"well baby" visits to pediatricians

[lismcc]

my first little one, malcolm, was born at home on may 27, 2011.  we had a midwife serve us for prenatals and birth, and there were no invasive procedures done during this time (no vitamin k, vaccines, circumsion, not even an ultrasound birth birth).  the midwife has been continuing care for us since malcolm's birth, and next week is the last visit.

i am curious about pediatricians and how others handle "well baby visits" that peds like to do at 2 month increments until 6 months, and then 6 month increments after that.  we plan to give no vaccinations.  i also plan to do my own continuous well baby checks, since he is with me all the time.  he is nursing so well, sleeps with us, is interacting, and gaining weight beautifully.  i have Aviva Jill Romm's book Naturally Healthy Babies and Children, which offers lots of info on observing and promoting your childs wellness.  i am also quite healthy myself.

basically, i see no real reason for these visits.  i do however want to have a relationship with a pediatrician just in case, though going to the dr. is never my first line of defense.  (my partner and i are uninsured, very healthy, and havent been to a dr. in years.  we see an acupuncturist and treat with herbs as need/for prevention).  i met a woman ped. i really like; she totally promotes the well baby visits, though i told her we may not do them all.  i am thinking of just going at 6month, then 1 year.  this is far off, though.

im very curious about all the different ways people handle this.  do you just go to all visits? none?  some?  please help me with your own experiences.

[Marnica]

This has come up on in the no vax forum before several times.

Well baby visits are scheduled to be for vaccines basically. Many families that do not vax do not do regular well baby visits because they don't see the need to. I have a 3 yr old son who is unvaxed and I chose to do the visits because I did want to have a relationship with a doctor in case we needed one. We also have an ND (who we see much more frequently!) but I have needed the ped on 2 occasions and am glad she knew my son.

I left the first ped we had because I didn't like their office policies about vaccines and fevers - I have found a very laid back ped who doesn't push the vaccine issue. She may bring it up - give me her 2 cents and thats that. I have taken him to all the WB visits, but not on time! Im taking him in for the 3 yr check up next week and he turned 3 at the beginning of may. I need to bring him in for a physical anyway because he is starting preschool in the fall. Ill likely take him in every year from here on out. I also am kind of paranoid about CPS. I know several people that have had run ins with them due to not vaxing, and I always feel it's helpful to have a relationhip with a ped who is ok with the whole thing yk?

[jedidiah]

I totally agree that visiting the ped less is not necessarily bad. I speak from experience. I was not raised in America. If I remember correctly, to be on the safe side, I went to a hospital two times in my life. One was when I was born, and the other was when I seriously hurt myself. Besides that, I went to dentist roughly four or five times. I was not raised in America so when talking about having the luxury of being able to afford going to a doctor, I can sympathize. However, that is out of a need base mentality. If a person can afford it, but choose not to, then I think it is too risky. I would like to know what do you think about that? I have another question 

[jedidiah]

I am putting together an ebook about Baby's health, and I don't want to leave any important thing out. I just want to ask that what is the most important thing about your baby before, during, or after pregnancy that you want to know? 

[kungfufugirl]

JUST CURIOUS...for what reason are you writing the book?  Is it to be published in this country?  Where did the idea come from?

[jedidiah]

I love babies, and I want to know more about them. After all I am going to be a parent someday. So, knowing more about them is extremely beneficial for me too. I also want to relieve some of the frustrations that mothers or mothers to be face before, during, or after pregnancy. Since this is an ebook, it will be published to anyone who has access to the internet.

[1love4ever]

Congrats on choosing not to vax, dont let the Drs or nurses talk you into it.  This happened to me  at one of the many well baby visits and I have regretted it ever since...

I agree with you on just going to the 6 month and 1yr checks.  You can weigh and measure him yourself and get the charts to see if its all normal.  A friend of mine recently went to a big convention thing about modern medicine, and they said that the main reason that Drs want you to go to the well child checks is for vaccines, and the reason that the vaccines are given is so that you will bring your child in and establish care from a Dr.  They said it is like a parent training program to get you to bring your kid to the Dr more...  Especially since the vaccines are not effective at all on children under 1yr due to how their immune system develops(not that I think they are effective after 1yr but they had some high ranking immunologist come in and actually say that kids get nothing from vaccines before 1yr so that was pretty interesting).

Anyway, I stopped going to a pediatrician after she had talked me into vaxing and I am now seeing a nurse practitioner who is pretty cool with me not vaxing.  It is shocking to me how she knows absolutely nothing about them beyond that they are recommended for my kid and same with other Drs who I have talked to, yet they believe in them whole heartedly

[Cynthia Mosher]

Hello jedidiah and welcome to Mothering. 

We don't permit members to use the forums to promote their book or ask marketing type questions of members for developing items they plan to produce. So please limit your participation to sharing of advice and information and asking questions that are specific to you as an individual so you can establish yourself as a sincere member of our community. I'm sure you have much to offer but your book plans should be separate from your participation here. 

[sunnygir1]

I have gone to most, if not all, of the well child visits for my children.

I want to have a relationship with a doctor, and I want my children to have a good relationship with him as well.  I don't want them to be afraid of going to the doctor, and I want to have them know and trust a doctor who I know and trust AND who knows and trusts me.

I also like having input from our family doctor.  He and I don't agree on everything (probably many things), but he sees many children (well and unwell) and I appreciate his perspective, experience, and input.  I do not vaccinate and rarely follow the medical model.  It is nice to have someone with experience listen to my children's lungs when they've been sick for a while, look in their ears, look at their rashes, etc.  He can help me diagnose health issues and give me information about treatment options, etc. that all feeds into the equation and helps me make well-informed choices for my family.

I appreciate being able to call him when I am particularly worried about something and have him know what is normal for my children and have a solid grip on who we are and what we need.  My family doctor is the same doctor my mother used when I was a child, and I am dreading the day he retires and I have to find another doctor whom I can trust as much as I trust him.