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Psychomotor development
While listening to you, the doctor observes your child: the way he sits or begins to stand, the position of his head, but also how he reacts to his name, if he chirps, how he grasps an object between his thumb and forefinger (pinch), starts to cry as soon as the doctor approaches him… So many revealing signs of his good health!
Vaccinations
He also checks that your child’s immunization schedule is up to date: at this age, he must have had his tuberculosis vaccine (BCG), his three injections of Pentavac (DT Coq Polio anti-Haemophilus), and possibly two injections against hepatitis B and three others to protect him from pneumococcus (Prévenar).
Clinical examination
The doctor examines your child’s heart and lungs, feels his stomach, kidneys and genitals. Then he examines his ears, his throat, his first quenottes, feels his fontanel, etc. He then lays her down on the scale to weigh it (in general, between 7 and 10 kg), takes out his measuring board to measure it (from 64 to 75 cm according to the children), then his seamstress tape to measure his cranial perimeter ( usually between 42 and 48 cm). It then calculates your child’s body mass index (weight divided by height squared), then reports this data to the health record, making sure that each of the curves is harmonious.
Reminder of nutritional rules
The doctor takes the opportunity to recall some nutritional rules, starting with the importance of follow-on milk, which must remain the staple food of the child at least until the age of one year. However, be careful with almond, chestnut or hazelnut-based milks, they can be the cause of deficiencies or allergy.
Auscultation of the eyes
To test your child’s eye mobility, the doctor may pass a brightly colored object in front of their eyes, left to right, then up and down, and make sure your baby is watching them. But measuring the visual acuity of such a young child is more difficult. It is therefore always best to take him to an ophthalmologist, especially if there is a history of visual disturbances in the family. The specialist has suitable and efficient equipment to screen from this age for myopia (poor distance vision), hyperopia (poor near vision), astigmatism (distorted vision) or strabismus. And the earlier these disorders are detected, the better they can be treated.
Hearing control
The doctor should then assess your child’s hearing functions. He usually uses Moatti’s toys, four round boxes that produce noises of varying intensity. Standing about two meters behind your child, he turns these ‘magic boxes’ one by one, triggering, from the lowest to the highest, the mooing of the cow, the bleating of the sheep, the meowing of the cat and the song of the bird. And immediately your little one turns his head in the direction from which this strange noise is coming. Unless the doctor just whispered, putting his hand between his mouth and your child’s ear.