Allison TX Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 My 2 month old is scheduled to get this vaccine, along with a bunch of others, on Friday. This is a new vaccine to me. My other kids are older and it wasn't around then. Did your baby do okay with the vaccine? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Delayed vaccination...a 2 month olds immune system does not need to be bombared all at once...I did selective and delayed vaccinating with my two. You are the parent and you make the decisions about what and when the docs can and can not give to your child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissamomof5 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I would run out and buy a copy of Dr. Sear's "The Vaccine Book". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyOBoy Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 This is definitely an optional vaccine. Doctors will not always present it as such. Research rotavirus and decide if you want to do it. We chose to for a number of reasons. When our 1st and 2nd were babies, I was running a home daycare. My charges had older siblings in a center, so I knew they'd be exposed. Sure enough, that family got rotavirus, the child was violently ill in my home, and my kids were fine. It causes massive diarrhea which can become dangerous very quickly in infants, due to dehydration. All of my children have experienced mild diarrhea from this vaccine. What is critical to understand is that this is a LIVE vaccine and easily transmitted through stool. Very careful hand washing for at least 72 hrs is necessary. Also, do not go near anyone with a compromised immune system as long as your child is symptomatic. This includes ANYWHERE in a hospital. My nephew was in cancer treatment during our early immunization time with our 3rd ds and we had to very carefully keep track of when ds was receiving live vaccines. I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 BoyOBoy: This is definitely an optional vaccine. Doctors will not always present it as such. Research rotavirus and decide if you want to do it. Doctors have never met an optional vaccine, to hear them tell it. You must have all of them right now and as many as possible...or you will die! Your whole family will die. Thinking of the health class in Mean Girls right now: "Don't have sex or you will DIE." My doctor has finally grudgingly acquiesced that maybe I did know what the heck I was doing in making decisions for my children when they were little. All of my children have experienced mild diarrhea from this vaccine. What is critical to understand is that this is a LIVE vaccine and easily transmitted through stool. Very careful hand washing for at least 72 hrs is necessary. Also, do not go near anyone with a compromised immune system as long as your child is symptomatic. This includes ANYWHERE in a hospital. If I could only trust other people to observe this common sense advice. When I was hospitalized last year with quite the infection from a burst appendix, they sent me a young nurse from Ped Oncology to try to get a vein, since it was difficult. While she is poking around, she began telling me of the dozens of vaccines she had just had, some live, because she had just returned from some medical trip to Kenya. Thanks! Anyway, enough venting. Just make sure you research it and make the best decision for you and your kid, not for the doctor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 This came out between my kids. I opted not to do it for my younger son because it was an oral vaccine that had ingredients that my ODS would have reacted to and the fact that it is a live virus. It's the only one I've refused, though I do delay some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmyboys Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Well, I have had three different doctors give my kids this vaccine and all three clearly stated it was optional. I did get it for my little babies because I decided the benefit outweighed the risk. Having a horrible stomach bug is not what I want for my tiny ones. Plus, I have had two different friends who had babies less than 6 mos get rotavirus and they spent a few days in the hospital. It was sad and scary! The CDC website will list side effects. My kids didn't have any that I know of. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 My younger two got it. They both experienced runnier diapers for a day or two, but nothing more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I had the following discussion with a resident in the children's ER when my daughter was very sick from dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea. Dr: Are her vaccines up to date? Me: No, we are exempt. We chose not to vaccinate. Dr: But she could have rotavirus. Me: Yes, and children who get vaccinated get rotavirus too. Dr: True. She didn't bug me again about vaccines. Bottom line: Rotavirus isn't fun. My daughter was very sick. I was home alone with a very sick kid and two sleeping kids. (Dh was camping two hours away with one of the kids.) I called the on call doctor and he told me to keep pushing fluids and nursing and bring her in if she was getting worse. In hindsight, I should have woken the kids and taken her in instead of waiting until morning. Her electrolytes were out of whack. They gave her fluids and sent us home. We were back in the ER two days later, having been sent there from our follow up with our pediatrician. That time she was admitted overnight. Fortunately, we have the medical means to treat dehydration. I don't regret not vaccinating her for rotavirus. But it did suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Delayed vaccination...a 2 month olds immune system does not need to be bombared all at once...I did selective and delayed vaccinating with my two. You are the parent and you make the decisions about what and when the docs can and can not give to your child. I was told by my baby's doctor that I could delay rotavirus vaccine. When I came back to get it with a few other vaccines, the nurse told me that the child was now too old. So the window for rotavirus vaccinations is quite small, so check it out if you want it, so that you don't miss it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 My ped. at the time mentioned (in a separate appt.) that the year prior to the vaccine's release they had needed to hospitalize something like 22 patients, and the year after they had hospitalized 1. Consider your risk of exposure, the age of your baby in the height of the season (obviously the older they are the easier to bounce back), get whatever facts you need (as opposed to anecdotes like the lovely one I presented) to feel comfortable getting it (actual probability of serious side-effects) or not getting it (mortality rate for kids this age). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I was told by my baby's doctor that I could delay rotavirus vaccine. When I came back to get it with a few other vaccines, the nurse told me that the child was now too old. So the window for rotavirus vaccinations is quite small, so check it out if you want it, so that you don't miss it. Yes, it is approved for a very small window. There's no delaying. That's why we opted out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbasil Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 The most common side of effect of the Rotavirus vax is Rotavirus!! It's a live virus. If you read the insert you will see rota symptoms listed as potential side effects. Also, the previous version caused quite a few deaths from intussusception. Every time someone tries to tell me that a vax must be safe simply because it's FDA approved, I think, "Yeah, so was Vioxx." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allison TX Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thank you all. I have read up a little on the vaccine, and am concerned because it is a live vaccine. It seemed like the most "optional" of the vaccines needed to be delayed or skipped. Although I would really hate for him to get the virus. I'm really not crazy about the idea of my tiny 2 month old receiving all these shots at one time. I do think it is way too much for their tiny bodies, but I also know I want him immunized. I'll look into a delayed schedule. Any suggestions on that? I want to be well prepared before the ped appt on Firday. I'm going to also look into the book rec by Dr. Sears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I chose not to give the rotavirus vaccine to any of my children, but my friend did. Her little girl, who received the vax, came down with a stomach virus. We're fairly certain it was rotavirus, because of the timing. Unfortunately, she played with my son a day or two after she got the vax (within the incubation period), and *he* got rotavirus from her, and then the rest of the family got it as well. Blech. (Thankfully, it was fairly mild. Our friend's little girl had it much worse.) Just something to keep in mind -- if you do choose to do the vaccine, please stay away from other young children for a few days. (That is probably less of an issue with an infant than with a toddler, like my friend's daughter.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thank you all. I have read up a little on the vaccine, and am concerned because it is a live vaccine. It seemed like the most "optional" of the vaccines needed to be delayed or skipped. Although I would really hate for him to get the virus. I'm really not crazy about the idea of my tiny 2 month old receiving all these shots at one time. I do think it is way too much for their tiny bodies, but I also know I want him immunized. I'll look into a delayed schedule. Any suggestions on that? I want to be well prepared before the ped appt on Firday. I'm going to also look into the book rec by Dr. Sears. I would sit down and have a talk with your doctor about what he/she recommends for *your* child in *your* lifestyle. I know with one of my infants, I opted to do only Hib and Prevnar; the ped suggested DTaP, because she was concerned about pertussis. So we did those three, in a rotating schedule -- A & B one month, B & C the next appointment, C & A a couple of months after that, and so on. Because of the delayed schedule, we did not need to do every shot in every series, and he's considered to be immune to them. I'd look at overall risk. How much at risk for Hep B is your child? How about pertussis, etc.? Your doctor should be able to help you figure out what the biggest concerns are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 This is what we have done/plan with DS2: 2m: DTaP/Hib/Polio (Pentacel), Pc 4m: DTaP/Hib/Polio (Pentacel), Pc 6m: DTaP/Hib/Polio (Pentacel), Pc 9m: HepB 12m: HepB 15m: Hib (ActHIB), Pc, Varicella 18m: DTaP (Daptacel or Tripedia), MMR* 2y: HepA, HepB 3y: HepA 4y: DTaP (Daptacel or Tripedia), Polio 5y: MMR, Varicella* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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