Let me explain. Usually, I consider a person's belief for or against vaccines as a kind of crazy litmus test. Yep, I will judge you big time if you tell me your kid's better off without vaccinations.
And my husband and I turned one of these down. Willingly. Here's what happened...
At Julia's two-month checkup, she received the usual round of vaccinations, including the first of three doses of rotavirus, which comes in a drink rather than a shot. She cried for the shots, which was no surprise, but then she happily slurped down the rotavirus vaccine.
She was upset, but some extra cuddles when we got home took care of that. A few hours later though she woke up shrieking. The pediatrician had warned us that she might be cranky later, but this was something we'd never seen in her before. She screamed and shrieked bloody murder for hours. My husband John and I played pass the baby to give the other's back and ears a break. Nothing would soothe her; it was like she was unaware we were even there with her. I called the doctor's office, and the nurse told me, "Sorry! Irritability is normal! Try distracting her with a bath or cold compresses."
Irritability? This was much worse than that. I tried a bath and then I tried the compresses on her red thighs (injection sites) - the shrieking actually got louder. The only thing that worked was holding her for 4+ hours. Burrowing her face in my chest and neck, she finally calmed down, but if I even tilted like I was going to set her down she freaked out all over again.
She eventually passed out in my arms and woke up around hour five. And she was finally hungry! Poor little thing.
At her four-month checkup, we were ready. We talked to the doctor about last time, and he said it was technically considered a "moderate" reaction, but that she was fine. Ok, round two. Shots and a second dose of the rotavirus. She cried for the shots and we snuggled her. Four hours later and right on cue, she woke up shrieking. John cleared his work schedule and we passed her back and forth over the course of four hours. She shrieked nonstop. Her little body was red hot from head to toe as she writhed in agony, tensed every muscle, and screamed like a banshee. It was horrible.
I called the doctor's office again and got the same advice, again. It still didn't work. Four or six hours later she was suddenly happy and hungry. It was all over.
A few days later, Julia went down to sleep at night. I was getting ready for bed when she woke up screaming. We rushed in and I tried to soothe her - she was having none of it. This wasn't her usual cry; she was really screaming. I checked her diaper, tried feeding her, and we even checked her body for something that could have been irritating her - nothing. An hour later, she stopped. I set her back in the crib and tiptoed out. Ten minutes later, she screamed and shrieked for hours. Then she'd take a ten minute break and pass out, only to wake up screaming her head off all over again. This went on until dawn.
In our sleepless haze, we didn't think to call the doctor's nurseline earlier. When it occurred to us around sunrise, I called and the nurse told us to head to the ER right away. Julia was lethargic and glassy eyed. It was truly frightening.
It was frightening until we got dressed and had a family member drive us to the ER. Once there, Julia was feeling a whole lot better and being, well, charming. She played with the doctor's stethoscope, giggled and blew raspberries. The pediatrician examined her twice; John and I felt defensive as we reiterated last night's events.
The pediatrician actually laughed and said that if she didn't have kids of her own, she would have thought we were crazy and sent us home. After going through everything a third or fifth time, she diagnosed Julia with intussuseption, or telescoping bowel. Basically, the intestines backtrack into themselves like a telescope and it's excruciating. If left untreated, parts of the intestines can die off and require surgical rerouting. But sometimes it fixes itself, after a very painful while, which explained why Julia would stop crying for short periods and pass out.
We went over possible triggers, but the doctor wasn't satisfied. She asked about immunizations, and that was it. Intussuseption is an uncommon side effect to the rotavirus vaccine, but it does happen. She said the chances of getting it were one in ten thousand. Lucky us. But really, we were lucky - Julia didn't need surgery or tests, and we were lucky that we had brought her in because if left untreated, intussuseption is fatal. The pediatrician sent us home, but cautioned us to watch for the symptoms again, in which case we'd have to rush to the children's hospital. Also known as every parent's worst nightmare.
Weeks passed and Julia was fine, and then it was time for her next checkup, at six months. Our regular pedi had been filled in on what had happened, and we wanted to discuss skipping the last and final dose of the rotavirus vaccine. After doing my own research, I was planning to vote no, but I also wanted to hear what our pedi had to say. My husband was a no vote as well. Our pedi left it up to us, saying that she'd be at least partially protected from the virus after having received two of three doses. So we turned it down.
It was the right decision for us. We'd never heard screaming like that before, or seen our sweet girl in so much distress. I just hope that her remaining vaccines don't produce such unusual and scary side effects. I also let the CDC know about her reaction through their online reporting system for vaccinations VAERS. And finally, I hope this never happens to you!
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