2 week Well-Child Visit

Two weeks is a big milestone for your baby. Infants are usually back to up to (or even above) their birth weight, have lost their umbilical cord stumps, and are starting to regulate a schedule of feeding and sleeping. What can you expect at this visit with the Pediatrician?

Vitals – Heart rate and respiratory rate will be counted, temperature is taken. Usually a pulse oximetry (measurement of the amount of oxygen saturation of the blood using a light) is done as well. 

Growth measurements – your infant will have growth measurements done, including length, weight, and head circumference. These are plotted on a growth chart that is specific to your baby’s gender. These growth charts are monitored over time to make sure your infant is growing appropriately and proportionally. Growth curves are measured in “percentiles” where 50th percentile is the average measurement for age and gender. Infants who fall above the 50th percentile are “above average” for that measurement, while infants who fall below the 50th percentile are “below average.” Keep in mind that many factors affect where your baby falls on the curve – genetics, feeding patterns, prematurity. I often tell parents that I am more interested with seeing steady growth along a curve than which particular curve the infant is on. 

Questions from the Pediatrician – your baby’s doctor will ask many questions about feeding, burping, sleeping, voiding (urination) and stooling (bowel movements), spit up, and more. You will also be given a questionnaire for postpartum depression. 

Exam – your infant will have a head-to-toe exam at every well-child visit. 

Testing – the second Newborn Screen should be done around this time. Some offices will do this in the clinic during the visit, others have you go to the lab for it to be collected. Your Pediatrician will advise you on this. It is very important that this test be done, to ensure your infant remains as healthy as possible. Abnormal results on a Newborn Screen must be acted upon quickly.

Questions from you – by now, you’ve been home with your baby long enough to have cataloged every freckle, crease, birthmark and body part. You are learning his or her cries and cues. But you will still have questions! Write them down and bring them to the visit. You are not getting enough regular sleep to expect your brain to remember them all. Remember – there are no “stupid questions.” Your baby’s doctor wants to help. 

Safety information – part of every well-child visit is discussion of safety that is appropriate for age. For newborns, this includes:

• sleep practices – infants should sleep on their back in their own basinette or crib. There should be no extra blankets, pillows, crib bumpers, stuffed animals, or sleep positioners in the crib. Infants should never sleep in parents’ bed, in swings, or in reclined sleepers. 
• car seat instructions – infants should be in their infant car seats, in the back seat, facing backwards. 
• water safety during bath time – infants should never be left alone in the water, even if it is only a few inches or only for a short amount of time. Drowning occurs quickly. 
• fall risks – even when they are not yet able to roll independently, infants are capable of moving around in their environment. They should not be left alone on couches, changing tables, beds, or any other elevated surface. 

Next visit: 1 month

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