Congratulations!
The birth of an infant is a time of great joy, but also a time of enormous transition for families. There are many overwhelming changes during this post-natal period, and it is also the time when the family and the pediatrician begin a relationship to promote growth and wellness. This is the beginning of the medical home at East Bay Pediatrics.
Baby's first visitsFirst office visit: 1-3 days after leaving the hospital
Newborns are usually seen in the office between 1-3 days after leaving the hospital. The doctor who sees your baby on the last day of hospital admission will instruct you whether to make the appointment for next day, for example for weight or jaundice issues. Or for 2-3 days later. East Bay Pediatrics will help you schedule that first visit as well as the 2 week and 2 month visits. 2 week visit: back to birthweight
Babies are allowed to lose 10% of their body weight after birth due to separating from the placenta and mom's milk taking a few days to come in. Once the milk is established, baby should regain birthweight by 2 weeks old. Therefore, the first well visit for a newborn is at 2 weeks of life. lactation visits
Our nurse Michaela is a certified IBCLC lactation consultant. She sees babies in our dedicated lactation room in the Orinda location. Her visits are always paired with a physician visit to allow for medical questions and more seemless billing 6-8 week visit
This is the first of the routine newborn visits. At every well visit, your pediatrician will review your baby's feeding and weight as well as developmental skills and physical exam. You will also learn anticipatory guidance regarding skills to work on until the next well visit. This is the first visit with routine childhood vaccines, which can be given as early as 6 weeks of age. The vaccine schedule is listed on the routine newborn visit page with links to the CDC Vaccine Information Sheets, which are also available in the office. You may want to have Tylenol (acetaminophen) at home prior to this visit. Dosing can be found on the medication dosing page. |
Newborn EssentialsResources
Parenting is difficult with the many varying opinions coming from varieties of resources. East Bay Pediatrics encourages our families to rely primarily on your pediatrician and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). East Bay Pediatrics is staffed with Registered Nurses (RNs) trained by our own physicians. They are legally able to give advice and have access to our physicians if needed. They triage calls to determine when a child may need to be seen, including same day appointments if needed. www.healthychildren.org is the AAP website for parents. It includes a "symptom checker" for when baby gets sick as well as developmental advice when you sign up with your baby's age. WHEN TO CALL
As mentioned above, the East Bay Pediatrics nurses are trained to triage your calls. They are available weekdays 9am-6pm. After hours, either a pediatrician from our office or an after hours nurse from a contracted service will answer your calls. Please call if you have any concerns about your child. In particular, you should call if you baby has any of the following:
EMERGENCIES
Fever is an emergency in a newborn. Babies are more prone to severe infection and a fever may be the only sign. If a baby's rectal temperature is 100.4 F or more, call right away or go to the emergency room. If you don't know how to check your baby's rectal temperature, call to make your baby an appointment. Emergencies to consider going to the Emergency Room or at least call our nurses to determine if you should go to the Emergency Room with your baby:
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