As a mom, I’ve been pretty proud of my kid’s shot records. Though she was born in California and we live in Missouri, I’ve kept a record of every single one—including flu shots, synagis shots against RSV, etc.—all in the same little fold-out shot record.

This was always something I promised to do because I have no idea when I received shots when or where. My mom had three kids to care for, not one—and we had a handful of those accordion-like cards around our house, some half-filled, some with a single shot on them…and some missing.

But even if you don’t have a record of your immunizations throughout your life, that doesn’t mean you get to skip them now that you’re grown and on your own—especially if you’ve got kids in your life. I recently called our Health Department and discovered that both my husband and I were due on a shot—me by a year, him by several—that would help us reduce chances of spreading diseases to our little one. What good is it, after all, to inoculate her little, just-developing immune system if Mom and Dad turn out to be carriers of an illness right in our own home?

So we scheduled appointments. And I heartily recommend getting them scheduled NOW, because we aren’t able to get in for another few weeks. That’s how booked they are! Plan to pay fork over some money—the shots we’re getting are almost $50 a piece, I think, but they last for ten years and cover a lot of stuff.

And it’s not just the regular immunizations you need, either; if you care for a child, are a member of the elderly population, or have an otherwise fragile condition that the flu could jeopardize, you need to get a flu shot, too.

Some health plans cover it, but from my experience it’s likely going to cost you $25 wherever you go. We got our daughter’s through her pediatrician, who bills the insurance company—but we’ll be getting ours through a Walgreens or similar venue next weekend. Don’t be macho about it; if you work with or have kids, do it for their sake. Suck it up. You can take that needle, big guy.

Then there’s the swine flu vaccine, hopefully coming to a municipality near you. Don’t skip out on it—even if you’re not a member of the elderly community, because the older you are, the greater chance you’ve got of being previously exposed to it to begin with.

To find out what immunizations you need, click here, or call your local health department.