I've delayed vaccinations and now it's all so daunting!

[nataliew]

When DS2 was born I was still undecided about vaccinating him. After getting to know him a bit I decided to delay all vacs until after 6 months. He was refluxy, colicky and just generally quite sickly and I just went with my instincts, which were that I needed to delay it. At 6 months I decided to delay until after 12 months as he was still much the same. Now we are getting to 12 months and he's a much healthier, robust kid. Still high maintenance but that's just him and I've finally accepted that that's not gunna change
But now I'm just so daunted by where to start and what to do. We don't have a GP that we see regularly and any that I have seen and asked about it are all the same - "just hurry up and get it done". I'm not wanting to just start pumping him full of vacs when I still believe that they are not all necessary and some of them just sound downright scary.
Can anyone point me in the right direction as to how it works after delaying for 12 months? He's missed a lot of vacs in that time and I don't know how to find out which are relevant now, which ones I can leave out etc. etc.
DS1 was fully vaccinated to the schedule but he is a really different kid. Much more resilient and we've never had any problems. I just feel I need to take a much more slowly, slowly approach this time around.

[Eenee]

You don't have to get any done if you don't want.

Neither of my two have been vaccinated and I don't plan on getting them done either.

If you don't want o get them done just get a GP to sign a conscientious objection form.

[LimeSlice]

The first thing I would suggest is that you find a good doctor, that you trust and that will pay you the respect of listening to your concerns and discussing things calmly, and fully, without pressure.

You will need to decide which vaccines you think are important, which you want to delay further and which you think are a waste of time.
I know many people who get MMR but think the Chicken Pox vax is ridiculous, so never get it, for example.
I would suggest that this will mean looking at what the vaccines are for, the symptoms of the illness, the possible effects of the illnesses if he gets them, possible side effects of the vaccine and taking into account their ingredients and any allergies or family history you have.

Once you know what you want, you can discuss with your doctor how to go about getting them done, you could do one lot a week or so, but this will depend on what vaccines are mixed these days - you need to get Whooping Cough and Tetanus together for example.
You don't have to get any done, you can get some and not others, but if you delay or don't want them, then you will find it easiest to have the Conscientious Objectors form signed and ready to use, as you will need to lodge it with CL and use it with schools and day cares, etc, in place of a full vaccination record.

Good Luck

[Phteven]

I agree with LS that you need to prioritize. Start with the diseases that are generally fatal and horrible and work down from there.

[HotI]

schmickers has some great posts on delayed schedules. i will try to find them for you. i have similar questions.

[nataliew]

Thanks for your replies guys. I guess the thing I'm finding the hardest is getting hold of unbiased information. Everything is either very pro or very anti vacs and seemingly nothing in between. I am not anti (my 4 year old is fully vac'd) but I'm not pro either. I think that there is no blanket solution and every child should be treated individually. I may still not vaccinate him at all but I definitely don't feel educated enough to make that decision yet.
Can anyone point me to a website that lists all the vacs on the schedule? I had one bookmarked but it was on my old computer. I also remember it being rather anti-vac as opposed to purely researched information.
Thanks again

[murraycod]

Is there a Maternal Child Health Nurse who you can talk too in your community? If you go to Playgroup or know any mums they might be able to help you find the right nurse to talk to about it all.
I find that the MCHN are great to discuss these things with and most have unbiased opinions, they don't judge mothers decisions they are there to support you x
I hope you find the information you need and are helped to make the right choice for you and your little man

[Frangipani Lou]

Hi Natalie,
I'm like you, not pro but not against. I think we will delay too or at least spread them out.

Here's the schedule you're looking for.

http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/in.../Content/nips2

[Frangipani Lou]

The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne apparently has some great info. Our lovely mchn mentioned it.
Call the hospital and ask for extension 6599 to help you work out a catchup schedule.
Also checkout the hospitals page on health info. You can look up each illness and read about it and the inmunisation info.

[HotI]

Just wondering how you are going 6 months on.