Do you do well baby visits?

[RainbowSprinkles]

Our littlest went to her well-baby appt when she was 2 months. She is almost 9 months now and hasn't been since. We stopped vaccinating completely, she is a healthy snd growing little girl. I take her weight at home once a month, and make sure she has plenty of wet/dirty diapers.

 

So I switched from a family physician to a pediatrician. I did schedule an appt for my baby girl. I want to obviously meet the new dr. But beyond that, I don't see it necessary for us to continue well-baby visits.

 

What do/did you do?

[Chris in VA]

We absolutely did well visits. We vaccinated on an extended schedule, but I also wanted the ped's sharp eyes to catch anything that seemed ok to me but wasn't.

 

I don't consider myself more educated than my Dr on matters of health, tho I do feel I'm his partner in keeping my kids healthy; I just don't turn up my nose at his experience and education.

[ktgrok]

yes yes yes, for babies! (older kids, like my preteen, not as much). Things like the growth of the skull, etc, can be picked up that you wouldn't catch at home until damage was done. I know two people this has been an issue for...one was caught at a well baby check. The other didn't go to well baby checks as the mother didn't have insurance, and her daughter is facing a very bad prognosis.

[Soror]

No.

[TammyinTN]

Yes, always. I just needed to make sure everything was going great for my kids. We always vaccinated, due to moving and living overseas.

[Melissa in Australia]

All I did was the 6 week check. I took my babies to the infant welfare nurse every fortnight because I just loved getting them weighed and bragging about how fast they were learning new things.

[stripe]

I totally understand where you're coming from, but I do take them. I have always been sorry I missed them because I did go through a period when I skipped. My kids have things they need chcked or will need ongoing referrals to specialists, so I need to keep the doctor informed.

 

Someone I know just had her baby in a head thing as it was not round anymore. She had no idea.

 

I like having some relationship with a doctor. My trick is finding one I can stand.

[TravelingChris]

Yes, I did. It really helped with all three. First had hearing issues, second had bad allergies back then, and third had something come up when she was seen by doctors that wasn't a concern back then but is now a big issue in her life as a fifteen year old. It is helpful for her doctors now to be able to track her problem from infancy since it rules out certain conditions. As an infant and young child, she had no obvious problems and I would never had known about her loose joints. It was only after she reached puberty and starting dislocating over and over again did it become an issue.

[gabbymom]

Nope. Just seems like asking for trouble to take a WELL baby to a doctor. We rely on preventative measures.

[momma2three]

Yes, I did. And I'm glad I did: it was at DS's 15 month that he was diagnosed with profound hearing loss. I'm well informed about milestones, and he wasnt even my first, but I just thought he was stubborn and didn't like following directions, and that boys talk later. When the ped referred him to an EI evaluation, I thought she was being totally diagnosis-happy. It was the best thing ever, though, and that we caught it so early meant that we could fix it and today he suffers only the most minor of delays.

 

We also vaccinated, and my youngest has a heart murmur that was found at a well visit that we keep tabs on. She also had a giant jump in head circumference, which turned out to be nothing to be worried about but I'm very glad we could get it checked out in case it turned out to be an issue.

 

I personally don't understand the distrust of doctors or of medical science. It may be "old fashioned" not to vaccinate and not to seek preventative care, but in the olden days many people died of preventable issues.

[nono]

Yes, I do. If for no other reason than that my children were adopted, we homeschool, and well, if anyone ever comes after us for any reason, we have a track record of "traditional" care for our children. I spent some time investigating the peds in our area and did meet with each of them (the first one retired in the last couple years) before committing my children as patients. They are aware and unfazed by my crunchy-granola tendencies, so it's a good match. :)

[happypamama]

I think most of the time they're pointless; my family doctor is very sweet, and I like her a lot, but this is baby #4 -- she's not telling me anything I don't already know (and the doctor with the first baby didn't tell me anything earth-shattering either). I've never had a well check catch something that wasn't already on my radar.

 

I see some benefits to well visits, though I think the really frequent ones probably aren't necessary. My oldest son's dentist recommended some oral surgery for him recently, which is covered by our medical insurance, not our dental, and it needed a referral from our family doc. Since she'd just seen him for a general checkup a few months prior, I had no problem calling for the referral, but I would have felt a bit awkward asking for an appointment just for the referral. I kind of feel like doctor visits should be for when you're sick or needing something, but our culture doesn't work that way.

[nova147]

Yes. We vaccinate, so that's obviously a big reason to take them. But my kids are all on the small side and having had them into the doc regularly has eliminated concern about that. She knows them have always grown this way.

 

Also, DD2 was diagnosed with anemia at a 9 month well check. I had no idea. Her weight gain was minimal between 6 and 9 months, which is what led the doctor to check. (I suppose weighing at home would have caught it too.)

 

I think a big part of people's issues with doctors, especially pediatricians, is that the doctors try to give parenting advice. My doc is respectful of my parenting choices. She knows we co-sleep (safely), practice extended breastfeeding, homeschool, etc. She has mentioned any concerns she has with particular choices (like that we might crush the baby :D) but then leaves it alone. But finding a good doc can be really hard! I had one insist that I was damaging DS7 because he was still nursing at 15 months! :glare:

[littlebug42]

My children have never missed a well child visit and we are approaching ages 11 and 9. My nephew did have potentially very serious kidney issue diagnosed at his well check. It was showing no symptoms and my sister had no idea. My youngest daughter has asthma so she actually has to go every 6 months. I am glad that my children know, like and trust their pediatrican. She knows them by name and we don't really have to go very often as my children are rarely sick.

[Amy in NH]

I always did them and we vaccinate.

 

I still bring my kids once per year because in order to have an established relationship with a doctor most want you to come in once per year at minimum. So in the event my kids ever need a doctor they will have one.

 

 

 

:iagree:

 

I've found over the years that there are little nothings that would make me go hmmm, but they weren't large or important enough problems for me to follow up on at the time. Those are some of the concerns that I collect and ask about when I bring the kids for their annual visit. As the kids have gotten older, it's been important because I'm not 100% aware of their bodily functions anymore. The impending appointment causes me to ask the kids more questions about their bodies, and some ailments have been uncovered that way. And I need those health forms signed by the doctor for the kids to be allowed to play team sports through the schools.

 

ETA: One of my kids had a heart condition discovered at a well-child visit.

[happypamama]

Yes this is a big one for me. Our doc is pretty tame in this department. He doesn't say much. He always asks stuff like do they wear a bike helmet, are they in booster seats, do they take swimming lessons, etc. That annoys me to no end, but that's the extent of it.

 

What amuses me is that different doctors ask about different things. One of my earlier pediatricians was very big on asking about whether we always used a carseat for the baby and if we put the baby on his back to sleep. Our current doctor (a family doctor, but both have been young females) asks about secondhand smoke in the home and whether we know about shaken baby syndrome.

 

I appreciated the comment of my very first pediatrician, whom we only saw a few times for infant DD, because we moved when she was 7 months old; she asked about nursing, and I said that she was still nursing some at night but that it wasn't bothering me. Her answer was, "if it's not a problem for you, it's not a problem." That, IMO, was staying on the right side of the line between medical vs. parenting advice.

[babysparkler]

Always. We've found that the well visits are for us as much as the kids. Our pedi is just plain awesome, and we have learned SO MUCH about parenting, homeschooling, marriage, etc from him. He has become a respected and trusted partner in our child-rearing and I can't imagine not having his wisdom throughout the years. We really have been blessed to find him.

[AnnaM]

Nope. Seems like a waste of a co-pay to take a well child to the doctor and inevitably they end up sick afterwards. We take a preventative measures approach.

[KS_]

We didn't.

[Wheres Toto]

I've always done well visits for all my kids, although we've slacked off a little for my oldest in the last year. She wants a new "grown-up" doctor and we're still looking for one since I hate mine.

 

Partially it's because we vaccinate, partially because I usually have at least some issue that I want to ask about but wasn't important enough to make an appointment for, partially to keep the relationship going and have them know my kids for when they are sick. My oldest was sick a lot as a baby (day care) but my younger two basically go once a year. I've had the same pediatricians since my oldest was born though, so even just going once a year, they definitely know me. The one we see most often has children the same age as my oldest so I could always ask her what she does for her kids.

 

Maybe it's because of the long relationship, but my pediatricians have always been the type to trust that I was aware of the current recommendations. They may do a quick "and of course you do a, b, c, d)" and that's it. We co-slept, I breastfed (including through severe jaundice on my son), extended rear-facing, not doing flu shots and not doing Guardisil, homeschooling, etc. They never made me feel stupid for asking about something (even as an "experienced" mom I have the occasional silly question), I never have a problem getting an appointment, they call back when they say they will, I never wait long in the waiting room. I really like my pediatricians and hope to have them until my youngest is 18.

[Spryte]

We do well visits. :)

 

It does seem like a pain, but I know there are things that the doc might notice that we might not. So off we go.

 

But there are some things that a parent might catch, that a pedi won't. Our little one's head was not the right shape from the beginning - it was congenital. Our pedi did not notice it getting worse, but we sure did, and we discussed it at several well baby checks along with a separate visit just for that. So clearly there's a lot to be said for parents' intuition and eyes, too. (LO is in a helmet now, BTW.)

 

ETA: This summed it up perfectly:

Yes, I do. If for no other reason than that my children were adopted, we homeschool, and well, if anyone ever comes after us for any reason, we have a track record of "traditional" care for our children. I spent some time investigating the peds in our area and did meet with each of them (the first one retired in the last couple years) before committing my children as patients. They are aware and unfazed by my crunchy-granola tendencies, so it's a good match. :)

 

Oohhh! Now I see that as I edit this, someone else quoted the same. :)

Edited June 21, 2012 by Spryte

[Artichoke]

Yes, I do. If for no other reason than that my children were adopted, we homeschool, and well, if anyone ever comes after us for any reason, we have a track record of "traditional" care for our children. I spent some time investigating the peds in our area and did meet with each of them (the first one retired in the last couple years) before committing my children as patients. They are aware and unfazed by my crunchy-granola tendencies, so it's a good match. :)

 

 

This is our basic reasoning as well especially since one of our children is a bit of a daredevil who has had injuries to match.

[Dinsfamily]

I do. We do vaccinate but I would take them anyway. In fact, ds8 hasn't needed any vaccinations in 4 yrs and we've gone in once a year for his checkups. I take them because I appreciate having another (more qualified in many areas) set of eyes on my dc's health. There were 3 times that ds3 was diagnosed with an ear infection at well visits. He didn't have typical infant symptoms so I was glad they caught it. Also, my dc tend to be on the ultra-slim side and it's nice to have our ped's take on it. She is pretty hands off with the situation since their bloodwork came back good (no anemia) and are growing on their own curves.

 

I was also able to talk with her about being able to protect my milk supply while training for a half marathon. She gave me some great tips and was happy I asked her. Evidently, she sees quite a few failure-to-thrive nursed babies because of the mother's eating and exercising habits.

 

I think it is important that she recognizes that I'm the parent and she is aiding me. She usually asks me if I want something done and will give me a recommendation. I've also got great referrals for a surgeon and pediatric dentist from her.

 

On a funny note, I was shocked when ds8's last hearing test showed he had outstanding hearing. He does not use it very often :glare: Now, he doesn't have any excuse for not hearing me. I have the paperwork to prove it:D.

[jennsmile]

We did with our first. Our others haven't had them. But we do try to go to the doctor once every other year or so. I do check to make sure they reach milestones and such.

[Truscifi]

I always did them and we vaccinate.

 

I still bring my kids once per year because in order to have an established relationship with a doctor most want you to come in once per year at minimum. So in the event my kids ever need a doctor they will have one.

 

I admit the well visits at this point have been pretty dumb, but I do want to have a doctor available if they should ever need one.

 

 

:iagree: And it paid off a few months ago when ds had an infected salivary gland. His jaw hurt the night before, and I was thinking I might need to call the dentist the next day, that he might have a cavity or something. The next morning half his jaw and down his neck was extremely swollen and hard and very red. Our regular doctor got him in immediately and we were able to avoid a trip to the hospital with IV antibiotics because she acted so fast (it was an anaerobic infection that could have spread to his blood). I doubt that would have happened if we weren't established patients.

[blondeviolin]

Yes. And because we have four little kids, it seems like we are at the doctor regularly. Even the reception knows us by name! (It doesn't help that Hyrum has had milk allergy issues, then constant ear infections...and then I have a two-year-old who is accident prone.)

[Wabi Sabi]

Yep, if for no other reason than my children are both very tiny and were considered FTT as infants, not vaccinated until they were older, homebirthed, homeschooled, etc. Insurance covered well-baby visits 100% with no co-pays and as previous posters have already pointed out, sometimes they do catch onto problems early before you, the parent, are even aware that there's an issue. Now that they're both a little older we still make sure to do yearly well-child visits in order to keep a relationship with our doctor so that we have someone to turn to if/when we ever have any illness or concerns. A once a year visit seems very reasonable and prudent, IMO.

[Sara in AZ]

I haven't been taking my youngest to well visits either. She 's been my healthiest baby by far, and we see enough other doctors as it is for other things with other kids. I'll take her yearly to check in, but I saw no need to go in every three months if we weren't vaccinating.

[RainbowSprinkles]

Ok, thanks for all the replies.I will see how it goes, if she is a good match for us and all that.

 

When I told the Dr. at the first office that we won't be vaccinating anymore, only possibly when she's older, she actually asked me if I came to this decision because I googled it. :lol: I knew right then she was the wrong fit. :)

[angela in ohio]

Yes. We also vaccinate. Our DR has caught several issues. As pps said, I also like a track record because we homeschool and because it's amazing to have a doctor who cares for us in an emergency.

 

I go to a family doctor, because I loathed all three pediatricians I tried. As I said here before, pediatricians act like they are letting you borrow *their* child to raise.

[Ali in OR]

Absolutely--did regular well-check visits through age 3 or 4 (though I think it was yearly by the end of that). Now we go every couple of years or when I know the next set of vacs are due. Oldest of course has many medical issues we need to follow and sees various specialists throughout the year, but even with my very healthy other two, it's good to check in and make sure all is well, have a chance to ask about that mole or reflux, etc. Perhaps I would make a different decision if we had no medical insurance. Last year our well-checks actually became free--no cost to me.

[Ellie]

I did, because I was young, and there was no one to suggest that it wasn't necessary. I didn't ask the doctor things such as when to start solid foods, though; I could figure that out on my own. :-)

 

And in 1975, no one I knew ever suggested that vaccinations weren't a good thing. Praise God that neither of my dds had any reactions to them.

[AdventureMoms]

I do, though I don't like doctors. We had to go through adoptions for each of our kids and for that it was important to show a history of medical care. After that we were vaxing at each appointment - we vax on a delayed schedule. I'm not sure what we'll do after DD is caught up on vaxes though. It seems fairly pointless for her at this point since she's past the baby stage.

[wapiti]

ETA: One of my kids had a heart condition discovered at a well-child visit.

 

Same here. This is a very big deal.

[ktgrok]

Oh, I didn't mention, but we didn't vaccinate my son past 6 months old, and delay/selectively vaccinate my daughter. That isn't why we go. A subtle change in the growth of the skull can indicate HUGE problems...my friend's daughter had to have skull surgery to prevent brain damage. My son's heart murmur was caught,a nd his father has a heart issue so that was important to know. When my daughter had a broken elbow that was an unusual fracture normally seen in child abuse we had him to go to bat for us, get us in past the social worker that was harrassing us and with an orthopedist he knew very quickly. Things like that matter. We wash hands to avoid germs when there, and are in and out pretty quickly.

[xixstar]

I am generally distrusting of the medical establishment and we turn to natural remedies when sick. But I like and respect out ped and like to keep it as a good relationship. We go in approx every 6 months for well baby visits. Sometimes it is further apart. That is also the only time we go too since no other reason to go ever comes up.

[Tammi K]

yes yes yes, for babies! (older kids, like my preteen, not as much).

 

I found we were just the opposite. Now that my kids are older it seems everyone is doing at least one sport or activity that requires a physical. It's easier to take the kids in for their yearly physical and get it done once and photocopy the form. :tongue_smilie:

 

Nothing profound to add....just sharing laziness on my part:D

[Mimm]

Well, we vaccinated so we went for that, but I would probably go anyway, provided the doctor didn't hassle me about it. But then, I'd want to find a doctor that was fine with whatever lifestyle choices I made. Our pediatrician has never said anything negative about homeschooling for instance.

[Dealea86]

We do well visits. Mostly it's for the reasons PP have mentioned - we're already on the fringe of things by homeschooling. Having a good working relationship with a pediatrician and a paper trail at the doctor's seems like a very small sacrifice to make (especially since we have no copay for well visits) should we ever have problems with CPS. I think of it as really cheap insurance. :)

 

It took a bit of trial and error before we found a pediatrician that worked for us. I really liked our first pediatrician as a person, but she was way too nervous about borderline issues. We were referred to more specialists in that first year.... :rolleyes:

 

The Dr we're with now is in the same practice (there are 12 peds in the practice, but it's very easy to get an appt with 'your' pediatrician), and she's really laid back about our delayed vaccinations (though she does make us sign a 'bad parent' form, but she's never been pushy about it), she's much more likely to say "that sounds like it's within the normal range" rather than investigate things as a problem, and she respects my opinion as a mom and trusts my judgment.

[lea1]

We do them, even though my dh is a doc of family medicine. He still measures and weighs them once a month, which I find funny but they all (dh and the boys) seem to enjoy. I'm just glad he doesn't suggest weighing me every month.:lol:

[QueenCat]

YES we took them for well visits. Watching for baby to be sick and only taking them then makes ZERO sense to me. Even good parents can't tell when there is something major going on, such as heart and brain issues. Well visits aren't about seeing if the child has a cold or virus, they are about overall development and CATCHING the big stuff, which non-doctors likely can't detect.

 

Ds would be dead or severely mentally impaired if we hadn't gone to those well visits. Not going into more detail than that...

[TranquilMind]

We do well visits. Mostly it's for the reasons PP have mentioned - we're already on the fringe of things by homeschooling. Having a good working relationship with a pediatrician and a paper trail at the doctor's seems like a very small sacrifice to make (especially since we have no copay for well visits) should we ever have problems with CPS. I think of it as really cheap insurance. :)

 

.

 

I don't do well visits just for the sake of doing them, but I sure got them in as babies to create that paper trail. I also have a doctor I've had since I was a teen, so he trusts my judgment and notes that my kids are extraordinarily healthy. He rarely needs to see them and they are always fine when he does (absent an occasional respiratory thing that requires an antibiotic).

[...................]

Yes, we did all of our well visits And we still do yearly checkups. I will also note that we altered or skipped vaccinations, and we very carefully read up on any medical issues, as well as that we treat most illnesses worth herbs, and natural remedies.

 

But I believe that my doctor really does have a purpose and a "trained" experienced eye. They can sometimes catch things.

 

Additionally, I had a friend of a friend who was a missionary and used to take her dc to well visits every furlough. Some people scoffed at her because they had to pay cash for this out of their precious little income. However, the doctor noticed the skull size seemed off...it turned out she had a skull that was fused before it should have and had it gone on any longer, would have caused brain damage.

 

That's when I knew I'd always do well visits even if they seem kind of dumb and unnecessary.

[LucyStoner]

Yes, I do. We have a great pediatrician. Our insurance covers preventative/routine medical care and while the well baby/child visits have never uncovered anything earth shattering, they did catch that my son needed glasses before he was old enough to communicate that he couldn't see well and have been helpful on other ways. I also know people who have had serious health issues uncovered earlier than they would have triggered a trip to the doctor. When we did not have insurance for routine things (only catastrophic) we paid out of pocket for annual visits.

[Ellesmere]

.

[LucyStoner]

Also, now that my son is coming up towards puberty, I appreciate that he has a good long standing relationship with a doctor he can trust and ask questions if he needs to.

 

FWIW, my PCP is a naturopath. I see a purpose for a variety of information and approaches.

[momtoamiracle]

yes, the dr detected a heart murmur at 6mnths so I took him till he was about 3. After that we've just done visits for sinus infections and other stuff like that. Heart is fine.

[livetoread]

I took my daughter into what I though was a routine well baby check at 6 mos. and two weeks later she was having open heart surgery to repair a previously unknown defect. I suppose when she started turning blue we would have eventually discovered it, but I'm glad it didn't come to that. I take mine to all scheduled appointments.

[mama2cntrykids]

We don't miss well baby checks. Maybe I'm a chicken, but I just want to make sure everything is ok with the kids;). We fully vaccinate too, so that plays into the decision as well. Again, I'm too chicken hearted not to:).

[BatmansWife]

I did with my first and second. Not with the 3rd. I knew if she was healthy and growing and if all was fine. I only took her in when she needed to....which meant when there was a problem, not to confirm that she was healthy and fine. I figured....why bring my healthy baby into the doctor's office and have her pick up a bug there?? She also wasn't vaccinated so why risk it? She's almost 9 and has only gone to the doctor a handful of times.