Did you meet with pediatrician ahead of time?

AmandaJean12 · June 2014

Hey ladies,

I'm trying to nail down a pediatrician, because I know in our area getting into some can be an issue. Did you actually meet with the pediatrician before you delivered/are you planning to? Or did you just pick one and call to get on their schedule?

Obviously I care about what the doctor is like, I just wonder how much you can tell without being able to see them interact with your child.

JessAnnJ · June 2014

You won't necessarily know if they are a perfect fit but there are things you can check out. Some things you can see by going into the office such as whether they have sick and well waiting rooms. But there are a lot of questions you can ask. Some pediatricians have lactation consultants that come to their office, you can ask how do things work if you have after hours questions. Also, if plan to do anything other than follow the standard vaccination schedule you should definitely interview. My pediatrician will not accept patients that do not follow the recommended schedule because they believe this poses a risk to their other patients. I know the idea of interviewing a pediatrician seems weird given you can't really do that with other doctors, but they are used to it. I would call the office and see how they handle these interviews.

SusieBW · June 2014

a friend/cw and I were pregnant at the same time, and live in the same area. She went to visit like, 4 different pedi offices and meet with all the doctors and everything, and then I just picked whatever one she picked. She told me about them all, and I trusted her judgment. When I called there to tell them we wanted Dr So-and-So to be our pedi, they scheduled an appointment for DH and I to come in and meet with her before DD was born. We would've been fine with just writing them on the form at the hospital and meeting her then, but I guess this is the way that their practice works. We absolutely love our pedi office, BTW.

Our rationale was like you said - how much can you really tell before seeing them interact with your child, and dealing with their scheduling and all of that. I figured that if it wasn't working out or we ended up not meshing with the office, we could always change later if need be.

miss.brittany · June 2014

When I was pregnant with DD1 we met with her pediatrician while I was still pregnant. I was really glad I did. We asked him a bunch of questions about breastfeeding, immunizations, natural remedies, etc. He was very supportive and seemed to be a
very appropriate happy medium and open minded on all the topics and never made us feel like he was judging our opinions. DD1 is 16 months old now and we still see the same pediatrician and LOVE him. I was glad we interviewed him before hand. DD1 stayed very tiny for a long time and was only in the 5-10% for weight. But he never suggested stopping breastfeeding and rather had lots of ideas to try to help. I was glad I knew his stance before we got stuck in that situation with a pediatrician we didn't know.

cozybluebear · June 2014

I asked friends and family who they recommended and 90% seemed to all recommend the same practice. We didn't meet with the pediatrician in advance. Our hospital wouldn't allow us to leave until we had his first appointment set up. We left the hospital on Friday and had our first appointment on Saturday. We loved how clean and organized the practice was and we were able to meet all 5 of the doctors in the practice at the 1st appointment and then make our choice. Fortunately, we loved all of them so even if our doctor isn't in during an emergency, we'll be content. It was important to us that they have a 24 hour on call service and evening and weekend hours. It's comforting knowing that we can talk to a pediatrician any time of day or night.

MuffinMom14 · June 2014

I asked this question, because I would assume you call and everything first. Nope. I called, she said when I fill out paperwork when I go to have the baby, just put down the doctor's name. That's it.

That sounded weird to me, but ok. He's like, the ONLY PERSON everyone in the world recommends, so I am just trusting everyone, including my husband's aunt, who is a baby nurse.

fireflyrebirth · June 2014

According to my midwife you should meet with/interview perspective pediatricians before birth. She went so far as to say if they won't meet with you before baby comes you shouldn't use them.

We are moving in August so hopefully my new provider/s will be able to recommend some good doctors. Ugh, too much to think about.

JJsMum · June 2014

We did not meet with our pediatrician before DS#1 was born. We have some friends with very similar parenting styles, but who have older kids (4 & 2 when DS#1 was born). They had gone to several different practices before finding one that they loved. I didn't even think twice about going with that practice. I called to see what their preferences were for new patients, and all they needed was for us to put them on the paperwork and call to make the first appt when needed.

I have to say, I adore the practice. From our old condo it was about a 25 min drive, now from our house, it's closer to 45 min away. Totally worth it! I even recommended the practice to friends who live an hour away, and they say it's absolutely worth it.

If you can, I'd suggest asking around for recommendations from people that you feel have similar personality/parenting style as you. I think there is only so much info you can get before your little one is here, and it might take a few different tries to get the right practice for you. Don't be afraid to leave a Dr if they aren't right for you! Also look for the services that the practice offeres. Our practice has a 24 hr nurse line for questions/concerns, weekend appointments, and guaranteed same day sick kid visits. We are absolutely encouraged to call the nurse line with any kind of question or concern too. I have never gotten attitude or been made to feel silly by anyone in or associated with the practice either.

bsschroeder · June 2014

Nope! Chose her in the hospital just so we could go home! I mean my plan was that its a hospital for God's sake go call whoever However the hospital wouldn't go for that and I had to claim a specifIc dr. I knew her from me going there briefly and my siblings and all the foster kids my mom has went to the practice too..

Maggie6424 · June 2014

Nope. We just chose one that was close to home and who took our insurance. If we didn't love him, we would've switch immediately.

BreandMikewedding · June 2014

No. The drs in my area don't really do that. I used to laugh when I worked in medical and people would call to set up an "interview." we would tell them they could schedule an appt and pay their applicable co-pay or deductible and have the normal appt time (which typically isn't long).

When I had my first I was young and dumb and didn't even think about finding a pediatrician so I just went with the dr who was at the hospital and I loved them. When I had my second we had different insurance so I couldn't go with the same dr. I looked at whether they took my insurance, had rights at the hospital I was delivering at, whether they would come check baby at the hospital (some have you see whoever is at the hospital and then start seeing them once you go home) and whether they circumsized at the hospital. I found very few who came to check baby at the hospital and who circumsized baby there. Many did the circumcision in their office weeks later and I didn't like that.

hippohat · June 2014

Yes, absolutely. No way would I have wanted to be pedi shopping with an infant when we needed help in the first few weeks. Here it's standard to do an office tour, they give you the run-down on the office procedures and get a feel for the practice. I know so many moms who hate their pedi, but they have an infant and have always gone to that office, and it's too much trouble to shop for a new one when you can't think, so they stay.

Here there are huge differences in how the offices handle calls, how long you have to wait to speak to a nurse, how quickly they call you back, if you have to call in and have them recommend an appt or if you can get an appt for whatever reason, etc. These things have a HUGE impact on my sanity as a new mom, I'm glad I found an office I liked before DD was born.

The questions above are great!

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