Oh say can you see...the doctor.

In Ohio the pediatric doctors want to see your baby at 2-3 days old. This was really new for me since I was used to the 2 week visit being the soonest after birth that the baby was seen by the doctor unless there was some other reason like jaundice to consider. With the other kids the most important thing at the 2 week appointment was to see that they had regained back their birth weight- Since they typically loose anywhere from 8-10 or more ounces in the hospital because breast milk is not instantaneously ready for them for a few days.

So when Ruby was born I followed directions and scheduled an appointment for her when she was 4 days old. Having to get her bundled up and out in the cold to the doctor's office (where I believe is probably more likely to carry germs than my house) seemed stupid. Not only that but it was really hard on me when I was recovering from birth as well. That evening I was so tired and worn out that I literally needed help getting up the stairs to my bedroom that evening to go to bed. So all in all the trip to the doctor seemed really stupid to me. Not only that but when we got there for it - the only important evaluation they did on her was to check her weight. She was 4 oz lower than her birth weight and my milk was just in a day before. Because she was not back at her birth weight they wanted me to schedule a weight check for a week out.

First off, no baby is back at their birth weight 4 days after their birth. That is why they give you 2 weeks to get it up before they start to worry. But I scheduled the appointment and came in today to take her to it. She of course did gain back her birth weight (and then some- the girl has packed on 7 more ounces above it already). I didn't expect though that I would be billed for the appointment. My insurance does not charge me anything for well baby check ups. So the appointment at 4 days old was free. Today's "weight check" was not free and I had to pay my $20 copay. I was thinking - since like 99.9% of babies are not at their birth weight by 2-3 days old and if they schedule weight checks for all of these babies then the office is getting a big fat copay check from each of the newborns they see. I asked why they don't just wait and see the babies when they are 1.5-2 weeks old and they just said they like to keep track of the babies this way.

Other than the happy fact that my little girl is chubbing up nicely, I was pretty upset about the needless doctor's appointment. Now that I know I think I wont bother to schedule an appointment with the next one until they are almost 2 weeks old. This is what is wrong with health care now - its not about the patients health but the money behind it.