Parenting Newborns & Infants (0-1) Support Group

I wanted my son to have had his first lots of shots (8, 12 and 16 weeks) before I started taking him to playgroup and mixing with other kids. There's no guarantee that other kids are vaccinated and I really didn't want him to get any of the horrible diseases when he was so young.

He'll have MMR at 12 months. It's been shown to my satisfaction that there's no link to autism. The original research that suggested a link was really bad science and misreported.

When he had the shots I was a bit worried that he'd be upset at the time then have a fever. But he cried for less than a minute and didn't have any symptoms or a fever. He was a couple of weeks late with the second lot because we went on holiday so you can be a bit flexible if you want.
He also had the TB jab (BCG) when he was 5 days old. He's 5.5 months now and the scab is still there so that was a bit nasty but it never seemed to bother him at all - just me! I have a friend who used to work in TB research and she said that the earlier the better with that vaccine as if you get it as a school child it is only about 50% effective. Still - TB is on the increase (in London anyway) so it seemed like a good idea.

I've never heard of a link between shots and SIDS but I think all parents worry about SIDS! Most important thing seems to be putting the baby to sleep on its back not its front. I felt much more comfortable sleeping when I could see my baby and was near enough to hear or see him breathing. I know newborns sometimes pause in their breathing and I often found I would notice this and count the seconds until he started again. The health visitor confirmed that this was normal. The risk of SIDS declines from about 10 weeks (I read this somewhere but can't remember where - sorry). It is just really scary when they're tiny isn't it?!

I have found that with everything in my life the most important thing for me to be is informed, when I got pregnant I did all the research possible to determine how I wanted to go through labor and birth. Now that my baby girl is here I did as much research possible before giving her vaccines. We did not give her the Hep B shot as a newborn and she will not be getting that vaccine at all, unless she needs it as an adult for her career choice. We also did not have erythromycin put on her eyes as a newborn. When it came time to do her 2 month shots we purchased the book "The Vaccine Book" by Dr. Sears and informed ourselves regarding what vaccines should she receive.
I too was worried about the vaccines more so because my husband and I are both very organic in our lifestyle and don't want to introduce anything to her that she doesn't need. After reading the book I felt not only very confident with our decisions but also less fearful. It is a very personal decision with what you choose to vaccinate your child, no one can tell you what to get or not got. After much research the only vaccine we did was DTAP. I am a stay at home mom and since she will not be in a daycare situation the other vaccines seemed unnecessary.
Educate yourself so that you feel confident in the decisions you make for yourself and your children.
Good luck!!!!

I too was, and still am, very worried about this. But then, I worry about everything. My son is 10 months, has had every shot right on schedule, and so far, everything has been fine. But these same worries have so far stopped me from getting him his h1n1 shot. I feel that at least with the baby vaccines they have been around forever and have had ample time to be tested, but with h1n1, it seems so new. I feel really torn! And I know exactly what you're going through.

I agonized over this as well so I waited until his 4 month appointment to give Connor anything. I also plan to space things out more so he probably won't get anything at his 6 month.

I did a lot of research which can be completely overwhelming and leave you more confused. I found Dr. Sears' Vaccine Book to be very helpful. And I had long conversations with our family doctor.

For me, the autism piece has been a myth debunked.

A lot depends on your day care situation, whether you are still breastfeeding and your intent to travel in his lifetime.

If he isn't in a high risk situation, you should put it off until you feel comfortable!