Baby Shots

I think it's normal, my 7 month old did that at her four month check up. Just give him tylenol for the pain and call your doctor, they may want you to bring him in to make sure he's not having a reaction.

Those two month shots are BRUTAL!!! My son did end up running a fever, and screamed and cried from about 11pm the night he got them till about 4pm the next day. I took him to the Dr.'s at about 11am, and he screamed through the entire appointment, to the point that the Dr. called that evening to see how it was going at 7pm that night. I gave my son infant motrin every 6 hrs for two days and excersized his legs. If the fever happens give him a lukewarm bath. The thing is though that the best help to them is to just snuggle them till the pain subsides. It will get better. I have heard from a lot of poeple that this happens at the two month shots as well. The next round somehow wasn't so bad, but make sure you start the Ibuprophen 1/2 hr prior to the appointment. It really does help.

Hi M.,
Yes, it hurts. The medicine makes the muscles very sore. I'm a retired nurse, and I always gave my kids ibuprofen prior to getting their shots to help prevent the pain. The more the muscle moves, the more the medicine will dispurse and be less painful, like with adult tetanus shots. Give him age appropriate dose of tylenol or ibuprofen if your doc says it's o.k. and move his little legs around to help get the tight muscles moving. Next time, try and give him the tylenol an hour or so before he gets the shots.

I have a few friends and relatives that have had this happen to their babies. At the very least, call your doctor and insist that it be noted in his records. Maybe they will even want to examine him. He may be a child who reacts adversely to the shots and could possibly have a worse reaction to the next batch. I recommend studying vaccine safety on the internet from all viewpoints. Most important, pray for guidance from "The Great Physician" who loved and still loves the little children and gently leads those who are with young. I will pray for for you and your baby on my walk this morning.
Best,
Cathy

Trying to figure out whay a baby is crying its head off is so difficult. Some people say after a while you get to recognize your child's different cies--- with my oldest we never could figure them out. Just keep doing what you are doing and try different things..however, if he doesn't stop call your doctor. Don't worry about looking like a nutty first time mom...a good pediatrician should be fine with the calls. I am not saying this to alarm you in any way--but go on your gut. My youngest got her 1 year shots, was fine for a day and then started screaming her head off unconsolubly. It is common for a baby not to have a "reaction" to shots until the next day so I was not concerned at first. But she just would not stop crying and had no fever. I called my doctor and he said to bring her back in...she had hand and mouth virus that just by chance came at the same time as her shots. I am glad I trusted my gut...you need to do the same. Call the doc if you think he has been crying too much. It is much better to be the over concerned parent than not. Good luck!

M.,

It is actually very common to have irritability and even appetite loss after immunizations. My baby had the same thing after her shots (2 month shots... only a month ago). I gave her the recommended dose of tylenol and it seemed to help her. I think part of the crying is just because the place where the shots were given is still sore and tender. they are muscle shots,... owee.

Try giving him the tylenol dose your doctor recommends, and see if that doesn't help him. In the meantime, try not to touch his upper thighs at all. my baby still has the slightest little lump (but it doesn't hurt her). I cannot recall which shot it is that does this, but for one of the shots, this is very common. I've actually read that Motrin, or ibuprofen, should not be used in babies under 6 months. And many facts point to Tylenol being the more gentle medication, my son throws up from Motrin - doc says it's not an allergic reaction, it's probably a combination of his GERD and the fact that Motrin irritates the stomach and can causes nausea (i cannot take Motrin either, it is very hard on my stomach and i recently had an allergic reaction where i couldn't breathe). So while there is lots of conflicting advice on which is better/safer/more effective, talk to your doctor.

Of course, prolonged high pitched screaming should be consulted with your doctor.

It's a possible side effect. He's hurting. Try Rescue Remedy (fruitful Yield next to Kohl's at Fox Valley Mall) to help him calm. It's homeopathic and safe for babies (and moms who get into stressful situations too.).

I suggest calling the Dr. to let them know. They'll tell you to give Tylenol, too. I recommend cutting back on the shots and going once a month and get just one at a time, since you don't know which one is causing him to have this reaction.

Check the literature your doctor's gave you when your sweet boy got his shots... they should have listed an age appropriate dose of tylenol to help with the pain of the shots.

Also, someone mentioned no tylenol b/4 six months, but I've always been told it is no motrin. Check with your doctor, but here's what I found on webmd...

"It is okay to treat the various aches and pains... by using an appropriate dose of plain acetaminophen (Tylenol) or in children over the age of six months, with ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)."

It's so hard to hear your baby cry like that. (((HUGS))) My first 2 sailed through their shots but my third baby had her first shots in December and the reaction was crying for FIVE DAYS STRAIGHT! It was horrible! She had come into this world without crying and very laid back and crying is out of the ordinary for her so I knew she was miserable. At her 4 month checkup I told the doctor about the reaction and the research I had done. I was concerned that it was the Pertussis part of the DTaP shot. She told me I was correct and that some babies have that reaction to that shot so we decided to no longer give it to her. We opted for the DT shots instead. My baby did wonderful and had no reaction at all this time. She was smiley and happy and no one would have guessed she had any shots.

She warned me that babies usually have a worse reaction with each shot given that they had a bad reaction to. I would call your doctor and let them know his reaction and see what they say. In the meantime, love him up and infant tylonol helps some if you give meds.

Hi M.,
It can be normal. It might be that your baby is just not feeling well. Did you check to see if he has a slight fever? Even a slight one might make him not feel so good. Good luck!

S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

I think it's normal to be irritable. I have 2 toddlers and they would be extra fuzzy after shots. Make sure you do your research on shots before you give them all. I wish I did with my first and then with my second I started looking into the shots and found that some of these shots are better if you give them when they are older and their little bodies can take more. I've spaced out the important ones with my second. His MMR shot is coming up next month and I have to research the shot some more before I decide what I'll do.

Hope this helps,
B.

Hi... just an fyi - infant Tylenol should not be given to babies under 6 months... try infant Motrin instead.

Hope he feels better in the morning!

M.-
My son has done the same for all his shots (and he's been through his one year checkup now. It has helped for us to give him infant tylenol before the appt and then later when we get home to try to preempt the pain, but there usually is still pain for about a day. With my son it's very obvious that it's just his leg being really sore -- and he didn't even want to cruise or walk much last time (which is totally out of character because since he was able to pull up that's all he ever wanted to do). The crying isn't his normal cry either -- you can tell he is in pain and not just unhappy about something. It's rough, but we've gotten through it each time. You and he will be fine. Just ask your doc office about the tylenol (they gave us free samples and indicated the proper dosage).

Follow your gut. Not normal? Call your doctor immediately. Babies are often fussy after shots. Perhaps ask them if you can have less immunizations or spread them out. You may also want to do a little research and opt out altogether in the future.