Well Baby checks

[splunky]

MY DD is 3 1/2 mo. and has had virtually no probelms. I had a problem free homebirth and took her to the Ped. at 4 days and 2 weeks (for a BCG shot that I now regret).
I have been avoiding the Ped and her regular well child checks because I don't want to be bothered about vaxes until I am more informed. Do I need to bring her in for any other reason, unless she is not well?
What do you all do? This is still quite new to me as my previous 3 children were almsot completely vaxed and we went to all the appts. they told me to, because I didn't know any better.
Thanks for your thoughts.

[Love_Cyber_Cat]

A lot of parents on this board do not take their kids to well visits at all- they only would take kids to Dr if baby is sick or something serious happening- you could weigh your baby home and take head measurements too- just to make sure you are on the right track, also keep an eye on milestone developments ( like sitting up, crawling etc.) - but I am sure you do that anyway.
Well baby visits are not necessity- although a lot of other people here think that some problems might be hiding from loving parent eye and it is for the best of a child- to go to baby well visits. Maybe you could try to find more non-vax friendly Dr in your area or homeopath or naturopath that could do same baby well visits for you without pushing vaxx! ))

[mykidsmyworld]

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[Emmeline II]

My homebirthed #2 babe (8mo) has never been to a doctor. I was thinking of going to a WBV around her first b-day just to have the doc listen to her insides 'cause the outside looks fine to me.

[PerennialMom]

If my baby is "well" I like her to stay that way, so I avoid the doctor altogether unless I need a second opinion on something. My third baby has been to the doctor once after our homebirth so we could get an official 'reciept' to apply for her SS#. Other than that, Dr.'s are for sick people. Have you read Dr. Mendelsohn's book "How To Raise A Healthy Child In Spite of Your Doctor?"

[wasswifey]

Whats the BCG shot? We dont go to WBV's because I think its a waste of time, they will most likely tell me things I already know. Plus, I dont want him (or us) to get sick from going.

[luvmy2boys]

I don't do WBVs. I'm comfortable with monitoring milestones, and I don't need a doctor to tell me how to introduce solid food, or when to wean, or when/how to get my baby to sleep through the night. My doctor is a medical expert, not a parenting expert. I'm constantly amazed when friends will ask me what the ped says about something that isn't a medical issue at all.

However, if you think by not taking her (is it her? I can't see the post while I'm typing this), you'll be constantly wondering if she's on track, etc., then I'd take her.

I am trying to get my kids in about once a year, just to stay on the patient list of our doc so I can get them in if/when they really *do* need something. We see a family practitioner rather than a ped, and I find that I get a lot less unwelcome interference about parenting issues that way. It's also nice, because if one of the kids is sick and needs a doc, often one of us is, too, and we can both get the visit done in one shot.

[splunky]

Thanks so much! I am of the same opinion, Dr.s are for sick people, and even then they don't really help a whole lot! I just wanted to mkae sure I wasn't neglecting something.
I am totally fine with measuring her here, and being #4 (first girl, with 3 boys), I am pretty sure I remember most of the milestones.
You guys are great. I love this board, it's so supportive!

[Gitti]

OP must live outside the US because we don't do BCG shots here.

It is a vaccine for Tuberculosis.

Only a few countries still do them, one of them being France.

The effective rate of the BCG vaccines is nil. Actually it is worse because it was the cause of TB in a lot of recipients.

[Gitti]

Here is a nice thread:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...6&page=1&pp=20

[Monkeygrrl]

our current ped told us that she would quit seeing us, even for sick visits, if we didnt go for the well-baby check ups...so we are complying at the moment, and on the look out for a new ped...but we want one that is ok with a non-vaxer, and omg if that isnt almost impossible in my city... *sigh* it has only taken her a year to stop asking if i am going to vax my children...

peace...

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Some like to take the baby in to a few of the wbv to just to "listen to the inside" like the 3,6 and 1 yr. I stopped after stopping vax at 4 months and ds only goes if he is sick and that dosnt happen very often.

But now I am not sure that was such a good idea because he is terrified of the dr's and nurses I have never seen any child act the way he did the last time I had to take him in he was trying to climb the wall to get away from the nurse and she was only trying to get his weight. He was trimbling on the inside and his heart felt like it was going to explode. It was a horrific experiance for him and me both.

It has taken months since then for him not to be afraid when I take him into a building that even remotely looks like a Dr. office. So I am thinking I made a mistake of not taking him more than I have. Just so he wont be so scared.

[LongIsland]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

So I am thinking I made a mistake of not taking him more than I have. Just so he wont be so scared.

My fully vaxed niece flipped out every single time she went for a routine visit - as soon as she saw the white coat, that was it.

A few times my SIL even asked me to go with her because it was such a nightmare and my SIL wanted to be able to talk to the doc but couldn't b/c of the nonstop screaming. It was really bad, but God forbid she didn't get those shots on time.

So, while my SIL would talk to the doc when it was over, I would take the baby out to the car. This happened whether or not there were shots given.

My take on well baby visits:

Nonvaxed child + well baby visits = waste of time

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Since ds wouldnt have had the memory of the shots I was thinking it wouldnt be as bad. My dd would freak out as well but nothing like ds did.

I was seriously afraid he was going to have a asthma attack because he started wheezing something he had never done before. Even the ped was worried about his breathing.


That is what made me think it would be better if I had took him at least a few times. But maybe it wouldnt have. I just wonder.

[splunky]

Yes, I live in Singapore currently, forgot to mention that. We are originally from upstate NY.
I was just on the verge of learnng about vaxes and our choices when she went in to her appt. I had an aweful feeling in my gut, and didn't want to be doing it. Thank God nothing happened as far as an adverse reaction, but who knows fully?
I knew TB is airborn and I knew I couldn't protect her fully from that. We travel significantly throughout Asia and elsewhere, so I made the best decision I could with the info I had.
I know better now, and she is not getting anymore shots, at least until I feel more comfortable with whichever ones I do choose, if I choose any.

I hadn't thought of the fact she may be terrified to have someone poke at her and trying to listen ect. for a check if she goes in. But, my 3rd DS is terrified of Drs as well, he was almost fully vaxed, so I guess it doesn't matter either way.
Hey, I don't like the Dr either, so can't blame 'em! We travel back to the states in June for a summer holiday so may bring her before then to make sure all is well. But, the stupid thing is, don't you think I would know if things "weren't well" by the way she is acting? So, now not even sure if I will.
Thanks for all the help!

[LongIsland]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

That is what made me think it would be better if I had took him at least a few times. But maybe it wouldnt have. I just wonder.

There are definitely some kids that just don't want to be there - even if you have a doctor with the gentle touch.

When DS#1 was a toddler, he hated all the docs at our former ped's office except this one female doctor -- she was knockout from South America, with long dark hair and spoke like Salma Hayack (sp?) accent.


He mysteriously "behaved" whenever we got her.

He was fine until he hit 9 months -- after that, then he cried every time the ped walked in the examination room door, except for that one ped.

[Nature]

My youngest went to her last well baby visit at 6 months. Thats when she had a vax reaction and I decided to stop them altogether. My ped was very pro vax so I just kept putting off the appointment because I just wasn't ready for the confrontation.

She's now 14 months and I finally found a ped that I feel I can be honest with and know she will respect my opinion.

[angelpie545]

I'm not a fan of well-child checks. I find them to be very invasive at times(depending on whether the doc has an agenda or wants to make you feel inadequate for not vaxing) and I don't like all the questions they "have" to ask. Yes, I realize that those questions can be a lifeline for some kids, but it still bothers me. That said, I do well-child checks so I can have a proven record of taking my kids to the doctor. Reason? I am a young mom(former teen mom) who is married to a young man who is a former drug addict( before we got together and hasn't touched anything in years, but has some minor criminal convictions related to substance abuse from years ago that still haunt him); I also have a chronic illness that incipacitates me, plus clinical depression, ADD, and slight OCD, which at the current time makes me unable to hold down a full-time job, thus we are considered very low income. Summation? I'm red flaming target for CPS "services". Despite the fact that my two unvaxed children are very healthy, happy, well taken care of, not to mention they are hardly ever sick, I feel it necessary to appear as mainstream as possible, despite that I am not, so that no one decides that I am a "risk" and calls CPS. If I know CPS, they won't look at my kids and say, oops, sorry, we'll just be on our way right now. They'll want to go through my whole life story, and God forbid if they find out I'm sick, or that my husband has a checkered past. Maybe I'm a bit paranoid..but I've heard so many horror stories that it just scares the he** out of me. My husband and I are trying to get me healthy now, and he works his butt off everyday to make sure me and the kids have everything we need, and the last thing we need is more stressers.

[Nature]

Originally Posted by angelpie545

Maybe I'm a bit paranoid..but I've heard so many horror stories that it just scares the he** out of me. My husband and I are trying to get me healthy now, and he works his butt off everyday to make sure me and the kids have everything we need, and the last thing we need is more stressers.

You are not paranoid. That type of this can and does happen all the time. You're simply covering your a$$, and theres nothing wrong with that.

[dakotamidnight]

Originally Posted by angelpie545

I'm not a fan of well-child checks. I find them to be very invasive at times(depending on whether the doc has an agenda or wants to make you feel inadequate for not vaxing) and I don't like all the questions they "have" to ask. Yes, I realize that those questions can be a lifeline for some kids, but it still bothers me. That said, I do well-child checks so I can have a proven record of taking my kids to the doctor. Reason? I am a young mom(former teen mom) who is married to a young man who is a former drug addict( before we got together and hasn't touched anything in years, but has some minor criminal convictions related to substance abuse from years ago that still haunt him); I also have a chronic illness that incipacitates me, plus clinical depression, ADD, and slight OCD, which at the current time makes me unable to hold down a full-time job, thus we are considered very low income. Summation? I'm red flaming target for CPS "services". Despite the fact that my two unvaxed children are very healthy, happy, well taken care of, not to mention they are hardly ever sick, I feel it necessary to appear as mainstream as possible, despite that I am not, so that no one decides that I am a "risk" and calls CPS. If I know CPS, they won't look at my kids and say, oops, sorry, we'll just be on our way right now. They'll want to go through my whole life story, and God forbid if they find out I'm sick, or that my husband has a checkered past. Maybe I'm a bit paranoid..but I've heard so many horror stories that it just scares the he** out of me. My husband and I are trying to get me healthy now, and he works his butt off everyday to make sure me and the kids have everything we need, and the last thing we need is more stressers.

Thats the same reason I do WBV - Single mom on public assistance. And DD is pretty - which around here tends to make CPS come after you even more because they can take away parental rights and adopt out your child - which they make $$$ from.