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Day 278 of 280 · 39 weeks + 5 days

The first checkup, booked

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 6 sources · Plain-text version

Thirty-nine weeks and five days. Your baby's first checkup comes two or three days after you get home. Today you call the pediatrician and find out how to book it.

Size this week
about the size of a watermelon
Length this week
around 50.7 cm from head to heel
A woman with a full bump in a denim shirt sits on a porch step with a phone to her ear and a pen over a paper calendar, a toddler's tricycle beside her, bright afternoon light.

Thirty-nine weeks and five days. The first appointment your baby has comes so soon after you get home that it's easiest to sort out now, with one phone call, while you can still sit and listen to hold music.

Your baby

A single small watermelon on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around now your baby is around 50.7cm long from head to heel, about the size of a watermelon (NHS). Their care starts the moment they arrive. The AAP calls breastfeeding as soon as possible after birth the first and most important "immunization," and the first hepatitis B dose is typically given before you leave the hospital (AAP). After that, the AAP recommends "a checkup within 48 to 72 hours after your newborn is discharged from the hospital" (AAP).

Your body

Your body has its own timeline after birth. The womb takes about 6 weeks to return to its pre-pregnancy size, and breastfeeding can speed that up (NHS). Your own checkup comes later than the baby's: MedlinePlus puts it at 4 to 6 weeks after delivery (MedlinePlus).

One more thing for the bag of questions: you can become pregnant as early as 4 weeks after delivery, and MedlinePlus says to talk with your provider about contraception before you leave the hospital (MedlinePlus).

Try today

  1. The first-checkup booking

    Time: 15 minutes

    1. Call the pediatrician's office you chose. Give your due date and ask how to book the first visit, the one the AAP recommends within 48 to 72 hours of discharge (AAP).

    2. Ask how after-hours calls and emergencies work, and who covers when your pediatrician is away (AAP).

    3. Check that they take your insurance, and whether routine visit fees include immunizations (AAP).

    4. Write the office number and the after-hours number on your card, under the hospital's.

    Make it work:

    Haven't chosen yet? The AAP suggests asking parents you trust and your obstetrician for names (AAP). A name today beats a perfect choice next month.

Watch for

  • Normal

    after the birth, bleeding that can last up to 6 weeks (MedlinePlus).

    Call your provider

    right away if you soak through one or more pads in an hour or pass clots bigger than an egg (CDC).

  • Normal

    a headache after a short night with a newborn.

    Call your provider

    right away for a headache that won't go away or gets worse over time (CDC); preeclampsia can develop up to 6 weeks after birth (CDC).

  • Normal

    baby blues that resolve on their own within a few days (CDC).

    Call 911

    , or call or text 988 or 1-833-TLC-MAMA, for thoughts about harming yourself or your baby (CDC).

For you

The pediatrician's visits come thick and fast in the first months: two to four weeks, then two, four, six, nine, and 12 months (AAP). Yours are fewer. Put your own 4-to-6-week check in the calendar too, once you have a date for it.

If you're the partner: the first visit, two or three days after you get home, is a good one for you to drive to and sit in. Bring the questions you both wrote down at 3 a.m.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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