A quick guide to your 2-month-old baby's well check-up

Even though your kid is just 2 months old, he or she may already be smiling, looking at you, and holding their head up! This is an excellent opportunity to discuss these and other developmental milestones with your baby’s doctor.

During your baby’s first six months, you and your baby should see your healthcare provider on a regular basis. At this age, the health care providers you’ll most likely see are your family physician and a public health nurse. These visits will contribute to your baby’s development and growth, as well as your family’s health and adjustment to parenthood.

What can you read in this article?

• Developmental milestones for 2 month old baby
• Symptoms you need to tell your pediatrician
• Vaccines administered for 2 months old babies
• 2 month old baby checkup: What to ask the doctor?

This one-on-one appointment will allow your family doctor or pediatrician to examine your baby’s early growth, administer vaccination for immunization, provide health recommendations for the near future, and answer any questions you may have regarding your baby.

Developmental milestones for 2 month old babies

These days, your baby’s body and mind are quite active. Your little one is considerably more aware of the vast world around her as a result of significant improvements in how well she uses her senses. The pediatrician may check for or inquire about the following developmental stages in your baby:

1. Movement and physical development milestones

• Arm and leg motions will be smoother.
• Can push up while on his belly and hold his head up. 
• Opens hands briefly

2. Brain development milestones

• Beginning to track people and objects with her eyes.
• Starting to get fussy if she’s feeling bored.
• Paying attention to the faces she sees.
• Looks at a toy for several seconds.

3. Language and communication milestones 

• Alerted by sounds and turns toward them.
• Making cooing noises

4. Social and emotional milestones 

• Can self-soothe by sucking on her hand.
• Calms down when spoken to or picked up
• Starting to smile at others.
• Attempting to look at her parents.
• Seems happy to see you when you walk up to her

5. Food and nutrition milestones 

• All of the nutrition your baby needs can be found in breastmilk.
• She’ll easily suck and swallow during feeding.
• Her tongue will move back and forward to suck.
• She’ll latch onto her mother’s nipple or a bottle.

2 month old baby checkup: Symptoms you need to tell your pediatrician

While each baby develops at their own pace, you should consult and have a checkup with your pediatrician if your 2 month old exhibits any of the following symptoms:

• Inability to latch on while nursing or bottle-feeding.
• During feeding, he loses a lot of breastmilk or formula out the side of his mouth.
• Refuses to smile at strangers.
• He keeps his hands away from his mouth.
• Is unaffected by loud noises.
• Doesn’t follow people or objects around as they move.
• Can’t keep his head up while lying on his stomach.
• Moves in an uneven manner, with one leg or arm moving more than the other.
• He’s still so limp that it feels like he’ll slip away from you, or his head still bobbles a lot.
• Has any eye problems, especially if they’re watery or filled with pus. It’s possible that he has a clogged or narrow tear duct that requires care.
• Is deafeningly quiet.
• Never stay awake for longer than 30 minutes at a time.

While you’re there, keep in mind that your doctor is an excellent resource for any questions you might have regarding your baby’s health and development, so ask about anything that’s on your mind at this appointment.

READ MORE: 

9 exercises to help your baby develop good head control  

What you need to know about your baby’s bowel movements

Baby Growth Spurts: Timeline, signs, and tips

2 month old checkup: Vaccinations your baby should get and its side effects

Vaccines (also known as immunizations) aid in the development of a baby’s body’s defenses against dangerous infections. Getting your baby completely vaccinated can also help reduce the chance of SIDS.

Many medications are administered in a series of dosages. Your kid must receive each dose at the correct time in order to be safe.

During vaccination, ask the doctor or nurse to demonstrate to you how to hold and comfort your baby. Also, feel free to inquire about vaccines, diseases that they help to prevent, and how to care for your infant following vaccinations.

Most babies will be immunized against seven or eight diseases during their two-month examinations. The following vaccines are commonly given during your child’s 2-month checkup:

• DTaP (Diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis) vaccine.

This protects against diphtheria (which can lead to a fever, sore throat, weakness, lymphadenopathy, heart failure, coma, paralysis, and death), tetanus (which can cause stiffness in the neck and abdominal muscles, trouble swallowing, fever, trouble breathing and death) and pertussis, also known as whooping cough (which causes a bad cough, trouble breathing, pneumonia, and death).

• Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) vaccine.

This protects against Haemophilus influenzae type b, which can cause meningitis (an infection around the brain), cognitive delays, epiglottitis (a life-threatening infection involving the airway), pneumonia, and death.

• Hepatitis B vaccine.

This protects against the development of serious liver problems, such as cancer, when they’re older.

• Prevnar (Pneumococcal conjugate) vaccine.

This protects against pneumococcus, which can cause pneumonia, an infection in the blood, meningitis, and death.

• IPV (inactivated poliovirus) vaccine.

This protects against polio, which can cause sore throat, fever, paralysis, and death.

• Rotavirus vaccine.

This protects against rotavirus, which can cause severe diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and dehydration.

“Is it really safe to give my infant that many shots at once?” you might wonder. The answer is yes. Fortunately, your pediatrician can mix certain doses to reduce the amount of pricking and, ideally, the amount of sobbing.

Remember that these vaccines are completely safe, and your baby requires them to prevent him or her from a variety of life-threatening infections such as pertussis and whooping cough. 

Side effects 

Some babies experience slight adverse effects after receiving immunizations. They may also develop a fever, which usually starts within 24 hours and lasts one to two days, local reactions such as redness, swelling, and pain at the vaccine site, or other reactions such as tiredness or crankiness. 

If your child feels uncomfortable, use a cool compress to the area the same day the immunizations were given and a warm compress the next day.

Your child may suffer these side effects that night or the next day, but they should be back to normal in two to three days. If you’re concerned about your child’s vaccine reaction.

Especially if you notice that he or she is acting sick, crying a lot, or has common symptoms like blood in the stool, your pediatrician would be happy to talk to you about what’s normal and what’s not, and whether or not your child needs to be seen.

2 month old baby checkup: What to ask the doctor

This is an opportunity for you and your doctor to discuss your baby’s daily activities and address any concerns you may have. Your doctor will most likely inquire about your child’s sleep patterns, digestion, and sensitivity to auditory or visible stimuli, among other things.

It’s a good idea to keep track of how often and for how long your baby eats, sleep, how many wet and dirty diapers he has every day, and how much time he spends on his tummy in the days preceding up to the appointment.

Now is the moment to bring up any physical illnesses that your little one has been experiencing, such as diaper rash or reflux. And, if he’s breastfed, now is a good time to ask the doctor if he should be taking vitamin D supplements if you haven’t already

Make the most of your time with your pediatrician by preparing a list of questions in advance.

Here at theAsianparent Philippines, it’s important for us to give information that is correct, significant, and timely. But this doesn’t serve as an alternative for medical advise or medical treatment. theAsianparent Philippines is not responsible to those that would choose to drink medicines based on information from our website. If you have any doubts, we recommend to consult your doctor for clearer information.