Flu season is coming. Can you feel it?
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I used to not be too worried about the flu and would just expect that our kids would get sick, we’d all lose a little sleep while they fought the virus, then they’d get over it and life would carry on as usual. However, with last year’s H1N1 scare, I joined the masses of people who ran to Wal-Mart and bought vats of hand sanitizer and watched way too much evening news with the anchors telling me, “We’re all going to diiiiiiiieee!”
I wrestled with whether or not we should get ourselves and our children vaccinated against H1N1, and in the end we went for the shot (even though I am quite sure my husband and eldest daughter actually had H1N1 earlier in the season…it was awful) as well as the regular flu shot and I’m glad we did. Maybe it just gave me a sense of control when it seemed like things were spinning wildly around us, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. We didn’t suffer any funky side effects and none of us got sick the rest of the winter.
I think I will get a flu shot again this season since I now have three kids to tend to and can’t afford to fall ill in the midst of the busy days. Our eldest daughter has also started a Junior Kindergarten program three days a week this year and I know she’ll be bringing home lots of flu germs, so I’m considering getting flu shots for her and her younger sister again. Sweet baby Brin will be too young for any flu shots, but I’m planning to keep on breast-feeding (well, my version of breast-feeding which involves an intimate relationship with my pump) to fill her system with antibodies that will hopefully help her ward off the barrage of viruses.
Did you get the H1N1 shot last year? Will you have your children receive a flu shot this season?
We did and likely are again. I was never one for the flu shot but now that H1N1 is out there…I know people who’s kids got it and it was S C A R Y! I couldn’t live with it if my kids got it and something happened. I really try to stay away from media info and speak only to health care professionals. I want what I consider reliable information and opinions and as a result feel comfortable with the decision we made. That being said I certainly don’t blame anyone for shying away from it.
Before having kids I never got the flu shot and neither did my husband. Neither of us were around children or the elderly, so why bother?
When the twins were born, the thought of giving them shots on top of the regular vaccines scared us silly. Heck, the regular vaccines alone scared us enough. However, we did the research and discussed the pros and cons with our family physician. What sold me is when she said with full confidence that after doing her own research and knowing what she does as a doctor, she got her children vaccinated without hesitation (our kids are around the same ages).
I did after lots and lots of back and forth. My friend said what if you don’t and then something happens…I think that and my doctors advice to get it forced me into it. I didn’t though. I’ve never had a flu shot. Hmmm something wrong there…better start thinking about it all soon!
I couldn’t do it. I just didn’t trust the media to be telling me that this vaccine was tested enough and that it was actually effective. So we didn’t and won’t. We missed the flu all together (knock on wood). It’s my husband who would need the flu shot of anyone, as when he gets sick…it’s 5 days out cold. (You know, the man-flu!)
my husband and i got vaccinated but there is no way we would vaccinate our 2year old as they did not offer the special version of the h1n1 shot in canada … just a personal choice for us if our son was 5 we would have done it ( in regular baby vaccines it is regulated that they do not include a certain mercury like substance in them since 2006 but the flu shots and h1n1 shots Do include it ( i asked my doctor)
I guess I’m a medical Momma but, having the flu SUCKS! Sick kids suck even more. Go for the shot. We will be doing the same!
Cuyler was hospitalized when he had H1N1 last winter. He lost the ability to walk for 3 days. SCARY shit.
The other 2 were vax’d for it. Not sure I’ll vax them again this year. We’ll wait and see how we feel in the upcoming months.
We don’t usually vax for the flu.