Has Your Babe Never Seen a Doc?

[Past_VNE]

Jett has not been to the doctor and DH and I have no plans on taking him unless he is ill.

Our families think we're a little overly confident and that he should be seen, "just to get checked over...you know..."

Do you see any reason to take him in if he's healthy?

His eyes are good, they follow things and he obviously sees well, judging from him smiling at me across a room and recognizing certain things.
He hears well, too...same sorts of experiences tell us his ears work just fine.
His testicles are descended and staying down.
The list goes on....we're certainly not trained, but aren't dumbies either.

I can see a basic check-up at a year or two, to specifically test his eyes and ears and all, but don't even feel that's necessary.

After we move, I would like to get a recommendation on a good holistic, natural doc and then have a meeting to get to know him, but it would be for MY comfort level with the doc, not to have Jett inspected.

Thoughts, experiences?

[Kathryn]

my dd has never seen a doctor. What's the point? Why pay $20 just to go and argue with some stupid doctor over my parenting choices. Not worth it at all. I "check her over" every day and she's just fine.

ETA: Sorry if I sound really crabby. My dh went to the doctor for his ears about 2 weeks ago and I started getting harped on by his doctor about my dd. He started asking if she had had her shots yet, where she was born, who my OB was, etc... None of his business and it just made me really grouchy.

[elsanne]

I agree that if there's nothing wrong, there is no reason to go to the doc. However, I see a nurse midwife woman periodically, for well baby checks just for fun (honestly, just to weigh her!) and she's who I call with questions. She is very empowering and we believe in the same things strongly (homeopathy, no vax, etc), so it's nice.

I believe the medical community is trained to look for what's WRONG with your baby vs. what's RIGHT. Also, it matters very much to me that her healthcare provider CARES about her. KNOWS her.

[Mom2baldie]

My baby is about 5 months old and she has only seen a Dr. one time when she was 8 days old at my midwifes suggestion. I didn't really feel that it was necessary, but since we have a very supportive Dr. I also didn't mind taking her.

I don't see a problem with not having regular well baby exams as long as your baby seems to be growing and developing properly...

I will be taking my DD in when she is 6 months old though and then maybe again at 1 year just so I will have documentation that she has had past medical care just in case we have some sort of emergency with her or something like that. Basically I will be covering MY a$$. Like I said before though, we have a very AP-friendly ped. who is comfortable with our choices, so it's not a big deal to me to take her in every once in awhile.

So, I guess I am not really who you wanted to hear from.

[4evermom]

I'm assuming your baby was looked at by a doctor after birth? My ds had his first visit after a homebirth at 5 days. We were supposed to take him in the next day but he was born Thurs night, no office hours Fri, called Mon, made appointment for Tues. Miserable first car ride. I did take him once more at about 4 months then not til he was three. Even the Dr. said there was no point for more than yearly if he wasn't getting vaccines. I did think it was good to have a record of the occasional visit in case MIL went wacko and reported us to someone for not vaccinating . I took him when he was 3 because he was going to need many cavities filled under general anaesthesia . I operate under the assumption that if he looks fine, he is fine.

[saritabeth]

I guess I have the dissenting opinon here. I think that it is good to have your babe periodically weighed and seen. Obviously you are going to know best on most things. I have had really great luck with the pediatric practice we go to and I simply do not get into my parenting choices...ie where baby sleeps etc. I guess I probably fall into a more mainstream category where medical care is concerned, but I really like the check ups. When there has been a problem...her first ear infection, allerigic reaction....diagnosis of a dairy allergy, I have been greatful to have the rapport with the doctor so that they knew me and we could just deal with the issue at hand.

I really like our ped. practice and they are always very affirming of my mother's intuition and my gut about things.

So, that's just my 2 cents. I think its a good idea so that if you ever should need something you don't have to introduce yourself and go through all your previous decisions...they already know where you stand on stuff, even if you don't always agree with one another.

Anyway, no flames please....the bottom line is that you really have to do what you feel comfortable with.

Enjoy your babe! He is darling!
Sarah

[Past_VNE]

I want to hear from everyone, Lynsey...no reason to be like that little innocent face.

4evermom, I'm sorry your DS has so many cavities. That's no fun. Jett did not see the doc after our homebirth. Being that he was born in December and the doctor's office would have been filled with hacking, sneezing sickies, I didn't want to expose him to that. Also, while my doctor has always been very nice and good for me, he IS a small-town Doc and I fear that he's going to be very pro-vax and not familiar with an intact child. (Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt, but I am definitely on guard.) So, I relied on my midwives', husband's and my own intuition that our little man is healthy.

Oh...and for weighing him, we use the produce scale at the little, family-run natural foods store we frequent. :

Jett and I both had a check-up with my CPMs (not nurse midwives) at 1 day, 3 days, 2 weeks and 6 weeks. They are available all the time for questions, but so far, MDC has easily covered my minor queries.

[boston]

Well I think some sort of children's health care professional should see a bebe a few times before age 2. But I don't think you're necessarily *wrong* for not doing it. I just consider never going to be sort of extreme. And fwiw, I consider going to the ped according to the mainstream doctor schedule to be equally extreme.

This is me and my comfort level...your milage obviously varies.

[Kathryn]

Originally Posted by Past_VNE

Oh...and for weighing him, we use the produce scale at the little, family-run natural foods store we frequent. :

Jett and I both had a check-up with my CPMs (not nurse midwives) at 1 day, 3 days, 2 weeks and 6 weeks. They are available all the time for questions, but so far, MDC has easily covered my minor queries.

I weigh my dd every month at home on my scale. It goes by the half pound so I figure it's close enough. We also had check ups with my CNM at day 3, 2 weeks, and 6 weeks.

[UUMom]

All of my children were born at home, are not vax'd, intact etc, and we have a HCP. I have been lucky to find folks who understand us. I have excellent instincts, but i do like to have a 'professional' with whom I can bounce ideas. I also need someone to call in case of broken appendage, sliced skin for stitches etc. I think it's really important to reach out to those who can help us when we need it. We have a homeopath/naturopath, a midwife, an acupuncturist, who was once a mainstream MD, a massage therapist who is maried to the acupuncturist. We also have a mainstream MD and a mainstream nurse who totally gets us. I have no fears at all. But i do have medical0-type folks who know us and can help us if need be. I like that.

[alegna]

We haven't taken Savannah in either. I keep meaning to interview one ped. who might work out, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Haven't really felt the need to either. I plan to find a Dr. to have in name and I figure at this point if they freak that she hasn't been to see anyone yet, that's a good sign that they're not a good match for us

-Angela

[achintyasamma]

We've taken ds a couple times. The first was 2 days pp because we needed to if we wanted to get a birth certificate right away. DH and I don't really see the point of well-baby visits when the kid is doing great and we're not vaxing. Plus our doctor is anti-vax and the times we've been he's just said, "He looks wonderful." We're taking him as often as we need to for this doc to be willing to see him/us if anything big comes up. Almost all our info comes from MDC and not from our doc.

[cresorchid]

frequency of visits

I took my 1st child in for the well-baby visits pretty much without much thought. As he grew older though and I started homeschooling, I pretty much stopped going. I ended up using a naturopath and my son was healthy enough that he ended up in the office every couple of years, no more often than that. On the other hand, my son does have strabismus (crossed eyes) and my family physician caught that at the annual checkup when my son was 12 months. I'm not sure if I would have known there was a problem if she hadn't drawn my attention to it.

My 2nd is going to be born in July, and I plan to have a doctor of some kind down just so if I have a problem I have somewhere to turn besides the local hospital. I also want to have a blood test that will rule out all the metabolic disorders because different states test for different ones and they can cause retardation if not caught, but are usually controlled fairly easily through diet. I do not intend to vaccinate though and after the blood test soon after birth and meeting the doc, I/we won't see her or him again unless there is an illness.

Hopefully this baby will be as healthy as my 1st (chicken pox at 18 mos, strabismus, and not a cold or flu to really cause problems until almost 8 years old despite going to preschool and school for a number of years.

[love2all]

My kids have all been to a doctor 1 time in their lives- I feel fortunate to really feel tuned in with them and when they get sick I self=prescribe homeopaths.
I am much more comfortable having ME in charge of their wellbeing- kwim?
That is not to say that in an emergency I would take it on myself-just that I am very comfortable using my intuition to keep them healthy.
My 9 and 6 yo just went to the dentist for the first time ever too- 9yo-no cavities!!!!!!!
6-yo-had 5 and they suggested GA at a hospital to fix em-wtf??? GA for cavities??????????/No wonder my trust is none to extreme!

[achintyasamma]

I posted on this thread a couple of days ago and today my babe is sick! He was coughing yesterday and today he's running a fever and is really phlegmy. His cough is worse too. It's so hard to see my boy sick for the first time. The funny thing is that we've had the doctor so that we could take Achintya there if he ever fell ill, but now that he's sick I don't want to take him. I have a couple of good books on herbs and homeopathy for babies and feel much more comfortable treating him myself as the pp stated. And I can't imagine making him endure 40 min each way in the car to see the doc when he's already not feeling well. He hates the car seat enough as it is. So now I'm wondering whether we really need to have the doc at all.

[Past_VNE]

Oh, Laura, I'm so sorry Achintya is sick. I hope he gets better quickly and doesn't have to ride all the way to the doctor's office.

[Valerie.Qc]

Hard to get a doctor here so, if I want my doctor to take charge of my baby eventually, I need to call her as soon as I give birth and take my baby to her office within 10 days...

I don't know what we will do for well-baby visits... I want to delay vacs so I might just go to our local community health center to weight the baby... (hoping they won't freak out like they did when DS was a baby and was gaining a pound a week in the first month of his life :LOL )

I'll have to see if our former pediatrician is back in an office (she worked exclusively at the pediatric unit of the hospital for a while)- she was pretty good at respecting my choices

[Vicitoria]

I would definitely try to find a ped that will let you parent the way you choose and not pass judgement. If you go into a situation thinking the ped will be judgemental then you may find that but if you go in looking out for what's best for your child you will find what you need.

Personally, I see doctor's as little as possible. I don't go to the dentist because I have great teeth. I only go the the eye doctor when I know my perscription needs to be changed or I need new glasses or contacts. That is my choice for me. I know me. My son can't speak for himself yet and as good as my intuition is, I would never forgive myself if something went wrong that could have been prevented. God made doctors and God never made anything less then perfect!

If only to be able to ask questions. I would form a relationship with a doctor.

[crunchy_mama]

Well, we go for check-ups and etc, but I don't see any problem in not taking them especially if they are well. My ds caught RSV at his 6 mo. "well" baby check-up- it has been absolutely horrid. I am not taking him back for this winter unless it is an emergency. My cousin had a premie, so there were some health issues, he gets sick every time he goes to the dr.

[snuffles]

I think it is important to have a relationship with a dr-- just in case you really do need one. I would not want to have to take my child to the ER for something that I would do in the regular dr's office. I took my youngest child for checkups at 2 weeks and 6 months (we don't vax) and I think it is good to have periodic checkups.

I think my thinking has changed a lot b/c my 3rd child has had some problems which warranted lots of testing and drs visits. Also, because we do make some decisions that aren't very mainstream, if somebody were to think we were being negligent (because we don't vax or something), I would be able to show that we do like to monitor our children's growth and such with our dr (who is not a peditrician but a family practice dr.. you don't have to necessarily see a ped for your kids). Don't be afraid to dr shop either (ask people you think might be like minded who they use too)