Well-Child Visit Question Checklist

Newborn visit

3–5 days old

What will be checked: Weight against birth weight, jaundice, feeding, newborn screening results, and hearing.

1. What percentage of birth weight has she lost, and what is the plan if the trend continues?
2. Did she pass the newborn hearing screen in both ears — and if not, when exactly is the follow-up? (Benchmark: screened by 1 month, diagnosed by 3, intervention by 6.)
3. Where is her bilirubin relative to the treatment threshold, not just “a little jaundiced”?
4. How many wet diapers and stools per day should we count, and what number should make us call?
5. Who do we call at 2 a.m., and what does your practice consider after-hours-worthy?

Our own questions

Ask for numbers, not adjectives. “Down six percent, trending fine” is a plan.

Well-Child Visit Question Checklist · Rajesh Harrykissoon, MD · ushacareguide.com — educational content only, not medical advice.

1-month visit

What will be checked: Weight trajectory back to and past birth weight, feeding, and a maternal depression screen.

1. Is her weight gain on trajectory, and has she regained birth weight?
2. Is this crying pattern normal in timing and volume, or something more?
3. What should nights look like right now, and what is a realistic stretch of sleep?
4. Is spit-up at this volume reflux worth treating, or laundry?
5. What should we have figured out by the 2-month visit?

Our own questions

When the depression screen comes, answer it honestly. It is not a test of fitness.

Well-Child Visit Question Checklist · Rajesh Harrykissoon, MD · ushacareguide.com — educational content only, not medical advice.

2-month visit

What will be checked: Growth, developmental surveillance, and the first large vaccine set.

1. Which vaccines is she getting today, and can I have the record updated before we leave?
2. What is normal after shots — fussiness, sleep, low-grade fever — and what crosses the line into a call?
3. Is her head shape developing normally, and are we doing enough tummy time to protect it?
4. She smiles at us now — what social milestones should appear before the 4-month visit?
5. Nights are still hard — is her day-night rhythm on track?

Our own questions

Book this visit for the morning when you can, so a fussy stretch lands at home in the evening.

Well-Child Visit Question Checklist · Rajesh Harrykissoon, MD · ushacareguide.com — educational content only, not medical advice.

4-month visit

What will be checked: Head control, social engagement, early rolling, growth, and the second vaccine set.

1. Is her head control where it should be when you pull her to sitting?
2. She is starting to roll — what has to change about the sleep setup today, not next month?
3. What readiness cues for solid food should we watch for between now and six months?
4. Our sleep is collapsing — is a structured night-shift split reasonable at this age?
5. What would make you want to see her before the 6-month visit?

Our own questions

Ask the solids question now, at four months, not at six.

Well-Child Visit Question Checklist · Rajesh Harrykissoon, MD · ushacareguide.com — educational content only, not medical advice.

6-month visit

What will be checked: Growth, the third vaccine set, solids and iron, and the final scheduled maternal depression screen.

1. How should we sequence first foods, and which iron sources matter most for a baby like ours?
2. Do her feeding pattern and our family history put her at risk for anemia — will she need the hemoglobin check at 9 or 12 months?
3. First teeth are coming — when does she need fluoride, and when a dentist?
4. What does normal sleep architecture look like now, and is night-weaning reasonable to discuss?
5. What is the plan if a food causes a reaction — what do we watch, what do we do, who do we call?

Our own questions

This is the last visit where anyone officially asks how the parents are doing. If the honest answer is “not well,” say it here.

Well-Child Visit Question Checklist · Rajesh Harrykissoon, MD · ushacareguide.com — educational content only, not medical advice.

9-month visit

What will be checked: The first formal developmental screening (ASQ-3, PEDS, or similar), a hemoglobin screen where risk warrants, growth, and home safety.

1. How did she actually score on the developmental screen — which domains were strong, and which are we watching?
2. If a domain is borderline, what is the plan: recheck at 12 months, or refer now?
3. Does she need the hemoglobin test today, given her diet and our history?
4. She is pulling to stand — what are the two or three childproofing priorities you see families miss?
5. Separation anxiety has arrived — what is normal, and what would concern you?

Our own questions

If the office sends the screening questionnaire ahead of the visit, fill it out at home over a normal day.

Well-Child Visit Question Checklist · Rajesh Harrykissoon, MD · ushacareguide.com — educational content only, not medical advice.

12-month visit

What will be checked: The birthday vaccine set (MMR, varicella, hepatitis A, and boosters), universal hemoglobin, and a blood lead risk assessment.

1. Should she get an actual blood lead test, or just the risk questionnaire — and what about our housing answers changes that?
2. Live vaccines today — what reactions can appear, and on what delay?
3. How do we transition from formula or breast milk to whole milk, and how much is too much?
4. She is not walking yet — where is the boundary of normal, and when would you refer?
5. What should her words and gestures look like by 15 months?

Our own questions

Answer the lead questionnaire about your actual house, not your ideal one.

Well-Child Visit Question Checklist · Rajesh Harrykissoon, MD · ushacareguide.com — educational content only, not medical advice.

15-month visit

What will be checked: Vaccine catch-up, language and social milestones (words, pointing, responding to her name), and the dental home and fluoride varnish conversation.

1. Is her word count and pointing where it should be, and what specifically should appear by 18 months?
2. Are we caught up on every vaccine, and can I see the record to confirm?
3. When does fluoride varnish start here, and does she need a dentist visit before age two?
4. Tantrums have arrived — what is developmentally normal, and what would you want to hear about?
5. What does the 18-month visit screen for, and what should we track between now and then?

Our own questions

The 18-month visit brings the autism-specific screen. If you have a concern about eye contact, name response, or pointing, raise it at 15 months.

Well-Child Visit Question Checklist · Rajesh Harrykissoon, MD · ushacareguide.com — educational content only, not medical advice.