Consult Questions?

Knottie70010763

So I have a consult appointment this afternoon with the pediatrician I want my LO to see. We found out at her 20 week anatomy scan that her right hand did not develop all the way so just below her elbow she is missing the rest of her arm and hand. Other than that she is a perfectly healthy amazing baby. Anyways this consult is basically to touch base with the pediatrician and ask any questions. I have come up with a few that are specific to her condition that I'm wondering

Will it mess up her balance at all when she is learning to sit up on her own?
How will it effect her crawling?

Some of these may be silly questions. Just wondering if any of y'all may have any ideas on good questions to ask that I may not have thought of, even just basic questions that I should be asking the doctor to begin with. Just want to be as prepared for babygirl as possible.

folamij

No question is silly!

folamij

Ugh this thing lost over half my post..I'll add it

You could ask if there is anything else you need to be aware of for LO.

If you're looking for more "first time meeting a pediatrician " questions I can add some I asked while meeting prospective Dr.'s..

Knottie70010763

folamij said:

Ugh this thing lost over half my post..I'll add it

You could ask if there is anything else you need to be aware of for LO.

If you're looking for more "first time meeting a pediatrician " questions I can add some I asked while meeting prospective Dr.'s..

Thank you. I haven't really come up with a lot of questions, and waited until the last minute to thing of some. So I'd love to hear pretty much any questions that would be good for a first time meeting as well.

Trinirican3ondway

Hi there, just popping in from June 2016. I am sorry that you and your LO will be facing some challenges. I don't think your questions are silly at all. I don't know of any questions to ask specific to her condition  but it is great that you are being so proactive. I can say that she will not know any different and will just learn to crawl her own way probably an army style crawl like many babies do. Some even skip crawling and go straight to cruising/walking. 

folamij

Some questions that I asked were:
1) What days are you in the office? I discovered just because the clinic is open, it doesn't mean the Dr. is "in".

2) What is the best way to communicate with you?

3) What are your beliefs/philosophies regarding (insert issue like breastfeeding,when to start food/how etc.) I wanted a Dr. who would be supportive of long term breastfeeding and know I wouldn't be pressured.

3) What is the on call policy/how do we contact you in emergencies?

4)Do you have a 24 hr triage nurse line?

5) How long after birth is baby's first visit? How long should I expect appointments to be?

6) Are there special hours for sick visits? Is there a separate waiting waiting rooms for well/sick visits?

7) What is the average amount of time it takes to see you? Ex: If I call today will I see you tomorrow, 2 days, next week?

8) Will you visit baby in the hospital? One Dr. said yes, the other said no. 

I know I had more but pregnancy brain is winning big time...

sarawifenow

I think that the questions you have sound good as well as the questions @folamij poised. I do want to, however, commend you on how amazing you are being about everything. From the second you posted about LO's condition, you have been nothing but positive. Truly inspiring. Good job, mama.

emma+karen

@Knottie70010763 no advice but I was thinking about you recently.  Friends of ours (and the dad is my wife's coworker) also just had a little girl whose one arm didn't develop below the elbow.  They hadn't told anyone until after she arrived, since they were focusing on the delivery, but sent an email when she was about a week old.  From all accounts, though she's still only a couple weeks old, it sounds like she is doing well.  Her big sister and dad are coming to DS's birthday party on Sunday, so we will get the full scoop then, I'm sure. 

TheThornBird

What about their thoughts on prosthetics, which ones are available, when they would want her to start using one, etc? 

Also, maybe what sort of exercises you can do to strengthen her other arm as she gets older, since when she starts to pull herself up into standing she may need a little bit of extra strength. 

Knottie70010763

emma+karen said:

@Knottie70010763 no advice but I was thinking about you recently.  Friends of ours (and the dad is my wife's coworker) also just had a little girl whose one arm didn't develop below the elbow.  They hadn't told anyone until after she arrived, since they were focusing on the delivery, but sent an email when she was about a week old.  From all accounts, though she's still only a couple weeks old, it sounds like she is doing well.  Her big sister and dad are coming to DS's birthday party on Sunday, so we will get the full scoop then, I'm sure. 

I would love to hear anything they decide to share with you when they come for the party. I'm trying to be as prepared as possible.

We have only told close friends and family so far. But before she is born I was thinking of making some type of announcement. I'd rather answer questions first and educate people on the situation to prepare them. That way once she is here all I have to do if focus on babygirl and and enjoy spending time with her, instead of getting a million questions after the fact.

lbachran

@Knottie70010763, send me a private message and I can email you a long pdf of questions we used. Although they're not specific to the concerns you may be having about your little one, they may touch on some broad areas you're interested in. I collected them from about a dozen sources.

ckcshumphrey

Maybe try finding a Facebook group of parents who have kids with the same thing and pick their brain about what would be important to ask. You'll do awesome!