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Time for Another Well Check?

By aPRIl tIshER

As a new parent, chances are one of your biggest struggles is getting out of the house with your baby, especially on time. It might be frustrating to understand why many of those required trips are to the doctor for wellness checks. Is it really that important to see your child’s pediatrician so often when your baby isn’t sick?

Absolutely, says Dr. Mary Grooms of Gainesville Pediatrics. Wellness visits are just as important as sick ones, and in a lot of cases can help prevent sick visits and allow earlier diagnosis of conditions that may need intervention.

Wellness visits typically begin within three days of your newborn being discharged from the hospital. This is to make sure the baby is gaining weight appropriately and to help parents work out feeding issues. They continue as your little one reaches 2 weeks, 1 month and then months 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12. The frequency of these visits has to do with how quickly your baby develops during the first year.

Grooms shares that during these visits your child’s doctor is not only closely monitoring growth, but also development. This includes muscular development, social growth and neurological development. Pediatricians follow many standard screening procedures at each age looking for developmental delays, speech or physical delays and even signs of autism. You are also developing a relationship with your baby’s primary care physician, as she can provide guidance and answer the many questions parents have about their child.

Another reason for wellness visits is to keep up with your child’s vaccination schedule. If you are following standard vaccination guidelines, your baby will receive his first vaccine in the hospital prior to discharge. It is important to stay on track with these immunizations to ensure full coverage at the appropriate ages. This is also the time to ask your baby’s doctor any questions you may have about vaccines, their potential side effects and the long-term benefits of them.

Grooms recommends that parents bring a list of questions or concerns related to your baby’s health. Often, by the time parents get to the office they have forgotten the things they were worrying about the night before. She also stresses that it is always okay to call and ask questions. Don’t be afraid of bothering the doctor!

Keep in mind that every child develops differently.

Don’t compare your baby to your sister’s child or even your other children. What was a normal growth pattern for your firstborn might not be so for your second baby. Don’t assume because you have done it all before that these well checks are not as important with your subsequent children as they were the first time around. Recommendations change, each child has different needs and his health needs to be a priority. The same relationship needs to be formed with each child and his physician so that the doctor can properly assess him as the individual he is. The most important thing to remember is to stay on your pediatrician’s recommended schedule. You will feel better knowing your baby is being properly cared for and your doctor can give your child the most comprehensive care possible. So use those frequent trips to the doctor as an excuse to get out of the house for the day. After all, it’s for your baby’s health and what is more important than that? 

Infant Milestones by Month

2 months – Raise head up briefly, smile or coo on purpose. 4 months – Roll from stomach to back, play with hands or hold toy in hands. 6 months – Roll over completely, sit supported, laugh or squeal and try to make sounds.

9 months – Sit unassisted, crawl or creep, respond to name and understand a few words. 12 months – Pull self to stand, use pincer grasp to pick up objects, say one-three words.