Well visits? I don't really see a point. - Page 3

[cappuccinosmom]

To me there is more to the visits than vaccinations alone.

We go for a few reasons aside from vaxing.

It is nice to have a record of my children growing at a healthy, steady rate.

It is nice to have a consistent record of us as parents bringing up concerns/questions regarding the children's health

It is nice to have a long-term aquaintance with a doctor who can vouch for the fact that our children are well-fed, consistently healthy, and well-cared for should some idiot decide to call CPS on us.

It is nice to have built a relationship with a doctor who knows us, and is familiar with our family's particulars and the children's overal health, and who is thus able to make suggestions or bring up concerns based on indiviual knowledge of all of us, rather than with a dependance on charts and numbers. 

[eireann]

Originally Posted by cappuccinosmom 

To me there is more to the visits than vaccinations alone.

We go for a few reasons aside from vaxing.

It is nice to have a record of my children growing at a healthy, steady rate.

It is nice to have a consistent record of us as parents bringing up concerns/questions regarding the children's health

It is nice to have a long-term aquaintance with a doctor who can vouch for the fact that our children are well-fed, consistently healthy, and well-cared for should some idiot decide to call CPS on us.

It is nice to have built a relationship with a doctor who knows us, and is familiar with our family's particulars and the children's overal health, and who is thus able to make suggestions or bring up concerns based on indiviual knowledge of all of us, rather than with a dependance on charts and numbers. 

Ding!

[MeTooMama]

We stopped doing that when my oldest was a baby. Her first was really awkward. It was a group setting (AT KAISER) and I was told to get her naked and lay her out on the table and wait for the doctor. I was 19 and the only mother who got her undressed up until the diaper, wrapped her in a blankie and held her in my arms! No thanks! I went to a couple after that but they were a little better than that. I do agree though, when I think about all the reasons why kids go to the doctors 'because they're healthy' isn't one of them. We have taken our kids for a physical last year and I have to do it again because one of my sons threw away the ss cards a few years ago and you have to have medical proof of some sort to get new ones. (Blah, blah, blah.) But, we really don't do them. After the last two kids were born I took them in to get looked over, doc said they were fine and we never returned. The only reason we ever go to the ER is injury (like once a year someone gets hurt) and once the baby got croup.

I agree though, having an experienced mama around does change things a lot. It's nice to be able to ask "WWYD" and get answers for the everyday thing. I won't ever take my kids in for the sniffles, let alone just because.

Edit: Post note thinking lol. At the rate we have kids, the doctor had a pretty great relationship with us. He saw the kids at almost every prenatal visit, plus the baby visit. We're thinking about making the annual physical a thing around here. Couldn't hurt, right?

[cameragirl]

Originally Posted by MeTooMama 

We stopped doing that when my oldest was a baby. Her first was really awkward. It was a group setting (AT KAISER) and I was told to get her naked and lay her out on the table and wait for the doctor. I was 19 and the only mother who got her undressed up until the diaper, wrapped her in a blankie and held her in my arms! No thanks!

Kaiser is notorious for those group appointments. They think it is okay to make mental health patients go to group appointments every three months in order to get refills on their meds. I don't know how they get away with that, since it is pretty much disclosing to a big group of people that you have a medical condition. But I digress.

We did all of the well baby appointments with DD, but I think we might not do as many with this baby. We're looking for a doctor that supports non-vax/selective vax patients. We have vaccine allergy issues in our family, so that is important.

Honestly, though, DD has been very healthy. She got pneumonia once when we all got bacterial pneumonia, and has had an ear infection. Other than that, the only other time we've gone aside from a well visit was for a broken arm. The doctor didn't think it was broken, but after a day or two of DD complaining, I knew something was wrong. We took her back and asked for a x-ray, and sure enough she had two breaks. That was more of an issue with DD having a high pain tolerance than the doctor not catching it. She was moving it and climbing around the office, so they assumed it was a sprain.

[shiningpearl]

Originally Posted by cappuccinosmom 

It is nice to have a long-term aquaintance with a doctor who can vouch for the fact that our children are well-fed, consistently healthy, and well-cared for should SOME IDIOT decide to call CPS on us.

Yes, it is nice to have that!! I am very thankful that I spent the $20 co-pay for them, so much cheaper then a lawyer and saved a lot of heartache.
 

[tammyswanson]

Nope, we just took them in once so we could get 'proof' for the birth certificates. The second one I refused to do prenatal 'care' or ultrasounds after Gloria Lemay clued me into how they are not safe at all. They are both healthier than horses! I recommend the book by Dr. Robert Mendelsohn, How to raise a healthy child in spite of your doctor. It really does help put you at ease, especially if you are a new mom. 

I also looked at the kids I knew growing up, the ones who would be shuttled off to the ped for every sniffle ended up getting even sicker after all the interventions were over with.

[colsxjack]

We take our DD to WBV for a few reasons.

First and foremost, to set up a relationship between her and her doctor. I would hate for my DD to be feeling unwell or injured and then have to be in a strange place with a strange person poking and proding her. I want her to get used to what a doctor is, what the clinic looks like, the feel of a stethoscope on her chest, etc.

Also, I think it is important for people to get yearly physicals to maintain good health and know of potentially harmful diseases before they get too much of a hold on them (like cervical or testicular cancers). I think it helps establish good routines.

I also like to take her so that I can get a feel for the doctor's ways at a tie that I am not distressed about the health of my DD.

That said, we take her for WBV, but do not take her for illnesses unless we feel she is really ill. I def. wouldn't take her for a cold or something like that. (unless it was prolonged or she was having breathing problems or something).

ETA: we really like our Ped. and do not feel at all harassed about our parenting style.

[2xy]

Originally Posted by tammyswanson .....I refused to do prenatal 'care' or ultrasounds after Gloria Lemay clued me into how they are not safe at all.

I have looked on my own but cannot find any documented evidence that diagnostic ultrasound is unsafe. What is Ms. Lemay's source for this claim?

[kittentips]

IMO the only point to well baby/clinic sisters are weighing, measuring and vaccinating...all things I'm not interested in really (as long as my baby is thriving of course)

I've also heard so much terrible advice given by the sisters at some of the clinics I'd rather people stayed faaaaaar away from them!

We did take my eldest to the paed a few times, mainly cause he had a ventouse delivery and we wanted to make sure all his skull plates were nicely settled etc, also he had hydrocele which we knew nothing about and were told we needed to have checked out.

We thought we'd done our homework and chosen a paed carefully so we wouldn't have one that over-prescribed or would hassle us about vaxing and all seemed to be ok in the visits.  He charged us a small fortune for 5 minutes of weighing, measuring and answering a few questions, but he didn't hassle us.

When my second was born we combined her 6 week checkup with a check up on my eldest...and we were blatantly lied to by the paed.  He told us my son required urgent and necessary surgery or his life was in danger, but when we saw a urologist for a second opinion he confirmed to us that it was purely a COSMETIC surgery.

He was quite happy to put my son under, cut him and endanger his life for nothing major.

And that is the last time I went to the paed!

Luckily my midwife now runs a weekly meet for pregnant and post partum moms & babes, there you can weigh, measure, chat and ask advice if you want.  She recommends certain natural and homeopathic remedies for certain basic ailments and advises when it's better to go see a paed/doctor.  Far nicer than waiting in the queue with a bunch of sick people and being rushed in and out 5 minutes later