but I am scared about the possibilities. I guess thats what I have to live with though.
We dont have any siblings to worry about, although we do see DD's cousin who isnt vaccinated either quite regularly.
My name is Lisa Calautti and I am a health reporter at The West Australian newspaper.
I am interested speaking to a Perth mother who is against vaccinating their child, who would be willing to be in a photo and have a chat to me?
If you think you can help please email lisa.calautti@wanews.com.au
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A thread for the NON vaxers/DELAYED vaxers...
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