Deciding not to Vaccinate...

I've had so many people ask me,that I decided to create this thread. Please do not debate vaccines here, but instead post your own personal story on vaccine reactions if you have one, or why you will or will not vaccinate. Thanks.

*Disclaimer: I am not anti-vaccination, nor am I promoting the idea that everyone or anyone stop vaccinating.

My story, on how we came to the decision not to vaccinate:

My daughter did ok with her hep b shot and the first set of shots...except for a fever, a huge hot knot at the injection site and a lot of crying. It was a mild, normal reaction according to the doctor, but it rattled me.

For her second set of shots, she screamed a high-pitched scream after getting the shots, then began shaking a little (like shivering) and soon after begin burning up with fever. I was of course assured that this was normal and to treat it with tylenol. Later, after crying/screaming for hours...which was not like her...she slept for hours. When she woke up, she was noticeably aggitated. She began clawing us, banging her head into ours, and having brief but scary seizure episodes in which she'd throw her head back and her eyes would roll up for 2-3 seconds. It was really scary. She acted like this for several weeks. We took her to several pediatricians. The ped who had given her the shots said that there was no way she had reacted badly to the shots and that the seizure episodes was merely her "playing with us."  

We found a ped who was educated on vaccine side effects. He said our daughter had suffered a neurological reaction and that we should delay the shots and research the ingredients. We've been researching ever since (she's almost 5 now,) and have no desire to do any more shots (although I can't say for certain that we will never do any.) My2 (nearly 3)yr old is completely unvaccinated.

My 5 year old still suffers from the effects of that reaction, we believe. She has some mild behavioral and sensory issues that we're working through. I believe vaccines are connected to the dramatic increase in autism and that my child would have developed vaccine-induced autism had we continued with the shots.

Thanks for letting me share!

Edited to add relevant links:

http://nvic.org/state-site/state-exemptions.htm - state laws and exemptions for parents who wish to selectively/delay or not vaccinate and still send their children to school

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/safety/default.htm- vaccine safety and risks; Centers For Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.aapsonline.org/press/nrvacres.htm- Press Release; Doctors' Group Votes to Oppose Vaccine Mandates

http://www.whale.to/v/phillips.html- Dispelling Vaccination Myths; Alan Phillips, vaccine researcher and critic


***These are some of *my* recommended reading for vaccine research. If anyone would like to add some, please post a reply with them, and I'll add them up here to the list.

To each their own but how does one get their kids in school without being vaccinated?

Quoting kelli baby belly:“ To each their own but how does one get their kids in school without being vaccinated?”

My children are not of school age yet, but different states have different exemption options for parents who don't wish to do one or more shots.

Quoting EmmaGrace:“ My children are not of school age yet, but different states have different exemption options for parents who don't wish to do one or more shots.”

so your babies are still ok regarding going to school??

Nates is up to date with all of his shots and didnt have any side effects for any of them.

Quoting kelli baby belly:“ To each their own but how does one get their kids in school without being vaccinated?”

In Minnesota it's required to enter school so that means instead of having the third doses of hep b...when they are of school age they have to get four doses. Most state health departments believe that the risk of any side effect will go away with the advanced age of the child...I believe. I also think that in some areas you can sign a waiver...kind of like with flu vaccines if you are allergic to eggs you can sign a waiver.

Quoting EmmaGrace:“ I've had so many people ask me,that I decided to create this thread. Please do not debate vaccines here, ... [snip!] ... and that my child would have developed vaccine-induced autism had we continued with the shots. Thanks for letting me share!”

We chose not to vaccinate and our reason was stories like this!! I have done some research, and I just think the risks outweigh the benefits.

Quoting kelli baby belly:“ To each their own but how does one get their kids in school without being vaccinated?”

Tell them it's against your religion. .That's what I'v heard.

Quoting nicole bianca:“ so your babies are still ok regarding going to school?? Nates is up to date with all of his shots and didnt have any side effects for any of them.”

My babies are not ok going to school in the state I live. I live in one of the 2 states (MS and WV) which lack religious or philosophical exemptions. If we are still in Mississippi, I'll homeschool them. But we are not planning to stay in Mississippi.

Quoting BeanPot822:“ In Minnesota it's required to enter school so that means instead of having the third doses of hep b...when ... [snip!] ... that in some areas you can sign a waiver...kind of like with flu vaccines if you are allergic to eggs you can sign a waiver.”

Minnesota has wonderful exemption policies, regardless of what you may have heard. It is one of the 20 states which has philosophical exemption in addition to religious. http://nvic.org/state-site/Minnesota.htm

Philosophical basically means you can have any reason to decline any or all shots...all you do is sign a waiver.

I refuse to vaccinate because theres no reason to. My child is healthy, happy, with a great immune system, and I will also be homeschooling him, just because my husband and I both agreed that we had terrible experiences throughout the schools we both went to, and I feel I can do a much better job at teaching my child then some stranger amongst 30 other children.
If you choose not to vaccinate, you can still have your children attend schooling by filing papers saying your religion forbids vaccination.

I have been thinking about this lately... trying to decide what I should do. I am so worried about forcing too much too soon on my child.

I live in Arizona where the schools have set requirements on almost all vaccines so far. We decided on a delayed vaccination schedule for our son Dominic and found a pedi who is willing to work with us on it. I had some of the more common bad reactions to vaccines as a child (fever, screaming/crying for days) but we'd still like to be safe. We're spacing them out to help indentify any reactions to individual shots. If he isn't caught up by the time he's old enough to enter school we will be using an exemption form.

I'm all for anyone's choice to fully vaccinate, delayed, or none at all, as long as they're well educated on all sides of it. My SILwho just moved here with her 2 year old daughter thinks children get all their vaccinations at once (in on shot) for their lifetime. She still refuses to believe me about the polio and whooping cough vaccine existing. I think parents should be much more aware of what they're putting into their child than her. Thankfully most are.

Quoting stephanie 8.28.8:“ I have been thinking about this lately... trying to decide what I should do. I am so worried about forcing too much too soon on my child.”

You can do delaying your vaccines till he's 2 years old when his immune system can handle it. Its still a risk though.. you can also choose which vaccines you can give him, so if you don't feel comfy diong ne, you can d another.
They've proved the Polio vaccine doesn't work, and yet they still give it to kids..

Quoting Kyrie & Dominic [BBB]:“ I live in Arizona where the schools have set requirements on almost all vaccines so far. We decided on ... [snip!] ... existing. I think parents should be much more aware of what they're putting into their child than her. Thankfully most are.”

Forgive me, but is your SIL an idiot? Didn't she go with her baby to get shots and know that she got more than one "master" shot? How could you not know that there are different shots for different diseases?

As a parent to a newborn this subject is a very scary one. There is so much info making me have second thoughts about vaccinating my baby, but on the other hand if she isnt will she be protected against this diseases that can be possibly prevented. Sheesh child care and vaccines ae stressing me out!! My baby is only 1 month =0/