2 week visit

For the next installation in my series focusing on “check-ups”, we will move on to the 2 week evaluation. As we discussed in my posts about the newborn visit – most babies lose weight in the 1st few days of life, and there is frequently an adjustment period as they learn to feed. When we have parents bring their babies back just a week or so after the initial visit – one of the most important things we are looking for is appropriate weight gain. As I joked in an earlier …post – babies do not come with an instruction manual – some babies feed small amounts frequently, while others may take larger volumes less often. For babies that are nursing – the mothers can tell us about the schedule of feeds, but what volume is the baby drinking is typically not known. “Baby A” might drink 1 ounce every 2 hours, but “Baby B” feeds 2 ounces every 4 hours -the daily total will be the same, but the schedule is very different. Which is correct….whatever allows for regular wet and dirty diapers but also for steady weight gain, which at this age should be in the range of three quarters to one ounce per day. I often explain to parents that while there is plenty of time for a child to gain weight as they get older – the first weeks and months of a baby’s life are a critical time for growth and development of the brain, neurologic system and other organs. So if a baby is gaining weight properly , I can feel comfortable that they are getting enough nutrition for their brain, heart, lungs and so on. And if the pace of weight gain is too slow – or when they sometimes even lose more weight – we have some very important work to do. As always – feel free to post any questions or feedback on things you may have seen us do that you wanted to know more about. Check back in a few days as I continue this series. Dr. Aronson