Every mother knows that with a child under one year old, it is necessary to be examined by a pediatrician every month, as well as by narrow specialists - according to a certain schedule. If you are a mother for the first time, and are still inexperienced, then going to the clinic can turn into an adventure. And not always pleasant, unfortunately. Forgotten the necessary documents, the queue to the doctor is huge, everything falls out of the bag, and even the child is hungry and whimpers. Don't panic! Read our recommendations, and don't lose your presence of mind!
1. Prepare a "mom and baby bag"
If you and your child went to the clinic in a stroller - feel free to take a "stroller" bag with you, it is usually sold with a stroller. This bag is voluminous, everything will fit in it. Yes, and it is easier for you to move around the clinic with a child in your arms with one bag than with a handbag and a bag with things for the child and documents.
What we take in the bag:
- "Change" for the child - clothes for changing clothes (if the baby gets dirty).
- Disposable diaper. Children love to arrange "children's surprises" in the most inappropriate place for this.
- Wet baby wipes - wipe the baby's hands and other parts of the body if needed.
- A diaper, preferably disposable (you will put the baby on it for examination). Experienced mothers take 2 diapers, it's no secret - when you undress your baby, he usually wants to go to the toilet.
- Favorite toy. Or, conversely, a toy (object) that the child has never seen before. A mirror from my mother’s makeup bag will work too.
- A bottle of water.
- Food - a mixture with a thermos for a bottle-fed baby, a snack (cookies, mashed potatoes), if complementary foods have already been introduced into the baby's diet. In the mother and baby room, you can safely retire and breastfeed.
- Shoe covers. Some institutions have free ones, but not everywhere.
If you are a "slingomama" and your child eats, sleeps, walks in a sling, this will greatly facilitate the visit to the medical facility and "untie the hands" of the mother in the literal sense of the word.
2. Correct attitude - calmness, only calmness
Even you have a ticket for a certain time of a visit to the doctor, this does not exclude queues at the office and long minutes (and sometimes hours) of waiting. “I just have to ask”, “I’m a health worker”, “I’m just for a minute” - there are always people who slow down the reception. Do not put your chest on the embrasure in front of the office - save your nerve cells. A calm mother is a calm baby. Breathe in, breathe out. Your child feels your state - be calm and do not react to the "aliens" out of turn. As the sages used to say, "this too will pass."
3. "Ambulance related help"
Just one to two hours of your friend / grandmother / niece's time, who can help with going to the clinic, and what a relief for you! Stand in line at the reception for a coupon, hand over clothes to the wardrobe, hold the doors at the entrance and exit, "watch" the queue while you left to feed the child, run for shoe covers. It is difficult to cope alone, it is a fact. If dad is in a car but is in a hurry to get to work, let him take you to the clinic with the baby and the stroller, help with the cloakroom, reception, and then you yourself.
4. Important documents
Medical policy, SNILS, child's birth certificate. Take your original documents and photocopies with you in a special envelope folder, which you can easily open with one hand and take out the necessary papers.
5. Notepad with questions
Time at a doctor's appointment is limited. In order not to remember for a long time - what did you want to ask the doctor, make a list of questions at home. We advise you to leave a space after each question for a short entry of the pediatrician's answers. The information will be new for you, perhaps there will be a lot of it. Until you reach the house, you will forget half. We write it down!
6. Learn about the benefits
Did you know that babies up to six months old are out of turn for blood tests?
Read in advance (take a picture on your phone or write down) the information about beneficiaries near the reception. The following persons have the right to an extraordinary admission:
- children with high fever;
- children from large families;
- disabled children;
- children of healthcare workers
Tell the doctor (or nurse) that you belong to one of the groups listed and you will be invited to an appointment without waiting in line. In many children's clinics, children can go to the doctor without waiting in line for a pre-vaccination examination.
7. Condition of the child
On the day of the planned visit, measure the child's temperature, pay attention to how he looks. If the night was sleepless, the baby whimpers, almost did not eat at breakfast, reschedule the visit to the doctor for another day. There are always sick children in the clinic, even on the day of a healthy child. You don't need to put your child at risk of catching a bacteria or virus.
Be healthy and happy!
- The first trip to the clinic with a newborn: the main thing to know
- A child is afraid of doctors: advice from psychologists and experienced mothers on how to help children get rid of fear
- Questions to a pediatric neurologist: what is important to know for parents of a child under one year old
- What to play with a child in the clinic when it's turn
