In the past few weeks, Second Daughter had her two year visit with our PA and Second Son has his two week visit. For those that are interested in such things, here are the statistics:
Second Daughter at 2 years
Height: 34.5 inches (just under 75th percentile)
Weight: 27 pounds (just over 50th percentile)
Second Son at 2 weeks
Height: 22.5 inches (around 95th percentile)
Weight: 11 pounds, 4 ounces (around 97th percentile)
They are both quite healthy, of course, and are right where they should be developmentally. (Second Daughter even stood on one leg for me, though she would only do so while holding on to a chair.)
The PA and I had some time to discuss the "experts" and recommended appointments.
First we discussed dentist appointments. I've read recommendations before to take kids to the dentist when the first tooth appears, but we've never done that. Usually we go around the third birthday and our pediatric dentist agrees. The PA essentially came right out and said the first tooth recommendation is aimed at those parents who give their babies soda and don't brush their teeth. Thank goodness he didn't feel the need to hold us to that recommendation when Second Daughter's teeth are looking just fine. (He did say we should take her if she has an accident involving her teeth or if they look gray or something; which is how First Daughter ended up at the dentist when she was just 19 months old.) I'm also thankful he's never given me a hard time about nursing my babies at night even after they have teeth. Are there really people out there who brush a baby's teeth and then refuse to feed them until morning...or who take the time to brush again after a night feeding?
Apparently, the experts have recently decided there should be a 2.5 year well-child visit. Our PA said we didn't need to bring her back until 3 years because she's obviously doing well, but it's a little annoying to keep adding visits. I'm sure the insurance companies don't want to pay for unnecessary visits; I don't even want to pay the co-pay. (Kansas Dad also pointed out that it takes time and is a hassle to get all four kids to the doctor's office for a ten minute check-up for one of them.) I'm not really sure why, but something about the new recommendation seems wrong to me.I can't decide if I feel like they're taking advantage of us (or the insurance company), if they're just trying to get more money or drum up more business, of if I feel offended because they think I need to bring my kids to an "expert" every few months for years on end. I'm starting to wonder what else is unnecessary...
I guess I shouldn't complain too much. Not only did the PA say we could just skip that 2.5 year visit, he also said we could skip the one month visit for Second Son. He trusts we'll know if we need to bring him in and there's no reason to anticipate any problems for either of them. Just one of the many reasons I love our PA!
