Other Services

Newborn Care Begins From The Moment Your Baby Arrives

We like to begin your newborn care in the hospital and continue as an integral part of the comprehensive care provided by our professional team!
Our pediatricians understand the challenges of taking care of a newborn. They also provide the same gentle care they’d use for treating their family. If you’re pregnant, looking for a pediatrician, and you’d like to meet the team, or you need to schedule a newborn visit, call our office.

Newborn Care FAQs

When does my newborn have their first checkup?

Your new baby has their first checkup within two weeks after leaving the hospital. During this newborn care visit, their pediatrician performs the required newborn screening tests in the office, so you don’t need to make a separate trip to the hospital for your baby’s testing.

Your newborn’s checkup is a comprehensive exam to be sure they’re growing and developing normally. During the checkup, the pediatrician:

• Checks your baby’s weight, length, and head circumference
• Evaluates your baby’s feeding, bowel, and sleeping habits
• Does a physical examination, including an eye exam
• Performs a developmental evaluation

These visits also give parents time to ask questions about their baby, whether they’re not sure about how to bathe the baby, they have trouble with feeding, they’re worried about the baby’s sleep schedule, or any other concerns.

What screenings does newborn care include?

Some states routinely screens for genetic and rare medical conditions, including 32 core and 24 secondary conditions. The goal is to identify and treat diseases early enough to prevent serious complications such as growth problems, developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, blindness, deafness, and seizures.

Within the first 24 hours after delivery, your newborn has a hearing screening, and blood is drawn from their heel to run the routine screening tests. Some states require the same procedure to take place at your baby’s two-week checkup.

What are well-child visits?

Well-child visits are ongoing checkups for children that follow a specific schedule. After the two-week newborn care visit, your newborn should see the pediatrician at one and two months.
During each visit, their pediatrician will evaluate their growth, developmental milestones, and behaviors. If your baby needs routine blood draws, they can also be done in the office.

Just like the two-week newborn care visit, every well-child checkup is an opportunity to talk with the pediatrician about baby care and your baby’s health and safety.
Your pediatrician also gives immunizations at the two-month visit to protect your baby from:

• Polio
• Hepatitis B
• Rotavirus
• Diphtheria
• Haemophilus Influenzae
• Pneumococcus

Small doses of the same immunizations are repeated several times over the first 18 months to be sure your infant is fully immunized against contagious diseases.

We offer the most up-to-date treatments and provide a variety of services including:

• ADHD/ADD Evaluations
• Asthma care
• Behavioral Healthcare
• Chronic Care Management
• Immunizations
• Lactation Consultation
• Mental Healthcare
• Newborn Care
• Routine checkups
• Screening tests
• Sick visits
• Sports Physicals
• Well visits

Children may experience a range of medical conditions that could benefit from the expertise of a pediatric specialist in a particular field. We emphasize the coordination of all healthcare providers involved in a child's treatment. Our role involves working with specialists to ensure the best care for your child, including providing guidance on when specialty care is recommended.

In order to facilitate a productive relationship between the patient, primary care provider, and specialist, it is typically essential for us to conduct an initial assessment at our office before making a referral. This step enables us to furnish the specialist with comprehensive and current information regarding the child's health condition, as well as details about their recent physical examination. Additionally, this allows us the opportunity to potentially consult with the specialist via phone while the patient is present in our office, especially if the health concern requires urgent intervention. Patients consistently derive advantages from the constructive collaboration between primary care providers and specialists.

At your convenience, we kindly request that you give our office a call for any prescription refill needs you may have. Our team is dedicated to providing outstanding patient care and ensuring that your medications are readily available when you need them. We understand the importance of timely and accurate prescription refills, which is why we urge you to contact us as soon as you are able. Whether you need a refill for a chronic condition or a short-term medication, we are here to help. Our knowledgeable staff will be happy to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have about your prescriptions. Thank you for choosing our office for your healthcare needs.

Sports physicals are different from the typical well-child checkup because their goal is to be sure your child can safely enjoy sports without risking harm to their body.

• Ensure your child is prepared for vigorous physical activity
• Gather information on your child’s health and development
• Watch for potential warning signs of serious illness
• Meet the requirements of your child’s school, camp, or sports team
• Identify possible risk factors with a certain sport
• Receive advice on avoiding injuries

Regular physicals are an important part of preventative pediatric care. Getting your child an sports physical gives the doctor the opportunity to examine your child, evaluate their health and fitness, and determine whether or not they are prepared for sports or school activities.

Annual physicals however, even when not required by a certain organization, should be a part of your child’s ongoing healthcare because they also provide an important opportunity to discuss your child’s development and any concerns you may have.

Sports Physicals FAQs

What is a sports physical?

Every child or teen in Texas who wants to play in a sport or engage in other school activities like cheerleading must have a sports physical or a preparticipation physical examination. They also need a sports physical to clear them to return to their activities if they suffer an injury or become ill during the season.

The purpose of a sports physical is to be sure your child can safely participate in sports. Suddenly starting high-intensity workouts and engaging in competitive sports can quickly aggravate a pre-existing problem or lead to a preventable injury when an exam discovers potential problems.

Although a sports physical may find a problem that prevents your child from participating, in most cases, the examination results guide decisions. The exam reveals problems that we can treat before your child starts a sport, and shows if your child needs extra training to get in shape to safely participate.
 

Why is a child’s medical history important?

Children and parents use a medical history form to provide information about:

• Chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, or epilepsy
• Hospitalizations or surgeries
• Past injuries such as concussions, sprains, or fractures
• Problems with dizziness, chest pain, or breathing during exercise
• Medications and supplements
• Allergies
• Family history of serious illnesses

A complete medical history helps your doctor determine if your child has a condition that sports activities might aggravate.

How is a sports physical exam different from an annual checkup?

The physical exam for sports participation has a different focus than a wellness exam. During a sports physical, a pediatrician evaluates your child’s musculoskeletal health, assessing bones, muscles, and joints for flexibility, strength, and signs of overuse injuries or stress.

Their doctor carefully examines concerns that could reappear during sports activities, such as previous fractures, sprains, concussions, skin infections, a past history of pain or dizziness, and chronic health conditions.

An existing condition doesn’t always prevent a child from playing sports, but it may mean that they need help to accommodate their activity.

If your child has asthma, for example, they may need a different inhaler or need to learn to use their inhaler shortly before they start their warmups to prevent an exercise-induced asthma attack.

If your child needs any type of physical, call our office or schedule an appointment online.

Asthma & Allergy Management

Our practice provides a comprehensive asthma and allergy management program for our patients. Our pediatricians are trained in the diagnosis and management of childhood asthma and allergies. Diagnosis is usually made during a sick visit when a child is wheezing or exhibiting symptoms of allergies. Occasionally, we may diagnose your child with asthma or allergies during a preventive care visit based on patient or parent concerns or our exam findings.

Asthma Education

We teach about environmental controls and avoidance of triggers. We also watch your child using his/her inhaler to confirm it is being used correctly. Information about caring for the medication devices that your child uses is provided and reviewed at every visit. We will provide an Asthma Action Plan for your child for school and will provide a Food Allergy Action Plan if needed.

Maintence Visits

Children with asthma should be seen in our office every 3-12 months depending on their severity of illness and their asthma control. Regular visits are required in order for us to evaluate your child prior to medication refills.

HELPFUL RESOURCES:

• Asthma Overview 
• How to Use a Diskus Inhaler - video and instructions
• How to Use a Diskus Inhaler - PDF Download
• How to Use a Flexhaler - video and instructions
• How to Use a Flexhaler - PDF Download
• How to Use a Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI) - video and instructions
• How to Use a Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI) - PDF Download
• How to Use a Twisthaler - video and instructions
• How to Use a Twisthaler - PDF Download

COMING SOON!!!

Breastfeeding Support

Breastfeeding provides essential nutrition for infants birth to one year and older. As with learning anything new, most breastfeeding mothers and babies (and dads too!) need some instruction and support during this learning period.

That's where we come in!

We have a high number of breastfeeding families. We will do our best to help you meet your breastfeeding goals. Any breastmilk you feed your infant is a gift of health for your child that lasts their lifetime.

We respect each family's feeding decisions. We do encourage moms to breastfeed exclusively or give only  breastmilk for the first four months then continue to breastfeed and give solid foods until your baby is a year old.

We love babies and enjoy helping families learn how to breastfeed! We will help you as little or as much as you need. We provide in-office feeding evaluations for hands-on help as well as phone support for any questions you may have along your breastfeeding journey.

Some areas we can provide guidance include:

• Positioning your baby at the breast
• Latching
• Caring for your breasts and nipples
• Assessing milk transfer
• Assuring adequate nutrition
• Assembling and using a breast pump, including sizing for the right size flange
• Storing milk
• Returning to work/school while breastfeeding
• Traveling and breastfeeding
• Training a breastfeeding baby to a bottle
• Teething while breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding premature babies
• Managing slow weight gain babies
• Breastfeeding twins
• Breastfeeding babies with special medical needs such as cleft palate, Down Syndrome, and heart conditions
• Managing medications, medical tests or surgery while breastfeeding

Please call our office to schedule an appointment.

 

 

We are happy to offer this service to our patients. 

We use Inverness Ear Piercing System.  We recommend ear piercing occur after 3 months old. Waiting until children are 3 months old ensures that they have had their first set of vaccines and allows the ear to grow big enough to allow for accurate placing of the earing. We want to make sure that this elective procedure carries as little risk to your child as possible.  For FAQ, please click here.

We do ear piercing by appointment only and not as an "add-on" to another sick or well visit. This allows enough time to perform the procedure, explain and answer questions about the aftercare, and allows the numbing cream to take effect.

We charge $45 to pierce up to 2 ears. This price includes the piercing studs and a permanent pair of hypoallergenic earrings.