This post is in partnership with Atrium Health Levine Children’s.  All opinions are my own.

As a new parent, it can be confusing to know where to start with your child’s care.  After all, you’ve never had a baby before now!  So today I’m sharing the process of picking a Pediatrician, why Atrium Health Levine Children’s makes it so easy with provider interviews, office tours, and other guidance about what new parents need to know.  I’m also sharing what the first few appointments are like for a newborn, how to make the first appointment in the hospital, & what to expect!  You likely already know that I was a patient of Atrium Health for my maternity care, and I’ve always had such a great experience with my care at Atrium whether it be from my primary care provider, maternity care, and now care for my newborn!

Picking a Pediatrician

If you’re like me, you have no idea where to start with picking a Pediatrician for your baby.  I mean it seems simple but when you actually need to do it, how do you know you’re going about it in the right way or picking the right doctor?  Atrium Health Levine Children’s makes it easy by laying out the step by step for you.  I really appreciate how much guidance and assistance they provide!  Here are their starting tips for picking a Pediatrician:

If you’d like to download a printable version of this guide as a PDF, click here!

Why Chose an Atrium Health Levine Children’s Pediatrician?

Craig and I followed those steps and we scheduled a visit to meet with Dr. Patt at Charlotte Pediatrics so we could chat with her about questions we had and also so we could see the office!  We met with her around my 35th week of pregnancy.  She was so friendly and engaging, answered all of our questions, and then some.  Again as new parents sometimes you don’t even know what you should be asking, so she really gave us all the information we didn’t even know we may need.  We decided to go with Dr. Patt after that visit because not only did she come highly recommended, but also we just really liked the vibe that we got at our meeting with her.  Also, we really liked the Charlotte Peds office and the fact there are so many amazing doctors there should Dr. Patt not be available for some reason!

We also love that they have After Hours and Weekend Care.  Outside of their normal business hours, Charlotte Peds has nurses available by phone who can help answer questions whenever they may arise, 24/7.  They also have an appointment-only sick clinic Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. at their SouthPark location (for established patients only).  Another bonus is that you can schedule a same day appointment online (only available for weekends).

The First Newborn Visits

After you have your baby but before you leave the hospital, you will get instructions to make your newborn’s first pediatrician appointment.  Based on when you are discharged and you and your baby’s specific health situation following delivery, they will tell you when you should make it.  We were able to leave the hospital a night early, but because of that, they wanted us to make an appointment with the pediatrician for the next day.  So I just called the office while we were still in the hospital and got us an appointment!  Because it was for the following morning, we saw Dr. Almquist instead of Dr. Patt, but like I said earlier…Charlotte Peds has so many amazing doctors I knew we were in good hands!

Emma’s first visit went smoothly, everything was looking good, she had gained a couple ounces back from the previous day, and Dr. Almquist got us set up to see the lactation consultant at the office for later in the week.  Dr. Almquist also noticed that Emma had a tongue tie.  I had suspected this, but of course I wasn’t sure.  So she helped us get set up for the next day to come back and get the frenotomy.  Dr. Patt actually performs this procedure and so we saw her the following day!  She met with us and explained exactly what the tongue tie looked like and what the procedure was going to entail.  She eased our new parent worries and took Emma to a different room to do the procedure.  They were back within 10-15 minutes and Emma wasn’t even crying!  She seemed just fine.  We nursed a bit so she could start moving her tongue around since Dr. Patt said that is the best exercise.  Emma has loved sticking her tongue out ever since!!  Her tongue tie was so tight she couldn’t even lift it up, which can really impact breastfeeding and make it painful.  I think we are both glad it’s done and over with!

Meeting the Lactation Consultant

When Emma was 5 days old, we met with the lactation consultant at Charlotte Peds, Jan Ellen Brown.  She was amazing and SO knowledgable and helpful, not to mention so kind and funny!  At this visit she asked us how things were going to get a feel on where she could help and identify areas we maybe could improve.  Emma’s tongue tie had caused me some pain but Jan Ellen also showed me how to improve how I was holding Emma during nursing to help even more.  I fed Emma during this visit and Jan Ellen weighed her to see how much she was getting.  At the start of this visit she was at 8lbs 2oz I believe, and by the end of the feeding she was at her birth weight, 8lbs 4oz!  Girlfriend is a champion eater…which should come as no surprise since her mama and daddy like to eat so much 😉

Jan Ellen also showed me how to assemble and use my pump (I have the Spectra S1) and also gave me handouts on how to properly store breastmilk and other helpful tips.  It’s so nice to know that we can go see her at the office anytime if we need to but just that one visit, in conjunction with the frenotomy, made such a difference in our feedings.

Our Next Appointments

As of right now, unless Emma has something come up that we need to make an appointment, our next visit is our 1 month well child visit.  Following that is our 2 month visit, where she will get her routine vaccinations.  Then will be the 4 month visit!  I went ahead and scheduled those appointments so we could be in the books.  I definitely recommend doing this if there is a doctor you prefer to see at visits!  Never hurts to schedule early.

xo,

Bess