2 Month Old Check-Up: What to Expect

Congratulations Mommy! 🎉 You’ve made it two months without losing your marbles! Ok maybe you have .. but sleepless nights will do that to you.

I’m sure your excited to see your babies height and weight on the growth chart compared to other babies. Reminder: Pack the Health and Growth Booklet and pack an extra little blanket to wrap your baby in when they ask you to undress him/her.

Here’s what to expect at you babies 2 month well visit.

The nurse will ask you to undress your baby. Diaper off too! She will measure the baby’s weight and height. These numbers will be plotted in to see where you baby is on his/her growth chart. The chart enables you to see how your baby compares with other children around the same age. The plots along the growth chart are your babies measurements at birth, A few days after discharge, and his/her two week appointment.

Although it’s nice to hear that your baby’s weight is in the 80th percentile — it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you see a steady rate of growth from one visit to the next.

The Doctor Will Perform a Full Physical

• Heart and lungs: Uses a stethoscope to listen for any abnormal heart rhythms or breathing problems.
• Eyes: Checks for signs of any problems. May also check for blocked tear ducts. (Let your doctor know if you have seen any discharge)
• Ears: Looks for signs of infection and observes how your baby responds to sound.
• Mouth: Looks for signs of thrush (an oral yeast infection) amongst other things.
• Head: Checks the soft spots and the shape of your baby’s head. Now’s the time to catch if the baby is developing a flat head. If your doctor determines that your baby has positional plagiocephaly, he may recommend cranial orthotic therapy (using a helmet to change the shape of the head)
• Body: Checks your baby’s reflexes and muscle tone. Let the doctor know if you’ve noticed any rashes.
• Belly: Presses gently on the abdomen to check for a hernia.
• Genitals: Opens your baby’s diaper and checks for signs of infection.
• Hips and legs: Moves your baby’s legs around to look for problems in the hip joints. (Breech C-Section babies are usually recommended to get an x-ray of the hips)

As your pediatrician is examining the baby he/she will be asking you questions about you and your baby ☺️

Questions the doctor may ask:

• How is your baby sleeping? By this age the baby may be sleeping a little longer at night. They may even give you a 4-5 hour stretch at night and sleeping 14-16 hours a day on average. Are you feeling okay? Do you have any help?
• How often is your baby eating? 
• Breast-feeding Mama’s this question is pretty impossible to answer. So long as your doctor sees growth (height and weight) – you’re both doing great! If you and/or your baby are having trouble you may want to ask for a recommendation for a Lactation Consultant.
• Formula feeding Mama’s: How many ounces is he/she drinking and how often? 🙂
• What are your baby’s bowel movements like?  Tell your doctor if you notice dry stools. This may be a sign of constipation or dehydration. (If you’ve noticed a smudge of blood in the stool it is usually due to the withdrawal of the mother’s hormones from the babies body after birth. If you are still seeing specs of blood at this point, let your pediatrician know. )
• How’s your baby’s head control? Tummy time is very important. Your baby should be able to pick and hold their heads up when lying on their tummies.
• Does your baby smile? Your babies reflex smiles may have disappeared by now. The first smile may have occurred by now in response to seeing mamas face or hearing Dads high pitched talking to baby voice. If your baby hasn’t smiled yet, don’t worry. Every one of my kids milestones have been different.
• How’s your baby’s hearing? Is your baby turning their heads toward sounds and voices.

Vaccines

This tends to be a sensitive subject. Whether you choose to vaccinate your child or not I have listed the recommended vaccinations for this time. Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) your baby is recommended to receive the following at this visit:

Rotavirus Caccine (given orally). This disease is spread by mouth. The vaccine is given to prevent severe dehydration caused by diarrhea, vomiting and fever.

Pneumococcal PCV13 vaccine protects against pneumococcus. Spread by air or direct contact. There may be no symptoms, pneumonia (infection in the lungs). Disease complications: Bacteremia (blood infection), meningitis (infection of the covering around the brain and spinal cord), death

DTap DTaP* vaccine protects against diphtheria. Spread by air or direct contact. Symptoms include: Sore throat, mild fever, weakness, swollen glands in neck. Disease complications: Swelling of the heart muscle, heart failure, coma, paralysis, death.

 HIB Hib vaccine protects against Haemophilus influenzae type b. Spread by air or direct contact. Symptoms may include bacteria in the blood. Disease complications: Meningitis (infection of the covering around the brain and spinal cord), intellectual disability, epiglottitis (life-threatening infection that can block the windpipe and lead to serious breathing problems), pneumonia (infection in the lungs), death.

Polio IPV vaccine protects against polio. Spread by air, direct contact, through the mouth. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, nausea, headache. Disease complications: Paralysis, death.

 These vaccines are combined in two shots.

He/she may be getting their first or second dose at this point of Hepatitis B

HepB vaccine protects against hepatitis B. Spread by contact with blood or body fluids. Symptoms may include fever, headache, weakness, vomiting, jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes), joint pain. Disease complications: Chronic liver infection, liver failure, liver cancer

I’ve provided a link to the CDC website at the end of this post.

✨ At our pediatricians office, the assistant usually administers the vaccines. I purposefully do not feed the baby while we are waiting for the doctor to come in — After vaccines are given, I usually feed the baby. Helps calm them down and babes belly will be full for the car ride home.

Address any other concerns

Your doctor will recommend giving Vitamin D drops to breastfed babies. (Formula fed babies get enough vitamin D.)

Be prepared for a sleepy baby that wants to cuddle. Call your pediatrician should your baby develop a fever or if you notice any unusual behavior. Please feel free to click the links I provided on the vaccines for additional information.

Recommended Immunization Schedule

CDC Immunization Schedule – 0-6years

Feel free to check out one of my previous posts on organizing paperwork for each child.

Children’s Folders – Organizing Paperwork and Health Information

Hope this helps you to be prepared for what’s in store for your babies two month checkup 🙂

I am not a doctor. The content on this page is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.