Did anyone NOT interview/meet their pedi?

finnybooboo · October 2013

I feel like DH and I have dropped the ball on being good parents already. We haven't gone to interview or meet any pediatricians yet and I'm due in less then a week. We're planning to go with a pediatrician that several people we know (my sister included) take their kids to and love. DH called the office a month or more ago and asked about the process and I guess the receptionist just said you put their name down as the pediatrician once you're at the hospital and they will come check out the baby once they're born. I thought they would have some meet and greets or ask if we wanted to schedule an interview, but they didn't say anything. I have been meaning to call them back and ask, but time has just gotten completely away from us. Anyone else not do a meet and greet with their pedi or are we just failing as parents already?

blueeyedrose86 · October 2013

We didn't, but she gets seen on base, so we knew she would be assigned one.

ashleymarie512 · October 2013

We didn't as we were also referred by friends. We were considering if, but she ended up coming at 30w and didn't have time. We're super happy with ours though!

babyLOLO13 · October 2013

We didn't but were referred to by friends as well. I feel bad too but we just don't have time right now.

MommaNikki · October 2013

No, I find the whole thing kind of awkward, really.... Especially if you are going off of recommendations from people you trust, you will be just fine... With DD1, we didn't meet the dr ahead of time, but we went with a pretty large practice and intended on meeting a few at appointments before settling on one anyways.... Same plan this time.

Jalee85 · October 2013

I just made my Family Practitioner my LO's Ped. With my complicated medical history I feel I can trust her more to check into things if my daughter would start acting sick.

brooklynnerdymama · October 2013

I dropped the ball on that one too, which is especially bad because I'm in healthcare and work at the hospital where I delivered and should know better. After she was born, she was evaluated by the NICU team by default who were awesome. The nurses were also really helpful in giving us advice as we weighed our options.

I was back and forth between finding a place near the hospital where I work and where baby will be at day care for convenience purposes of checkups, etc. OR a place really close to home. We ended up choosing the place close to home because they said that when it will matter the most is when she's sick and we don't want to have to take her far. That way DH can be involved more easily if he needs to be too.

Don't worry there are infinite checklists to stress about before baby arrives but it all works out no matter how far you get.

jen-and-ryon · October 2013

I just asked my doctor who she recommended and went with that.

huntjul · October 2013

We didn't interview any pedis. I just picked one my insurance covered and figured if I didn't like them, I could always switch later.

kelle017 · October 2013

We didn't either. We just went with a practice we'd heard good things about. 2 of the doctors came to the hospital room, her appointment at 4 days was with another, and her 2 week with yet another. I liked everyone I've met so far.

hlb622 · October 2013

Meh. I'm just going to one that a friend liked (and she's not-so-easy to please, so I figure if she likes the practice, we're golden). Plus, we can always switch later if they suck. No bad-momming yourself allowed at this point.

Lee81 · October 2013

We didn't meet with anyone. We didn't even have a recommendation. We decided on a practice that has 14 different doctors, several locations, and really good office hours. I was trying to figure out how I'd figure out who to meet with. I ended up getting into a conversation about it with my OB. It turns out it's the same practice she uses for her kids and she loves it, so I guess I have a recommendation now

She said pretty much what the receptionist at your practice said. When baby is born, they'll ask who the pedi is and I can just give the name of the practice. They'll assign a doctor. Honestly, that's fine with me. If I decide I don't like the doctor, there are 13 others. I can always ask to switch.

5speckledfrogs · October 2013

We didn't do interviews or meets either and he came 10 days early on top of that. We picked one closer to home and a friend takes her two children there so we'll give them a shot. We can always change if we're unsatisfied or uncomfortable, but there are three docs in that practice so I'm sure we will be happy with at least one, fingers crossed! DON'T feel like a bad parent. It's not too huge of a deal in my eyes since you can change practices anytime.

Ajoyd · October 2013

I didn't. I'm not even sorry. The group we chose is affiliated with one of the best children's hospitals in the area, I had a great phone conversation with the receptionist, and I'm sure they are very qualified. Worst case we don't like the one we chose and switch to another doc in the group. NBD to me.

jennlin · October 2013

we did not.. we chose based on reviews online. i'm not sure we love him, but we have no reason to not like him either. i'm thinking about changing to a naturopath pediatrician.

Amjoy25 · October 2013

We did not. This is actually not a very common practice (regardless of what TB says), and you might get blank stares if you said you wanted to meet them...because you meet them at the first visit, just like your PCP.

finnybooboo · October 2013

Shew - this makes me feel a lot better! Thanks ladies!

yesthisiskim0401 · October 2013

LOL we didn't even pick a pedi until a few hours before we were discharged. We just chose the closest one to home. We hated DD1's assigned pedi and just haven't thought to "shop around" for one.

kimbo1216 · October 2013

I didn't. I picked one based off recs. If I didn't like him, I would have just picked a new one for the next appointment. Luckily, I loved him. He made me feel like I had a perfect baby and was an awesome parent. Unfortunately, he retired to seek treatment for cancer.

I'll probably stick with the practice for this one, but I'm definitely not as tied to it as I once was.

kimbo1216 · October 2013

Amjoy25 said:

We did not. This is actually not a very common practice (regardless of what TB says), and you might get blank stares if you said you wanted to meet them...because you meet them at the first visit, just like your PCP.

Yep. I had never heard of interviewing them first until the bump. So one I called the one that was rec'd to me before I had dd1, they seemed confused by the question. lol. They were like, just call when the baby's born. We'll get you in. They were nice and I had heard good things, so I just went with it.

jennypenny* · October 2013

We are in the same boat. My OB recommended the Dr she takes her kids to and another ped. She told us that our personalities would be good together. Then after speaking to some friends, they recommended the same Dr, so I feel good about it. My OB advised us to pick a Dr and if we aren't happy to switch a few times, its no big deal and more about finding the right fit w/ the baby. I called the practice my OB goes to, and they were super friendly, and said they would meet us at the hospital once the baby arrives, and we only needed to go in if we really wanted to meet first.

tashad18 · October 2013

We were referred by friends to the clinic our pediatrician is at when we needed to get DS a sports physical. We liked the dr that examined him so we stuck with him. There was no formal interview or questions asked.

We have been happy with him for LO as well.

SuperTreesa · October 2013

We never did. I knew I didn't want an actual Ped but rather a GP so he could see the whole family. The GP I wanted doesn't do interviews, so I figured I would just play it by ear and if we didn't like something we could change later. I'm really happy with him for my girls and for me.

knottied2a666e3e38a2a87 · October 2013

I went to a prenatal visit with one and they just showed me around the office and explained their on-call system and all of that. I actually didn't care for the doctor or location, and now I am too lazy to find another one, so I'm back where I started!

givemepenguinss · October 2013

No worries! I called a practice that some family members highly recommended and they don't do prenatal interviews. So I didn't have a choice. I figure if we don't like her then we'll just switch

MammaWolf7 · October 2013

We didn't interview pediatricians, the one we went with was actually my pediatrician from when I was a baby. I was surprised that he was still practicing.

BrittanyCupcakes · October 2013

I haven't even looked yet. I'm not 100% sure what health plan the baby is going to have yet, but the one I'm leaning toward lets me change doctors as often as I want, while others are restricted to once a month. So I figure I'll probably just go with whoever is doing rounds at the hospital at the time if they are accepting new patients, at least until we get the insurance all set up.

MangoMama82 · October 2013

My OB/GYN office recommended a group practice to me, and they encourage a meet and greet. I'm scheduled to meet a pedi 10 days before I'm due. If I make it that long... The office says on their website that they like to do meet and greets, and I didn't really think twice about it.

mancila60 · October 2013

We didn't and like OP we were told the same thing just tell them the dr's name. We actually really like the dr we got she's great. However we were limited with our choices due to our insurance and I had already ruled out some drs already.

Lesley0228 · October 2013

I just went with the pediatrician recommended by a friend. I would have felt awkward interviewing the pediatrician, I trusted my friend and I knew I could switch if it didn't seem like a good fit. That said- I adore my pediatrician and wish I could be her patient too.

spanx21 · October 2013

We didn't interview either. We got tons of referrals from friends for the Pediatrician that we chose. I called the pediatrician also to find out the process of how it works and they told me the same thing that they told you. I think we'll be fine, although I do feel a little guilty about not putting more time into it.

kjenkins346 · October 2013

I did based upon a recommendation from a friend (her DDs dr) and I'm glad I did because when I finally got sick of my old OB and was looking to change I felt comfortable choosing one of the OBs in the same practice as the pediatrician just based upon how fantastic he was at the meet & greet. I'm a planner (by nature & profession) so I don't think I could have just waited to get someone lined up. Plus I wanted to make sure my daughters doctor was prepared in case she has any of the same issues that I was born with that tend to run in the females in my family.

KerCo51 · October 2013

I didn't interview them either. I read reviews online and read their policies and felt comfortable with them. So far, I like them, but I have another appointment on Thursday and I am hoping they take some of my concerns seriously, or I might be taking her somewhere else.

blondolphn · October 2013

I stalked mine on the dream website. She just has a kid and is breastfeeding. And she grew up in the area.

HFrizzle · October 2013

Nope, never met with mine before out first appt. We went off of recommendations and absolutely love him.

MissLauraPants · October 2013

Nope we didn't. The idea was weird to me. Honestly the hospital set us up with a pedi after he was born. We went already once, he was okay...if we don't like him we will change later.

frizzydizzy · October 2013

We didn't. We just went with one that a friend raved about.

chelseyestelle · October 2013

Nope. We don't even have one yet. We aren't sure what insurance the baby will have so when we figure all of that out we will just find one that's close to home with good recs.

StefMurph · October 2013

I heard so many things about "the best pediatrician" in town who happened to be on call when baby was born. I did not like him at all. I had the post partum nurse make a few recommendations. We had to have an appointment scheduled prior to discharge from the hospital due to Callie's birthweight being so low. I absolutely love the doctor we picked. He was so attentive and understood I would have lots of questions. My husband went to the second appointment and really liked the doctor, too.

Arya207 · October 2013

We will just be using my family doctor. The pediatrician on call at the hospital will discharge her but that is all from him. I don't think the pediatrician thing is as popular up here.

atcwag · October 2013

We didn't meet with our pedi - there is only one practice in our town, so we don't really have another option. We could have gone with a FP, however I was more comfortable with a pedi at least when LO is still an infant. I'm not a huge fan of how our practice works (you don't necessarily see the same Dr. each visit), but again, it's the only practice in our town.

Want a personalized experience?

Did anyone NOT interview/meet their pedi?

Re: Did anyone NOT interview/meet their pedi?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards