It never fails.
The well-check is over, the baby is strapped into the car seat, and the drive home is well underway, and then you remember: you wanted to ask about that unusual teething behavior, or the way your child walks, or whether her language acquisition is proceeding as it should be.
At the same time, many visits include a deluge of new information and immunizations that come with lengthy fact sheets that may or may not include everything you want to know.
Here are some important questions to remember as you make your next visit.
What Should I Expect From Immunizations?
If your child is receiving immunizations at this visit, ask your doctor about the specific shots they’re getting.
Ask what short-term reactions are normal, and how to handle those reactions.
Many routine shots can leave a baby fussy or feverish, and your child may be sore, especially if multiple shots were given in the same limb. Checking with your doctor will save a lot of panic later, and give you advance warning if you need to pick up baby Tylenol on the way home.
What changes should raise a concern?
Rarely, a baby might have a serious reaction to a vaccine. Ask your doctor what signs to watch for, and what you should do if you are worried.
Is My Child’s Development On Track?
Your baby is developing in so many ways at once.
Their pediatrician will be monitoring their physical growth, their speech (from the cooing and babbling stage to asking their own questions), their motor skills, and their cognitive development. That doesn’t mean the doctor will state all of their observations aloud.
Asking a question like, “Is her development on track for her age?” will invite the doctor to share any specific observations, and will also remind you if you have more specific questions about development, like, “When she walks, does her balance seem developmentally appropriate?” or “Should I be concerned about her speech?”
What Illnesses Should I Be Watching For?
Right now, whooping cough is surging around the United States. At the time of your child’s visit, their doctor may be seeing increased cases of flu, stomach bug, or RSV in your geographic region.
Pediatricians are in the right position to be the first to notice these surges, so ask your child’s doctor what they’re seeing, and how you can protect against it.
They may advise masking, extra hand-washing, or avoiding taking your child out into crowds for a while.
You should also ask what symptoms to watch for, and what to do if your child gets sick. For most kids, this may mean keeping them home from school or daycare, giving fever reducers, and keeping them hydrated, but for smaller infants or kids with compromised immune systems, your doctor may advise seeking treatment quickly.
How Should We Be Handling Dental Care?
It’s recommended that your baby have their first dental appointment within 6 months of the first tooth appearing and before the first birthday.
However, your pediatrician may have more specific advice based on their practice and/or your child’s specific needs. They’ll advise when you should start using toothpaste with fluoride, and whether there’s a specific dentist they like to recommend to their patients.
They may also share any specific concerns, such as pacifier use and the potential for dental problems, or potential contribution to tooth decay from nighttime bottles or sippy cups.
Do You Have Any Feeding Advice?
How to best feed the baby is one of the top questions for parents from birth through at least elementary age (if not longer).
How many ounces of formula? What do I do if I nurse and nurse and she still seems hungry? When should I introduce solids? What foods should I hold back longer? Which ones are high risk for allergens? How do I convince her to eat carrots and broccoli? How much sugar should I allow?
Some of these questions don’t have absolute answers, and others have very concrete answers that should be taken seriously (like not allowing a baby to have honey before they’re a year old).
Either way, your pediatrician can give you some answers that will ease your mind and help keep your child safe and healthy.
What Are Your Car Seat Recommendations?
Your child’s doctor can help you make big decisions about car seat safety, including when to shift your baby to front-facing.
Turning babies to face the front of the car is a much-awaited milestone for many parents. We can finally see the baby’s face in the rearview mirror, and they can see a parent. However, safety guidelines tell us to delay this, and your pediatrician is a good source of information on when it’s okay to make the change, and why.
If you have other specific car seat concerns, like whether a specific accessory is safe or how you should keep baby warm in his car seat (no coats in car seats!) your doctor will also be able to answer your questions or help you find answers that work for you.
What Safety Precautions Are Age-Appropriate?
Is it time to put bumpers on the furniture? Is it time to take them off again? Should you allow your child to climb on furniture? Is there an effective way to stop him?
What about the crib? Should the mattress be moved to the lower station yet? Is he old enough to safely have a favorite plush in bed with him?
Is it time to put baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs? When should we take those down?
At what age can my child play in his room without supervision for 20 minutes? At what age can he play in the backyard without supervision?
Your doctor will be able to break down the necessary safety precautions for your child’s stage of development and can give you advice on what skills to expect.
What Should We Be Working On?
At every stage of development, there are things parents can do to encourage their child’s physical and cognitive skills.
For infants, this can mean tummy time and responding to his coos and smiles. Later, it means helping him pull to standing, encouraging ‘cruising,’ and practicing sounds and words.
It can also mean reading to your child, and introducing them to the alphabet, and counting games.
If you’re concerned about your baby’s ongoing development, your pediatrician will offer suggestions for the best ways to encourage and support him.
What Were My Child’s Weight & Height?
It’s generally not necessary to track your child’s growth for yourself, but it’s something you may want to watch if there are concerns. (For example, after my preemie started oral feeds, the removal of her feeding tube was reliant on continued weight gain.)
If this is your situation, make sure you get your child’s height and weight at each well check. Some doctors may include it on after-visit documents, and it will be in your child’s records.
There are apps you can use to track your child’s growth on the same charts the doctors use. The one I used even had an option to adjust for prematurity.
What Will You Be Looking For At The Next Visit?
Is there any information you should know before the next visit?
This could include the immunizations that will be given at the next appointment, or what your doctor is expecting from your child developmentally by that point. For instance, is the next visit the appointment at which your doctor will start recommending speech therapy if your child isn’t catching up to expectations for her age? Or is there another developmental milestone he’s concerned about between now and then?
Simply asking your doctor for an overview of what can be expected at the next appointment will remove some guesswork and give you advance notice to be prepared.
When And How Should We Make Contact?
Does your pediatrician have an after-hours number?
Some will have a nurse hotline to call for advice outside of office hours. Others may have an answering service, and the doctor or a nurse will return your call.
Still, others simply tell parents to call 911 or go to the emergency room for any needs outside office hours.
It’s best to know how your pediatrician’s office handles medical needs outside of regular business hours before the issue ever comes up, so be sure to ask your pediatrician what number to call, and under what circumstances they’d rather you head to the emergency room, or call 911.
