Your first visit to our office should be scheduled with the first three days after the baby is discharged from the hospital. We routinely see your new baby at 3-5 days of age and at 2 weeks of age. If there are feeding or weight issues or jaundice, we may schedule additional visits as necessary. Please remember to bring hospital discharge paperwork to your first visit.

Our office has two separate sick and well waiting areas.  We ask that you limit the number of guests that accompany you and your child on an office visit.  Seating is limited in our reception area and your guests might be exposed to illnesses. If you suspect your child is ill to any degree please be considerate and keep your child in the sick waiting area.  If you think your child has chicken pox and needs to be seen, please discuss your arrival with our staff prior to coming in.

Preventive care is a crucial part of your child’s total health care. We make every effort to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended schedule for well child visits (also known as check-ups/physical exams). Seeing children and parents at regular intervals is important in maintaining your child’s health, evaluating growth and development. Well-child visits allow time for immunization, routine screening tests, an evaluation of growth and development, a screening exam for the detection of developing physical problems, discussing safety, nutrition and behavior and a discussion of anticipated needs and adjustments. Child visits are also a good opportunity for you to discuss with us any issues that may be of concern to you or to ask any questions related to your child’s health.

We will help you keep your children healthy by providing you with current information on issues such as vaccinations, nutrition, development, and safety, to name just a few. we believe that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. During many well visits, tests are administered and vaccines are given.  That’s why we follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommended schedule of well-child visits (AKA check-ups). After children are born, our providers will see them at:

After age three, we expect to do yearly checkups to maintain continuity of care and shepherd your child through all stages of health and development.

We are here to help if you think your child may be ill. We know that when your child is sick, nothing is more important than getting them the care they need as soon as possible. We make every effort to schedule appointments for ill children on the day that you call us. Please call our office ahead of time, early morning if possible, so that we can minimize the time that you will spend waiting. You may also call and speak to any of our Triage Nurses for phone advice. We try to accommodate same-day appointments for sick children whenever possible.

Therefore, it is our policy to always offer same-day sick visits. The following are some common complaints that may require a sick visit to our office:

If your child is experiencing one or more of these symptoms, please call us at 806-353-7900 to schedule a sick visit, and one of our providers will see you as soon as possible. When you arrive for your appointment, please enter through the “Sick” entrance to avoid contagion.

After hours, you can call our Nurse Line at 806-353-7900. As always, in case of a medical emergency, please call 911.

TLC Pediatrics follows the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines for well care and immunizations. TLC Pediatrics of Amarillo is committed to providing the best and most up-to-date preventive care for your child. We believe that immunizations are an essential part of that care. Vaccines are a safe and effective way of preventing diseases that can cause life threatening illnesses in infants and children.

Immunizations are the basis of preventative medicine. It makes sense to prevent very serious illnesses for some of these serious viral illnesses such as measles or mumps, there are no available treatments, only supportive care. Many carry devastating consequences such as meningitis, neurological sequellae, or death, so prevention is of utmost importance. With minor modifications, we follow and use the vaccine schedule recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control for routine well child immunizations and screening tests. For more information on the AAP’s guidelines, please visit https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/immunizations/Pages/Recommended-Immunization-Schedules.aspx.

For descriptions of these vaccines and the diseases they protect against, please visit www.vaccinesafety.edu, or www.immunize.org. For detailed informational sheets published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) please visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis.

• Click here to read How to Prepare Your Child for Immunizations
• Click here to view Our Philosophy on Vaccines
• Click here to view a list of our well child and immunization schedule.
• For a personalized vaccine schedule please click on the following image:

Are you worried about whether your child is hitting his or her developmental milestones?

Have you wondered about the “right” age for children to sleep through the night, sit up, talk, or walk? The Ages and Stages website from American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) shows what a broad range of ages are appropriate for children to reach those milestones.

To make sure that development is progressing normally, TLC Pediatrics of Amarillo completes the AAP-recommended formal developmental screening at 9, 18, 30, and 48 months. These screens look at milestones for gross and fine motor skills, as well as language/communication, social/emotional, and problem-solving development.

If your child has a developmental, learning, or behavioral problem, our providers have the training and expertise to evaluate and care for your child. Developmental-behavioral pediatricians possess training and experience to consider, in their assessments and treatments, the medical and psychosocial aspects of children’s and adolescents’ developmental and behavioral problems.

Developmental-behavioral pediatricians evaluate, counsel, and provide treatment for children, adolescents, and their families with a wide range of developmental and behavioral difficulties, including:

• Learning disorders including dyslexia, writing difficulties, math disorders, and other school-related learning problems
• Attention and behavioral disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and associated conditions including oppositional-defiant behavior, conduct problems, depression, and anxiety disorders
• Tics, Tourette syndrome, and other habit disorders
• Regulatory disorders including sleep disorders, feeding problems, discipline difficulties, complicated toilet-training issues, enuresis (bedwetting), and encopresis (soiling)
• Developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy, spina bifi da, mental retardation, autism spectrum disorders, and visual and hearing impairments
• Delayed development in speech, language, motor skills, and thinking ability
• Behavioral and developmental problems complicating the full range of pediatric chronic illnesses and disabling conditions (for example, genetic disorders, epilepsy, prematurity, diabetes, asthma, cancer)

(Source: healthychildren.org

As if the bumps, bruises, and bacteria of childhood weren’t enough, some children have additional long-term health conditions that require management.

TLC Pediatrics’ providers work in partnership with parents and other caregivers to make sure your child has the services he or she needs. Some of the conditions we help manage include:

• Allergies
• Asthma
• Bedwetting
• Behavioral issues
• Chronic earaches
• Colic
• Diabetes

Contact us today to discuss how our providers can help your children thrive!

 In-House Labs

Northwest Pediatrics is pleased to offer in-house labs for many common medical tests, including strep, flu, mononucleosis, RSV, and blood glucose.

TLC Pediatrics of Amarillo is pleased to offer in-house labs for many common medical tests, including strep, flu, mononucleosis, and RSV.

• Influenza
• Streptococcus (“Strep”) pyogenes (Group A Strep)
• Respiratory Synctial Virus
• Complete Blood Count
• Urine dipstick

Having an in-house lab means faster answers for you and faster treatment for your child!

Northwest Pediatrics is pleased to offer in-house labs for many common medical tests, including strep, flu, mononucleosis, RSV, and blood glucose.

TLC Pediatrics of Amarillo is pleased to offer in-house labs for many common medical tests, including strep, flu, mononucleosis, and RSV.

• Influenza
• Streptococcus (“Strep”) pyogenes (Group A Strep)
• Respiratory Synctial Virus
• Complete Blood Count
• Urine dipstick

Having an in-house lab means faster answers for you and faster treatment for your child!

Did you know that TLC Pediatrics does ear-piercing?

Since younger children are more susceptible to infection, we recommend that ear piercing be done on-site by a medical professional, not by a store employee. Medical ear-piercing is available by appointment only on Tuesdays from 1:30 to 3:00. Contact us today to make your appointment!