Appointment with the pediatrician?

britzymama

My hubby and I are going to meet with the Pediatrician that we are considering choosing on MOnday.  I am a FTM and I plan on breastfeeding.  Any advise on what I should be asking him? 

Thanks

emilyj77

There is a list of questions on BabyCenter,com. I just printed those off and marked the ones I cared about. I was mostly concerned about circumcision, vaccination schedule, and whether they round in the hospital that I'm delivering at or not. Also do they jump right to the antibiotic, or take more of a wait and see approach. And their thoughts on alternative medicine (ex: taking the baby to a chriopractor for repeat ear infections, or croup, etc.).

 

Leia358

Are we supposed to meet with the pediatrician before the baby is born?  If so, I should schedule an appointment soon!

smilelari

Definitely ask about anything you will be doing outside of the norm.  We do a delayed vaccine schedule so we needed to know that the pedi would be on board.

I would also ask some questions to try to feel out their style.  Like, for example, "Do you recommend any particular sleep training method?" I'd be looking for someone who's answer is along the lines of "I usually stay out of non-medical parenting decisions like sleep training, but really the best method is what works for your family."  Personally, I'd run from any pedi recommending CIO at a young age.

You might ask things like when they recommend introducing solids and what first foods they recommend.  Someone saying rice cereal at 4 months is kind of old school.

brewcitybride

Most people I know, as well as myself, did not actually meet with the pediatrician before the baby is born. You go off recommendations from family and friends and it usually works out just fine.

My process was following a recommendation from many friends about one particular clinic and doctor; calling them and letting them know my due date; they said that was fine, the doctor was accepting new patients. Then you give your hospital the pediatrician's info. Once you have the baby, the hospital contacts the pediatrician for you and the doctor visits you and baby in the hospital within 24 hours of the birth. Then you have your first visit to the doc's office within a few days of going home.

britzymama

No, you don't have to meet with the pediatrician before baby is born if you don't want to.  This is just the standard procedure for the pediatrician that was recommended from all of DH's side of the family.  I completed the paper work for a new patient and their office schedules a meet and greet with the employees and the pediatrician.  It made me feel comfortable

kristina104

Some other questions that I found helpful to ask were about how the doctor(s) and practice itself was run. 

~Do they have separate waiting areas for well vistis vs. sick visits?

~What are their procedures for after hours calls (how are those handled)?

~Do they have same say sick appointments?

These were questions that I hadn't really given much thought to before talking to the peditrician that we picked, but that she covered with us and found to be really helpful.

Hope that helps a bit.

walteroliver3

The main things I was concerned about when I went to the "prenatal meet-and-greet" at our pediatrician's office were: 

-What happens if our child is sick after hours/on the weekend?

- Is there a lactation consultant available on staff?

- Is there a nurse line if I have a question I would like answered over the phone? 

britzymama

Thank you ladies for all of your replies.  I am going to check out the baby center site that one of you mentioned.  I just want to make sure that I go prepared