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Maryland Babies
serenity0219
member
Finding a Pediatrician
serenity0219
member
When is a good time to start looking for a Pediatrician?
Any suggestions for any good ones in the area?
Thanks!
Amanda
"It's better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what your not"
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Finding a Pediatrician
I think you can look anytime.
You can find one that has priviliges at the hospital you are birthing at, but I know myself and a few other people I have spoken to said they never came and the pediatrician on staff checked the baby out. No big deal either way, IMO.
I have switched 3 times, finding one I finally liked and because I moved.
"Good" ones is a personal opinion, find out what you are looking for in a pediatrician. Do you want one that gives parental advice on sleeping and discipline (a big, huge NO in my book) or is that important to you, do you want someone else's opinion on that? Are you planning on nursing? If not, going to a pediatrician that promotes nursing might not be a good fit. Are you planning on delaying vaccines or keeping to the CDC schedule - because if you want to delay, some pediatricians won't accept you as a patient. Do you want a big practice or a small one person practice? Are you a person who likes to do research and look for more natural approaches to health care and would you like a doctor who is okay with someone asking a lot questions?
My advice would be to start calling around different offices people recommend and asking questions that are important to you, if you want to follow a certain parenting style and if that mixes well with your doctor. You can meet with them anytime and some even have a "met the doctor - new patient" nights.
Also OT, but...my DS was slow to gain weight at first and I really appreciated that my pedi was VERY supportive of BFing and didn't push me towards formula, even though DS didn't gain weight for a few weeks. He looked at the whole issue and not just the scale...and sadly, there are many that don't do that.
OP: I asked for recs on this board and found a great practice. Whereabouts do you live?
Happy Birthday, little man. We love you so much!
My favorite money saving tip: I've earned more than $300 in gift cards (Amazon, Starbucks, Southwest!) using SwagBucks for internet searching - and you can too! It's FREE and EASY!
Not the case with my DD, the pediatrician believed all women need a break and promoted and pushed formula because I looked "tired" (not pumping and letting DH give her a bottle??) and said she recommended formula for that reason - tired mommies. I thought all mommies were tired!
I just posted the info for our pedi in a post below but here's who we go to:
Dr. Lois Sullivan
Towson, MD 21204
(410) 583-6800
Our 13 y/o niece goes to her & likes her too.
There's 2 other doc at the practice (Dr. Gouel & Dr. Blotny). Our 10y/o & 13 y/o nephews go to Dr. Krystyna Blotny & they both really like her.
Def find several that are covered by your insurance, check online for reviews & websites & put together a list of docs to go see. Go, intereview them, get a feel for them & then pick one from there. You can always change pedi's if you end up not liking them. We lucked out & have really liked Sullivan & have no desire to change. We interviewed about 7 pedi's though.
You'd be surprised...