Immunizations

I am trying to find an alternative vaccination schedule and am not very successful. Can anyone share theirs with me?

 

Dr. Sears offers an alternative schedule in The Vaccine Book, as does Stephanie Cave in her book. I read both, and kind of cobbled together my own thing. Your library probably has them if you're interested. The Vaccine Book is excellent, and I thought it had a lot of good info without a lot of propaganda.

My goal was to start at roughly 6 months, and be done by age 2 or so, because my kids would be starting a few mornings a week of preschool.

The exception was the oral rotavirus vaccine, which can't be given unless you start it at 3 months. We did so, and then ended up starting at 4 months with some of the others.

One note -- our schedule got a little messed up because there was an HIB shortage while my kids were getting vaccinated, so some shots got moved around. Also, Kevan had two surgeries early on, which (I think!) is why there are some gaps in there.

But, here's what we ended up doing.


3 months -- rotavirus
4 months -- rotavirus, HIB, IPV
5 months -- DTaP
6 months -- rotavirus, Prevnar
10 months -- DTaP
11 months -- HIB, IPV
12 months -- DTaP
15 months -- IPV, Prevnar
18 months -- Hepatitis B, Prevnar
20 months -- Hepatitis A, DTaP
21 months -- Hepatitis B
22 months -- Varivax (chicken pox)
23 months -- MMR
24 months -- HIB, Hepatitis B
26 months -- Hepatitis A

Then, we'll get a bunch of boosters at age 4.

ETA -- one good resource to check is the "catch up" schedule on the CDC's website. If you start some vaccinations later than normal, you won't need all of the doses -- for example, I think that's why we only needed three Prevnar (pneumococcal?) shots instead of four.

 

Our pediatrician actually offers a schedule where you do no more than two shots at once. So I got 2, and then I wait around 4-6 weeks and get the other two. We've done this for our 2, 4 and 6 month shots, and we are waiting on the hepatitis shots...i'm just not in a rush for that one and i didn't do the rotavirus.

 

We are using the Dr. Sears alternative schedule. We are following it pretty closely, except we may not do the flu shots. Also, Dr. Sears suggests giving the MMR as separate vaccines. We will probably wait until age 4 and do the regular MMR. Our pedi. has been very cooperative with our choices.

I bought The Vaccine Book in order to get the schedule and I'm glad I did. I read the entire book. I think it's important to understand the pros and cons of giving each vaccine. Then you can make an educated decision. The book is a pretty quick read, and I refer to it often.

 

We are also following Dr. Sears' schedule but are not doing Hep B, flu, or chicken pox.

 

I, too, highly recommend the Dr. Sears' book. There is also a "selective schedule on page 223 in addition to the alternative schedule (page 223).

Personally, I am not going to do any vaccines for the first two years, but because of this my kids won't go to any daycare facility. The brain is continuing to develop until age 2, when it is 80% developed. Proteins in the brain can over-react to vaccines given and can cause an auto-immune defense, which has been linked to a variety of ailments.

At 2 years, we will do the DPT shot but as individual shots, at appointments spread apart and polio. We are not doing any live virus vaccines (Rotavirus or Flu). Three days before and 10 days after, we will give them Cod Liver Oil which is a major Vitamin A boost, which helps the body detoxify from the chemicals in the vaccines. I'll also continue to use probiotics, which we started at five weeks of age.

I've selected this schedule because there is a high rate of ADHD (on the autism spectrum) on my husband's side of the family, and believe this will help reduce the likelihood of contributing to it through vaccines.

(I'll also add that my background is as an adolescent mental health therapist.)

 

i feel guilty now,,, i just did (or am doing) what my pedi suggested and didnt want any vaccines to begin with. he breaks them up every other month.
1 month he;ll do - polio, roto, dtap
next month he'll do - meningitis, pneumonia
etc...

 

I decided to just do two every month. My reasoning is, I have received two shots in one day and I can't imagine getting more than that. I think vaccines are important, but often times we are over vaccinated. Giving a two month old 6 vaccines in one day just seems like too much for their little bodies

 

Do not feel guilty!! Many, many of us have vaccinated following our doctor's recommendations with no ill effects whatsoever. I have vaccinated all 5 of mine with no problems. Each person has to do what they feel comfortable with, but please don't feel guilt about vaccinating your babies! :hug:

 

i didnt want to vaccinate with most pedi's schedules. i was glad mine broke them up the way he did. they get no more than 2 shots each time they go (with the exception of the roto drops)

 

I agree--do not feel guilty. You are being conscientious about how your child is vaccinated--whether that means every vaccine or a select few. You're doing a great job!

 

We did an alternate vax schedule and broke up the MMR. The boys still haven't gotten the "R" shot yet b/c it's on a nationwide backorder. If you want to separate the MMR, PM me and I'll give you the info on how to do it...which I thankfully got from another TS member! It is MUCH more expensive, but it was worth it for my peace of mind. I did a lot of research on the separation and couldn't find any medical reason to do it, but a little voice in the back of my head wouldn't let me give them the reg. shot. I have no idea why but I didn't want to regret not listening to my gut.

 

We also use an alternate schedule so the twins get no more than 2 shots per visit.