Pediatrician - when do you first meet them?

Loue0709

I'm trying to figure out our pediatrician situation - the twins will be our first kids.  My OB gave me a few recommendations but they are all so busy that they're not accepting new patients.  There are a couple in that practice who are and when I asked about new patients, they just said to call after the babies are born.

Is that normal?  Did you meet with the pediatrician before the babies came?  I'm not sure if I'm comfortable deciding on a doctor for the twins without even meeting them.. but then I guess that's the process for doctors for adults as well.  I would have been okay with the recommended doctors but since they're not accepting new patients, I'm a little worried.

Loue0709

AnotherDreamer That's what I was worried about.  On boards and FB groups people talk about interviewing a few before choosing one but when I called, they didn't mention anything like it.  Hopefully the one I pick turns out okay.  

mer313131

With DD, I asked around and called an office that had a few recs and asked for a short meet and greet. They had no problems doing so and I'm glad I did. I was so happy with the office itself, the staff and their policies. One less thing to worry about!

carrotcake06

When I had my oldest, I hadn't gotten around to it before he was born (at 37w1d) bc I thought I'd go over. I did have a name and met her in the hospital.

When we moved, I chose the closest satellite to our house of the children's hospital around here. The drs are meh, but I get instant access to a top 5 in the nation children's hospital so it's worth it to me.

xtina78

I also wanted to meet pediatricians beforehand however it turns out that around here that's not common practice. We just went for recommendations from our moms of multiples groups. I called and made sure the one we wanted was taking new patients and takes our insurance - they said just tell the hospital this is your pediatrician when you give birth. It seems sketchy to me, but now I've known some people who went through the process and it all worked - sounds like usually the pediatrician comes to the hospital and rounds on the babies before you go home.

minirella

I did not meet pediatricians beforehand with my first. I had decided which office I was going to see based on services - they are the only pediatrician's office in town that offers weekend services. The office has 7 physicians. They scheduled my first visit on a Saturday and I was placed with the physician that was on-call for that weekend. We tried out a few of the doctors during sick/wellness visits and about 2 1/2 years in, I finally found the pediatrician in the office that we use as the primary. If he is not available, there is another pediatrician we use as a back-up or we see the nurse practitioner.

If you select a pediatrician that you don't jive with, you can always look for another pediatrician.

minirella

To add, I stated the pediatricians office on my registration papers at the hospital. When I went into the hospital, they gave the lactation consultant my information stating that I was one of their patients and she visited with me in the hospital, gave me paperwork for their office, and told me when I was to have my first appointment. I don't know if that is common practice.