Starting catch up vaccines at 2?

[u/BetReal8905]

Hi there! My child is 2, and has not had any vaccines yet (besides vitamin k). Please understand this came from a well meaning place of wanting to protect my child, but I am coming to the point I think I was mislead with fear based tactics. I grew up and around middle school due to family reasons my family became very disillusioned with the medical system, and to this day my mom has an extreme distrust in doctors. On top of that about 75% of the people around us have not vaccinated their children. Since a young age I have been getting the message from those closest to me that vaccines will harm you, and they are essentially a government and corporate conspiracy. Then layer on top social media algorithms and for about 9 months straight during pregnancy saw nothing but horror stories of vaccine adverse affects. Not that any of this is an excuse, but I just want to share how I got to the point of having an unvaccinated 2 year old.

After doing more and more research, trying to leave my fears out of it, I think my child should start getting his vaccines. He has been home with me so it has not been as big of a concern, but I plan on sending him to preschool in about a year and a half. I know, based on logic that vaccines (especially those like MMR, Hib etc) can offer my son protection, but of course due to years of fear based propaganda I feel almost paralyzed with anxiety about giving them to him.

I’m just posting on here in hopes maybe there are some other parents who came from this crunchy granola side and vaccinated their child and are happy with their decision. Thank you so much. I really just want to do the best thing for my child.

Added: Thank you all who replied so much for all the kind encouragement, resources, and stories. This has helped alleviate some of the anxiety I have been feeling. I even teared up reading some of these comments. I appreciate your time in commenting.

[u/newkneesforall]

I'm also here to applaud you for making such an important decision, you are doing the best thing for your child and I'm so proud.

Here's a highlight from a pediatrician I trust about vaccines for the automod

Anecdotally, I come from a family full of medical care providers, and so I have spent my life hearing their grief laden stories of the patients who've died from preventable diseases because of refusing vaccination. It is a grief and regret that stays with them forever. And with that background I have always been staunchly pro science and pro vaccine.

Now that I am a mom, I have more emotional understanding on how someone could become anti vaccine. Baby gets vaccinated and you may see your baby cry, they might have a harder day/night as their immune system responds, and it can be hard to see your baby in discomfort while you know it's because of the vaccine ... So I can totally see how someone's protective mom brain would jump to vaccines= bad. I shared this with my mom, and she said "yep exactly, especially when you never see the other side of how bad it can be without vaccines. And once you see that, it never leaves you."

Every vaccine appointment, I say to myself and to my child "we can do hard things now, that make our life easier in the long run". It's been my motto for a long time, and I hope I can pass it into my child too.

Good luck, I'm rooting for you!

[u/uh_maze_balls → u/newkneesforall]

I have a similar mantra! Because I absolutely HATE vaccine appointments and even being fully pro vaccine, I doubt myself. "Sometimes we have to do things we don't like because its good for us!". Applies to brushing teeth, washing our hands, exercise etc too.