Well Child Care

The birth of your new baby is very exciting!  There are many things to think about, such as feedings, newborn skin care, keeping your child healthy, newborn sleep, and more. We offer prenatal visits at no cost to you.  A good time to schedule these is between 34 and 37 weeks of your pregnancy.  This is a time when you can come into the office, meet with one of our doctors, see our clinic, and we can answer questions and help to guide you through what to expect in the hospital and first few weeks at home. 

Call our office at 501-664-4117 to schedule a prenatal consultation.  Our doctors love meeting with parents of our future patients! If you plan to use an APC physician as your child’s pediatrician, let the hospital know when you check in to labor and delivery.  This will help us to be able to see you while you are in the hospital, if you are born at Baptist Medical Center LR or CHI St. Vincent LR.  If your child is born at another hospital, just call us when you are being discharged home, and we can schedule the first follow up appointment.  

Most of the time, the newborn appointment will be within 2-5 days of hospital discharge.  Here we will assess your child’s weight gain, feedings, wet and dirty diapers, and do a complete physical exam.  There will often be a weight check visit around one week after this appointment.  

Remember, for sleep, babies always need to be placed on their backs in a safe sleep environment such as a crib or pack and play.  If your child under 2 months of age has a fever > 100.4F, call our office or after hours line immediately.  We recommended that ALL parents of newborns be up to date on their current flu shot and have had a Tdap booster in the last 5 years. 

At Arkansas Pediatrics Clinic we partner with parents and caregivers to help instill healthy lifestyles in their children. With the right attitude about diet, nutrition and exercise, healthy kids grow into healthy adults. From the very first newborn visit, we know you want to protect your child from illness and injuries. The pediatric care we offer devotes time and attention to preventive medicine. We ensure that your baby, child or teenager has the very best start in life. We believe that comprehensive pediatric care should always include a strong relationship between parents/caregivers and our pediatricians, and ready access to educational resources such as:

  • Healthcare and nutritional guides
  • Developmental milestone tracking
  • Age-appropriate parenting tips

CHECK UPS UNDER AGE 2

Your child will come for many check ups during the first two years of life! This is a time when we see you frequently in order to monitor growth and development, answer questions about the next stages of development as they approach, and stay up to date on immunizations. Below you will find a routine check up schedule and what to expect:

At APC, we follow the immunization guidelines issued by the CDC and backed by the AAP.
Please see the CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule.

YEARLY CHECKUPS / PHYSICALS AFTER AGE 2

Health issues often come to light in routine visits. Proactive pediatric care can identify high cholesterol, signs of insulin resistance and early diabetes, anemia, scoliosis, and problems with hearing or vision. It is also an opportunity to discuss school and learning issues, risky behaviors, and body image concerns. In addition to height, weight, body mass index and blood pressure checks, our annual well visits always include age-appropriate conversations about safety and prevention. At yearly checkups, we will also help you stay current on your child’s vaccination schedule. Arkansas Pediatrics Clinic follows the guidelines recommended by the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Your yearly check up includes a full exam, which means this check up can be used as your sports physical. We recommend having your physical performed at least 4 weeks prior to the start of the sports season.

APC Immunization Policy

We know that parents have many questions about vaccines, and we are happy to have discussions regarding vaccines and the recommended immunization schedule with all of our patients. APC fully supports the immunization schedule recommended by the CDC and AAP. Our physicians believe that children receiving their vaccines on the recommended schedule is a foundation of our care for your child. If you have chosen for your child not to receive any vaccinations at all, APC is not likely to be a good fit for your family, and we ask that you seek care at another local clinic. We want to protect our young infants and other patients who may not be able to receive vaccines due to a medical condition or problem with their immune system, from those who could potentially expose them to a vaccine preventable illness.

Special Patient Populations

We need to see some patients more than just once a year. See below if your child is someone we would like to see more often, and our recommended follow up schedule. Some conditions are not listed, but your physician will let you know recommended follow up for individual conditions.