Sick!

So Chris' kids (my stepkids) decided to bring a cold with them when they came up for the weekend. So now Chris, Taevyn, and myself are sick. :( There's not much else to say really, because I'll spare you my complaints, but this does illustrate the main reason why I will not be getting a flu shot this year.

Technically, it's supposed to help prevent my son from getting sick, by preventing me from getting sick and passing it on to him. However, I breastfeed him, so it's beneficial to him if we both get sick at the same time. If I get the flu, antibodies produced in my body will be passed through the breastmilk to him, helping him combat the flu. If I get a flu shot, the antibodies from the shot don't pass through the breastmilk in strong enough quantities to help my baby with immunity, so it helps me but not him. And since both my husband and my stepkids can and do bring home a bunch of viruses during the winter, my baby would be exposed to those viruses (whether or not I am exposed to them) and he would have to combat them on his own, something that is much more dangerous to him than if I were sick as well and breastfeeding.

Yes, the flu is a danger to my child. However, getting the flu shot would actually increase his risk of having a severe infection, rather than decrease it. When both the mom and child get sick, the breastfeeding child often gets a milder version of the disease, because the mom's body is giving some protection to her child through breastmilk. By getting a flu shot, I am essentially preventing my child from getting the best medicine possible to combat sickness.