You’ve brought your infant home from the hospital. You’re settling in, and now it’s time for the first newborn doctor’s office visit. This check-up ensures your baby is developing normally and administers routine vaccines and assessments to protect ongoing health.
Let’s talk about what to expect during a visit to your pediatrician and where you can find the best pediatrician in Woodlands and Spring, TX.
A Thorough Head to Toe Assessment
When you see the newborn doctor at three to five days old, expect a gentle and complete assessment of your baby. This examination includes important developmental measurements, such as length, weight, and head circumference, and vital signs, plus a vision/hearing check of how your baby perceives noise, light, and moving objects.
Also, the doctor will assess your baby’s reflexes, including the characteristic fencer’s pose and startle reflex. The pediatrician inspects the hair and skin, especially in the genital area, if a baby boy has been circumcised. Any signs of infant jaundice should be receding or absent at this time.
Discussion of Feeding, Diapers, Sleeping,and More
Yes, these issues can seem overwhelming, but your pediatric team will coach you through:
- Breast or bottle feeding
- Diapering and how many diapers to expect each day
- Sleep patterns (14 to 17 hours per 24-hour day is expected) and safe sleeping positions
- Bathing
- Sun exposure
- Car seat safety
The doctor will tell you how to take a temperature and recognize when a call to the pediatrician’s office or a trip to the hospital ER is warranted.
Vaccines and Screening Tests
Your baby likely had several screening tests at the hospital, including a special hearing exam and blood work to look for a wide range of metabolic disorders and inherited conditions. Depending on what was done, your pediatrician may do an additional screening.
Also, your baby likely received the Hepatitis B vaccine shortly after birth while still in the hospital. Your pediatrician follows the vaccine schedule from the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics and will update vaccines at well-baby visits in the ensuing months. Vaccines are a safe and effective way to protect your baby from a long list of communicable diseases and their potential complications.
Questions and Concerns Answered
Ensure to talk to your child’s doctor about your own adjustment to this new and critical life situation. Caring for a newborn while recovering from childbirth isn’t easy. It takes loving support and attention from the spouse, relatives, friends, and more to both mother and baby. Your pediatrician can help you sort through your feelings about being a new parent or a parent of a newly expanded family.
Pediatric Center in Woodlands and Spring, TX
The pediatricians at Northwoods Pediatric Center, P.A. can provide the appropriate treatment for your sick child and give detailed instructions on how to care for them yourself at home to bring your child back to good health.
Our physicians are committed to advancing your child’s health, development, and wellness, and we are very passionate about providing the highest quality care to children. We also offer well-child exams and vaccines to catch health problems early and avoid complications from illnesses.
To schedule an appointment with one of the pediatricians, call our office today at (281) 296-7770 or use our convenient online appointment request form.
