For the first two years of your new baby’s life, visits to the pediatrician will be a regular activity. For the most part, check-ups are planned to coincide with the appropriate age for vaccinations, although some appointments will just be for a check-up. If you don’t have a pediatrician already in mind, you can ask your hospital pediatrician for a recommendation. Most insurance plans include a newborn under the mother’s insurance for the first thirty days, but it is important to get your infant’s own insurance set up right away. Here’s what you can expect from the first two years of pediatrician visits.
Well Baby Check-Ups
Each pediatric facility may vary schedules slightly, but the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends well-baby exams occur at:
- 2-4 days after hospital discharge
- between 1-2 months
- and, at 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 24 months of age.
After two years, exams should occur annually through six years. From there, the appointments can be scheduled as needed.
Visit One: First Week of Life
Most experts recommend scheduling a pediatric appointment within a few days of coming home from the hospital -- if there are any complications or causes for concern, it may be more important to get in sooner (i.e., within the first day of being home, rather than after a few days). Well-baby exams are performed to ensure development is progressing normally. Your baby’s health care team will weigh him, take his height, and measure the circumference of his head. The pediatrician should take the time to perform a full physical exam. This can help identify any signs of hearing, vision, or spinal problems and help find answers to parental questions or concerns. This visit also allows your family to begin a relationship with your child’s doctor.
Well Checks with Vaccinations
At two months, the immunities babies received from the mother’s body become significantly less effective (although breastfeeding can improve this). In addition to a physical exam and measurements, your child will get his first vaccines since birth. It may sound like a long list, but several vaccines are combined into one dose to minimize pokes, and some vaccines can be administered orally. Your doctor may also supply a checklist of developmental areas to make sure your little one is developing normally.
Since these vaccines require multiple rounds of injection, your baby will go back to the doctor when he or she is around four months old for the second round. The third dose of those immunizations will be given at six months along with another hepatitis B vaccine. At this point, your pediatrician may also recommend an annual influenza vaccine, initially provided as a series of two shots given a month apart.
Second Year Visits
At twelve months, you can expect the fourth round of some vaccines and the initial rounds of a whole new series, including the chickenpox vaccine. At 15 and 24 months, your child will receive new rounds of vaccines, and continue to be weighed, measured, and examined to ensure he is thriving and growing on a regular spectrum.
With each visit to the pediatrician, you can expect continued developmental checklists. Around 12 or 18 months, this may include symptoms more specific to the autism spectrum. Although it is difficult to diagnose developmental disorders like autism this early as some children still catch up to “normal,” early intervention can be extremely helpful in managing these issues. However, you see your child every day, while your child’s doctor sees him every few months, so checklists aside, if you have concerns, don’t be afraid to discuss them.
