Sweet Extract

As I mentioned, yesterday was the boys’ 4-month check-up. Part of that check-up is the vaccines. The dreaded vaccines.

At their 2-month check-up, they got a 3-shot round which included Pentacel (a combo vaccine that includes Polio, DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis) and HIB – WHOA!), Pneumococcal and Rotavirus shots. These are all standard for this age.

Trouble is, that’s A LOT for a little body and, as I feared, the boys didn’t fare well. They spent almost 4 full days crabby, crying and just feeling general malaise. When they ate, the would pull away to cry with great mournful sobs. They couldn’t go to sleep without us rocking them until they were completely gone and then they didn’t stay asleep for long. 

While I realize these are fairly minor side effects, it was heartbreaking to watch. So I did some reading ’bout this stuff. 

Unfortunately, there is no wonderful, perfectly unbiased book on the subject. I read one called “The Vaccine Book” by Dr. Sears (Dr. BOB Sears of the Sears Paediatric Dynasty, in case you were wondering). It seemed the most factually based book I could find (as opposed to the oft found anti-shot autism zealot-ry with a dash of conspiracy propaganda) short of medical journals. But alas, when I told our paediatrician I’d read it, she said: “I’d like to burn that book”. Fabulous starting point for a conversation, wouldn’t you say?

One of the ideas that the book posits which struck a cord with me was the notion of spreading out the shots over several weeks instead of going for a colossal fill-up every 2 months. It just seems like common sense… and something which artificially inflated medical costs would discourage, natch.

There were other aspects which resonated less with me: Sears poopoos the use of  ”combo” vaccines like Pentacel and he puts Rotovirus ahead of (the much more fatal) HIB in his alternative schedule. 

Well, after some lively discussion (and despite having already flicked her bic) our doctor agreed to do some spreading out. Yesteday, the boys only got the one Pentacel combo shot. In a month, they’ll go back to get their Pneumococcal and Rotovirus boosters.

I am SOOO pleased to report that today, they show no signs of any side effects! NONE!

I know, I know… you’re sitting there saying: “Lady, you’re only delaying the nasty side effects until next month when they get the other shots”. And you may be right but the optimist in me is hoping that the side effects were not due to any single shot but to the combination of all those vaccines and viruses in their tiny bodies at one time. So there!