Call us directly: (404) 371-9838

317 West Hill Street, Suite 111, Decatur, GA View Location

Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 8am - 5pm, Friday 7:30am - 4pm

FAQ’s

Office Policies

New Patients (click to open)

  • Click here to see if your insurance is accepted
  • Call our office for a username and password for our patient portal prior to your first appointment
  • If possible–fax medical records to the office prior to your first appointment

Scheduling (click to open)

  • Patients seen by appointment only
  • Well visit appointments should be scheduled at least 4-6 weeks in advance
  • Please contact office if additional children need to be seen
  • Appointments are verified by phone two days prior to visit
  • Change or cancel your appointment via the patient portal

Late Appointments (click to open)

  • Please contact our office if you will be late to your appointment
  • If you will be more than 15 minutes late, we may need to reschedule your appointment

Missed Appointments (click to open)

  • Missed appointments may be subject to a $25 charge

Emergencies (click to open)

  • In a life-threatening emergency call 911
  • Recommended Emergency Rooms: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (either Egleston or Scottish Rite)

After-Hours Calls (click to open)

  • Pediatrician is on call 24 hours a day
  • Calls are connected through our office number to an answering service
  • Concerns requiring the on-call pediatrician will be answered within 30 minutes
  • If there is no response after 30 minutes, please call back
  • Answers to our most common after hours questions

Routine Calls and Questions (click to open)

  • Please direct routine questions to office during business hours only
  • Routine questions can also be emailed to doctors via the patient portal
  • Emails will be answered during office hours, the day the email is submitted–or the following day if email is submitted after office hours
  • Answers to our most common after hour questions

Referrals (click to open)

  • Some insurance companies require referral prior to seeing a specialist
  • Oakhurst Pediatrics will provide the number for the specialist requested
  • Contact Oakhurst Pediatrics after scheduling your appointment with the specialist so we can fax pertinent info to specialist’s office

Antibiotics (click to open)

  • Patient must be examined prior to receiving a prescription for antibiotics
  • If you think your child needs an antibiotic, please call for an appointment

Vaccinations (click to open)

  • Oakhurst Pediatrics believes that vaccines are a safe, effective, and essential way to protect your children and our community from serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses
  • We follow the schedule outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics
  • We are willing to discuss current data and research with our patients and in some cases will accommodate alternative or delayed immunization schedules
  • Alternative or delayed schedules do go against our medical advice and may put your child and the community at unnecessary risk for preventable diseases
  • Alternative or delayed schedules may require additional office visits and may incur additional copays and fees

ADHD Medication (click to open)

  • We require routine appointments every 3 months for patients with ADHD to monitor weight and blood pressure and discuss school progress and medication efficacy
  • Medication refills will not be given without these routine appointments
  • We request at least 7 days’ notice for ADHD medication refills
  • Patients who have been off medication or have not been seen in the past 3 months will require a visit prior to providing any additional prescriptions

No Show (click to open)

  1. After the first no-show we will attempt to call or send you a letter.
  2. After the second no-show we reserve the right to charge a $25 fee to your account (not your insurance company) for the time slot we were not able to fill when you were a no-show.
  3. On the third no-show, it will be the physician’s discretion as to whether a discharge letter will be sent out disengaging you from the practice and giving you 30 days to enroll with a new physician.

Newborn/Infant Care

  • In the first week babies only need 1-2 ounces of milk per feeding
  • Newborns typically feed every 2-3 hours and as often as every 1.5 hours
  • Babies generally breastfeed for 10-15 minutes per side at a feeding
  • Breast milk supply will increase naturally as the baby eats more
  • Formula-fed babies take from 2 to 4 ounces of formula at a time
  • Formula-fed babies will slowly start to demand more and act hungry after a feed. Increase the amount of formula that you are feeding the baby when they start to show these signs.
  • Babies will sometimes overeat when fed from a bottle. If your baby is spitting up a lot, try reducing the amount of formula/breastmilk and feeding more slowly.
Generally, your baby is getting enough to eat if they:
  • Seem satisfied after meals
  • Have at least 6-8 wet diapers a day
  • Have regular, soft stools, and,
  • Are gaining approximately 0.5-1oz of weight a day.
Baby has fed enough if:
  • She or he seems satisfied at the end of a meal
  • She or he has plenty of wet diapers
Breast Milk Rule of 5’s:
  • Breast milk that has not been refrigerated or frozen will stay good at room temperature for 5 hours.
  • Breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator for 5 days
  • Breast milk is good for 5 months when stored in the freezer.
Formula Preparation and Storage:
    • Formula can be mixed from powder and stored in the fridge for 24 hours.
    • Formula that has been fed to a baby should be discarded if not finished within 1hr.
    • Powdered formula should always be mixed according to the directions on the can.
      • Indicated by a yellow color in your baby’s skin–may look like a suntan
      • Caused by high bilirubin count (build up of extra red blood cells due to immature liver)
      • Most common in the first 3-5 days of life
      • Usually resolves naturally within the first weeks of life
      • May cause increased drowsiness and difficulty feeding
      • Condition can be assessed and tracked by a simple procedure in the office
      • Spitting up is normal and usually is not an indication of Reflux Disease
      • Babies commonly spit up after each feeding and for an hour or more after feeding
      • Most babies stop spitting up between 6 and 12 months
Babies spit up because:
      • Their stomachs are small and haven’t developed the strength to hold food in
      • They are often lying down–so gravity doesn’t help them keep food down
      • Babies swallow air, which needs to come out, sometimes with food
Decrease spitting up by:
      • Feeding baby in an upright position and/or keeping him/her upright for 30 minutes after feeding
      • Feeding smaller volumes
      • Burping baby frequently
First stool comes in the first 24 hours of life
Stool Stages:
      • Days 1-2–sticky black meconium
      • Days 3-5 days–loose, seed, and greenish in color
      • Day 5 and on–soft, yellowish in color, and seedy
Stool Frequency:
      • As frequent as after every feeding
      • As infrequent as every 4-7 days
      • Straining is common and doesn’t mean baby is constipated
      • Constipation is only indicated when stools are hard
Watch for:
      • Blood or mucus in stool
      • Hard stool
      • No stool within the first 24 hours of life
Newborn Stooling

Bringing home your newborn is a very exciting experience, but it can also be nerve-racking at times. One of the most common questions we are often asked is about the stooling patterns of newborns.

Babies should have a stool within the first 24 hours of life. This sticky black stool is called meconium. This type of stool usually lasts for the first 1-2 days. Stool should then turn more loose and seedy and is often greenish in color. After day 5 or so, stools should be soft, yellowish in color, and seedy.

Stool frequency can also change as an infant grows. It is very common for infants to have a stool after every feeding or have stools as infrequently as once every 4-7 days. Straining while stooling is common and does not necessarily mean that your child is constipated. Constipation means that the stools are becoming hard. As long as the stools are soft, the interval between the stools can vary and be completely normal.

Things to watch out for in infants are: blood in the stool, mucus in the stool, hard stools, or no stool within the first 24 hours of life. If any of these occur, please let us know.