All you need to know about the first trip to the clinic with a newborn

The first trip to the clinic with a newborn is a difficult task. But we will simplify it for you. We will tell you when it is better to go to the doctor so as not to wait long for your turn. And also recall that one of the things you need to take with you is a must.

The kid is growing very fast. Only a month has passed since his birth, but the doctor no longer comes to the house himself. The time has come for the first trip to the clinic, and not just to the pediatrician, but for a whole physical examination (visit to several doctors). And such trips have to be done every month (monthly to the pediatrician and some specialists). Later you will begin to feel confident in the clinic, already at home. But the first time can make you worry. What should be taken into account? I will tell you about this in detail.

Time of receipt

Sometimes doctors appoint appointments themselves. If you have a choice, then the following recommendations will be useful for you:

• Choose such a time for going to the clinic so that it is between the periods of the baby’s sleep. Then he will have already slept, but not yet tired;
• If the reception is conducted on coupons, sign up first or second. At the beginning of the day, there are always fewer lines and you won’t have to wait long;
• If you were only given a time range that is common to all, then come in the middle of the reception. Everyone will want to come to the beginning, and you will sit in line for a long time;
• The best time to receive is morning.. Nobody wants to go directly to the clinic from a warm bed, so the line is shorter in the morning;
• On some days, the pediatrician takes healthy children, and on others, patients. If you do not want to come in vain and catch an infection, ask the registry in advance when healthy babies are taken;
• If the clinic was quarantined, then immediately after it there will be many visitors and long lines. Therefore, if there is no special need, postpone the visit to the pediatrician for one or two weeks.

As a rule, each clinic has a so-called baby day. This is a day (for example, Tuesday) during which all doctors work only with children up to a year. By electronic recording, you do not need to queue for an appointment on an infant day - specialists receive patients in a live queue, but you need to know in advance. Some doctors try to take newborns earlier than other babies, but this is at the discretion of a specialist.

What to take

Before you go to the clinic, put in your bag:

1. Documents. For the first visit to the clinic you will need your documents: passport and coupon No. 3-1 of the birth certificate. A package of children's documents is a child’s birth certificate, compulsory medical insurance policy, compulsory pension insurance certificate (SNILS) card, a child’s medical card (if you have one), a certificate of preventive vaccinations,survey and analysis results (if they were carried out) So that the documents do not wrinkle, do not get dirty, buy a plastic folder-envelope with a zipper or a button in the stationery store;
2. Diapers. For a pediatrician you will need 2 of them, for the rest of the doctors - one. But it’s better to take another spare one: children sometimes write directly to them (all of a sudden it will happen to you). Best taken from flannel. The chintz is too thin, and the knit from the edges is twisted. The optimal size is 80x80 (10 cm more or less). Such diapers on the changing table fit perfectly, and in the bag do not take up much space.
3. Toys / Rattle. Take new or old ones that the child has already forgotten about. It is enough to hide 2-3 pieces a couple of days before the visit to the doctor. They should be easy to wash, because in the clinic you can drop them on the floor more than once. Toys should also be interesting so that the baby does not get bored with them, waiting in line.
4. Spare Nappies. Take a couple of pieces (anything happens).
5. Wet wipes. Comments will be redundant.
6. Food and water. If you are breastfeeding, then your clothes should be convenient for feeding (you can feed the baby in the room of a healthy child). For the artificer, take the mixture, and if the child is older, then you can take food that you can eat without getting too dirty (banana, cookies, mashed potatoes with a dispenser).
7. Spare clothes. The diaper sometimes leaks, the children burp and get dirty when they eat. Therefore, spare clothes can be very handy.
8. Shoe covers. Usually they are given free of charge at the entrance. But what if it’s not in your clinic that shoe covers are there?
9. Notepad questions. Write down everything you want to ask your doctor in advance. Do not even try to remember: as soon as you cross the threshold of the office, you will immediately forget everything.
10. Notepad and pen. They are needed for recording important points (child’s height and weight, doctor’s recommendations, next appointment, etc.).

If the baby sucks the dummy, fasten it to the clothes using a special chain (so as not to fall) and take a couple of clean ones in reserve.

Watch the video: List of necessary things to take with you to the pediatrician’s appointment

Medical examination

• In the clinic, the pediatrician asks the mother questions and examines the baby;
• Undresses a newborn, listens to the heart and lungs. This is possible even if the baby is crying;
• Measures head and chest circumference, height, weighs the baby;
• Palpates the abdomen (it can be swollen);
• Listens to heart murmurs;
• Breeds hip joints;
• He watches whether the baby fixes his gaze, reacts to the sound;
• Assesses the condition of the skin and mucous membrane of the mouth (whether there is a white coating on the tongue);
• Tracks neurological symptoms (or their dynamics, if something is found on the patronage) - increased or decreased muscle tone, shaking hands or chin in a calm state, posture during sleep;
• Examines the baby for congenital pathology;
• Asks mom about the feeding regimen and stool frequency

What to wear for a child

Think about what the baby will be dressed in the clinic to make him comfortable. Of course, dress your child according to season and weather, adhering to the principle of "several layers." Please note that the clinic can be cool or, conversely, hot and stuffy. You should be able to adjust the amount of clothing so that the baby does not freeze, but does not sweat. Do not get carried away with a lot of things; it is better to use a blanket, blanket or envelope as one of the layers.

In the doctor’s office for examination, you will completely undress the child. And if you need to get around several specialists, then the process of undressing / dressing will have to be repeated several times. So that this does not turn into a real test for you or the baby, avoid clothes that need to be worn over the head, with many buttons and ties. Body and overalls-slippers, which are maximally opened and easily fasten with a few buttons or a zipper, are what you need to quickly change the baby.

What to wear for mom

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The day ahead is troublesome, so put on light clothes and shoes that do not constrain movements. If you are a nursing mother, dress for easy access to your breasts. Unfortunately, not every children's clinic has a special room for "mother and child." And where it is, not all women use it, fearing to miss the queue. Therefore, most likely, you have to feed the baby in the corridor. In special clothes for nursing women, you can attach a child to the chest without exposing the back and chest, and without attracting the attention of others. T-shirts, jumpers, dresses with hidden slots for the chest - in stores for expectant mothers and babies, you can pick up an outfit for every taste. But even without such “overalls” one can adapt to feeding in public places. A button-down blouse, a shirt worn on a T-shirt, tippet or shawl, draped over the shoulders - feed the baby calmly without the prying eyes of strangers.

How to facilitate the first trip to the clinic

It will be easier for you if:

• Another adult will come with you. He will sit in line until you go out for a walk with your child (or vice versa), let you go for a card, coupon or other needs. Carrying a baby everywhere is uncomfortable;
• The child’s clothing will be layered. The clinic may be hot or cold. Therefore, clothing should be such that something can be quickly removed (or thrown);
• You will study in advance on the Internet the parameters that will be checked with the child. Read what the baby is examined every month, why, and what are the norms of these parameters by age. It is easier for trained mothers to understand the words and actions of a pediatrician, then questions may appear at your appointment right away, and not after you get home.

Our family has developed a scheme that allows us not to sit in line for a long time with the child: one of the relatives takes the line at the reception in advance, an hour before the appointment, and the children and I, having arrived an hour later, most often go into the office first. Yes, you can sit the same hour during the reception, but then there will be much more sick children, inflated mothers who want to go out of turn, etc.

In a hot and stuffy clinic, in a crowd of people, a child must be undressed immediately so that he does not sweat. A light cap protects the baby from drafts. Since there are always a lot of not very healthy children in the clinic, it is better to lubricate the nasal passages of the child with oxolin ointment in advance.

Tune in to a philosophical attitude toward people trying to skip the line. This is an inevitable evil, it is very difficult to fight it. “For a minute, just ask”, “I need to ask the nurse about the test results”, “I’m a medical worker”, “mantu - out of turn” merge into one continuous string. I even saw how the mothers got up, blocking the doors to the office - but this did not greatly accelerate the progress of the line. Therefore, it is better not to be nervous and not angry, because your condition and mood must be passed on to the child!

Do not forget that:

• children with high fever;
• children admitted to the ambulance;
• disabled children;
• children of health workers;
• children from large families (usually a mother with children informs the doctor about her arrival, and the doctor invites them to enter without waiting in line);
• in some clinics, children have the right to go out of turn (or through one) for examination before the Mantoux test;
• newborns even on the day of the baby have an advantage over one-year-old and one-and-a-half-year-old children.

I think these tips are very useful for a young mother.

We also read:

• Going to the pediatrician: 7 important rules
• 7 things to put up with in a children's clinic
• The child is afraid of doctors: advice from psychologists and experienced mothers how to help children get rid of fear
• Questions to the pediatric neurologist: what is important to know for parents of a child up to a year
• Child and dentist: how to set up a child and successfully cure a tooth
• What to play with the child in the clinic while the turn

The first trip to the clinic