VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 27: Natural immunity—better than vaccines? Although many of the vaccines on the childhood schedule could easily be considered unnecessary because the infection no longer poses a threat, many people like me might choose to skip some of them for another reason: vaccines screw up your immune system. This may come as a surprise to you,
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 26: The disease you should fear most Ask yourself something: What’s the disease you fear most for your child? Without going on the internet and doing a search, what springs to mind? Think of the one disease you dread your child getting. Most people will say polio. Others may say whooping cough. Think about this for
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 25: The Hepatitis A Vaccine Hepatitis A is an extremely rare viral infection that can negatively affect your liver function. When someone does get it, it’s usually through some contaminated food. You may recall an occasional news story about a restaurant temporarily shutting down for a few days as they sterilize the whole place?
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 24: The Chickenpox Vaccine Let’s talk about the chicken pox vaccine, otherwise known as the Varicella vaccine. At your 1-year checkup, they will suggest your child receive this shot. The Varicella zoster virus causes chicken pox, a very mild infection not known for creating any problems other than a bunch of little
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 23: The Rubella Vaccine Another vaccine you child will be recommended at their 1-year checkup is for rubella. Rubella is the R in the MMR vaccine. Measles, mumps and Rubella. Rubella is also called German measles sometimes, because it looks so similar to regular old measles. It is another mild infection and often
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 22: The Mumps Vaccine Mumps is the other M in the MMR vaccine, another vaccine your child will be offered at their 1-year check up. I’ll go ahead and say that I’m not a big fan of the MMR vaccine because of it’s association with neurological side-effects. I believe
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 21: The Measles Vaccine At your baby’s 12-month well-child visit, in addition to many of the other vaccines they may have already given your baby 3 doses of, they will have a few new ones to add—measles, mumps, rubella, and Hep A. I want to talk about measles for now.
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 20: The truth about well-child visits The 9-month checkup is very similar to previous checkups. Measurements, reflex tests, and a chance to ask your doctor questions about any concerns you have. By now, you will have realized the reason these visits exist are to administer shots, and not much more. Depending on how your previous
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 19: The Flu Vaccine At your baby’s 6-month well-child visit, your doctor is likely to recommend a new vaccine, if they haven’t already been offered it—the flu shot. The flu shot is probably one of the most commonly mentioned—and commonly skipped—vaccines in the United States, if not
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 18: Why the same vaccines again at 4 months? Once your baby has reached their 4-month mark, doctors recommend you head into their office for another appointment. Again they’ll measure your baby’s length, weight and head circumference. They may check for some basic reflexes, but the real reason you are there is for more shots—basically
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 17: Vaccine Schedules I want to talk to you about the vaccine schedule your doctor’s office is going to recommend your child adhere to. You may think the vaccine schedule is a universally accepted set of shots children all around the world receive, if they’re able, but the truth is, this
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 16: The Rotavirus Vaccine The final and 7th or 8th vaccine your child will be recommended at their 2-month checkup is the Rotavirus vaccine. Rotavirus is a common infection. It starts off like any common stomach bug, but can cause severe cases of diarrhea. In first world countries, it is not considered a
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 15: The Pneumococcal Vaccine The Pneumococcal vaccine will be recommended for your child at their 2-month checkup. It is designed to protect against a particular bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae, sometimes called Pneumococcus, or PC for short. It’s a very common bacteria, especially because there are many different strains of it floating around
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 14: The Hib Vaccine Another vaccine that will be offered for your child at their 2-month checkup is the H.I.B. or Hib shot. HIB is an abbreviation of Haemophilus Influenza Type B. There are actually at least six different types of this bacteria, maybe more, but type B seems to be
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 13: The Polio Vaccine At this checkup, your child will be offered an injected polio vaccine. There’s another form of the vaccine which is given by mouth, sometimes on a sugar cube if you’ve ever seen the old pictures, but most likely your child will be offered the first of several injected
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 12: Are vaccine ingredients really that bad? As people begin to research vaccines, most people start by focusing on the ingredients. If you didn’t already watch the video called “The One Chart” that showed how all the diseases began to decline around the same time—whether they had a vaccine for them or not—make sure
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 11: The one chart that changed everything for me As I began to study vaccines, the single biggest surprise came in the form of a chart I saw in a book that had researched the history of vaccines. I’ll never forget the confusion this chart created in my head. All my life I’d heard vaccines saved humanity
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 10: The Diphtheria Vaccine Diphtheria is another vaccine your infant will likely be recommended at 2-months old. It’s the D in the TDaP vaccine. Diphtheria is a bacterial infection that causes a white, leathery coating on your tongue and throat, and like a lot of bacterial infections, it’s not the bacteria
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 09: The Tetanus Vaccine Another vaccine that will be recommended for your child at their 2-month well-child visit is the Tetanus shot, the T in the DTaP shot. Tetanus is an extremely rare illness, with or without a vaccine. The tetanus bacteria tends to be found outdoors, usually in areas where cattle
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 08: The Pertussis/Whooping Cough Vaccine At your 2-month well-child visit, your doctor will measure your baby’s length, weight and head circumference. They’ll ask about any concerns you might have, and will expect to administer another dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine. If you didn’t watch the video on that already,
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 07: One thing before your first well-child visit Before you attend your first well-child visit, I want to give you a heads up on something you may not know. This is a bit of a summary of some other topics I cover more in detail, but I’m guessing you might watch this first and wanted to
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 06: The Vitamin K Shot Directly after you give birth, you’ll be presented with two potential injections for your infant. The first is the Hepatitis B vaccine and the second is an injection of Vitamin K. This isn’t a vaccine at all but an injection of a synthetic vitamin to help prevent your
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 05: Day 1: The Hepatitis B Vaccine Okay, the big day is here. Your beautiful baby is born and placed on your chest for a chance for you to bond. Before long, they’re taken away for a “bath” and testing. While you might believe these procedures are necessary for birthing a child in the hospital, the
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 04: Should family members get vaccines before birth? You may have heard family members who are going to be in contact with your baby should get vaccinated. There are thousands of different viruses and bacteria that can be spread from person to person. Most of them have no vaccine available. While a few of them do have a
VAXBaby: The Curious Parent's Guide to Pediatric Vaccines. VAXBaby 03: How to decline vaccines if you are pregnant If the ingredients in the TDaP and flu shots don’t sit well with you, or if the fact they’ve never been safety tested in pregnant women and weren’t even recommended until recently makes you uncomfortable, you can decline these shots. I want to give you a few
