As parents of a new born, regardless of prior experiences, there is often the fear about “what do I do if….”; “I can’t remember what I did during the time of Junior…..”. During the first one year of life, your infant visits the doctor often to get what is called “well child exam”. Here are very few things you should expect at each of these visit. If your pediatrician is not doing most of these; be sure to ask questions.

Newborn:

After you leave the hospital, you should have follow up appointment with the pediatrician at least within a week. During this visit, the doctor should be able to catch up on vaccines/immunizations not administered after birth. The baby is weighed and it is expected that he/she gain 1 ounce (1 oz) per day which equals about 0.03 kilogram per day. If the baby is not gaining this much, he/she is probably not eating enough. This in turn falls back on the mother who has to evaluate if she has been feeding the baby well. There could be the issue of insufficient milk production or a naive mother who keeps the baby on a strict schedule or just a naive mother who is not sure whether to wake the baby up to eat or leave him to sleep. Your pediatrician should counsel you on feeding schedule and how to keep the baby nourished. Also at this visit, the baby’s head circumference is measured and compared to the chest circumference. Circumference means measuring the entire ‘circle’ of the head and chest. The length/ height is also measured. Averagely, it is expected that the head circumference is 2 cm larger than the chest circumference. The doctor should ask you how many wet (urine) and dirty (stool) diapers your baby has per day. This is to make sure that input does not exceed output or vice versa. Averagely, a baby should have up to 8 wet diapers and 1-2 dirty diapers. The doctor should proceed to check your child’s heart and lungs. He then proceeds to check everything else from the anterior fontanel (soft spot) to the ball (bottom) of the foot. At the end of the examination, you should get anticipatory guidance from your child’s doctor. Examples include:

No extra blankets or toys INSIDE the crib/cot/bassinet.

Rear facing car seat with all latches and belts securely fastened.

DO NOT shake the baby. DO NOT hold baby in arms in the car.

Check temperature with a thermometer if you feel like baby is warm.

Talk to baby, sing and create play time. Supervised tummy time is allowed.

Test baby’s bath water before you use. DO NOT force feed your baby.

Dress baby appropriately for weather. Avoid excessive fragrance laden cream/lotion/soap/powder……….

Parents, be sure to ALWAYS ask questions about your baby from the doctor. It is their responsibility to tell you exactly everything you need to know. Never stay in ignorance of what is going on. Ask questions about medications you are given and what they are used for. Be sure to especially ask about POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS of medications and when to return to the clinic. Ask the doctor what your child's diagnosis is, ask them to explain the disease process to you. "Remember: the stupid question is the one you never ask".

We will pick up from here next time. We hope everyone picked up a new knowledge or reinforced an existing one.

Looking for car seats? Be sure to check out our website for both infant and convertible car seats. We will be stocking up on more car seats and car seat accessories very soon too!..TO BE CONTINUED

****This piece was put together by a licensed medical professional with experience in pediatric health. It represents evidence based medical opinion created specifically for Megakids' Holdings' audience. It is not a replica of anyone’s work***