When to find a pediatrician / family physician?

trucksntutus · March 2016

i really feel behind the mark on this, when is a good time to start looking for one? Do you ladies already have a provider picked out; what was the process of picking one like?

benten24 · March 2016

I've been wondering this too. And if I'm supposed to contact them beforehand and set something up, or wait until baby is born.

PugsandKisses · March 2016

This is normally done closer to 3rd trimester or on the 23rd trimester but you can do this when ever. Ask your friends. Step 1) make sure they accept your insurance. 2) research them, do their 'values' line up with yours about feedings, vaccines... 3)how do they handle after hours issues?
4) are sick kids and well child separated?

Many places have a meet and greet, if not go there and set up a time to meet them. This person (and their office) is your child's health care advocate. See if you guys 'mesh' well, or if you get a bad vibe. A good reputation and recommendations are part of the story, but it you just don't feel 'right' keep looking.

DominiqueU · March 2016

I have been wondering this. We got some recommendations from my OB office, but I still don't fully get it.

If I call, what do I say? "I'm pregnant. Can you be my baby's doctor?"

LDSJM123 · March 2016

When I call the first thing I asked was do you accept our insurance? Followed by are you accepting new patients. From there I asked a few key questions that are important to us. Thoughts/opinions on extended breast feeding, thoughts/opinions on a slightly delayed/slowed down vaccination schedule (DD had some very BAD reactions to be vaccinated so we had to go to individual shoots no cocktails.) I also asked how the newborn screen at the hospital works.

My daughter has been seeing this doctor since about 6. But we didn't go to him as an infant. So thankfully I know I like him, the office, and his style, but newborn care is much different and more frequent than sick visits and a once a year well child checkup.

Like PP have said, ask around for opinions. Decide what's important to you. For us, we want a very pro breastfeeding office, great bedside manner, someone that's a bit more "old school", someone that's doesn't jump to antibiotics right away for everything, and an office that can get us in that day or within a day or two when our child is actually sick.

jlgriff11 · March 2016

I was told by the office of one of the pediatricians I was considering that I wouldn't be able to know for sure if she could be my twins doctor until after the babies were born because she "had no idea if she would be accepting patients in June."

This felt off to me, I'm going to assume I got a receptionist who didn't know better or is this really a thing? My ob has been asking for weeks if I've picked one yet.

Singingmama10 · March 2016

@jlgriff11 yeah I would definitely keep looking. That does seem a little weird.

jlgriff11 · March 2016

Because this thread got me thinking about it again, I called the office -again- and checked and got a different girl who said she'd check and get back with me. I don't know if maybe they just don't do it very often? I'd really like to use this doctor, as my mom is a nurse and has worked with her before and says she's awesome. But not if her office staff is annoying. Then again every office staff is annoying. IMO. Sorry, office staffers of this board. I'm sure you're not annoying.

rnyland1 · March 2016

Definitely get some recommendations from others. Most doctor's will keep a few open slots for newborn patients. I called right after my baby was born and they got him an appointment right away. You can always change pediatricians at a later time if you end up not liking yours. I actually called the office ahead of time to see how it worked, if I needed to come in before hand or whatnot...they told me to just call once the baby was actually born. Worked out fine that way.

jlgriff11 · March 2016

rnyland1 said:

Definitely get some recommendations from others. Most doctor's will keep a few open slots for newborn patients. I called right after my baby was born and they got him an appointment right away. You can always change pediatricians at a later time if you end up not liking yours. I actually called the office ahead of time to see how it worked, if I needed to come in before hand or whatnot...they told me to just call once the baby was actually born. Worked out fine that way.

I'm a bit more concerned because of the twin thing. There are so many issues that could come up once they are born and sometimes, with twins, the pediatrician can see them right in the hospital- and I also want someone with specific twin issue experience- like having their appointments simultaneously, and experience with preemies. I'd just feel more comfortable setting it up now before I'm stuck looking everywhere because mine suddenly doesn't have openings for two.

MDmomma1217 · March 2016

To be honest I can't remember at which point we did this with my first pregnancy (it's been 6+ years) but I went to meet the pedi in person before I settled on one. I chose my pedi office because there are a lot of providers there, 2 of the nurse practitioners are also certified lactation consultants (which I heavily relied on after DD was born) and they have weekend hours. Since this pregnancy is kid #2, I had asked at DD's physical what I need to do this time around, and she just said to let my midwife know which pedi we will be using, as they have doctors that rotate at the the hospital anyway.

nopegoat · March 2016

This is kiddo #4 so we will be using our current pedi for this one.

With my first I asked around for recs and then chose ones based on ratings, location, and hospital affiliation. In third tri I called to make sure they were accepting new patients and took my insurance. When I registered at the hospital I told them who my pedi was and they came to see him in the hospital. I never did I meet and greet or did a phone interview. If after our first meeting I didn't like them I would have just changed.

pinkpenguin32 · March 2016

With my first I got a bunch of recommendations from local moms. I figured out who took my insurance and started looking at the websites. One stood out as having longer hours, Saturday sick appointments, and two convenient locations. I called them a couple weeks before my due date and they said to call back when I have the baby in my arms. My firsts birth was labeled traumatic so the hospital peds wanted us to be seen the next day we went home. We were discharged on a Sunday and I called the peds office Monday morning and told them I had my kiddo, we needed a same day appointment. They got us in no problem. That sealed the deal for me.

It depends on your personality, I didn't feel like I needed to meet them before. This baby will be going to the same pediatrician. I will let them know next month when I take my daughter in, as I'm visibly pregnant.

rnyland1 · March 2016

jlgriff11 said:

rnyland1 said:

Definitely get some recommendations from others. Most doctor's will keep a few open slots for newborn patients. I called right after my baby was born and they got him an appointment right away. You can always change pediatricians at a later time if you end up not liking yours. I actually called the office ahead of time to see how it worked, if I needed to come in before hand or whatnot...they told me to just call once the baby was actually born. Worked out fine that way.

I'm a bit more concerned because of the twin thing. There are so many issues that could come up once they are born and sometimes, with twins, the pediatrician can see them right in the hospital- and I also want someone with specific twin issue experience- like having their appointments simultaneously, and experience with preemies. I'd just feel more comfortable setting it up now before I'm stuck looking everywhere because mine suddenly doesn't have openings for two.

Some offices just don't really want to do the whole "doctor interview" thing and others don't even make appointments greater than 3 months in advance. It's also hard because at this point you probably don't know the exact date when the babies will be born? So it would be tough to schedule an appointment for the future like that. I would just keep calling around until you find a doctor who's familiar with this whole twin situation and makes you feel comfortable.

MrsRo731 · March 2016

kdm06c said:

This is kiddo #4 so we will be using our current pedi for this one.

With my first I asked around for recs and then chose ones based on ratings, location, and hospital affiliation. In third tri I called to make sure they were accepting new patients and took my insurance. When I registered at the hospital I told them who my pedi was and they came to see him in the hospital. I never did I meet and greet or did a phone interview. If after our first meeting I didn't like them I would have just changed.

This. That's exactly what I did. I never felt the need to interview beforehand.

soberkfell · March 2016

@hallgire you're much more ahead of the game than I was with DS. In fact, I happened to be lucky and called our desired pedi the day I came home from the hospital with DS and was able to get everything arranged. We went with the same pedi my nephew sees as my brother and SIL rave about her, her office is within 10 minutes of our house and affiliated with one of the best children's medical institutions in our area. This time around I'll be making sure that she's accepting new patients BEFORE I pop this one out!

mamafox14 · March 2016

Does the pediatrician I choose need to be affiliated with the hospital I'm going to? There's a pediatricians office two blocks from my house and I want to look into it for convenience and it has good reviews but I'm pretty sure they are affiliated with the closest hospital to us which is not where I'm delivering. Does it matter?

PhoebeJune1984 · March 2016

I have Kaiser insurance, so they just assign you to one after the baby is born, according to who has openings. If you hate them at the 2 week appointment, then you just find someone else that you want to use and change the doctor. There was a pediatrician that worked for the insurance company, that solely worked at the hospital with the newborns, so she just spent all day making rounds, checking babies, letting you ask questions, etc. I was bummed when I found out that I couldn't keep her (since she was so sweet), but we were assigned to another doctor once we left the hospital, and we LOVE the doctor that we ended up getting (we have had him for over four years now). When baby #2 is born, I am just going to call and have this baby set up with the same pediatrician from the start.

trucksntutus · March 2016

Thanks for the suggestions! I've started the process as of today, but my situation is a little bit foreign as this baby is going to have her dads insurance as a primary and that's through the military; and mine as a secondary through my work. I'm not sure what I'm limited to if we'd be going off of his insurance mainly.

nopegoat · March 2016

@stellaluna14 they do not. You will have an on call pedi do the initial checkup and they will give you all the paperwork you need to take to your pedi once you get discharged. It's NBD.

whataboutscience · March 2016

@stellaluna719 It's not necessary, but some pediatricians may work with your hospital. Ours is part of a group of maybe 7 doctors so every morning one of them is at our hospital for newborn check ups. We just tell them at the hospital that our pedi is part of that medical group and they come find baby.

WVUPetunia · March 2016

We chose an office based on the recommendations of other parents and just told the hospital which office we wanted. We met one provider in our childbirth class. The office offered new parent interviews, but we didn't do one. I did call to make sure they were accepting new patients, took our insurance, etc. After DS was born, providers from that office came down (their office is in that hospital) for rounds and checked him out (I guess the hospital put him on their list) and talked to us. We chose the one we liked the best.

WVUPetunia · March 2016

jlgriff11 said:

rnyland1 said:

Definitely get some recommendations from others. Most doctor's will keep a few open slots for newborn patients. I called right after my baby was born and they got him an appointment right away. You can always change pediatricians at a later time if you end up not liking yours. I actually called the office ahead of time to see how it worked, if I needed to come in before hand or whatnot...they told me to just call once the baby was actually born. Worked out fine that way.

I'm a bit more concerned because of the twin thing. There are so many issues that could come up once they are born and sometimes, with twins, the pediatrician can see them right in the hospital- and I also want someone with specific twin issue experience- like having their appointments simultaneously, and experience with preemies. I'd just feel more comfortable setting it up now before I'm stuck looking everywhere because mine suddenly doesn't have openings for two.

You might try looking for a doctor who has a specific interest in caring for twins, too. The original doctor we wanted at our son's office was only taking twins as newborn patients, not singletons, when he was born because he had a special interest in that.

ach298 · March 2016

With my first I just went with the pediatrician that saw us in the hospital. When we moved out of state, I did more research. I joined a local moms group on Facebook and one through meetup and asked who they recommended. I went with the one most recommended and have been super happy with her for the past 3 years.

I would make make sure to find a pediatrician whose views line up with yours. I made sure that my pedi didn't accept non-vax kids (without medical reasons to not vax) and that she was not super antibiotics pushy. Our office has separate waiting rooms for sick vs well and schedules newborn appointment first thing in the morning to avoid exposure to more germs. Wait times in the waiting room are kept to a minimal, though occasionally they run behind and leave you waiting in the private room for a while (though that has been relatively rare).

DominiqueU · March 2016

WVUPetunia said:

jlgriff11 said:

rnyland1 said:

Definitely get some recommendations from others. Most doctor's will keep a few open slots for newborn patients. I called right after my baby was born and they got him an appointment right away. You can always change pediatricians at a later time if you end up not liking yours. I actually called the office ahead of time to see how it worked, if I needed to come in before hand or whatnot...they told me to just call once the baby was actually born. Worked out fine that way.

I'm a bit more concerned because of the twin thing. There are so many issues that could come up once they are born and sometimes, with twins, the pediatrician can see them right in the hospital- and I also want someone with specific twin issue experience- like having their appointments simultaneously, and experience with preemies. I'd just feel more comfortable setting it up now before I'm stuck looking everywhere because mine suddenly doesn't have openings for two.

You might try looking for a doctor who has a specific interest in caring for twins, too. The original doctor we wanted at our son's office was only taking twins as newborn patients, not singletons, when he was born because he had a special interest in that.

Are there really pediatricians with specific interests in treating twins? Historically speaking, doctors with twin fascinations did not end up so great.

Maybe that's just my Holocaust/Genocide minor putting thoughts in my head.

jlgriff11 · March 2016

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nopegoat · March 2016

@jlgriff11 don't stress. I promise it's not that big of a deal. Make a list of pedi's in your area that accept your insurance and call them when you get a little further along to make sure they are accepting new patients. You aren't marrying the pedi. If you end up not liking them you find a new one. Simple as that.

WVUPetunia · March 2016

DominiqueU said:

WVUPetunia said:

jlgriff11 said:

rnyland1 said:

Definitely get some recommendations from others. Most doctor's will keep a few open slots for newborn patients. I called right after my baby was born and they got him an appointment right away. You can always change pediatricians at a later time if you end up not liking yours. I actually called the office ahead of time to see how it worked, if I needed to come in before hand or whatnot...they told me to just call once the baby was actually born. Worked out fine that way.

I'm a bit more concerned because of the twin thing. There are so many issues that could come up once they are born and sometimes, with twins, the pediatrician can see them right in the hospital- and I also want someone with specific twin issue experience- like having their appointments simultaneously, and experience with preemies. I'd just feel more comfortable setting it up now before I'm stuck looking everywhere because mine suddenly doesn't have openings for two.

You might try looking for a doctor who has a specific interest in caring for twins, too. The original doctor we wanted at our son's office was only taking twins as newborn patients, not singletons, when he was born because he had a special interest in that.

Are there really pediatricians with specific interests in treating twins? Historically speaking, doctors with twin fascinations did not end up so great.

Maybe that's just my Holocaust/Genocide minor putting thoughts in my head.

I don't know how common it is, but there's one at our office, anyway. The doctors all have their interests up on the practice's website. Ours for example has an interest in childhood allergies/asthma (which our son happens to have, but of course didn't when we chose her as a newborn). One has an interest in working with children who are internationally adopted, and another has an interest in autism. I never really thought anything of it other than all people have different things they are most interested in doing/studying.

It probably would be interesting to see differences in how twins grow, if/how they're affected by the same illnesses, etc. from a medical standpoint.

samantha1206 · March 2016

I totally dropped the ball on this with DS.... when I went into labor they asked me if I had chosen one yet, and I (very ashamed) admitted no. They said no big deal and picked one out for me based on location for the time being. Turned out I really liked the doctor, and while we didn't get her, we stuck with the practice and are still with them five years later.

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