Do you guys do well-baby visits? We used to with Danny, but we also did a couple vax's with him. (Td, Hib) We haven't vaxed since he was one, and we haven't done any more well-baby's. Julian hasn't had one yet, and I'm thinking about making an appointment (I'm curious how much he weighs!). So I'm curious about what you guys do about well-baby's. Yay or nay?
well, I take Leane to them. Like happyjoy said, sometimes it's nice to have the piece of mind. Her doc has also fed me some crap (like diluting her formula cuz she's too big). But for the most part, I'm there to see how much she weighs, ask about a weird behaviour or a nutrition question here and there regarding solid foods if I can't find the answer anywhere else. But yeah, I don't think there's too much wrong with it. I mean, like I said the piece of mind is always nice to have. But in the end, trust your instincts (which I'm sure you already know, lol )
I also take my three monkeys for their well child visits. (they are now 5,6 and 12 years old) I was blessed with finding a WONDERFUL ped who 100% backs me up on my decisions regarding my children's health: i.e. no antibiotics,herbal meds before RX meds, no circumcision, no formula feedings, etc. If you can find a fabulous kiddie doctor, you'll find yourself looking forward to the well child checkups and the peace of mind it gives you plus hearing the doc tell you that you're doing an awesome mama job is really quite affirming. I do have a somewhat stupid question to ask you mamas who don't vaccinate your babies though, hope you don't mind my ignorance on the topic. What do you do come schooltime and your child doesn't have the required vacs to attend school? Do you get the basic required vacs but not the "trivial" ones like chicken pox? I've often wondered about this, if anyone has the answer I'd love to hear it. Thanks
I do well baby visits. I got more lax with it as I had more and more kids. When Sage (my youngest) was about 3, I brought her in for something and our doc asked if I had been seeing an other Pediatrician. I thought that was a weird question. Then she said, "We haven't seen Sage in over a year. Doesn't she get sick and stuff?" I laughed, and credited the selected vaxing (only Td and HiB and Polio-injected) and the fact that she was still breastfeeding. The doc agreed with the breastfeeding part (although had to do the "It's mostly emotional for her, now." and I countered with, "Most of it, but even one feeding a day has all the antibodies she would get in as a baby in 22 feedings.") for a while our Ped was not really understanding of our arguments against most Vax, BUT, we have a brain damaged child, and the timing of the seizures and the Cerebellar Ataxia, lined RIGHT UP with her DPT and her MMR, and the long term damage of severe Tourette's Syndrome ect, grudginly agreed to sign off on a waver for the last three kids for only the vaxes we chose, and none of our kids have gotten the Hep B. (Babies don't have sex, or use IV drugs, so I am not worried about Hep B.) I do bring them in, but I am pretty comfortable wtih my Ped. You have to have someone you trust. You have to have someone who trusts you. You have to have someone who listens to you. You also have to respect that, at least in terms of things like illness, they most likely know a lot more than you or I do, and let them know YOU trust them. (One thing they DO know is illness, it's health that they don't always get right. )
Dakota hasn't seen the doctor except for sick visits since he was a year old. She always comments that we need to bring him in for a well child visit. But I just don't see the point in it. Why pay a doctor to weigh and measure them. I know how to do that myself. As far as the vaxs you can sign a waiver in every state. They have to allow your child in school. Some of the waivers are for medical reasons, phiosophical reasons, or for religious reasons. Not every state accepts every waiver but they all accept one or another. We have to use the religious waiver in this state. But to be honest, so far on day care forms, we have just lied. They don't really care. as long as they form says they had the shots, that's good enough. They just want it in the file for their inspections. Kathi
we don't do them. i have found that they are really just there for vax. we use homeopathy and a naturapath. we have only gone to the pedi for very serious things. like ds was running a 105.3 fever and we took him in because nothing was working at home.
we do well baby visits with all my kids as well. I love to hear how good shes growing! My ped is pretty cool though too. When Croix got his this summer they supported his vegitarianism (his own descision) and told us how smart he is (hey what mom and dad doesn't love hearing that!?)... they also said 95% of kids his age are smaller than him but he is proportional for his weight/height so if he doesn't catch up in puberty they'll worry about it. then.. I've never had a doctor be so cool about him being small. Usually they say it prob has to do with his diet or something I must be doing wrong.
we don't do well visits anymore, but we did for a while... Jenny had a really bad reaction to vaccines, doctor blew it off and said it was "normal" so we haven't been back to the doctor in over two years. She has never been sick enough for a doctor visit (knock on wood) ever since she overcame the initial problems due to being born too early and being unable to nurse or to tolerate infant formula. I took Meriel in shortly after she was born to weigh her and have the PKU test and to schedule newborn hearing test because she was not born in the hospital. She went back for the one month and two month checkups, got two of the many shots normally given at two months, and we have not been back since. We have established a relationship with the ped's office if we ever do need medical attention. There is just too much evidence against preventive medicine for me to feel comfortable looking for problems that don't exist, and also I can't handle the stress of having the doctor constantly commenting on how small my children are, as if being small were a disease that needed to be cured. I trust myself to know when/if my children need to see the doctor, and I really don't care how much they weigh. I know they are very healthy and growing and developing at a reasonable pace.
I take Moire to her well-baby visits, but only because I'm on state-aid insurance right now. And I'm afraid that if I DIDN'T take her, the doctors and state would try to find me neglectful or something. So after she's off of state insurance, we MIGHT stop them. I don't like being second-guessed about decisions that are pretty common-sense.
my oldest has to go in for her pre-kindergarten exam next week. I don't remember seeing a doctor every year of my childhood...as a matter-of-fact, I didn't see the ped from the time I was like 7 until I was 19(yes, I had to see my ped at 19...how embarrasing. ). lol.
Our child does get all his shots (the lady that watches him for daycare insists and I love her! Plus I think that its okay.) but when it comes to things like the ped trying to push Zantac just because my son was spitting up - NO. I think that after the Zantac episode she knows how my husband and I think. (Our son wears, eats, lives a lot like we do. Mostly vegetarian and organic.) She hasn't tried to give him (my son) anything like that again and she esplains all shots and medicines in much more deatil to us. I don't care if i'm viewed as a 'problem patient'. My child is worth it!
Just remember: Your Doctor is there for ILLNESS. S/He is NOT your Lifestyle Consultant. Doctors are not educated on real Attachment, they are NOT educated on breastfeeding, they are not educated on what constitutes proper sleep styles for your baby, your partner, or you. They are there to help when a child is sick, and it is not something selflimiting (like a cold) or you need notes for day care or school. What goes on IN your home, in your baby's sleep place, in your marraige, about your breastfeeding and even infant feeding, your Ped is NOT the Go To person. They simply are not trained in these fields. Although most of them will act like they are. Most doctors get NO, and I mean NO training in lactation, Attachment or Infant comforting tecniques. You doctor is there for sick babies, and for "well baby" visits, if you choose that. YOu are under NO obligation to do anything they say, if your own education and research tells you otherwise. In fact, you don't even have to share WHERE your baby sleeps, or how they fall asleep. Too many Peds are overconcerned about Family Beds. when most of them never had the time to bond with their own children and know NOTHING about Sleep Sharing or Breasffeeding than a 90 year old bachelor. YOU are the expert on your baby. If your doctor is trying to get into your personal life, beyond your baby's health, either keep a polite wall up between you two, or see someone else. For instance, My doctor didn't need to know that my kids slept in our waterbed. yI knew more about infant needs than she did. I didn't discuss it, I didn't ask questions, our discussions are pleasant, and I only bring up controversial subjects if I NEED something from her, like our Vax exemptions. YOU are the mama. Take care of that baby, and keep the doctor in the little TINY corner of your life where he belongs. Blessings.
I totally agree with what Maggie just said. At our doc's office, they say "your kids don't sleep with you, do they?" and I just say "no of course not". They ask, "how long do you plan on breastfeeding Julian?" (it doesn't even occur to them that Danny still occasionally nurses, and I certainly don't tell them!) and I say "A year or so" I don't go to the doc's to get praised for my parenting, or to get some sort of approval. I won't get it there. I go to the doc so that the doc knows our names and because our insurance needs a PCP. Another thing. Our doc (we've had three and they ALL have done this) told me that Danny's excema couldn't POSSIBLY be from dairy. Really? Because it goes away when he stopped eating it. Hmmmmmm........and this man went to MEDICAL SCHOOL????? Docs are morons. Yes, I would definitly want a traditionally trained doc if my child was having open heart surgery. But not for allergies, breastfeeding, parenting, vaccinations, etc. They just don't have the education and training for those subjects.
It was like that with my brother. He's had a dairy intollerance for years, yet all the doctors ever did was ply him with prescription meds to treat the symptoms. Never gave a thought to the root cause. It took my mother visiting an allergist (she gets excema) to figure it out; and what'd you know, my brother has been ever since he quit drinking milk. My parents probably did do the 'well baby' type thing when we were kids, but overall my family are pretty healthy so they just leave us to it [aside from obligatory stuff like vaccine boosters]. My ped moved on and we got transfered to another one at the surgery without me even noticing, shows how often we need to visit.
