ILX Parenting 5: I'm a big kid now

Oh man. When do kids get the chicken pox vaccine? Has Evie had it yet?

all children in plastic bubbles

ok imma sound dumb but...ive never heard about chicken pox vaccines. i have heard about "get your kids chicken pox so they can build immunity now and 4eva" which is how me and me brother handled shit IN THE 90S

Yeah, apparently they came up with them too late for me.

Yeah, the NHS don't give the vaccine as routine, only to those with vulnerable family members. I think pox parties are still the preferred method here.

I think it's part of the regular vaccine schedule in the US but I don't remember when it happens.

Pox parties make me rage. It is the dumbest fucking thing. Don't do that to your children.

I mean you're intentionally exposing your child to a disease. The virus stays with you for life, and then you can get shingles when you're older. And then you can have complications if you have a compromised immune system at any point. PLUS chicken poxs really suck for kids. Just get the vaccine.

Chicken pox in adults sucks a hell of a lot more than in kids, believe me.

We think she got the vaccine; it looks like kids normally get it at 12-18 months and we didn't turn down any offered vaccines. But chicken pox has a 2-week incubation period and the vaccine doesn't always work, so we won't be sure for a while.

both of my kids got pox about 2 y o and it was no biggie, they didn't even scratch their huge horrible spots at all (??)

i agree the pox party thing seems kinda crepey but i thought it was settled that it's good for kids to get it? wouldn't a vaccine need constant reupping?

Just two doses: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/varicella/basic-who-needs-vacc.htm

Vaccines that require boosters don't even need constant reupping. Get a flu shot every year and a tdap booster every ten and you're set.

I got a mild/average case of chicken pox in the 1st grade. My brother never got them until the 6th grade and they were horrid! You couldn't see his skin, he was covered, covered, like every single part of his body and my parents were worried he'd be sterile.

I remember I couldn't look at him. I was in the 8th grade and it really aggravated my trypophobia. He had a really bad fever for a few days and was throwing up constantly. My little sister got it at school. She was in the 1st grade and gave it to him.

I am thinking of getting August vaccinated because I wouldn't want her to get chicken pox the way my brother did. Then again, she could get what I got which was a mild fever for a day, a few sores...I remember the whole thing so well. I was happy to be out of school and hanging with my grandparents. I wanted to get them and was so excited when my belly started to itch and saw a sore.

I know they say that that chicken pox doesn't jump species, but I went out to play with my grandfather's baby chicks after he told me not too. They did get pox soon after and all died. Coincidence maybe, but my grandfather said chicks gave it to kids and vice-versa.

Everybody seems to be missing a really good reason for vaccination: protecting immunocompromised people in the community, like kids with cancer or people taking immunosuppressive drugs. Also, if a pregnant woman who doesn't have previous immunity is exposed to chickenpox, it can her fetus up. You're contagious before you start feeling ill and getting spots. 100-150 people a year still die from chickenpox.

*whoops, that death rate was PRIOR to the introduction of the vaccine. Hardly any kids die from cpox anymore, thanks vaccination.

That is a good point, I was just focusing on the painfully obvious ones. Which should be enough reason for anyone.

2bclear, we're getting all vaccinations! i just wasnt aware of the cpox one bc of ~childhood experiences~

Introduced in 1995 per CDC website. You just missed it!

Another good reason to get it is so you don't get shingles later. Shingles suck.

Shingles may suck even more now: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140102165650.htm

wait if you don't get the pox vaccine you can get shingles? or if you don't get the pox you can get shingles?

You can get shingles if you have had chickenpox. The virus lies dormant in your body and essentially reactivates and causes shingles.

It's like the movie sequel that no one wanted. It's like Teen Wolf 2.

I woke up one day in a world with eight planets, no such thing as a brontosaurus and a chicken pox vaccine. I still have trouble adjusting.

There's no such thing as a brontosaurus?

spoiler alert: they're all dead

Bronto now apato.

Jeff, you've got to keep me abreast of these things so I don't look like a dingus in front of our kid.

spoiler alert: they're all dead

lol

Carl, just outsource the STEM education to me. I got this.

The main risk for stroke is in cases of shingles on the face (zoster ophthalmicus). I've seen that in older patients too.

VZV is also the #1 cause of stroke in school-aged kids (a low risk, but it happens).

I'm pissed about the brontosaurus/apatosaurus thing. It always makes me think of Steve Carrell.

Also pissing off: probably no such thing as triceratops after all--they seem to be the juvenile form of a different species

And yeah, I just find myself tearing up at random times of the day while at work but thinking about Ella.

haha getting mittens on a 5 month old is like wrestling an octopus jesus christ

first day of part-time preschool today. Apparently she cried for 1.5 hrs :(

It's only a 3 hour day.

lol

xpost

oh I don't even with the mittens, forget it. But we bought one of these crazy things to protect from exposure. We had bad experiences with the regular plastic cover - didn't fit right and tore easily.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007IV5676/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

oh hes in a car seat with a cover and snowsuit and blankets etc, but when its -18 actual temperature, any exposed skin is dangerous

things he also hates - blankets, snowsuit, car seat with cover, etc

yeah the good thing about this cover is that it shields somewhat against exposure as well -- the window shields are pretty thick/solid. It's kind of like being in one of those temporary shelters restaurants put outside their doors.

Also since it has a "structure" it doesn't seem to bother her as much as a regular cover.

The hardest part of parenting so far has been dressing the kid.

protip: distract while dressing -- give them a book, a toy, ask them questions, sing a song with them, etc.

yeah basically 90% of parenting so far appears to be "distract the baby at all costs"

Yes, some of my most assine utterances come out when I'm trying to get her noodley yet inhumanly strong arms into these torture devices known as "sleeves." Just absurd, nonstop garbage coming out of my mouth.

she's actually gotten sort of cooperative with her arms in the sleeves. Also I always joke with her about getting "stuck" when I put the shirt over her head and she thinks that's hilarious.

i remember being terrified of getting stuck inside shirts when I was little

I'm feeling really shitty about the way first day of preschool went down this morning. I kind of just didn't get to say bye bye to K and I don't think she saw me walk out. I was sort of encouraged to leave quickly rather than linger, and maybe I took that a little too far.

when i drop my daughter off for preschool the moment she turns her head i slip out the door

i remember being terrified of getting stuck inside shirts when I was little

i was always terrified of the necks of shirts being slightly too small and squeezing down on my head and face

i think i still am

i've heard a few times that when dropping them off it's good to let kids know you're leaving, to make that a moment, even if they're shrieking their heads off. dunno how true that is, or if it's true for everyone.